Many "cool" locales may have gone bust but we still have the memories. Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – May 28, 2023 2023 Toyota Prius LE The Route 66 Restaurant just off the 40 in Santa Rosa, NM bowing out to the annals of time. Santa Rosa, NM -- Although I accidentally deleted the 2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost Challenge story from back in 2011, the photos are still posted in Media. In the early 50s prior to I-40s construction, the "Mother Road" was the only way through the former bustling town of Santa Rosa, NM. It, like hundreds of other small towns along "Route 66" was filled with top name gas stations, "No Tell" Motels, and roadside cafés marked by the classic pastel neon sign while serving the needs of travelers making their way west to California or back east after vacations and visiting family. The Route 66 Restaurant in Santa Rosa, NM was one of those great stops as the entire CleanMPG crew took a much-needed break for dinner some 12-years ago. Today, the restaurant like so many others along the iconic ribbon of highway is nothing more than a dilapidated blight strewn hulk waiting for the inevitable bulldozer. It served its last meal on Sept. 14, 2019, as a local bank foreclosed on a loan. Another town along the great Route 66 is Tucumcari, NM. It is possibly experiencing the worst business fall off as 50% or more of the town is now boarded up. All in, entire stretches of small towns with service-oriented businesses along the Mother Road between Joplin, MO and Flagstaff, AZ are dying or have already died a long and slow death as the Interstate bypassed the once thriving middle class towns. 2011 Ford Fiesta The same location 12-years earlier almost to the day. 2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost The EcoBoost Challenge Crew from L to R: Bob Winger, Mike Sefton, Dave Hall, Wayne Gerdes, Andrew McGuckin, Chris Bernius, and Mike Sirach. While the above may sound like an epitaph, there are towns along the once mighty Mother Road that are not only alive and well, they are actually thriving! We will drive into those communities in a second installment while depicting the true nature of Route 66 as not only history behind us but a future yet to come. Wayne
That's too bad I was watching a road trip video on YouTube last month and they were driving through Kingman AZ, that brought back some memories.
Hi All: While traveling through Affton, OK on Route 66 back in August of 2016, I passed this long since shuddered video store. The entry way had collapsed but through the front window, you could see that the interior was still intact with DVDs still on the shelves. When I went by last week, the roof had collapsed so I doubt there is much left of the interior. I may stop just to snap the pic on my next trip through... Wayne
Like so many past businesses & lost dreams in OK……& all the other depressed & collapsed hopes throughout the US…..