Take a scenic ride along the high desert of western New Mexico as we follow a short but memorable 5-mile stretch of Historic Route 66 from the small community of Thoreau to the Continental Divide. This westward journey parallels Interstate 40, carrying us through landscapes that have been witness to generations of travelers chasing opportunity, adventure, or simply the horizon. Here, the Mother Road still whispers its past, even as the modern freeway hums just to the south.
Leaving Thoreau, we pass modest businesses and roadside structures that speak to the town’s long service to travelers. Thoreau itself emerged as a railroad stop in the late 19th century and became a vital point on Route 66 when the highway was established in 1926. The landscape quickly opens into the wide, sun-baked plains of the Navajo Nation, where mesas rise in the distance and the scent of sagebrush drifts on the wind. The pavement carries a gentle rhythm, the kind of road where you can almost hear the echoes of classic cars and Greyhound buses heading toward California dreams.
As we gain a slight but steady elevation, the sense of geography shifts—this is not just another stretch of highway, but the approach to a continental milestone. The Continental Divide here marks the invisible hydrological line separating waters flowing toward the Pacific Ocean from those destined for the Atlantic. At roughly 7,275 feet above sea level, this point is one of the highest along all of Route 66. Small souvenir shops and a few weathered billboards hint at its mid-century heyday, when families would stop to snap photos and pick up postcards proclaiming they had stood “on top of the world.”
Soon, we arrive at the heart of the Divide area. Today, the site is more subdued than in the height of Route 66’s glory, but the history still lingers. For decades, this spot was a marketing magnet, with curio shops, diners, and gas stations competing for the attention of road-weary motorists. Now, travelers on the old road can pause for a moment of reflection, taking in the surrounding expanse of red-tinged earth and the soft roll of the horizon. It’s a reminder that even brief journeys can carry deep significance—sometimes the most memorable parts of a trip are not the miles covered, but the stories embedded in the landscape.
🎵 Music:
Piano March by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Artist: http://audionautix.com/
🗺️ Route Map
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