In January 2017, I set out from Toronto once again, heading South to rendezvous with my girlfriend in Mexico.
This first set of photos are from Tucumcari. Once a bustling attraction along the historic Route 66, sporting the catch phrase “Tucumcari Tonight!”, Tucumcari, New Mexico is now a fairly quiet town of 5000 or so. With the dwindling popularity of the ‘great American road trip’, much of the tourist dollars Tucumcari once saw have now dried up.
On Thursday I drove from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Pie Town, NM. I saw a lot of cool stuff along the way including the VLA.
The Very Large Array (VLA) is a radio astronomy observatory located on the Plains of San Agustin, between the towns of Magdalena and Datil, some 50 miles (80 km) west of Socorro, New Mexico. It comprises 27 25-meter radio telescopes. The VLA stands at an elevation of 6970 ft (2124 m) above sea level. It is a component of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
The Toaster House in Pie Town, New Mexico is the gift of Nita Larronde, who raised her five children there. Although she no longer lives there, she leaves the house open as a haven to foot, bike, and horse travelers, many of whom are doing the CDT (Continental Divide Trail). There is a hand printed sign on the front door: “No one lives here any more — please make yourselves at home.” and some signage inside as to the basic rules and expectations. It’s free to stay and there is a box for donations to help with maintenance, electricity and re-stocking food and such.
Mostly it is used in the summer months and in the winter the water is shut off so the pipes don’t burst (it was nearly -20 Celsius the night I stayed).
