Tucumcari

We traveled to Tucumcari, NM, today, on I-40. It was a shorter trip, only 146 miles. We stopped at a rest area for lunch. It could use some maintenance, but at least it was open. The picnic tables and shelters seemed to be in good condition.

We stopped at the Flying J in Tucumcari to get diesel and Blue DEF. We had trouble getting the DEF: the pump didn't want to work. It took a maintenance guy and then the manager to get it started.  We will be glad when all diesel pumps, including those for "cars and RVs", have Blue DEF at the pump.

We are staying at the Historic Route 66 RV Park (formerly KIVA). After we got settled, we drove to the Chamber of Commerce to pick up some info about the murals in town. Armed with a map and a list, we walked around the downtown area. One mural was painted inside the men's restroom at the True Value Hardware. An employee cheerfully led us to the restroom and opened it so we could see the mural, on two walls and the ceiling.

One rather overwhelming impression we had is that Tucumcari has suffered badly from the financial crisis. Not only are many stores closed, but many buildings are falling down and have warning signs (like "this wall is unstable when windy").  Tomorrow we'll go out to find more of the murals.