DOH!!!! Good to thelast crack...

Greetings once again from Enchanted Trails at the zenith of 9 mile hill.  (coincidentally, about 9 miles West of Albuquerque).  Funny how that works!!

'Twas a little late to arise as I photographed late into the night.  On my first trip on the Route, I had taken the pre 1937 alignment which enters Alby from the North, and heads due South to Los Lunas.  Post 1937, which bypasses Santa Fe, enters Alby on Central, and continues 18 miles West.  What an incredible town.  Two posts prior, and had talked about signs.   And last night, was able to see them in their incredible gaseous glow. 

Pretty cool, huh??

Irony strikes again.  Just yesterday as I was extolling the virtues of the Coleman java machine, and getting ready to start a caffeine fueled day, TRADGEY!!

I wondered about the sensibility of a glass pot for camping.  What great idea this was.  Perhaps it a sign I"m drinking to much???   NAH.........

Cooking bacon, mmmm, bacon, soon to be frying up some eggs, (I'm camping) and will be headed West.  Should be in Arizona in a few hours!!

Oh, by the way, all of these images are available for purchase.  Check out my other exciting and fabulous images of Route 66 at    handcolored66.com, or send me an email.

Adios

Route 66 - It's not just the road, but the great people you meet

After being flooded with request's for picture of moi', I managed to get one a few hours ago.

Here I am, busy at work, your very humble correspondent..  Coffee, my Netbook, and plenty of thoughts.  And speaking of coffee, I picked up a Coleman Drip Coffemaker.  Works with the portable stoves, and it works well!!  A tip, only fill about halfway with water to start.  Get's going much faster!!  MMMM, coffee!!

OK, Allright, get to the good stuff Gordo......if I have to!!

Here are a few early morning shots from the Enchanted Trails Camping Resort. 

I'm not sure if what I did  was camping, but I"m going to call it camping as I slept in my sleeping bag, and am using my camping implments for cooking.

 Yes, those are my legs.. Hey, it's a small space!!

The groovy trailer I crashed in was manufactured by the Zollinger Corporation... This little gem is the VA-KA-SHUN-ETTE.

  Say it three times, you'll get it.  Manufactured in 1954, very few remain from this timeless period.    Enchanted Trails, while primarily an RV Park, is very soon going to have three different of the vintage shacks for rent.  A very sexy 69 Airstream,   a '75 Silverstreak, and a 1950 Spartan.  Vickie, the Marshall of Trails, is searching for more of these gems.  If you  are aware of any, contact her at  Enchanted Trails.

Having such a great time here, and needing deperately to catch up on "work".....primarily working on photo's and making proofs for future clients, I decided to spend the entire day.  It is already 1:36pm, and I"ve yet to begin!   Dale, an Aussie who contacted me a few weeks ago to purchase the Motherload of the Mother Road, (a complete set of 66 the first edition art cards)  caught up with me here.    He flew into LA a few days back, and is driving to Chicago to take 31 of his fellow Aussie's on a tour of the Route.  They are renting 31 2010 Mustang Convertible's, and doing the entire route not only in style, but also doing it accurately and historically.  He is quite knowledgeable and does these tours about 3 times a year.  I have tried several times to upload his picture, but it will not work!!  So, you get my artsy farsty self portrait.

My day now begins.

Oh, and to rap up, it is not just the road, but the people you meet.  Most giving honest people I've ever encountered. 

Signs, Signs, Signs

Started the day early.  Yes, I took this pic outside the Thunderbird at 6:15am!!

 Can't beat being able to park close to your door!!

Spent the night at the Thunderbird Hotel on Cerillos in Santa Fe. Great value, great vintage charm.  I'll be baaaaack.  Santa Fe is a very cool town.  No wonder the NPS has an incredible complex.    Not to pick favorites but it has a great art district, with galleries, jewelry and soon to be another home of handcolored66.com

First stop was an unannounced pop in (well not completely true, I called on Sunday night to warn both  John and Kaisa of my presence and to also tell them I had presents)  to the NPS which houses some very important folks.  Met Kaisa Barthuli and had a great visit.  Here she is hard at work!!

It was casual Monday!!!  I'm a big believer in Casual Monday's, Tuesday's,............I don't think I've worn a tie in over 10 years.  Sure don't miss that noose!!

Kaisa made me hip to an interesting point to which I was not aware.....That all, (one is in question) of the classic motel's on Cerrillos were built post 1937.   So why does that matter?  Well, for you other stickler's for details like myself....it means they were never on "66".  Think about it.   They were built after the "Guvnah" changed the alignment....Still worth the loop up, as many classic places exist.

Probably the nicest of them all is the El Rey.

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1265818907635608957

They claim to have been built in 1936.  So, if that is true, it is the only property in Santa Fe to have actually been a true Route 66 motel.


Acting on an tip, I drove back to plaza area to check out a card shop.  The name of the shop is Marcy Street Card Shop,and they very likely will be the first and foremost dealer of HC66 cards in fashionably hip SF.  Hoping to garner some miles, I headed west, and decided to check out La Bajada Hill.  Met a  fewcows on the way.

La Bajada Hill  is rich with history, most of which I don't know and what I do I'm not telling!!  Enjoy the pics.
 

For you virgins to Route 66 history, if you look closely at the above pic, you can faintly see the zig zag of what was once the path over La Bajada Hill.  It is accessible by a real 4 wheel vehicle...Not the soccer Mom editions!!  While at the bottom of the hill, I met a dude from Minnesota.  He was accompanied by his daughter and I guess Mother.  She was a local, living somewhere around, and I'm sure the spelling is wrong, Lake Conchita??   Lake  Cornholio!!  Take me to your leader!!!   Anyway, we discussed the hill, and the guy told me his sister had done her thesis on the Neon of Route 66....(maybe the Southwest, I can't remember).  So I told him of my hawking, showed him some cards, and when putting them away, (I"m such a pushy salesman), he said he wanted to buy some!!!  BIG #$^ SALE of the day!!  I can go to Subway and buy a foot long!!  (If you don't get it, he purchased 5 cards=$5.00=Foot long).  His Mom, or Aunt, told me that just before crossing the bridge to get to the base, was a former motel. Here is the pic taken from the handcolored66 mobile command center. 

 Due to my up most integrity and fear of getting shot, I don't like to photograph inhabited structures.  But what the hell!!

Nothing wrong about this view!!!

Left Posada and decided to do a little side trip to Madrid.  Great ride on a gravely road,  (Garmin needs to somehow make the software show paved / unpaved roads).  The town was a big disappointment.  I should have known better.  If you are a fan of the movie Wild Hogs, this is the town which was used.  The cafe remains, and that is all.  But I got a few nice shots on the way to the town....

A bit off the route, so i headed South to pickup the Mother Road just East of Albuquerque.  Albuquerque should be in all spelling bee's.  One toughy it is!!  My previous trip I entered ALBY from the north, and missed almost all of Central.  Signs, Signs, Signs everywhere!!

Can you tell I like the signs??  Hi, my name is Gordo.  I like signs and the Tin Man!!



Last stop of the day was the Enchanted Gardens RV and gift shop just past 9 mile hill.  And I"m glad I did stop.  Another of Croc's great recommendations.  The proprietor, Vicky  AshCraft, was not only enchanting, but also gracious!!  Another smart cookie, she wanted to be the first in Alby to carry the cards.  And she is.  More than a motherload was delivered.  It is where I'm staying tonight.  In a classic trailer......Pictures will follow tomorrow.    For any of you RV folk, this is the place to stay in ALBY. 

A one armed prick,. a lady named Mary, and disaster!! (well, not totally)

Ola Mi Amigo's, Amiga's, and other anonymous readers.  I"ve neglected the blog a little, and from the thousands of emails I've received saying, "where's my fill of Gordo", all I can say is the joy is overwhelming.  Late nights and early mornings have made it a little difficult to compose.  But I'm ready now.

My previous blog was brief, (to me), so I"ll try to catch you up to date on my progress.

Saturday I left the Crocodile Domicile about 11:00am, and headed to the Big Texan.  Strike out again!!  The winds in the panhandle are downright brutal!!  They must have been gusting at 40 mph..  Often it was difficult to keep a grasp on the car door when exiting the Handcolored66.com  cruising vessel.  Made a quick stop at the Cadillac Ranch and met a cool cat named Martin from Dublin.  He was also doing a bit of 66.   We exchanged greetings, and mostly bitched about how freakin' cold it was!!

Hit the swinging City of Vega.     VEGA BABY!!!  I kept shouting, as if anyone could hear or care!!!   Found this great 'ole Texaco sign, and a few others...  Wow, I've spent the last few minutes looking at pictures of Vega.  I need to giddy up!!  In the final shot, it appears as the water tower is peeking!!


Adrain Texas was next, and this cool truck sits outside the cafe where the locals eat and play...

Something about Texas.  Probably my two favorite "towns" border Texas.  Texola on the East, and Glenrio to the West.  These towns really exemplify the devastation the interstate caused.

I'm getting tired sitting and I think the fine folks at the Pantry Cafe located on Route 66 in Santa Fe are tiring of me drinking all their coffee!!  Plans today are to make a stop by the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation office,  shoot many more groovy images, and enjoy the wonders and beauty of Route 66.

Oh yea, I need to explain the titles.....

Asswipe in Cuervo.  A few old building remain in Cuervo, located immediately to the north of 66.  They basically sit on 66.   Last time through, nothing really tickled my lala and I did not shoot a thing.    I found something to shoot this time, and within moments wanted to shoot something else.  I was not out of my car for 2 seconds and this one armed dude comes walking up.....He said, "Hey, I got no parking....see the signs?  I really hate people stopping and taking pictures of my buildings....Sure appreciate it".  ASSWIPE!!

Great lady named Mary at the Route 66 Restaurant in Santa Rosa.  Classic Diner, newest retailer of handcolored66 art cards, and overall great place.  I'd be posting a picture but, last night, while trying to upload my photos of yesterday to this notebook, the digital gremlins took over.  I lost all of my shots from yesterday.  %^*#%^*#%&(#&%(#&(.  Fortunately, I think these remains will remain.

I'll try to fill ya in more later....Motel Safari in Tucumcari, and other points West.