The first time we stayed in Santa Rosa, we camped at the KOA. With Wireless Internet and "room service" (they bring meals to your campsite in a golf cart); it sure didn't feel like we were roughing it, but when we took down the tent in the morning and found the Tarantula sleeping under it, we knew we had experienced an outdoor adventure. Of course, after that experience, I'm always a bit disappointed when the campground doesn't have Wi Fi, but I don't miss the spider.
Tucumcari has great examples of Route 66 roadside Motels
Our next stop is Tucumcari, home of some of the best examples of Mother Road roadside Motels, 50's dining and Route 66 neon. With themed hotels like the Blue Swallow, which has an enclosed garages for the car next to each room, truly a "no tell motel". Other Tucumcari gems include The Safari Inn, Teepee Curio, a souvenir shop inside a cement teepee, and our favorite local restaurant, Del's.
Teepee Curio is a classic Mother Road stop with great Route 66 Souvenirs
But 50's memorabilia and culture is not all you'll find in Tucumcari. It's also in the heart of one of the worlds' great fossil beds, which has transformed the local community college into a world class paleontology/geology laboratory and created the fabulous Mesalands Dinosaur Museum.
Because the facility has its own Bronze casting foundry, they have the world's largest collection of bronze skeletons, fossils and replicas of prehistoric creatures which offer you an incredible hands on experience touching and feeling life-size casts of dinosaurs, dinosaur parts and, of course, dinosaur poo.
In the next post, we're headed to explore roadside art at Cadillac Ranch and other wonders in Amarillo and beyond.
