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Alanreed, Texas
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[HOME] [WESTERN AMERICANA GALLERY] [ROUTE 66 HOME] [ROUTE 66 WEST] [ROUTE 66 EAST]
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Alanreed, Texas
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Alanreed, Texas |
Just a few miles west of McLean is the old Route 66 town of Alanreed. The glory days are over for this Mother Road Town - the Interstate brought those days to an end. Now it is a quiet little spot on the old highway. There is a nicely restored gas station though thanks to the efforts of the Historic Route 66 Association of Texas. Perhaps part of Alanreed's fascinating Route 66 history has to do with one of the most treacherous sections of Route 66 ~ the infamous Jericho Gap. |
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Beautifully restored gas station. |
The oldest Church in the area. |
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All that's left of the famous Reptile Ranch.
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Forgotten cages return to nature at the
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Multi-Million Dollar Rest Room! |
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| Everything is just a little bit bigger and better in Texas! And that includes the rest rooms. The newest addition to the Texas DOT Safety Rest Areas is this fantastic Route 66 theme stop on east bound Interstate-40 at mile marker 129. To say I was impressed is putting it mildly. This is NOT a rest room but rather a Route 66 ATTRACTION that just so happens to have some public facilities. | ||
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| What is really great about this stop is that it has interpretive computer programs, exhibits, and Route 66 history for the traveling public to enjoy. What better way to get the word out! Plan to stop and spend some time here, you won't be sorry you did. This newest rest area is located a short distance west of Alanreed, Texas on I-40. | ||
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This Route 66 playground would delight any child. The interpretive Route 66 history around the playground just might be an educational experience too. But don't tell your kids, they'll be having too much fun on old Route 66! |
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Roadside comfort stations have never been this luxurious before! What happened to the shade tree, trash can, and if you were lucky - a picnic table? |
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Jericho Gap |
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In the early days of Route 66 the section of Road from Alanreed to Groom was known as the Jericho gap and was notorious for bogging cars down in the mud after rainstorms. Local farmers and ranchers made supplemental income by pulling stranded motorists out of the mud for a fee. I've even heard tales of enterprising locals watering down the road to increase business. Now I don't know if that's true or not, but it is an interesting footnote to the history of the area. In the late 1920s Groom, Texas was gaining a notorious reputation because of the celebrated Jericho Gap! | |
| The stories of the quagmire, the mud and delays spread all along the old highway and terrified early travelers. Even with the recapping and paving of Route 66 in the area during the 1930s, horror stories remained of the infamous Jericho Gap for decades. What remains of the Jericho Gap is now on private property and is not accessible. | ||
Photographs Taken April 2003
Click on an area or city of Route 66 on the map below to take a cyber tour of that section of the Mother Road |
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NAVIGATION NOTE: Buckle up and hold on to your mouse! These pages are arranged like the map above, from the western state border to the eastern state border. I have set up this site as if you were traveling from EAST to WEST, much like the Joad family in The Grapes of Wrath. You can click on the Route 66 shields to "travel" the Mother Road in either direction though. Or you can select any shield below to take you to that specific state. |
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To Groom , Texas |
To McLean, Texas |
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