Paisley's Adventures, Travels, and Explorations. : New Mexico Part Two

After visiting the cliff dwellings, we began our long drive home. The already long drive was made even longer by all the stops we made, but who's complaining? Most of the time I was the only one getting out of the car and I would end up jogging at times to get the shots I wanted. Josh and the girls would trail me in the car.

The first stop on our trip home was Clines Corner. What has been deemed New Mexico's largest gift shop really is something to see! It's huge! We all picked out some mementos, which was no easy task, and grabbed some snacks. Then on the road again! Next stop, Cuervo.

Cuervo, New Mexico was established in 1901. With the railroad, and later cattle business, the town did well until the interstate literally cut it in half. The roads were rough here, so I went on foot and I might have felt like tomb raider a little bit as I was looking for snakes among the brush.

I adore this little, yellow house.

Catholic Church in Cuervo.

Interesting decorations in Cuervo.

A house in Cuervo.

Tucumcari - What an awesome place to drive through. One of my favorite things about the Route 66 trip is how these towns have embraced this part of their history. Well, the towns that are still actually "towns". Rolling through Tucumcari was heaven to me- I love the roadside motels and all the brightly colored signs. I wish we could have spent a whole day there but when you're doing it in a weekend, and live about half a days drive away, you don't have too many choices. ;) We may just have to plan a trip back. Someday I hope to be able to do the Route 66 trip, in it's entirety. Tucumcari was also formed in 1901, though it didn't get the name Tucumcari until 1908. I read that the name Tucumcari came from a nearby mountain, with the same name. The story behind how the mountain got it's name is not entirely clear.

My favorite image captured in Tucumcari.

In Glenrio, we met a German couple, who had been traveling the ENTIRE Route 66 road trip. It was the husband's second time. It was awesome visiting with them for a little bit and they gave us some ideas of places to stop and eat sometime. Glenrio is on the border of New Mexico and Texas and was founded a few years after the railroad was established in the area.

Of course we couldn't make this trip without stopping at the Cadillac Ranch, just outside of Amarillo. Let me tell you- these cars have so many layers of spray paint on them, they seem like they are solid rubber. We didn't have any spray paint, but some people handed us their can as they were leaving and we were arriving. We left our mark, which probably lasted MAYBE an hour before they were undoubtedly covered up. They were quite a few people there when we stopped, and it was a BRIGHT and HOT day.

My terrible attempt at a paisley design. I am not talented with the medium of spray paint....

Conway, Texas- Our next stop after we left Amarillo was Conway. The treasures we found there were totally unexpected. There was a Cadillac Ranch type display with VW BUGS! I loved it. I later found out that it's been dubbed Slug Bug Ranch.