Dying Tucumcari (click image for slideshow)

I know, I initially said Day 7 would conclude my July Escape posts, but that was before I pulled off for lunch in poor Tucumcari, New Mexico on my way back to Oklahoma.  Once a thriving hotel town for Route 66, its main drag is now littered with abandoned buildings and decaying hotel signs.  While Amarillo has grown like a weed, much of Tucumcari is about to dry up and blow away.

I drove up and down the strip to photograph some of most interesting signs, struck by how delapidated the town has become.  I found a nice online collection of photos by Jim Ridge which paints Tucumcari in a more positive light, but clearly more of the businesses have gone to rack and ruin since his visit.

Click here for a slideshow of Tucumcari signs

<–Day 7 of this adventure