Following old Route 66 across New Mexico gives you a great taste of the Land of Enchantment, as the state calls itself on its license plates. There is less of the actual “old road” here than in other places, but the many towns and ghost towns along I-40, built more or less on top of Route 66, still stand. In Albuquerque, Route 66 runs through the center of this sprawling Sun Belt city, while in other places finding the old road and bypassed towns can take some time, though the effort is usually well rewarded.
Western New Mexico has the most to see and the most interesting topography, with sandstone mesas looming in the foreground and high, pine-forested peaks rising in the distance. Paralleling the Santa Fe Railroad, the route passes through the heart of this region, and numerous detours—to Inscription Rock and Chaco Canyon, among others—make unforgettable stops along the way. In the east, the land is flatter and the landscape drier as the road approaches the Great Plains.
