Road trips are the best! One of the best ones to go on is the Mother Road, Route 66. Route 66 ran from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California, and hit so many wonderful towns along the way. It is called the Mother Road because it spawned America’s love affair with the road trip. As it gained popularity, numerous towns cashed in on the craze of driving to the west. One of the most famous of them all is found in Tucumcari, New Mexico.
Tucumcari is located about 40 miles from the Texas border along I-40, the road that took over Route 66 in many places. When 40 came in, it bypassed all of the wonderful small towns whose lifeline was feeding and housing weary travelers. Instead of stopping and taking in all a town had to offer, travelers wanted to just pass through. They began opting for a quick hotel stay at a chain by the on-ramp and bypassed places with character and community.
Cars Town
The Disney movie, Cars, does a good job of telling the story of the small town along Route 66 that was hit with hard times. As a matter of fact, Tucumcari, New Mexico is the town that Radiator Springs was based on. Just like in the movie, Tucumcari fell on hard times. But, there has been a movement over the past decade to bring this once great town back to its former glory.
Tucumcari, New Mexico became famous because of the billboards found along the Mother Road that simply read, “Tucumcari Tonite”. The reason for that is because there were so many incredible motels that had over 2,000 rooms available for travelers. Motorists would plan their whole trip around getting to Tucumcari in time to find a room at one of their famous motels. There was nothing better than to ride in on the main strip and see the neon lights hit you from every side. Today, people are coming in and renovating many of the famous motels that once made Tucumcari proud – neon lights and all.
If you are like us and love a good road trip, Tucumcari, New Mexico is a must stop along the road. It takes you back to a time when traveling was simpler. Where you stopped and took a breath at the end of a long day. Where you got to know the staff and management of motels, restaurants, and shops that you visited. Tucumcari, New Mexico is the perfect place to get back to the roots of our road trippin’ heritage. Below is all you need to know in order to have an awesome time in this wonderful Route 66 town.
Where To Stay
As mentioned above, there are a ton of really awesome motels that you can stay in. These are not modern hotels, they have been refurbished to their 1940’s and 50’s glory. Most of the rooms are smaller, but not so small for a family of four. The bathrooms are a little dated, smaller showers and older plumbing, but the place we stayed at was exceptionally clean and the reviews and videos we have watched of other motels would make us think the same for them.
We stayed at the historic Blue Swallow Motel. They have been in operation since 1939 and this was just a fabulous experience. This is probably the most famous motel from the old Route 66 along with the Wigwam motels of California and Arizona. The rooms are really comfortable and surprisingly affordable. During a recent trip to New Mexico and Colorado it ended up being one of the cheaper rooms we got, but probably the most memorable.
What stands out the most is the incredible neon light sign. We had so much fun just taking picture after picture of it as it came on and the night got darker. We weren’t the only ones either, people came from all over to line up to take pictures. Most of them weren’t even staying at the motel. A really great thing about the motel is the courtyard that everyone hung out in and relaxed after a long day on the road. Robert and Dawn who own the place were incredibly welcoming and kind. Robert makes a mean pot of coffee and it flows freely. If you get to stay there, spend some time with him hearing about how he came to own the place.
There are plenty of other great motels in the area. Motel Safari and the Roadrunner Lodge both have been highly recommended and when we go back we will try and stay at one of those.
Pro Tip: If you want one of the historic motels, get a reservation early. Those rooms are limited.
Where To Eat
You won’t find a ton of chain restaurants in town, those are off on the highway. However, there are plenty of great local places to eat. We had a great meal at Del’s right on the main drag, a short walk from our motel. They have a very large menu with something for everyone, a nice salad bar which was nice after eating a not-so-healthy lunch, and a lot to look at while the food is cooking. They have a really cool little gift shop that we enjoyed checking out, along with plenty of history all over the walls. Our son said he had the best burger of the trip that night for dinner.
Other restaurants that were recommended to us were La Cita, a Mexican restaurant with incredible neon lights. This is one of the most popular places to eat by locals and tourists alike. Watson’s BBQ and Kix on 66 are also good options. Kix is best for breakfast. Maybe the best thing we ate while in town though were the donuts we had from Donut Pro. These donuts were just majestic, perfectly made in every way. The family that owns the place is really great, and you get a lot for your money here.
Donut Pro Tip: If you go to Donut Pro, get the Old Fashioned, the best one we have ever had.
Where To Shop
There are plenty of places to get some Route 66 and Tucumcari souvenirs around town. Pretty much every restaurant and motel has a gift shop attached to it. The two best places to shop though are the Route 66 Welcome Center and Gift Shop and TeePee Curios. We enjoyed TeePee Curios the best. They had a really great selection, and the building itself was just special. There is a pretty scary looking skeleton called The Helk on a truck outside, so make sure you don’t get attacked by him. Like many other places along the main drag, TeePee Curios has some incredible neon. It may be the best behind the Blue Swallow Motel.
Pro Tip: If you go in to TeePee Curios, throw a couple of bucks into the box to help keep the neon on if you can.
What To Do
Tucumcari isn’t about doing things, it is about experiencing it, taking a step back in time. So, when you get to Tucumcari spend time slowing down and taking it all in. Drive the main strip at night looking at the neon. Hopefully, as more people come back to the town more neon will get restored, but what is there now is really great. Walk around and take pictures of it and just imagine what the town was like in its hey day.
During the day, take an hour or so and drive around the downtown area looking at all of the murals. There are almost 100 murals around town. Tucumcari has done a great job of putting together a map and checklist of them, so see how many you can find. We loved the Tucumcari Tonite! mural on the side of Motel Safari and the Legendary Road mural on the side of Lowe’s Market.
Another great thing to do is to check out the Mesalands Community College’s Dinosaur Museum. There are a ton of dinosaur bones collected by students of the college, and many replicas statues. The cost is pretty cheap as well – $6.50 for adults and $4 for kids. It isn’t a super large museum, but it will keep you busy for an hour or two.
Have you ever been to Tucumcari or another old road tripping town? What are some of your favorites. Hope you can get out and get your kicks on Route 66 soon, and that takes you to the neon lights of Tucumcari, New Mexico.
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