Severe winds toppled the landmark Sun ‘n Sand Motel sign in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, and a tornado destroyed the Tri-County Truck Stop building in Villa Ridge, Missouri.
The weather events were part of a storm system that wreaked havoc across several states — from high winds in New Mexico and Texas and wildfires in Oklahoma to tornadoes in Missouri.
The Sun ‘n Sand sign at the closed Route 66 motel in Santa Rosa fell overnight between Thursday and Friday when winds measuring over 60 mph were recorded. Winds reached 80 mph in the Texas Panhandle.
The huge, Zia-influenced neon sign for the motel was restored about 25 years ago with the help of a grant. As the Facebook post makes clear, the sign’s future remains unclear.
The motel was built during the 1950s and remodeled in 1998, but it closed in 2012 or 2013.
It since has declined markedly and became a magnet for vagrants and homeless people.
The adjoining Sun ‘n Sand Restaurant closed about six months ago.
A reader emailed this photo of the Tri-County Truck Stop building along Villa Ridge after it apparently took a hit from a tornado.
The Tri-County Truck Drop, aka the Diamonds Cafe, closed about 20 years ago, though it periodically was used as an auction center or a site for paranormal investigators. The site was long rumored by the restaurant’s staff to be haunted.
This Diamonds opened in 1949 and once served more than 6,000 customers a day. In 1971, it became the Tri-County Truck Stop.
(Image of the tornado-damaged Tri-County Truck Stop courtesy of Andy Westerholt; an image of the Sun ‘n Sand Motel sign in 2012 by el-toro via Flickr)