A former police officer and another man pleaded guilty Friday to arson charges in burning down the closed Payless Inn on Route 66 and an abandoned house in Tucumcari, New Mexico, on Sept. 3, according to the Quay County Sun newspaper and other media outlets. Dustin “Dusty” Lopez, the former Tucumcari officer, and Robert Sandoval … Continue reading Former cop pleads guilty to Tucumcari motel arson
Tag: Tucumcari
If you want to get married on Route 66 …
... Laurel Kane at Afton Station in Afton, Oklahoma, get 'er done as a marriage officiant. Kane presided over her first official nuptials Saturday for a couple that had been together for 13 years. You can read the details at her blog, but here are the important details for anyone else who's considering getting hitched: … Continue reading If you want to get married on Route 66 …
Scenes from Rockabilly on the Route
If there's a big Route 66 event, there's a good chance Frank Kocevar, former owner of Historic Seligman Sundries in Seligman, Arizona, will be there. During last weekend's Rockabilly on the Route in Tucumcari, New Mexico, he took his video camera and got plenty of footage at the festival -- and some familiar faces to … Continue reading Scenes from Rockabilly on the Route
Artisan re-creating smaller versions of classic Route 66 neon signs
Joel Rayburn of GlassBoy Studios in the Oklahoma City area unveiled three smaller re-creations of classic Route 66 neon signs during the Rockabilly on the Route festival in Tucumcari, New Mexico, this weekend. The re-created signs are El Cajon Motel in San Bernardino, California, a Whiting Bros. Motel sign in San Fidel, New Mexico, and … Continue reading Artisan re-creating smaller versions of classic Route 66 neon signs
Movie being filmed in Tucumcari
A major film, "Comancheria," starring Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine and Ben Foster, is being filmed in and around the Route 66 town of Tucumcari, New Mexico, this week, according to the Quay County Sun newspaper and other accounts. CBS Films is producing. Here are some of the details from Hitfix.com: ... The film tells the … Continue reading Movie being filmed in Tucumcari
More Genuine Route 66 Lives
KC Keefer recently uploaded a few more videos as part of his Genunine Route 66 Life series. Here is Bob Russell, mayor of Pontiac, Illinois, who personally greets many Route 66 travelers as they arrive in downtown Pontiac. The clip prominently features the bus of late Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire. https://youtu.be/X6MmLMJ3RWQ Next is historian … Continue reading More Genuine Route 66 Lives
What I did on my vacation
The answer is: not much. It is supposed to be R&R time, after all. However, my ever-creative companion Emily (aka Redforkhippie) was busy at the historic Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico, painting images of extinct neon signs that once graced Route 66 in Tucumcari, plus one in nearby San Jon, in one of … Continue reading What I did on my vacation
Wayne Hancock will headline Rockabilly on the Route
Texas musician Wayne "The Train" Hancock has been chosen as the headlining Saturday night act during the third annual Rockabilly on the Route festival in Tucumcari, New Mexico, on June 4-7. Hancock is best-known for the song "Thunderstorms and Neon Signs." He also owns an indelible connection to Route 66. He told this story to No Depression … Continue reading Wayne Hancock will headline Rockabilly on the Route
Did ‘Back to the Future’ get an idea from Blue Swallow Motel?
A longtime reader, Greg Holmes of Ace Jackalope fame, was at a theater screening the 1985 hit movie "Back to the Future" when he saw something familiar. In a scene were Marty is in 1955, there is a sign for the Blue Bird Motel in downtown Hill Valley. Here's the original image, but I've taken … Continue reading Did ‘Back to the Future’ get an idea from Blue Swallow Motel?
Tucumcari cop implicated in arson probe
A man who recently resigned from the Tucumcari, New Mexico, Police Department is the subject of an investigation into several arson fires last month, reported the Quay County Sun, including those that destroyed the long-closed Payless Inn on Route 66 and the closed Tucumcari Motel on old U.S. 54. Dustin Lopez quit the force the … Continue reading Tucumcari cop implicated in arson probe