A few hundred yards west of the Texas/New Mexico state border is two old sections of U.S. Highway 66. The pavement in the right moving diagonally to the center was a section still in use until the early 1970s.
Vegetation has overtaken the left side of the road, but the center stripes still show up well. The gravel road in the left far background is a very old alignment of U.S. 66, still used as a local county road today. Also in the background you can see vehicles traveling on Interstate 40.
This dead end looks kind of weak in my opinion, but there is so little traffic at this point I guess it doesn't matter anymore. Those poles near the center of the photo mark the approximate location of the old U.S. 66 bridge over Trujillo Creek. It's quite a long bridge, but the only way to get to it would be to walk about 1/2 mile. I'll do that another day. I was not interested in battling those rattlesnakes for a photo!
A close up of the dead end. You can see that it's a barbed wire fence and a few markers. Little remains of the old pavement of U.S. 66 here.
Above is a very old section of U.S. 66, probably dating from the 1930s or before. This section may have actually been paved a long time ago, since I read that U.S. 66 was one of the first highways paved coast to coast. This sure doesn't look like it was ever paved, though. Maybe the section at the dead end photos above is earlier than I thought.
Reserved?? For who, I wonder. This old structure is part of the near-ghost town of Glenrio, New Mexico/Texas. Glenrio is a very quiet and lonely place. In the foreground is old Highway 66.
This is one of my favorite photos - U.S. 66 was a divided highway through Glenrio at one time! Notice that a part of the middle divider is missing. The old highway, slowly denegerating from pavement to gravel, climbs up this hill as it enters Texas. I believe this section was in use until the early 70s when Interstate 40 was extended west in New Mexico.
Business Loop 40? Hard to believe, but it is. The sign is hard to read but it says Glenrio. I like the old style highway markers to the left of the 40 sign. I'm not sure what some of the other things are near the signs.
This is a required photo for anyone who visits Glenrio - the famous First in Texas Motel. Too bad it's not open anymore, but I guess costs would be too high.
I wish I could get a better photo of this bridge. That's the old Highway 66 bridge over Trujillo Creek. That's Interstate 40 in the foreground. Although there is little or no water under the bridge, it's necessary for flash flooding or you would be in big trouble. Trujillo Creek is often referred to as a "wash." This is one of my favorite old abandoned bridges.
Endee, New Mexico - a gate seals off access to old Highway 66. If you were to drive this section it would stop at Interstate 40, then pick up on the other side and go across that Trujillo Creek bridge and come out in Glenrio. Sorry about the photo quality - very tough sun angles - that sun sure is bright in New Mexico.
If you look close, you can see the center striping in about the middle of the photo. Those small green plants are everywhere in this part of New Mexico.
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