As navigators pouring over guide books, Destiny and Cheryl sounded like they were following clues on a scavenger hunt, trying to find evidence of Route 66 alongside I-40 in Oklahoma, Texas and now in New Mexico.
Traveling the frontage roads for many miles, we continue to catch glimpses of the towns that had started to crumble after I-40 was built.
In Texola we stopped at the Tumbleweed Grill & Country Store. We walked in, the lights were off, and sitting in an old recliner, peeling pears with a paring knife, was Masel. She had gotten up at 3 a.m. to prepare a meal for a motorcycle group from Australia. They were headed down Route 66. She was exhausted.
But, she managed to endure our barrage of questions. Masel had been a portrait artist in Las Vegas. By 2007 she and her husband, who she only referred to as “he” were ready for a change and took off east in an RV looking for a new life. They stopped in Texola early in the morning to fill up with diesel. They were supposed to be in Memphis that night, but the vehicle wouldn’t start.
The gas station owner asked if they wanted to spend the night with him while they waited for the part. Watching the news the next morning, they saw 19 tornadoes had touched down in Memphis. They stayed with the man for three more weeks.
“I cooked and cleaned his house. He was divorced and all, and happy to have the company,” Masel said.
Three weeks later the part for the RV arrived. They knew they didn’t want to go to Memphis. At that point, they decided to stay right where they were in the middle of nowhere - Texola, Oklahoma.
The Tumbleweed Grill was falling down. “Nobody wanted it or loved it,” Masel said. So they decided to revive the old store.
Looking around the dark interior, we asked her what happened to her husband.
“Oh, I killed him,” she said, peeling another pear.
There was a long pause. Then we all had a good laugh.
In Tucumcari we were greeted by the neon lights of the Blue Swallow Motel, with its 100% refrigerated air. Kevin and Nancy Mueller have refurbished the motel back to its post -World War II charm. The 12- room motel was owned for decades by Lillian Redman who was known for warmly welcoming all her guests. For those who couldn’t afford to pay, she would give them a room for free.
Though she has been dead for years, guests have reported seeing her standing by the clothesline at night.
The Muellers extended a warm welcome. Kevin walked us to our spotless room decorated in 1950’s decor and showed us how things worked. Then he made sure we knew all the local options for dinner.
Over the past few years they have done a total restoration. Now, they are ready to move on and are looking for the right buyer. It has to be someone who won’t tear it down and build a convenience store he said. “We didn’t sink a million dollars into the place to have it torn down,” Kevin said.
Traveling the frontage roads for many miles, we continue to catch glimpses of the towns that had started to crumble after I-40 was built.
In Texola we stopped at the Tumbleweed Grill & Country Store. We walked in, the lights were off, and sitting in an old recliner, peeling pears with a paring knife, was Masel. She had gotten up at 3 a.m. to prepare a meal for a motorcycle group from Australia. They were headed down Route 66. She was exhausted.
But, she managed to endure our barrage of questions. Masel had been a portrait artist in Las Vegas. By 2007 she and her husband, who she only referred to as “he” were ready for a change and took off east in an RV looking for a new life. They stopped in Texola early in the morning to fill up with diesel. They were supposed to be in Memphis that night, but the vehicle wouldn’t start.
The gas station owner asked if they wanted to spend the night with him while they waited for the part. Watching the news the next morning, they saw 19 tornadoes had touched down in Memphis. They stayed with the man for three more weeks.
“I cooked and cleaned his house. He was divorced and all, and happy to have the company,” Masel said.
Three weeks later the part for the RV arrived. They knew they didn’t want to go to Memphis. At that point, they decided to stay right where they were in the middle of nowhere - Texola, Oklahoma.
The Tumbleweed Grill was falling down. “Nobody wanted it or loved it,” Masel said. So they decided to revive the old store.
Looking around the dark interior, we asked her what happened to her husband.
“Oh, I killed him,” she said, peeling another pear.
There was a long pause. Then we all had a good laugh.
In Tucumcari we were greeted by the neon lights of the Blue Swallow Motel, with its 100% refrigerated air. Kevin and Nancy Mueller have refurbished the motel back to its post -World War II charm. The 12- room motel was owned for decades by Lillian Redman who was known for warmly welcoming all her guests. For those who couldn’t afford to pay, she would give them a room for free.
Though she has been dead for years, guests have reported seeing her standing by the clothesline at night.
The Muellers extended a warm welcome. Kevin walked us to our spotless room decorated in 1950’s decor and showed us how things worked. Then he made sure we knew all the local options for dinner.
Over the past few years they have done a total restoration. Now, they are ready to move on and are looking for the right buyer. It has to be someone who won’t tear it down and build a convenience store he said. “We didn’t sink a million dollars into the place to have it torn down,” Kevin said.
Post by Cathay
No comments:
Post a Comment