Elk City Oklahoma to Albuquerque New Mexico

I drove 432 miles from Elk City Oklahoma to Albuquerque New Mexico today. We did have to stop at Amarillo International Airport to exchange our rental car because of a tire that had a slow leak. The helpful Enterprise agent tried to put us in a compact car after we had paid for a full size SUV but we declined. We're driving a minivan now and it's comfortable and roomy. We mainly stuck to highway 40 but did stop for lunch in at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo Texas. It's a very large restaurant but there were very few people there. Rules regarding social distancing and use of face masks were being enforced so that was good. We had fun and the food was good.

We crossed into New Mexico and once we did the clouds and rain were left behind. It was 46 degrees when we left Elk City. When we arrived in New Mexico it was 79.

Kathy made a hotel reservation for us in Albuquerque, but we wanted to drive down old Route 66 for a bit to see the city of Tucumcari New Mexico first. Our first stop was the Blue Swallow Motel which is a historic attraction on Route 66 and has been serving customers since 1939. We met Rob, one of the owners while we were taking some photos of the property. He rightly asks that no one sells images of the hotel without their permission. We of course agreed to this, so no sales of the images taken here for any purpose. Please respect their request as we do and support this important small business enterprise along with the others along Route 66.

Next we visited the TePee Curios shop which I had seen on youtube. We found some great stuff to buy and met the owners who were very helpful.

After that we got back on the highway and saw a spectacular sunset as we arrived in Albuquerque. Tomorrow  we are headed west again although we might backtrack a little and head north to visit Santa Fe or head south to visit Sedona. Either way in the days to come we will pass through Gallup, Winslow, Flagstaff, and who knows where else. Great day today.