The Mother Road Sidebar

Alex and Caroline go to Gallup

I was not a fan of Gallup, New Mexico. When Caroline and I went out to get some pictures, we first cruised Route 66 through town to see what might be worth shooting. The answer: Not much. There were a lot of cool signs along the route, but they were mostly dirty and in disrepair. One building that had the freshest paint job on the trip though, was the “Route 66 Railway Cafe.”

There isn’t a lot of information online about this one, so I’m guessing that it doesn’t have much history. Also, it was closed so there wasn’t a lot that we could do to figure anything out. I really thought they were in the middle of a renovation, but from what it looks like online, they are open for business. 

Our real assignment for the day was to take some pictures of the “Hotel El Rancho.” This sprawling hotel was originally built by the brother of D.W. Griffith. You know, the guy who made the super racist KKK movie “Birth of a Nation.” Yeah, that guy.  

Anyhow, the building really looks like it was made, and then expanded over time, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Upon retrospect, we should have gone in and gotten some pictures from the lobby, but we spent a LOT of time waiting for this 1963 Corvette to drive past us so I could get a cool picture. Instead the couple driving the car just sat in it. I think they were onto me. 

Across the street from the El Rancho were the Blue Spruce and Lariet hotels. I really liked their signs, but I didn’t like the crackheads that were outside the building, so I only got a few shots from across the street.

If you like Crack and crack addicts, I totally recommend Gallup, New Mexico.