Gallup, NM

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Yesterday, we had pulled into Gallup just before sunset to spend the night at the El Rancho Hotel, another Route 66 landmark. The property was designed by the brother of movie director DW Griffith and all the rooms are named after famous stars. We had reserved a room en route and when we arrived, found that we had been booked into the Rita Hayworth room, go figure. The lobby looks like a national park lodge but with signed black and white celebrity photos densely displayed all over its two floors; it was quite lovely and transported us back to a more glamorous time. We were expecting a little of that glamour in our room but despite its namesake, the furnishings had little to do with her highness. It leaned more toward the park lodge aspects of the hotel, tidy yet compact.

We felt like Mexican for dinner so we drove the boulevard looking for a restaurant that attracted locals rather than tourists. We were not disappointed with our choice especially when they brought out the sopaipillas (that’s how they spelled it there) with honey. On the way back to El Rancho, the sun had already set so we stopped to take pictures of some of the neon signs around Gallup.

The next morning, we checked out of the hotel and were on our way to find the Burger King on Highway 666. We had been advised by our friend, Mr. Johnson that we needed to get a crown and play the King game. Apparently, whoever was wearing the crown was in charge and got to make all the decisions (some people don’t need said crown for that). After a few miscues, we found the former Hwy 666, now 491, got the crown (which had all of the rules of this King game) and some snaps. There was a family restaurant called Furr’s also located there and we took a photo of their sign in honor of our friend Lisa.