"You just have to spot at the new truck stop and see the car museum," said my daughter , knowing I was going to New Mexico on I-40, in the ghosts of US66.
I'd seen the truck stop being built, the first exit inside the state from the Texas Panhandle, just about a mile or so west of the welcome center, but I wouldn't have stopped if she hadn't mentioned it.
What a surprise, with 25 cars and hundreds of old memorabilia inside. The oldest is a 1927 Model T Roadster, and the newest is a 2007 Supersnake convertible. There's a 1929 Model A pickup, a 1952 Harley, and a lot of cars from the 1950s.Best of all it's free.
These are the passion of Emory and Barbara Russell. He started hauling logs in New Mexico, moved to Cimarron in 1964, and after flooding lived in a tent for a while. They went into the grocery business and expanded. He still owns the grocery in Cimarron but sold most of them, before getting into the truck stop business at Springer and expanding. You have to check the family web site Car Treasure! for better photos than these--the light played havoc with my cell phone.
What the web site doesn't tell is how he got into the car business, but one of the employees told me he has five cars at Springer, and about 200 total, most of which are still "projects." There's also apparently an annual car show. Read the web site and you'll find these generous people have indeed given us all a treasure. Worth the trip and the stop, for sure. There's a Route 66 diner serving breakfast all day, and a gift shop.
Hmm, I'll have to check that out. I just love old cars, not to own, but to look at.
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