Day 14 – to Tucumcari, NM

We packed up and left the campground at 7:15 a.m., just as the rest of the campground was starting to wake up. We drove north to Flagstaff, then got on the I-40 headed east. When I glanced at Apple Maps and it said, “stay on this road for 492 miles,” I knew it was going to be a long day.

 We tore across the Arizona and into New Mexico, through Gallup and Albuquerque – and about 8 hours after we started, we rolled into the town of Tucumcari, NM. We’re staying – again – at The Blue Swallow, the historic Route 66 motor court, where we stayed in 2016.

I went into the front office to register, and found this guy – Marshall – the bestest boi ever. I almost broke down sobbing. Seeing Marshall was simultaneously uplifting and heartbreaking. I was happy to meet this sweet labby, but I also felt that ache of longing for my own pups. We can’t get home fast enough now.
 

Marshall’s human, Robert Federico, owns the motel with his wife, Dawn. As he checked me in, Robert told me that he bought The Blue Swallow four years ago, after he quit his corporate job … which means he bought it in 2020 … which means it was a strange and terrible year to take a big leap like that. Or maybe it was a good time to learn the ropes of the property. Nevertheless, the Federicos hail from northern Illinois. Robert told me that Marshall is a “canoe-camping dog.” Robert said he has paddled every canoe-able river in Wisconsin and the UP of Michigan, and Marshall has ridden along with him all the way. Good boy, Marshall.
 
Just like in 2016, the atmosphere in The Blue Swallow motor court was friendly and festive. The couple next-door, Barbara and Lyle, were lounging in their aluminum patio chairs with a six-pack of Michelob when we arrived. They are on a road-trip loop from their home in Southern California to Denver and Fort Worth, to visit their two daughters.
 
I went inside to work on the blog, but Dad stayed outside to chat with Barbara and Lyle. He also met a mother and daughter from Bloomington, Indiana. The daughter just graduated from Indiana University and is moving out to Los Angeles. Her degree is in folklore. So, I guess she’ll be waiting tables. She happens to know someone in the Russian Flagship program at IU – named Don? – who is leaving within a week to spend a year in Kazakhstan. Soon that will be Charlie! 

For dinner, we walked down the street – down the Route 66 highway – to Del’s for dinner. Sadly, despite the Federicos’ efforts to preserve and protect the legacy of the beautiful Blue Swallow motel – and the efforts of just a few other similarly dedicated business owners in town– Tucumcari seems really … dead. Where once the highway was lined with attractive lodges that shimmered with neon and beckoned weary cross-country travelers, now there are only weedy parking lots, boarded-up buildings and rusted-out signs – between the occasional hardware store and marijuana dispensary.

But Del’s has survived – along with maybe one or two other restaurants -- and we headed there for heaping helpings of Tex-Mex. As we walked down the road, Dad and I could see a storm coming for miles across the desert. The sky had turned a sickly yellow, the wind was whipping, and dark clouds were piling up. We worried that we were going to get blown away Dorothy Gale-style. 

We made it safely to Del’s. And shortly after we sat down at a table, Barbara and Lyle blew in and asked if they could join us. Of course! We had a good time getting to know them over chicken sopapillas and chile rellenos.  Barbara is a retired elementary school teacher, and Lyle worked as a counselor in the corrections system in Riverside, CA, for more than 40 years. We were delighted to find out that Barbara has Norwegian-Lutheran heritage. She has family from Duluth, Minnesota, and attended a family reunion in Two Harbors last summer. 
 
Dad and I have booked a food tour in Bentonville, Arkansas, for tomorrow night. That means we have to cover about 600 miles and cross four states before 5 p.m. – and we will lose an hour when we cross into the Central time zone. So, we’ve set our alarms for 5:30 a.m. and hope to be on the road by 6. It’s going to be another long day. Good night!