Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 8b, Gallup, New Mexico (2019)

Route66 view east, Gallup, New Mexico (Hasselblad 501CM, 250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens)

Gallup was the "big town" on Route 66 in western New Mexico. It was a popular stopover for Hollywood film starts in the era of Western movies. Today, it is a hub for people from remote stretches of the Navajo Nation and from lonely ranches to stock up on household supplies, liquor, and drinking water (and probably drugs). The town is pretty rough, with liquor stores, payday loan shops, and detox centers. Homelessness is a big problem.

The old Route 66 parallels the railroad tracks and still features old motels, gas stations, fast food dives, payday loan shops, and other establishments that cater to travelers. I-40 is on the north side of the tracks, and many travelers just rush by, skipping Gallup entirely.

Many of these old motels are still in business. During two previous visits to Gallup, I stayed in the famous El Rancho Hotel, which formerly hosted Hollywood stars, who came to Gallup during filming of Western movies. But this trip, the El Ranch was rather expensive and I opted to enjoy authentic Route 66 ambience (and save $$) by staying in a old-time motel. I found one, the El Capitan, which looked a bit less dive-like than the ones in the photographs above. My room was clean and the proprietor friendly. My co-travelers were a mixed bunch: many oil field workers, some tourists, and some bums.

The El Rancho, where I stayed in 2016 (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

If you stop in Gallup, you really need to enjoy the hospitality and ambience of the El Rancho, unless you really prefer a dive motel.

The El Morro theater, on Coal Avenue, is still in business. According to Wikipedia, "The El Morro Theater in Gallup, New Mexico was built in 1928. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. It was deemed notable as "the only example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in Gallup." It was designed by Carl Boller, of the Boller Brothers architectural firm."

4th Street, Gallup, New Mexico (Kodak Ektar 25 film, Yashica Electro 35CC camera)

This one belongs in color: a garage on 4th Street with murals. I saw a number of buildings like this - well done!

I only spent one night in Gallup and did not look around too much. It looks like the city is trying, but most of the town is dumpy. A friend of my daughter taught school in Gallup as part of the Teach for America program. She reported that it was very difficult because the poverty was horrifying, coupled with deep-seated drug and alcohol issues. That sounds like so much of rural America on our race to the bottom.

The square photographs are from Kodak Tri-X 400 film and my Hasselblad 501CM camera. The color frame of the garage on 4th Street is from the long-discontinued Kodak Ektar 25 film in a 35mm Yashica Electro 35CC camera.

May 6, 2020 update: Gallup and the Navajo Nation have suffered severely from the Coronavirus. The State of New Mexico had to invoked the Riot aw to lock down the city. "The lockdown comes as state and local authorities grapple with one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the United States on the nearby Navajo Nation, the country’s largest Indian reservation, and a surge in detected cases in places near the reservation." (from NY Times)

Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66 - Part 8, Western New Mexico

Let's continue our drive along The Mother Road, Route 66, into New Mexico, the "Land of Enchantment." Crossing the border from Arizona to New Mexico, I was running short on time and could not follow all sections of old 66. In many areas, 66 followed the frontage road paralleling Interstate 40 - I think the original pavement is gone. I headed to Gallup to find a hotel.

The famous El Rancho Hotel is still in business. The western motif is possibly a bit over-the-top, but this is Route 66, and the El Rancho really does ooze the ambiance of the old west, glamour, and movie stars. Numerous stars stayed here while filming classic westerns during the 1930s and 1940s, and guest rooms are labeled with their names rather than numbers. Today, European and Asian tourists love the place.

It would be hard to find a more exuberant lobby than this amazing timber and portrait-filled space with two stately curving wood stairs leading up to the rooms. There is a tiny elevator off to one side, and the desk clerk needs to operate it with a manual lever. I wonder if they once had a fellow dressed as an Indian Chief run the lift?

They assigned me to the Lorraine Day room, which was cosy. The compact bathroom had a tub and plumbing fittings similar to the ones in our 1920s house. The restaurant in the El Rancho is not very inspiring.

Unfortunately, the rest of Gallup is uninspiring, as well. Other than the El Rancho, the other lodgings looked rough. In the morning, I packed up and departed.

I had to push on and continued east. Wow, many people drive 90 mph along Interstate 40. At high altitude, I had to push the old Volvo hard - pedal to the metal. Fortunately, I was able to find gasoline stations with 100% gasoline (meaning no ethanol), which runs better in European cars that predate the ethanol boondogle.

The "top of the world" is the North American Continental Divide, here at an elevation of 7,245 ft (2,208 m).

This map shows the western continental divide, generated from various data sources at ArcGIS.com (hosted by Esri  (a.k.a. Environmental Systems Research Institute)). West of this dividing line, rainfall flows to the Gulf of California or Pacific Ocean, while rainfall to the east makes its way into the Mississippi River basin and, eventually, to the Gulf of Mexico. In Arizona and west New Mexico, although water flows into the Colorado River, very little reaches the Gulf of California because most is diverted along the way for agriculture and urban use.

Continuing east, I reached Grants, a town in Cibola County, about 80 miles west of Albuquerque. The old Swap Meet had not been swapping for many years.

The pawn shop was a bit more active, with plenty of "old-fashioned" stuff to give it the antique look. The Continental Divide Trail passes near here, and many through hikers pick up supplies or rest in Grants.

The historic Rio Puerco bridge, crossing the Rio Puerco, was built in the 1930s under a program funded by President Roosevelt's administration. It is a Parker truss design bridge, common in the 1920s and 1930s. Interstate 40 now carries traffic across the valley, and this old bridge is for pedestrian use only.

Next stop: Albuquerque.

Photographs taken with a Fuji X-E1 digital camera with various lenses. I broke my Fuji film camera earlier in the trip and therefore could not take real photographs with black and white film.