The Drive Home: Route 66 Centennial – Amarillo By Morning and thank you George Strait!

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If you want a link to the pictures, email to Bobfixesitup@yahoo.com I will email them.-Bob

By William Hall
January 9, 2026
Morning broke in Albuquerque, and the Drive Home VII fleet was in pretty good shape near midpoint on our Route 66 Centennial journey to the Detroit Auto Show. Our 1965 Ford Country Squire’s belt squeak problem has blossomed into the need for a new alternator, new radiator hose, new voltage regulator and a new fuel pump. These tours usually expose some weaknesses in museum cars that don’t see regular use. Nothing to see here. Just old cars doing old car things.

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Final Road Test & Review | 1987 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z | IROC REHABFinal Road Test & Review | 1987 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z | IROC REHAB The owners of Old Santa Fe Trail Beef Jerky stopped by to see us off at the Arrive Hotel in Albuquerque. Photos courtesy of the author who deleted all of them and left the captions, except the lead photo by David Safian.Continuing the tradition of New Mexico hospitality, the owner of the Old Santa Fe Trail Beef Jerky company stopped by the hotel in the morning to outfit us with snacks for the road. Owner Matthew Chavez is a car enthusiast who’s putting together a Chevy V-8 powered trike, a multi-year project that helps him unwind from the stress of running a small business. His factory is located on Central Avenue, which is Route 66 in Albuquerque.


The 300F cruises past the legendary Dog House Drive-In on Central Avenue in Albuquerque. Photo: Jessica RoybalOff to Santa Rosa, New Mexico, and a stop at the Route 66 Auto Museum. Around 30 vehicles are on display, providing gearheads traveling Route 66 their classic car fix. Started by James “Bozo” Cordova, the museum is now a labor of love kept going by his widow Anna, daughter Stacy and sister-in-law Rosemary in his memory. Stop in and see the ladies when in Santa Rosa, and the diverse collection of cars restored by Bozo.


Seeing double? Paul and Virginia Ortega’s ’69 Camaro faces off with The Drive Home’s example.
The next destination was Tucumcari, known for its classic roadside motels and neon signs. We stopped at the legendary Blue Swallow Motel, the inspiration for the Cozy Cone Motel in the movie Cars. Owners Robert and Dawn Federico are transplants from Crystal Lake, Illinois, who’d had it with Midwest snow and moved to the Southwest. “We’re getting ready for the Route 66 Centennial,” said Robert of his famous 12-room motel. “This is our off season, but the work continues. We love to travel ourselves, so we know what travelers expect. We’re painting the rooms and getting ready. It’s going to be crazy, but that’s what we’re here for.”

The Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari has one of the most recognizable neon signs on Route 66.
Heading into Adrian, Texas, we pulled off at the aptly named Dream Maker Station. Owners Jason and Kelly Snyder relocated from Ohio two years ago after seeing the vacant service station for sale during a Route 66 trip. “I told my wife that would be my dream to live on Route 66, and she said, ‘Let’s go then!’” said Jason. The storefront sells souvenirs, while the service bay acts as a shop for Jason, who specializes in finishing ERA Cobra kits and Kar Kraft GT40 MkIV continuation cars for customers around the country. “These last two years have been the best of my life. I wish I’d done this 10 years earlier.”

If you phone ahead, there’s a good chance Jason and Kelly will pull out the barbecue grill for you.
Jason and Kelly Snyder made their dreams come true by purchasing a vacant gas station in Adrian, Texas on Route 66.
No trip on Route 66 is complete without a visit to the Cadillac Ranch, the public art installation of half-buried vintage Cadillacs created by the art collective Ant Farm in 1974. Visitors are encouraged to spray paint the cars, and the decades of built-up paint have blurred the Caddie’s shapes beyond recognition. Nonetheless, it’s a fun bit of interactive art and a chance to stretch your legs, or maybe the legs of the babe riding with you.

Jason works on an ERA Cobra replica in the service bay of his gas station.
Arriving at the hotel in Amarillo, the white 1960 Chrysler 300F suddenly died. A quick diagnosis revealed that the distributor shaft was not turning, apparently sheared. The crew pushed the car into the hotel parking structure, and called back to the LeMay – America’s Car Museum who planned to borrow the dizzy from its sister car, the red 1961 300G seen in previous Drive Home events, and overnight the unit to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The privateers representing The Drive Home at the Cadillac Ranch.
By Thursday morning, we were a crew divided. A morning trip to NAPA got us the parts to repair the Country Squire in the hotel garage, so the 1991 Fox-body Mustang remained in Amarillo alongside. The Chrysler was loaded onto the trouble trailer, which it will ride until we can receive the distributor.
David Safian works to get the Country Squire on the road, while the 300F broke its distributor shaft in Amarillo.

The rest of the group proceeded to Shamrock, Texas, and past the iconic Conoco Gas Station and U-Drop Inn Café, which now serves as the local Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. Some call this restored ‘30s-era station the “Taj Mahal of Texas” for its twin spires. We caught up to some of our Drive Home privateers eating in the café, as the smell of brisket smoking out back was hard to resist.

The GTO at the Slug Bug Ranch in Amarillo.
If Route 66 is the yellow brick road, then the wizard is Harley Russell of Sandhill Curiosity Shop in Erick, Oklahoma. For 40 years, Harley has occupied the former meat market building, filled with Route 66 signage and eccentric artifacts. Harley himself might fall into that latter category, as the 80-year old self-proclaimed redneck loudly whooped and hollered for us to come in and explore his shop (nothing is actually for sale), then pick up a tambourine and accompany him for a rambling rendition of “Get Your Kicks on Route 66,” while washing it down with a shot from a Jack Daniels whiskey bottle.

The historic Conoco station in Shamrock, Texas.
So while Route 66 certainly offers its share of beautiful vistas, interesting architecture and fantastic rusting relics, I think the interesting mix of people – those folks whose sense of adventure drew them to live and work on the Mother Road – are the real story of The Drive Home.

Shamrock is ready for your EV cruise of Route 66.
Jonathon Klinger from the NB Center adds Texas style to the 1934 Buick. Harley Russell plays a spontaneous song for visitors to his Sandhill Curiosity Shop.
300F pilots Doug and Kiki Fox with Harley Russell in Erick, Oklahoma. The Kaseters and the Tullys at Sandhill Curiosity Shop.
Harley Russell cheering on the cars of The Drive Home.