Route 66 tour hits Gallup, Grants

By Mike Marino
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Summer is here. Gas prices are high, but that has not put the brakes on the 2007 Route 66 Great American Roadshow Tour. The Great American Roadshow Tour will be in Gallup on Wednesday, and from there will head to Grants on Thursday.

The tour started its engines June 21 in Santa Monica, Calif., at the western terminus of Route 66 and began its eastward trek. The tour plans to reach the shores of Lake Michigan indowntown Chicago Sept. 3.

The Mother Road motorcade will feature many vehicle types and vintages. The tour will have an international flavor as well, as participants from Europe and Japan will be joining in the journey.

Tourists visit Route 66 towns every year to absorb their history and sense of automotive nostalgia. The communities along the way welcome these tourists and their dollars with open arms.

The ultimate goal, according to the Tour Association, is to help each community's economic development by bringing attention to specific events being held in each community, and to show the historic importance of the famed Route.

The tour will pass through all the stretches of Route 66 in eight states including New Mexico, flush with automotive history.

While in Gallup Wednesday, the tour will enjoy the Indian Full Head Dress Show. In Grants on Thursday, the tour will take a trip to Bandera Crater and Ice Cave.

After leaving Grants, the tour will head into Albuquerque from July 13-14 to enjoy the Hot Air Balloon Show and Sizzlin' Summerfest. The caravan of cars will then head for Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Santa Rosa, and Tucumcari.