Route 66 New Mexico

Yesterday 7/14, I rode from Williams, AZ to Gallup, NM. The scenery, while similar, was buttes, flats, washes, and interesting rock formations. I enjoyed the ride! Much of Route 66 lays under I-40, so a minimal amount of the “old road” exists. However, there are some parts through towns that have preserved the route. 

Today, I decided to not take the Santa Fe loop like I did in 2017 and just go straight to Santa Rosa, NM. I passed through famous Rt 66 areas like Albuquerque, NM and crossed over the mighty Rio Grande. However, I was disappointed that a river with the name Rio Grande (Great River) would be so dried up.

I didn’t have anyone to “meet up” with, so I enjoyed the Americana and scenery along the route. In 2017, I spoke a lot about the sacredness of the road. To me the road is sacred because it is set apart and represents a time gone bye. Route 66 ceased to be a maintained E/W Hwy route in the 80s and much of the original road has either fallen into disrepair or been overlayed by interstate. I consider it a privilege to drive the “mother road” that was also known as “Main Street America.”

This is the second time I’ve been able to travel this sacred road, and hope to be able to do it again (with Kelly, especially) before I die (Maybe not on the bike! 😉) 

I’ve explained over and over again that this is a pilgrimage. When I am traveling like this, 200-300 miles per day, I think and dream a lot. I write down the turns and directions so I don’t turn wrong (even though I always make at least one bad turn per day on 66). The sacred road offers me the space to connect with God and myself while taking in the change of landscape and scenery. I may not have been able to travel the “original road” all the time, but it allowed me to think of how the road might have been in yesteryear. 

Today, I thought about old vs. new… about then vs. now… and how we honor the great parts of our past while building the future. There are some things in our past that we learn from and move on, but other things that make up our foundation. While it’s all a part of who we are, we should honor the parts that are life giving and restorative that last the tests of time and provide us with the foundation to build on for the future.

Let’s think about the Book of Common Prayer. First English document of the Rites and Rituals of the church penned in 1549. It provided the foundation of how we worship today in the Episcopal Church and we see it as foundational to our spiritual practice and how we engage the faith that forms and informs our life. Much like the road, laid in 1926 (yes the 100 anniversary next year) has provided a foundation for a future interstate system that no one could have envisioned back then. The car had only been around for about 20 years and road travel was still a bit rude for automobiles. Little did Thomas Cranmer and the framers of the 1549 Book of Common Prayer know what significance the Book of Common Prayer would mean to so many folk hundreds of years later.

Challenge to St. James and Self: Think about how we can honor the good parts of our past and build the future using the good as part as a resilient foundation. Jesus and his followers left us with ways to live and connect and love and honor God and one another. The Church’s primary foundation will always first be Jesus the Christ. However, some of the good practices of our tradition that have lasted the test of time in the past 2 millennia provide us with a method of connection and formation helping us form our faith and become spiritually strong enough to face even the most difficult challenges.

Willams, AZ to Gallup, NM

Ride: 220 miles

Gallup, NM to Santa Rosa, NM

Ride: 258 miles