We start our journey from the boarder town of Glenrio and travel half-way to Amarillo on Route 66.
Also known as the “Lone Star State”, Texas is the second-largest state in the USA and Route 66 runs through the “Panhandle” which is the northern end of the state, also the narrowest. 150 miles of the old route still remain from its original 178 miles.
Glenrio Ghost Town
The border town of Glenrio is yet another ghost town from the booming days of Route 66. Half of this forgotten town lies in New Mexico, the other in Texas.
Here is another example of a very small town that’s died. Once home to men women and children who would wake up, go to work and school, walk and drive along what’s now overgrown empty tarmac. A crosswalk void of pedestrians, a café that will never more fill mugs of coffee, a petrol station pumps that have long vanished.
A post office whose last letter delivered could never understand the gravity of its significance at that moment. A door shut and latched for the last time to rust until it ceases to perform its one and only duty.
All because you can save a few more minutes by taking the freeway instead. Would Glenrio have ever become the must-stop place on your journey, who knows! It is fun to let your mind wander down that corridor though,
lure to road trips
That is part of the lure to road trips. Yes, Route 66 itself is iconic and a must-do road trip, yet also taking a little street just to see where it leads and get lost for a while is just as important in our opinion. Give a road that hasn’t seen a lot of traffic a purpose once again, give the small townsfolk something different to look at and a new topic to gossip about, “…remember those crazy tourists who were lost here and started taking photos with their cameras.”
Take the time to slow down enjoy the quiet and solitude the open road provides you. It will take you to places that were once lively and bustling, which would love a quick “Hello”. Places that are alive with lots to see and do, beckoning you to share a few precious minutes of your life, together. Finally, places that are still yet to become roads paved awaiting someone to call them home.
Now let’s continue our journey from the ghost town of Glenrio to Amarillo, Texas on Route 66.
Boise & Gruhlkey
At Boise, you can see where the abandoned Rock Island Railway used to run. The lines have all be removed, although some of the original bridges can still be seen.
Passing through Gruhlkey, where the road follows the Rock Island Railway, now abandoned, we came to the town of Adrian, midway point of Route 66, and a great photo op of the “Welcome” MidPoint sign, stating that both Los Angeles and Chicago are of equal distance – 1139 miles!
Adrian
And the MidPoint Café which was also the inspiration of Flo’s V8 Café in the film Cars. In fact, the former owner was the real-life person of the character of Flo. She now runs the store next door.
The MidPoint Café which literally straddles the mid-way line, was once so popular with Route 66 travellers that it stayed open 24 hours a day.
There are 3 vintage, abandoned or former gas stations in Adrian.
The Bent Door Café was known as Tommy’s Café in the early 1960s and was a popular stop for travellers. Part of the building is made up of a salv
Vega
VEGA is now as the Solar Capital of Texas being the 7th sunniest place in the US. Taking a mooch around town we found the Old Court House which is situated on NE corner of US 385 (N.Main) and Coke St. built 1915.
Opposite is Magnolia gas Station on older 66 which has the original 1920s appearance. Now it is a visitor centre.
Roark’s 214 South Main Street is the oldest hardware store still in operation along the whole of Route 66.
Vega Motel 1005 W. Vega Blvd is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and in the 1940s was a classic hotel.
Cadillac Ranch
Only in America can you find obscure and quirky attractions like Cadillac Ranch, open to the public 24/7 and is absolutely free and it can only be accessed from I-40 from Glenrio to Amarillo, Texas – Route 66. Here you will see ten Cadillacs, buried nose down in the dirt, all in single file and graffitied ’til there’s no tomorrow. All the cars are facing east to west.
The models range from 1948 to 1963, once elegant and stylish, now rusted and rotting were relocated to their present position in 1997 and was a creation by a group of artists known as the Ant Farm from San Francisco.
Amarillo
Well, they say everything is big in Texas and maybe that is true.
It certainly is when they talk about their steaks! At the Big Texan Steak House in Amarillo, you can order a 72 oz slab of bull, and if you eat it all in one sitting, including the sides, the meal is free!
more route 66 landmarks
For real Route 66 enthusiasts, here is a list of some of the landmarks. How many can you find?
- Amarillo Triangle Motel 7954 East Amarillo Blvd. was built between 1946 and 52 on a triangular site at the intersection. It included a service station and a cafe.
- Go down Historic 6th Street – brick paved streets were laid in 1910
- Old Cowboy Motel sign
- Route 66 in Amarillo marker – 6th Ave between Georgia and McMasters St.
- Paramount Theatre – 817 South Polk Street – now having been reconstructed into offices, this magnificent building once sat 1,433 spectators, and the interior was endowed with murals, red carpeting and a pipe organ. Between 1932 – 1977
- Ranchotel Historic Motel – 2501 West Sixth Ave was converted into apartments in 1953 but once was a charming motel which had gabled roofs, wagon-wheel handrails, wooden windows and shutters, and stucco walls and chimneys. Adding to the allure the 16 units had a rustic feel and the decor was furnished with cowhide lampshades and horseshoe shaped mirrors.
- Hubbell Duplex 3912 West Sixth is one of the few buildings which hasn’t been modified since it was built in 1925 as a duplex.
- Taylor’s Texaco Station – 3512 West Sixth
- Dutch Mill Service Station and Cafe – 3401 West Sixth – built in 1932.
- Carolina building 3313-23 West Sixth
- Adkinson-Baker Tire Company 3200 West Sixth
- Borden’s Heap-O-Cream – 3120 West Sixth
- Cazzell Buildings 2806 and 2801 West Sixth
- San Jacinto Fire Station 610 South Georgia built in 1926 and remained in use until 1975.
- The Natatorium 604 South Georgia build 1922 housing a swimming pool until being converted into a ballroom in 1926. Noted to be the ugliest building in Amarillo.
Route 66 from Glenrio to Amarillo, Texas
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