Route 66 Vacation
September 26, 2014
Day 2 Part A
Amarillo, TX to Santa Fe, NM
What a fun day!! Left Amarillo and headed West. We had driven
Route 66 to Tucumcari, NM
during the last leg of our adventure back
in 2012 so we decided to just drive quickly until we arrived there
and then slow down and see all the new sights. Tho I have to admit
we have driven parts of this "new" section many times on our way to see son Jeff in
Los Lunas, NM.
As we were nearing Tucumcari we could see the Tucumcari Mountains
off to the left. Beautiful Mountains. There is a legend regarding
how Tucumcari got it's name.
Tucumcari Legend
The legend, as told me, was thus:
“As the Apache Chief, Watonomah was nearing the end of his life,
he was troubled by the question of who would succeed him as ruler of
the tribe. He had two fine braves, either of which would make a good
chief. They were called Tonopah and Tocom. But, there was a problem.
They were sworn enemies, and were rivals, each one vying for the
chief’s daughter, Kari.
Now, Kari knew her heart belonged to Tocom. She loved him, and
hated Tonopah.
Even knowing that, Chief Watonomah summoned Tonopah and Tocom to
his side and announced, “Soon I will die, and one of you must
succeed me as chief. Tonight you will take your long knives to the
mountain and meet in mortal combat. You will settle this matter of
hatred between you. The one who survives shall be Chief and shall
have my daughter, Kari as his squaw.”
As ordered, the two braves met on the mountain with knives
outstretched, in a fight to the death. Unknown to either brave, Kari
was hiding nearby. After a long fight, Tonopah’s knife found the
heart of Tocom. As he lay dying, the young squaw rushed from her
hiding place, and with her knife, took the life of Tonopah. Then,
using Tocom’s knife, took her own life.
When Chief Watonomah was shown this tragic scene, he was
heartbroken. He plunged his knife into his own heart, and cried out
in agony, “Tocom – Kari!”
Today, a slight variation of Chief Watonomah’s dying words lives
on as “Tucumcari,” and the mountain that bears that name stands
as a reminder of unfulfilled love and devotion.”
For more of the blog:
http://papas-stories.com/dir/2013/04/03/the-legend-of-tucumcari-mountain/
On To Santa Fe
We continued west then decided to travel the Pre-1937 Route 66
Santa Fe Loop. It was beautiful up in the Sangre De Cristo
Mountains. We went over Glorieta Pass which is the highest point on
Route 66 at over 7,500 feet.
In Santa Fe, NM we got hopelessly lost. We did find a wonderful
restaurant for lunch called Los Potrillos. I highly recommend it.
Don't worry I won't leave us lost in Santa Fe forever. Come back for the next edition of our adventure to view the awesome things we saw next.
Have a wonderful day,
Charyl
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