Tucumcari

My boyfriend and I were relocating an RV from Chicago to Phoenix, which gave us the opportunity to see a lot of the old Route 66. When we arrived the boulevard in Tucumcari, New Mexico we felt like we were dragged back 50 + years in time.

FIRST THING FIRSTS

We headed towards Cactus RV-park to get our RV set up for the night. We did not have a reservation, but it was late September so it wasn't a problem. The lady in the reception was friendly and gave us a first timer discount. There is actually a sign in the small reception saying "No personal questions". RV-people are chatty, so a little piece of me totally understood it. But hey, connecting with new people is some of the magic while traveling.

I think we paid $25 US Dollars for a night with 30 amp hook-up and city water. They also turn their WiFi off at weird times, so don't expect to update your Instagram and Facebook with all your amazing photos whenever it suits you, but rather when it suits the RV-park.

I think the RV-park used to be an old motel on Route 66, but now it is more like a large ghost building surrounding the parking spots, a little bit creepy and very fascinating. Even more when the heaven opened up at night and Thor was playing with his hammer.

All in all, Cactus RV-park is perfect if you have an fully equipped RV with your own shower, kitchen and so on.

BACK IN TIME

We had hooked-up our RV and were looking for an open restaurant on a Sunday after 6 pm in a small town in New Mexico. Well, lets just say it took some time before we got to eat dinner that night.

In our search for food, we wandered a long Tucumcari walking past the Blue Swallow Motel, an iconic building you just have to take some pictures of, while trying to take it all in. I felt like I was in a movie and what you see and experience on Tucumcari boulevard is not something you forget easily.

The weather was nice so we walked a little bit further, finding closed restaurants after closed restaurants. And then we saw a building shaped like a tepee, and, luckily for us, the door was open. We had walked in to Tepee Curios, the best and cheesiest souvenir store a long Route 66 so far. The owner was friendly, but we got the impression that people there were more private than the other cities and small towns we had been traveling so far.

As we are not big fans of actually buying the souvenirs, and just find them interesting to watch, we only bought some post cards and stamps this time. But I would recommend to save your souvenir shopping until you get to Tucumcari and Tepee Curios for anyone who likes that kind of thing.

On our way out the owner recommended an open restaurant further down on the boulevard so we finally could get some food in our belly.

ON OUR WAY TO POW WOW RESTAURANT

After we walked out off Tee Pee Curios we walked past more of the old iconic motels, a wedding chapel and some old school laundry shops. Ahead of us we saw a sign with "Kittens for sale" and said hi to the man with the kittens and the sign as we were walking by. He then gave us a lecture about the bible and God. Actually, it was more a lecture to my boyfriend as he didn't speak to women directly himself. And again I felt like we had experienced something we only see in the movies. I think it's good to meet all kinds of people even if we can't agree on everything. Or anything...

Finally we got to Pow Wow Restaurant and we were ready for dinner. My boyfriend ordered a beer and didn't have his ID with him unfortunately, but the manager offered to drive him all the way back to our RV so he could get his ID and have his beer. After the other people we had met in Tucumcari, we were kind of surprised by the friendly hospitality at Pow Wow. My boyfriend got back with his ID and we could order dinner. The food was some of the better food we had on our trip and we love that you always get a doggy bag in the States. To make things even better the manager drove us back to the RV after a long day driving from Oklahoma to New Mexico.

LAUNDRY AND KIX ON 66

We got up early the next day so we could drive without too much traffic. Before we went on the road we had to get our laundry done if we wanted clean clothes. Again, it was just like in a movie. We were standing in a small town in the United States washing our clothes at a coin laundry. I recommend Boulevard Cleaners if you ever find yourself in Tucumcari with no clean clothes to wear.

After checking out TripAdvisor we already knew which place we were going to have breakfast. We headed over to Kix on 66 when the heaven once again decided to open up. Soaking wet in our last clean clothes, we got a nice booth and a quick look at the menu before we ordered. I had the lean turkey BLT with avocado and ranch. So far THE BEST sandwich I have had in my 25 years. The staff was very friendly and we met some Canadians. Nothing better than that. I highly recommend Kix on 66 for the food, service and atmosphere they give a long Route 66.

The gas tank was full and all our clothes were clean. Heading for Arizona, we talked about how this was the weirdest, yet most fascinating little town we have visited together so far. Maiken