Route 66 Day 31 Nov 8, 2019

Woke up to zero visibility again.  No rain the day before but the fog was back anyway.  Dawdled a little bit, but still hit the road fairly early.  I wanted to go to the Rex Museum in Gallop and its only open Monday-Friday.  As this was Friday, if I didn't make it before they closed, I'd miss it or I'd have to spend an extra 2 days in Gallop.  The Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary only does three tours a day, so I'd need to be strategic about it.  El Morro National Monument was the first thing on the list.  The major draw of this park is a giant sandstone mountain that contain both petroglyphs and names inscribed into the sandstone from people that passed this area over 100 years ago.  Some Spanish, some military some pioneers working their way to California.  If it was done today it would be considered graffiti, but because its over 100 years old, its a National Monument.  Honestly, some of the inscriptions were really beautifully carved into the rock.  The ones that were carved deeply will last a good long while, but many have been wearing away with time and weather.  They won't last forever but I'm glad that attempts are being made to extend their lives.  

I'm glad I got the early start, I finished the hike and took my photos and onto the next goal: Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary!  It wasn't that far away but at least half of it was on dirt road.  Took a little longer than expected, but I arrived just in time for the 11:30am tour!  Spent about an hour on the tour and asked a bazillion questions.  The guide Raul was very good and knowledgeable.  The majority of the wolves are wolf/dog mixes and rescued from the exotic pet trade.  Breeding and selling wolf/dog mixes is legal in 38 states and the results aren't always good.  There is no way to know which traits of wild vs domestic the animal will present and the results aren't always pet friendly.  The sanctuary also has dingoes, New Guinea singing dogs, fox, coyote and domestic dogs that were mistaken for wolves.  They do really good work here and the animals are all fat and happy.  

My tour ended shortly before 1pm and I was on the road again.  It was a 90 minute drive to Gallop and according to the Route 66 app, it closed at 3:30pm.  I got there about 2:15pm and there was a sign in the window stating closed until 2:30pm.  Looks like the attendant needed to run out for a moment. There is also a sign in the window stating they are open until 5pm.  So I breath a sigh of relief and chill in my car for 15 minutes.  I head back after my break and its open with the attendant Virgil eagerly awaiting visitors. He was a character and provided an enormous amount of information.  The museum itself is a mishmash of history.  Everything from dresses to old fashion registers and roller skates and Prince Albert cans.  The museum itself is worth a visit but not much more than 15-20 minutes unless you have a personal connection to the town.

 

I'd planned on catching a movie at the El Morro Theater, which was built in 1928 and was showing the new version of the Lion King.  It was only a little after 3pm and the movie started at 6pm.  So off to do the last two list items for Gallop.  Like a number of other places I'd been, the list items were not sufficient.  There are dozens of Route 66 era motels up and down Route 66 along with lots of neon signs and other things that should probably be included.  The first thing on the list was the El Rancho Hotel.  If I hadn't stopped and talked to Virgil, I probably would have taken my photos and driven on by.  But I had.  This hotel was built in 1937 and the main hotel back in the early days of Hollywood when they were shooting movies in Gallop.  All the greats stayed here: Humphrey Boghart, Doris Day, Lucille Ball, John Wayne and dozens of others.  When I pulled in, I took photos of the front and then made the impulsive decision to eat a late lunch here.  I wanted to go in and I wanted to experience a part of this hotel, even if its just from a sandwich.  

The restaurant onsite was really nice, full bar and good sandwiches.  Dinner time has fancier food.  Burgers were named after movie stars and one of the margaritas was named after John Wayne.  Walking through the lobby, I couldn't wait to finish my meal and wander about a bit.  I talked to the front desk to ask about rates, know I couldn't afford to stay here.  Guy talked me into it, I got a super fancy room with a kitchen and patio for the grand price of 69.99 plus tax.  I agreed and booked it for the following day.  It was already late in the day and I like to spend a full day in a hotel when I pay for the hotel.  Check in was at 2pm Saturday afternoon.  I headed back downtown and took photos of the Gallup cowboy (another giant muffler man modified) and went to await my movie.  

Movie started at 6pm and I got a ticket, hot dog, popcorn and soda for $10.00.  Movie theater was built in 1928 and has been very well maintained.  It still has a functional balcony which they close except for special occasions, but its structurally sound and still used when they have a big crowd.  Real life looking CGI Lion King made it far more difficult to suspend reality like people do with a cartoon and I found the entire movie disturbing and I kept mentally pointing out all things that were wrong with the movie because it was so far outside lion behavior.  Not all Disney movies need to be remade into real life or real life looking remakes.  Although the previews for the life action Mulan looked amazing.

Off to Walmart where I huddled up with my RV and Camper crowd at the back of the parking lot.  Because I had consumed a large soda at the movie theater, I stayed awake much longer than I wanted too, know that bathroom needs would kick in shortly.  I waited until about 10pm and jumped inside to use the bathroom, then huddled down in my SUV bed and slept well.