Friday, July 15, 2005

Tucumcari, New Mexico


Camped last night at Tucumcari, New Mexico where it was much quieter than the Amarillo KOA where we could hear either planes or trains nearly constantly. The eerie howls of a pack of coyotes pierced the night and we awoke to a pre-dawn chorus of birds.

After dinner, we took a cruise down Old 66 through town to admire the neon lights. TeePee Curios was the clear winner.

Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce Brochure:

Tucumcari, originally called Six Shooter Siding, was a tent city at the foot of 4,999 Ft high Tucumcari Mountain for the Rock Island Railroad. Tucumcari owes its beginnings to a snowstorm and the railroad. In 1900 tow men stayed with A.D. Goldenburg during a bad three-week snowstorm. In return for A.D.'s hospitality, the two men told him that a railroad would soon be going through the area establishing a stop four miles from Goldenberg's home. Goldenburg, his brother Max and two other businessmen purchased the property where they felt the railroad would have to lay its tracks. By 1902, four passenger trains, two mail trains and two freight trains made daily stops a the new city. By 1910, almost 70 businesses had been established.

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