|
|
 |
 |
| I40/Rt66 - red, our trek - green |
Facing the prospect of traveling and writing about America's vast and diverse historic highway system, where do we begin? Since we are in north central New Mexico, which just happens to be the locale of a 165 mile lost section of the "Mother Road" -- Route 66 -- where better to start?
Like most of the original US highways, Route 66 was cobbled together from existing roadways. In the New Mexico of 1926, many roads followed old cattle and supply trails and few were paved. Try to imagine driving 506 miles of dirt and gravel roadway across deserts and through mountains in a Model T. That's what a 1920s tourist crossing New Mexico by Route 66 faced. Near Santa Rosa the westbound route veered north following the Pecos River valley, eventually joining the Santa Fe Trail -- now there's a historic highway!
 |
| Historic 20s photo - Descending La Bajada |
After following this rugged track west through the mountains to the old city of Santa Fe, the route turned south, careened down the harrowing La Bajada (the descent) escarpment to the Rio Grande valley, and eased on into Albuquerque before heading west again. In 1937 the route was realigned, now following the nearly straight line across the center of New Mexico that today's I40 still tracks. It was 107 miles shorter and paved!
Camped at Storrie Lake State Park near Las Vegas, NM, I was drawn to the old 1926 route, just minutes away. Timmy and I left our 5th wheel trailer and headed for the Santa Fe Trail. Motorists on Interstate 25 now cruise this historic route at 75 mph, but we drove nearly the entire length on frontage roads, remnants of the old 66 roadbed.
Starting at Romeroville, we found no sign indicating the significance of the roadway; it's just marked Frontage Road. We passed villages with names like Tecolote and San Jose, with many old stone and adobe cabaņas falling into ruin. At Rowe we saw the first Pre-1937 Historic US 66 sign. Just beyond we stopped at Pecos National Historical Park. Originally a Pecos Pueblo Indian settlement, then a 16th century Franciscan mission, this park is worth a stop. If you've ever wanted to climb down into a kiva, here's your chance. Past the town of Pecos, the Civil War's Glorieta Battlefield is also part of the park, but at present it's only open for pre-arranged tours.
 |
| Santa Fe Trail into Old Santa Fe by jkbrown |
A few miles farther on, we entered the outskirts of Santa Fe on its famous namesake trail. It's still a 2-lane road, curving down from the hills as it has for centuries. Don't take your big rig or tow your trailer here; this is day trip territory. Approaching the plaza at the heart of the old frontier city, you pass San Miguel, the oldest church structure in the country dating from 1610, nestled among shops and galleries. At trail's end, you can't follow the original route westbound, since Water Street, where old 66 turned left, is now one way the wrong way. But it's a good reason to park and stroll the old town center, browse its historic plaza and many shops and restaurants before pushing on.
We found our way to Cerrillos Road, which tracks the old Turquoise Trail south. Route 66 followed it out of town before heading across La Bajada Mesa. This section of the old roadbed is now inaccessible, but I hoped to find the descent shown in the 1920s photograph. And after a couple of false starts, we did. Lacking any historic signs, our persistence led us to the tiny village of La Bajada and its crumbling adobe tourist cabaņas.
 |
| La Bajada, 2005 by jkbrown |
The route is obvious from the village, snaking up the black lava escarpment. Bad as it was in the 20s, the road is worse now: severely eroded, with large exposed rocks. You need an ATV or a horse to travel it. Or boots. We parked our 4x4 pickup and hiked up through the steep desert landscape. I tried to imagine negotiating this roadway 75 years ago. Incredible! It was getting late with threatening skies, so after about a mile at a fork in the road, we paused to soak up a little historical ambiance and take a couple of photos. Then we headed back to our home on wheels, elated at having found this lost fragment of history.
The next day with the 5th wheel in tow, we headed down US84 which tracks old Route 66 south past ranching villages like La Montoyas and Apache Springs. Starting from pinion and juniper forest, the landscape gradually changes to cholla-studded Chihuahua desert as the highway descends 2000 feet. At Dilia, the old route headed southeast, but it's no longer accessible. We picked it up again at Interstate 40 west of Santa Rosa, but that's a different story. We'll track Route 66 to the Texas border in our next installment and see how things have changed over the years.
|
|
|
Travels With Charley
Join author John Steinbeck and his poodle Charley
on their 1960s "RV" trip across America. This is a delightful,
inspiring book that will both entertain and charm the RVer and would-be
RVer.
|
2006
Mapquest RV & Campsites Guide & Atlas
Finally, a road atlas especially for
RVers. This 2006 Mapquest road atlas and campground directory is the first
publication of its kind. Complete with state and Canadian province road
maps, color photos and 3700 campground listings.
|
Guide Book to Highway 66
(1946 reproduction)
Planning to get some RV kicks on Route
66? Learn about the highway as it was 50 years ago, and use it to trace
what remains of the road today.
|
|
|
|
|
