Day Six - Tucumcari to Gallup, New Mexico

We got an early start today to head toward Santa Fe for some shopping. The landscape is really changing the farther west we go. A lot of the original Route 66 in this area of New Mexico is on the current I-40 interstate so we were able to make good time by not stopping or slowing down at the tiny towns. The original Route (1926-1937) went through Santa Fe but later Routes didn't and instead headed straight west. We decided to take the early Route so we could visit Santa Fe since neither of us have ever been there. I kept seeing Stuckey's signs along the highway and remember as a child traveling with my parents that we would stop there for pecan logs. Since I couldn't resist the urge I pulled over to get my sugar fix. Luckily they were sold out of the small pecan logs and only had the large (the size of a cucumber!) so I passed.

In Santa Fe we stopped at the Loretto Chapel. I had seen pictures of the miracle staircase and was excited to see it in person. The staircase makes two complete 360 degree turns without a center supporting pole which means it hangs there without any support. The entire weight rests on the base. Some architects have said that by all laws of gravity, it should have crashed to the floor as soon as anyone stepped on it and yet it had been used daily for nearly 100 years before closing access to it.

The San Miguel Mission is the oldest church in the United States dating back to 1610 and built by the Tlaxcalan Indians. Services are still held every Sunday here.

In Santa Fe Mom found a really cool Mexican embroidered top. She says now she won't have to do laundry tomorrow after all. There are so many shops and galleries you can't possibly see them all without spending a week there. We've decided to come back here again just to shop.

West of Albuquerque we pulled over to get a photo of the Continental Divide sign. There was a gift shop there that was full of junk. We keep seeing the same kitschy stuff every stop. I did find a really neat basket but decided not to get it when I saw the tag on the bottom said "made in Pakistan".

We arrived in Gallup at a decent hour and asked the lady at the front desk of our hotel for a suggestion for dinner. She suggested Jerry's Cafe so we decided to check it out. They have a neon sign out front so it had to be good, right? We had enchiladas and sopapillas (yummy!), kinda made up for the pecan log.