Hot Rods on Route 66

Day 2 of the Ultimate Summer Road Trip (afternoon~Part 1)

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

After refreshing ourselves with a dip in the Montezuma Hot Springs and a latte in Las Vegas, NM, we rejoined the pre-1937 alignment of historic Route 66 south to Santa Rosa, NM. (As an aside, we were able to follow the historic alignments due to the excellent mapping & guiding resources that are Jerry McClanahan and Jim Ross.) The ROUTE 66 MAP SET and EZ66 GUIDE FOR TRAVELERS kept us on a route that no longer exists on the maps…

http://www.national66.org/super_store/index.html#guide

One of the “Explorer Kits” available on the website above would be a good investment for anyone wanting to travel the Route; as they say “Route 66 is not on ordinary maps and there are very few road signs marking it. Here is everything you’ll need to find, explore and enjoy the Mother Road from Chicago to Santa Monica (all the important alignments).”

That afternoon we arrived in Santa Rosa, NM ~The City of Natural Lakes, The Oasis on Route 66, The Jewel of New Mexico… The first thing on our agenda was The Route 66 Auto Museum, which exhibits an impressive collection of vintage cars and Route 66 memorabilia. My husband was absolutely wild to see the vintage automobiles on display.

Suspended Auto. Photo by Author.

Outside The Route 66 Auto Museum. Photo by Author.

One Happy Husband.

Hot Rods. Photo by Author.

Inside Route 66 Auto Museum. Photo by Author.

Miss Marilyn

Interior View. Photo by Author.

Relics of the Old Road....Photo by Author.

Flaming

All in all, this was a great place to visit, especially if you are into old cars. Some of the vintage autos on display were even for sale… there was a 70’s era Gremlin that I’m pretty sure was for sale. Interesting things about the Gremlin that you may not know -it was introduced on April Fool’s Day, 1970 and enjoys a cult-like following in today’s collectible car market. Keep that in mind the next time you play trivia!