New Mexico Route 66 Alliance

10/23/2026

Choice Hotels interview Jose Almeida at the Odeon Theatre in Tucumcari!

10/23/2026

10/23/2026

Officials are investing in new murals and roadside attractions to capture long-term interest from international travelers planning trips beyond the centennial year.

10/20/2026

The NM Tourism Dept asked us to create a booth for the International Balloon Fiesta. We did and had a blast!

10/16/2026

🌵Cuervo, New Mexico: a Route 66 ghost town

Cuervo (Spanish for “crow”) started in 1901 as a Rock Island Railroad siding and water stop. When Route 66 was laid right through the center of town in 1926, Cuervo boomed with gas stations, hotels, and stores, plus two churches, two schools, and two doctors. By the 1940s, about 300 people lived here.

Then came Interstate 40. Instead of bypassing Cuervo, it split the town in half. Businesses closed, families moved on, and the crows got the place back.

What’s left is one of the most intact ghost towns on the Mother Road: the stone Santo Niño church (built 1915), with names still carved above the door; abandoned homes; a schoolhouse; and stretches of old Route 66 pavement. Trains still roll through a few times a day. They just don’t stop.

10/12/2026

What an incredible honor and sweet surprise to meet Hilda Bakke, previous owner of the Blue Swallow Motel circa 1999-2006. Hilda and her husband, Dale, bought the Blue Swallow Motel from Ms. Lillian Redman, and did extensive restoration work to preserve what we know today. Thank you, Hilda, for visiting - it truly made our day to meet you and your friends!

10/09/2026