A brief escape into eastern New Mexico

A N.M. 129 sign stands near Newkirk.
Gregory "Highway" Hasman photo

May 1 was a good day to hit the road and escape for a little while.

I decided to head from Albuquerque to Tucumcari to meet a friend for lunch to discuss the current state of Route 66 in eastern New Mexico and try to make sense of things. But instead of continuing east from Newkirk, I went up N.M. Highway 129. The 17-mile road's rocky terrain, blue skies, thin clouds and occasional windmills released some of the tension I had been feeling.

N.M. 39 is a 93-mile road that runs from Logan to Abbott
Gregory "Highway" Hasman photo

After zigzagging on two other roads in San Miguel and Harding counties, I went north on N.M. 39, one of the first highways I drove on when I visited the state two decades ago. The open spaces, barbed wire and big sky captured my attention then and I needed to reacquaint myself with them now.

As I approached Roy (founded by ranchers Frank and William Roy), I was hoping to see the old NAPA store I photographed over 15 years ago. Unfortunately, it was damaged beyond repair, but I did find the old filling station, a motel and a Bob Wills mural.

Western swing artist Bob Wills once called Roy, N.M. home.
Gregory "Highway" Hasman

I had been to Wills’ hometown of Turkey, Texas, but I never knew he once called Roy home! Here, he reportedly cut hair and invented what became Western swing music.

After photographing the mural and humming “Faded Love,” I photographed an old café across the street then a veteran’s park a block away. On road trips, I take pictures of veteran’s parks to pay tribute to relatives who served in the military.

As I pointed my camera phone, a man with a ballcap and reddish hair in a 2000s white, diesel ranch truck pulled up.  I did not know whether he was going to ask me to hit the road or whatever.  I stared at him until he waved and continued south. Despite what's going on in the world, it was nice to see someone acknowledging a person documenting a piece of Americana with a camera. 

A Goodnight-Loving Trail interpretative marker sits in Mosquero.
Gregory "Highway" Hasman photo

I then stopped in Mosquero, a community along the Goodnight-Loving Trail, which was used by cattle drives in the late 1860s to transport Texas longhorns from West Texas and New Mexico to Colorado railroads. Mosquero is also home to a colorful Hess filling station and murals that paid tribute to the community’s ranching history. I needed a quick fix of photos before continuing south.

After an hour, I reached Logan, the home of fallen New Mexico State Police officer Justin Hare. In March 2024, he was gunned down by Jaremy Smith off Interstate 40, near Montoya. Days later, I came to Logan and interviewed people Hare knew or a story with the Albuquerque Journal. There was sadness, anger and confusion in their eyes. 

On Thursday, it was quieter. It felt like a regular day, though I wondered what his family was doing. How were they handling the recent life sentence that Smith received? After filling up, I went inside Logan Super Stop where a man with a thick, long gray beard in blue jeans rushed to the line. A person let them skip them so he could pick up a pack of smokes and be on their way.

U.S. Highway 54 runs over 350 miles in New Mexico from the Texas line near Dalhart to outside El Paso. From Logan, it crosses the Canadian River then runs alongside the railroad tracks. Traffic is dominated by trucks. I was riding in a convoy until I reached Tucumcari where the truckers and I split ways.

A few minutes later, I parked at Del's Restaurant, photographed the iconic neon sign with a Hereford on top, then met my friend to talk about Route 66 and the frustrations they had over a lack of urgency the city have been showing toward the upcoming centennial Route 66 celebration. 

After parting ways, I had over an hour before I could check in at the motel, so I headed to San Jon where I stopped at a former Quay County co-op. The building’s faded letters seduced me to photograph it like a model so I stopped and took as many pictures as I could. While scoping the area, a couple in a recreational vehicle stopped to wave at me before driving on. That was the cue for me to continue east.

The New Mexico and Texas state line marker sits in Glenrio.
Gregory "Highway" Hasman photo

About 20 minutes away is the New Mexico and Texas state line marker. There's something magical about these markers. For a moment, I could be in multiple states at once.

I was getting tired, so I drove back to Tucumcari and checked in at the Roadrunner Lodge where I was greeted by Moon Pies and a radio that played advertisements from the 1960s. I enjoyed the rest of the evening taking photos of the area, including several neon signs, a 1951 Buick and early 1960s Ford Galaxie. 

It was cool!

The iconic Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari.
Gregory "Highway" Hasman photo

The next morning, I photographed a few neon signs before hitting I-40 for about 30 miles. As I drove past where Hare was shot, Alan Jackson's "Remember When" came on the radio. The memory flowed down my cheek as I again thought about his family. A few minutes later, I got off at the Newkirk exit, stopped by the N.M. 129 highway shield, looked north and took a deep breath before continuing with my day.