One thing about travelling on Route 66 is some of the small towns that you see dilapidating along the side of the road, all kind of start to blend. As was the case through this stretch of New Mexico, we entered a small village with almost nothing to it, but the road doubled in size with a median down the middle. We were commenting on how odd that was, when “Welcome to Grants” passed by the window.
We pulled over next to a large recreation area where the new 66 drive-through sign beckoned us to drive through. After, we took some photos of the artwork lining the park and a few more sights before we decided to find a hotel to stay the night.
We had heard about Grants Underground Mining Museum, and that it was worth a stop. The next morning we asked a young man about it, and he told us, “It’s really cool. You ride this elevator far down into a real old Uranium mine that they made safe to take tours.” We thought, “Wow, OK, that sounds amazing”. So we decided to go.
The Grants Underground Mining Museum opens at 9 am and sits right off Route 66 in the middle of the town. Once we were inside, Jack, a retired miner, greeted us.
We paid our admission, which was a fiver apiece and walked over to watch a 12-minute video before going down to the mine.
elevator ride into the mine
Once the video finished, we rushed over to the elevator. The doors open, we entered, press the mine button and the elevator lurched to descend deep into the earth.
My stomach began to come alive as I started to imagine what we were about to… wait for a second. Somethings not right. Why did the elevator stop? We looked at each other baffled. We’ve only come down one floor. It’s not a real mine; it’s a bloody recreation!
Underground in the mine
The young man from the hotel was probably nieve, and genuinely thought that this was a real mine, or maybe he was pranking us. Never the less, this recreation is pretty neat, and we were the only two in the whole place. In all honesty, do you think they would let the public take tours of an actual Uranium mine?
Each little nook has been carefully crafted to show how the conditions were in a real mine. The blasting room, drilling room, the shafts and all the equipment. It’s a one-way self-guided walking tour.
deep underground – slide show
Back to grants underground mining museum
After the lunchroom, you come back to the elevator. We took the long journey topside and meandered through the rest of the museum. There are artefacts of actual mining equipment and a dinosaur bone they found in one of the mines nearby.
We had a chat with Jack to learn more about the mining industry and all the changes he’d seen with Route 66 before and after the constructions of the 40 freeway.
Grants, however, is making a great effort keeping this little town a clean place, embracing Route 66, and is definitely worth stopping.
For $5.00, this little museum is worth a visit. It is exciting and informative. Their hours of operation are Monday – Saturday, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. Give yourself at least an hour to explore its entirety.
grants underground mining museum – in a nutshell
- Address: 100 Iron Ave, Grants, NM 87020
- Admission – $5.00 per person
- Hours – Monday – Saturday 9am – 4pm. Closed Sunday
- Time – approximately one hour to explore
- There is no official website for this museum
Location Map
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