Mariachi Elvis and the Giant Flipflop. The Mother road 14.

We made a lunchtime stop just across the New Mexico border at the Glen Rio rest stop and Visitor Centre.

Glen Rio is a tiny (derelict) ghost town…but the visitor centre is nice. The lady in there recommended we stop at San Jon (pronounced San Hon) to see the world’s largest Flip Flop (under construction). On the journey of the giants, one could not possibly bypass that one which was on the way to Tucumcari…our destination today…and she assured us, not only should we swing by to see it, but the road was suitable for the trailer…..it was not..

We traveled a short distance hoping it would improve but with our teeth almost shaken from our mouths a sense of dread as to the condition of the trailer overtook us. With nowhere to turn around, we reversed from whence we came, it was no smoother the second time……the flipflop would wait for another day.

Blaze-In-Saddles, Tucumcari.

I kid you not………when we pulled into the campground in Tucumcari (Blaze In Saddles) I asked the owner if it would be possible to stay extra nights. He gave me a sideways ‘are you a crazy person’ look and said, “there’s nothing in Tucumcari”…..”Oh yes” we said eagerly.. “there’s the Rawhide Festival this very weekend…..!!!”

To be fair…if it had not been for the festival he was completely correct… Tucumcari is a town that is well past its sell-by date. The town is probably more than 50% derelict and abandoned……it has definitely seen better days. Once boasting a population around 12,000 it’s now down to 5,000.

Sad because there are a lot of iconic things here (claim to fame being that its where the TV series Rawhide was filmed …Clint Eastwood stayed here when he was a much younger man, and the town was a bustlin’ metropolis …!!)

The main strip is not long, but the remnants of a once thriving town are clear.

Tucumcari is one of the towns that the Pixar movie Cars was based on, it’s a town bypassed by the new highway and has lurched along into decline ever since. Mesa Tucumcari just outside the town is the inspiration for the Radiator Springs mountain in the movie.

The big draw for us was Rawhide Days Festival and the parade on Saturday featuring Mariachi Elvis…who could resist. What the parade lacked in size, was more than made up for by the man himself, Thank you very much.

Mariachi Elvis was absolutely not a disappointment…he was fantastic .

He even put on a rhinestone sombrero and white bejeweled ascot, belting out some Elvis songs in Spanish. He had a great voice, knew how to work a crowd and looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself…….we certainly were. If you ever get a chance to see Mariachi Elvis…get yourself there with bells on…you will not be disappointed.

Also stood and chatted to a lady who was sitting at the back spinning (well really….how could I resist..!!) Lovely lady…thanks for your time Eleanor…. :-).She also showed me some work she had done bias weaving on a pin loom….I may have another hobby…….!!! (Editor, just what her ladyship needs, a new hobby)

It was a fantastic day….

In the meantime, based on a recommendation from the lady in the New Mexico Visitor Centre on the highway…..we also had to back track to San Jon. It is indeed under construction and if you kinda look sidey ways, half shut your eyes, squint a lot and pile in some imagination…….well…..what do YOU think…? I can only assume the residents arrived by the small boat, which ran aground leaving the stranded.

The trip back to San Jon led us through some more relics, lost places off the now beaten track.

There is so much old neon in Tucumcari that we had to do a night drive to see how much of it was still operational…..

The whole time we were in Tucumcari the temp did not drop below 38 C ……and in the midst of it our front AC unit failed…. (that’s the big one that does most of the work……argh) With a bit of internet sleuthing I had some possible reasons for it and with luck some simple solving. Also found a mobile RV tech in Santa Fe with a five-star review…Santa Fe, New Mexico being the next stop on our calendar.

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