Day 9 Vega, TX - Grants, NM 413 miles

  Up this morning early and the temperature was 70*. We threw the bags over the iron horse and my pardner and I hit the trail. We rode out of Vega in the cover of darkness trying to hit the New Mexico border by first light. We succeeded........:^)

  OK, enough of that! We did leave the motel around 5:20 and it was still dark. Our first stop was to get gas and then find the Mid Point Cafe which is half way between Chicago and Los Angeles 1139 miles either way. I wish the cafe would have been open but we didn't want to wait until 8:00 when it did open.

  We got into New Mexico and stopped at Russell's Travel Center. What a place that is. It has only been open for 18 days so if you are traveling West in New Mexico from Texas, stop and check it out. It is loaded with 50's and 60's stuff, has a truckers lounge , laundry mat, chapel, convenient store, Subway, and Russell's Cafe that is like and old 50's diner and huge.

  We went through Tucumcari, NM that is loaded with things and place from the old Route 66 boom days. It is quite a trip down 66 through there and probably one of the best kept sections of 66. Actually a trip through the 40 Business Loop would give you a good look at what touring Route 66 is all about.

  We run into several nice people again today. Bikers and non bikers. There are some nice people out there. Ok, it is getting late so I will shorten this up and get to Susie's highlight of the day. Mine too actually.
  We took the Santa Fe loop following the Santa Fe Trail and made a swing back around down the Turquoise Trail. What beautiful country that is . New Mexico is nice but that area is awesome. You expect the Calvary or a group of Indians to come riding at you at any moment and constantly on the look out for smoke signals from one of the many buttes and bluffs. :^)

  So the Turquoise Trail (NM 14) going south from Santa Fe will take you to the little town of Madrid, NM. For those of you that don't know, the movie Wild Hogs had quite a bit of action in that town. It is a good movie and I think you would like it if you haven't watched it. OK, Maggie's Main Street Diner played a big part in the movie. It is an awesome place even though it is a store and not a diner.

The owner told us that the producers of the movie built the diner on a vacant lot that they owned next to their store. You guessed it. Now Honore & Hugh Hacket own the diner that is next to their store. This is a link to their store. http://ghosttowntradingpost.com/  Honore is a very nice woman that is good about telling the story of the place and will even offer to take your picture and we took hers.

  Susie got to sit in the exact place in a booth that John Travolta sat in during the movie. That really made her day and it made mine just to see the place. Actually that is why we took the Santa Fe loop and it was worth every mile of it.

  So tonight we are in Grants, NM at the Best Western Grants Inn. We stayed her last year but we were headed East. We got here just in time before a big rain storm hit. The desk clerk told us to park the Harley under the roof by the window so it would be out of the rain. Also they can keep an eye on it. Oh and guess what ? Another group of around 20 or so riders from Norway showed up and are spending the night and this isn't the group we see in Weatherford, OK.

 We are now 2 hours behind you folks.
  Everyone have a good night and take care.
  Albert and Susie