We were making good progress east...
Crossing the state line from Arizona to New Mexico, the scenery changed dramatically from deep reds to yellow. The landscape was classic spaghetti western & absolutely breathtaking.
The next place I aimed for was Gallup. No reason really, it was just a pin in the map. I made a quick fuel stop in Grants. I was getting used to all the comments when I pulled up for fuel:
"That's a beautiful car....."
"Is that a '72 or a '73?" Seemed to be quite a popular question
I loved watching people's reactions when I replied "Actually, she's a '69"
"A '69? My gaaaad!!!"
The strangest reaction, however, was in the fuel station in Grants. There's a tyre shop next door; & as I filled her up, I noticed a guy get up out of his deck chair & walk over, looked at me, slowly walked round Gloria, looking at her, looked at me again & walked away to sit back down in his deck chair. All in complete silence. Bizarre.
We hummed along quite happily at around 70mph, & a shade under 3100rpm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xImiVm5I ... re=mh_lolz
Heading towards Albuquerque, I decided to take the Pre-1937 section of Roue 66, which heads north to Santa Fe. Again, no reason really, it just looked more interesting than cutting straight across on the Interstate.
As it turned out, taking this more northerly route did little to my journey, but add more miles to it. Remember I mentioned that local radio gives you a flavour for the area you are driving through? Well, in & around Santa Fe, they just love their jazz. No sign of Phil Collins or Country music on these airwaves.
Already today, I'd driven over 400 miles, & had been in the seat for close to 6 hours. I knew I had to start thinking about a place to stay for the night, so I headed for the nearest McD's to make use of their free wifi. Now, here's a tip: all the drive-thru McD's are an L-shape inside, so if you pop in the back door, near the loos, you can generally find a quiet spot where you won't be disturbed, or noticed so there's no need to spend extra dollars....
I pinpointed a small town called Tucumcari, some 60 miles away. It looked like a Route 66 destination, & I wasn't disappointed. I pulled up to the Blue Swallow Motel, a beautiful neon diamond in the middle of a barren dust hole, popped my head round the door & asked if they had a room.
Nancy, the owner asked if I'd like to take a look at the free room they had, so we wandered round the back to room 11. I have to be honest, I'm not sure what came over me.... When she opened the door, & I saw the beautiful, deep bed in a perfectly preserved 1950's room, I threw myself face down on the duvet shouting:
"I'M SLEEPING HEEEEEERRRE!!!!"
"So, it meets with your approval?" She replied, slightly taken aback. "Since you are British, would you like a cup of tea? I have some PG Tips that I ordered from Amazon."
"Yeeeeesssss!!!!!! This is HEAVVVVVVEEEENNN!!!!!"
Tell me, as a tea drinking Brit, that wouldn't be music to your ears too?
"Well, the kettle is a bit old, & takes ten minutes to boil, so I'll see you round the front when you are ready."
The Blue Swallow is a relic from the glory days of driving & the American Dream; & as such, each room has its own little garage. Not only did I have a fantastic bed for the night, but Gloria was tucked up inside, as well.
Happy that she was going to be warm & dry for the night, I headed down the street to find a Mexican; restaurant, that is....
(Actually photos from our cross-country trip going from East to West in the fall of 2008.)
