Our Route 66 Daily Journal: October 16, 2026

Page 1

Today we did Route 66 from Gallup, NM, to Holbrook, AZ.

As we were only on the second floor at the El Rancho, last night we just used the stairs to get to our room. Since we got an elevator instruction card with check in, we had to at least experience the elevator once before checking out, so we used it when we went down to get breakfast from the car.

Page 2

This morning we got coffee at Gallup Coffee Company.

We then drove a few blocks to see The Dude Man - a muffler man at John's Used Cars.

Next we parked near the Gallup Cultural Center, but since it did not open for another hour, we ended up walking around downtown Gallup checking out the various murals on the buildings.

Outside the Gallup Cultural Center, there is a Gallup/McKinley County Route 66 Centennial Monument.

At the Gallup Cultural Center, we explored the exhibits about the area's Native Americans and watched some of the movie about the Navajo codetalkers.

Next we planned to go to the Rex Museum, but it was not open. Before leaving Gallup, we saw a Blake's Lotaburger and this time we were able to get pumpkin shakes.

Page 3

As we neared Arizona, we stopped at the Chief Yellowhorse III shop, which we discovered is actually in both New Mexico and Arizona.

While at Chief Yellowhores III, Dad put the Arizona Route 66 license plate sticker on the car.

Our next stop was at the Tee Pee Trading Post in Lupton, AZ.

As we continued in Arizona, we mostly were forced to take Interstate 40, but we did drive a few miles of Dirt 66 that included going over Querino Canyon Bridge.

Since the Rex Museum was closed, we got to Holbrook too early to check in, so we decided to visit the Historic Navajo County Courthouse and Museum today instead of our original plan of visiting tomorrow.

We then headed to Wigwam Village #6, where we are staying in a "wigwam" that is more of a teepee...

See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here and Google map here.

Our Route 66 Daily Journal: October 15, 2026

Page 1

Today we did Route from Grants to Gallup, NM, as well as a side trip to a national monument, volcano, and ice cave.

We started our day with coffee from Mt Taylor Coffee Co in Grants.

Next we visited the New Mexico Mining Musuem and went underground.

We then learned more about the area’s history at the Cibola County Historical Museum.

Next we took a side trip from Route 66 and visited the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano. Originally, we planned to go to El Morro National Monument and visit the ice cave and volcano on the way back to Grants and Route 66. However, we got stuck behind striping road work for over an hour just to the ice cave and it would have taken another two hours at that rate to get to El Morro. We saw it coming back towards the ice cave having turned around almost to El Morro later, so it seems we might not have made it to the ice cave before it closed if we had stuck to our original plan.

Page 2

At El Morro National Monument, we took the trail to Inscription Rock.

After El Morro, we returned to Grants so we could continue on Route 66 to Gallip. On the way to Gallup, we stopped at the Continental Divide.

We also visited the Ortega's Indian Market at the Continental Divide.

Page 3

In Gallup, we check in to the Hotel El Rancho.

We then had dinner in the hotel's restaurant.

See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here and Google map here.

Our Route 66 Daily Journal: October 14, 2026

Page 1

Today we did Route 66 from Albuquerque to Grants, NM with a side trip to a pueblo.

We started our day with coffee from Cutbow Coffee in Albuquerque.

As we were leaving Albuquerque, we spotted the Cruising Cultura Route 66 statue and stopped for photos.

Our first stop as we drove Route 66 towards Grants was at the Villa de Cubero Trading Post.

We took a little detour from Route 66 to visit the Sky City Cultural Center & Haak’u Museum, which included a guided tour of the pueblo, which is thought to be the longest continuously inhabited community in the United States.

Next we visited El Malpais National Monument and the La Ventana Natural Bridge, which is actually on part of the National Conservation Area and not the National Monument.

We then headed into Grants and did their Route 66 Drive through Sign.

After doing our sign photos, we parked nearby and walked around the Fire & Ice Park, which had a very interesting sculpture with tiles telling some of the area's history.

At the KOA, we started our load of laundry and then went for a walk on their trail through the lava flows before making dinner.

See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here and Google map here.

Our Koffee Trail: Cutbow Coffee

Date of Visit: October 14, 2026

Location: Cutbow Coffee (Albuquerque, NM)

Rating: ❤️(Love)

Before leaving Albuquerque this morning, we stopped at Cutbow Coffee.

I enjoyed a Cutbow Amorcita, which has red chile syrup. I don’t like spicy food, but for some reason I enjoy spicy coffee drinks.

Dad enjoyed a San Pancho pour over.

See full list of Our Koffee Trail stops here and Our Koffee Trail Google Maps list here.

Our Route 66 Daily Journal: October 13, 2026

Page 1

Today we did things around Albuquerque, NM, including a national park unit, museums, and the rest of the pre-1937 Route 66 into Albuquerque.

We started our day with coffee at New Mexico Pinon Coffee.

Next we visited Petroglyph National Monument, where we took a short, but steep hike.

We then visited the Albuquerque Museum, which included some temporary exhibits related to Route 66.

Next we walked around Old Town with our first stop being for some fudge at The Candy Lady.

After finding several places closed on Tuesdays, we ended up at the Church Street Cafe and enjoyed lunch there.

Page 2

After lunch, we briefly went inside to see the San Felipe de Neri Church.

We then braved the Rattlesnake Museum.

Next we drove to the Rio Grande Trading for the stamp in the Mother Road Passport.

Our next stop was at Albuquerque's Madonna of the Trail statue.

Next we drove out to Enchanted Trails RV Park & Trading Post, where we checked out some vintage trailers, saw their giant hubcap tree, and got a Ricky the Roadrunner.

Page 3

We were supposed to visit Enchanted Trails this morning, but Dad misread the spreadsheet and skipped it after Petroglyph National Monument. Doing it at the end of the day, worked out better, though, as we knew we had time to take the pre-1937 Route 66 to Albuquerque as our way to our hotel.

As we headed to west to pick up the pre-1937 alignment, we stopped at the Rio Puerco Bridge.

On our way back to Albuquerque, we also made a quick stop in Los Lunas for a photo of their Route 66 sign.

See full list of Our Route 66 Adventures here and Google map here.