My original plan was breakfast at the 66 Diner… but they didn’t open till 11. So we went to another place – GREAT food.
From there, I decided it was time to go back to the Nuclear Museum. Still a cool place. It was time to replace the T-shirt that was falling apart form the last time I Was there.
Off to “Chili Addicts” (and Coffee Addicts) to pick up some dried chili powder for Derick. Might be a bit pricier than in Hatch… but I wasn’t going through Hatch this time.
Once I Was done with that, off to the 66 Cafe to replace another aging T-shirt. With several photo ops along the way.
My next stop was in Grant. They had a drive-through neon sign. It would have been AWESOME at night, but I just took some day photos and called it good. As I was wrapping up, a lady from Austin rode up on her Harley, as she had a challenge, where photos were taken of her Bike, its License Plate, and different landmarks. I took some photos with her phone for her, and she took off. I had some other photos to grab in Grant.
From there, it was a pretty enjoyable drive to Gallup, seeing all of the scenery – it was breathtaking seeing it all. I even saw a cactus in bloom on the side of the road… that was worth stopping for. Lots of abandoned filling stations and ruins along the way as well.
Shortly before Gallup, I crossed the continental divide – where water splits between flowing east and flowing west… another photo op!
Made it to Gallup at around 330… checked into my hotel, and then went exploring. Most of the town around 66 was closed up (it WAS Sunday, after all). I found an International Fiberglass Paul Bunyan statue (https://www.roadarch.com/giants/ifcowboys3.html) – There used to be one along Route 66 in Cicero Illinois at Bunyan’s Hot Dogs… long since closed.
I checked out El Rancho Hotel (had to get some smashed pennies), and got dinner in the restaurant – not a bad place. Then back to the hotel for the evening to catch up with this, try some radio things, and plan out the next day.