Patricia Montgomery

We were cruising down Route 66 in eastern New Mexico to our next stop, Tucumcari (pronounced too-come-carry). We were really looking forward to this stop because we had heard that there was a section in the east part of town with hotels and curio shops that were still well-preserved right down to working neon lights on the signage.

It was later in the evening for a night shot than I would have liked. Once it gets what I call “black dark”, it is much harder to good a good exposure on neon lights. Those types of shots usually turn out much better when taken at dusk, once the sun has gone down and there is still a hint of blue in the skies.

As we drove slowly down The Mother Road through Tucumcari, it was just as I had hoped – about a mile or so of neon signs, some flashing. The first one we came to was the Blue Swallow which had a sign with a big blue swallow that flashed on and off. There was a vacant darkened lot next to the motel so we pulled in there.

I knew that night shots probably would not be the best, but in my excitement I wanted to try. We pulled out my father-in-law’s heavy-weight tripod that he had bought in the late 1960’s. We brought it along, thinking that its age was fitting for a road trip down Route 66. After attaching the camera to the tripod, I snapped my first shot.

I could see on the digital screen that the light from the neon tubing was flaring outward in a soft glow, giving the impression that it was not a sharp image. Monty stood beside me with his little pen flashlight and I changed settings to bracket several times, getting about four more shots. I was not satisfied with any of them.

I knew it probably was not going to get any better, but thought I would try for one last shot. As I was composing for the sixth try, my husband remarked that a man had stepped out of the motel office and had peered around the corner of a vehicle, clearly looking at us. Then he went back inside.

About 10 seconds later, we watched as the flashing blue neon tubes around the bird went out. We continued staring at the sign and then caught sight of someone pulling back the corner of the curtains of the motel office. He was standing back at the edge of the window but the outline was still clear of someone looking out toward us.

The curtains closed and then a few seconds later, the neon lights that formed the words “Blue Swallow Motel” went out. Now the sign was totally darkened with only the tiny orange “vacancy” sign still lit. The curtains came back again in the same place and we saw the outline of a person staring out the window toward us.

This all happened very quickly. After the second set of lights went out, we immediately packed up and left. We looked at our watches and it was only 8:30 pm.

I was very upset by this incident because up to this point we have met only nice business owners who encouraged us to take all the photos we liked. Even one of the tourist guide books commented that we should keep our camera handy and use it often because so many roadside business/attractions have quickly fallen to ruins and now are completely disappearing as a victim of the bulldozer.

Even though we have been traveling in the off-season, we often circled old 66 roadside attractions along with other tourists, also with their camera in hand. So I was very upset that it appeared the owner or a clerk of a Route 66 icon like The Blue Swallow would deliberately turn out the lights to prevent a tourist from taking a photograph.

After we checked into a room nearer to I-40, I surfed the internet and found an email address for the Blue Swallow. I sent a message asking point blank why he turned off the lights. I received what I considered to be a rude reply. He didn’t deny anything, just said that everyone turned off their lights along Route 66 at 9:30 pm every night and that he doubted I was a true Route 66 fan.

It may be true that the business owners don’t leave the neon lights on all night, but he said everyone turned them off at 9:30 pm. We had looked at our watches and the clock in our vehicle – the lights went out an hour earlier at 8:30 p.m. I also don’t think it is very wise of a business owner dependent on tourism to insult me by questioning whether I am a true fan.

I quite taken aback and have since formed a negative opinion of this motel owner. I researched the history of the Blue Swallow Motel afterwards and found that these people are not original owners and have bought it more recently. The motel was once run for quite a long time by a very nice lady, Miss Lillian. I believe that Miss Lillian would never have been so rude as to turn out the lights on a tourist. I think that if she had seen us in that parking lot, she would probably have waited until after we finished taking the photograph before darkening the signs.

The next morning we drove past The Blue Swallow in the light of day. In my personal opinion, the place does not have much going for it except for the spectacular blue neon sign that flashes at night. In the glaring light of day, it didn’t appear to have anything to recommend it except for two nice vintage vehicles parked in front. But that is only my opinion.

About one block east on the other side of the road, we stopped at Teepee Curios. The front entrance is in the shape of a teepee and is a nice photo opportunity. When I went inside, the bearded man at the cash register did not speak to me. I browsed around and finally eased over to the counter and said “Good Morning.” He did respond, but was not very friendly. If these two business owners are representative of Tucumcari, then I was not left with a good impression of the town.

That said, I would still recommend that if you are ever in New Mexico driving Route 66 approaching Tucumcari, don’t miss the drive through town. There are some very nice vestiges of the old road still worth seeing and photographing. However, I cannot recommend The Blue Swallow as a Route 66 photo op or as a place to stay.

After two days to consider everything prayerfully, I decided that I must forgive the owner of the Blue Swallow in order to find peace. I’ve done that and now have been able to laugh with my husband over how a woman with a camera shot out that bird. It was the night the lights went out in Tucumcari…