Day 5 South West Trip

South West Trip Day 5 Monday May 8, 2017

Today starts in Santa Rosa, NM
And finishes in Shamrock, TX
Almost across the Texas panhandle

Places Visited Along The Way, Photos, and Notes

Santa Rosa, there must be a sign for Guadalupe County
but I could not find one
Route 66 Auto Museum "over 30 cars on display"?
I stopped to see if there were any changes since I saw it last

I did not pay the entry fee for the back room, been there, done that

About an hour down the road, I stopped by a McDonald's
for a breakfast burrito
Another biker also pulled in
He is returning from the west coast to his home in Alabama

He seemed very tired and very ancient, moved quite tentavely
His bike was far lighter than mine and not so powerful
Said he had a rough time in the heavy winds the last few days
He had many religious stickers on his bike
I hope his deity watches over him on his way home

First stop was Tucumcari, seat of Quay County but there are
not many places in town with the county name spelled out
In the past, I have used Quay County Detention Facility
for a "Q" county photo

When I got there and pulled into the parking lot,
there were a couple officers standing there talking.
I pulled across two parking spots orthogonal to the lines

As I stepped off the bike, one of the officers approached
I was fearing he would complain about my parking
and I was ready to explain that it was only for a moment

To my surprise, he offered "Want me to take your picture?"
I asked if that happened often and he said "All the time"

There are 4 other counties in the U.S. that begin with the letter "Q"
All 4 are east of the Mississippi River

Adrian is a tiny little town that Route-66 bypassed
It has never recovered.
It does have the distinction that it is at exactly the halfway point
of old Route-66 from Chicago to Long Beach

Midpoint Cafe directly across the road is currently open again
It has a long history of being open for a while
and then folding again for lack of business

Vega, Oldham County
Oldham County Courthouse has a sign out front

Oldham is one of those counties who sued all the way to
the Supreme Court to display the Ten Commandments
But, whose did they display? There are many versions

They have a Justice of the Peace

and an old gas station

Amarillo, TX
I stopped at Tripp`s HD for chips and a shirt

I was also thinking of hunting up the Potter County Courthouse
but decided it was too much out of the way in the city traffic

I'm over-nighting in Shamrock, TX
They still have some buildings from back in the day
There is the combination Conoco Gas Station and U Drop Inn

very fun to see
As I wandered through some backroads I came across
some interesting things

I did not know this kind of business existed
Thank you very kindly, Eli Whitney