Route 66 - Gallup & Holbrook

We continued driving further west, driving through Albuquerque (which did almost feel like driving through an episode of Breaking Bad). We traveled along a section of Route 66 near the town of Mesita, which went around a sharp turn called "Dead Man's Curve" and then by Owl Rock. Located right on the side of the road, Owl Rock is a huge boulder that actually does look a little bit like an owl.



The sun began to set, lighting up the clouds and the mountains. I stopped the car around the town of Cubero to take some pictures while the light was good.



We then tried to drive a bit closer to the mountains, driving a few miles north from I-40 and Route 66. We stopped at a parking area for a small cemetery, mostly because the road then turned into a bumpy looking dirt road.







As I was getting back into the car to leave, I looked over and saw a small rainbow in the distance. So I rushed over to get a few shots. Here's one with the rainbow hanging over some cacti.



We hopped back on the freeway as the sun began to set. It was dark when we arrived in Gallup to get gas, and we decided to get dinner there. We ended up eating in the restaurant at the El Rancho Hotel, an old historic hotel along Route 66. The hotel was built in 1936 by the brother of film director D.W. Griffith, with a rustic feel of an old hunting lodge. The hotel catered to the Hollywood stars staying there while making films, and the walls of the lobby are lined with pictures of John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Humprey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn, Errol Flynn and Kirk Douglas.



After dinner we headed west into Arizona, and stopped in Holbrook. After checking into our hotel, I drove over to the take some pictures of the Wigwam Motel (I wish we were able to have stayed there that night!). The Wigwam Motel is on Route 66, and was built in 1950.



Each room of the motel is actually a large concrete wigwam, each one standing 28 feet tall. The owners have parked vintage cars in front of each wigwam, many with names that refer back to the movie Cars.



And the motel's office, which unfortunately didn't have the neon lights turned on that night. I took a few pictures here before heading back to our hotel, which was boring and not shaped like anything interesting.