-I'm traveling along Route 66, and I've made it to a state where the Mother Road explodes in epic landscapes and legendary stops.

It's where motor lodges flash original neon signs and roadside restaurants serve up hearty meals like they have for decades.

It's where you'll find architecture unlike anything in this world, and a museum that honors a unique set of heroes who helped change it.

It's a stretch of road that is bold and unforgettable.

I'm traveling Route 66 in New Mexico.

I'm Samantha Brown, and I've traveled all over this world, and I'm always looking to find the destinations, the experiences, and most importantly, the people who make us feel like we're really a part of a place.

That's why I have a love of travel and why these are my places to love.

Major funding of "Places to Love" provided by Oceania Cruises.

-A journey aboard Oceania Cruises is designed to cultivate curiosity.

Evenings offer craft spirits, international wines, and dishes prepared by our master chefs.

That's the Oceania Cruises small ship experience.

-Railbookers helps you discover the world by train.

From bucket list dreams to iconic scenic journeys, our Railbookers itinerary includes trains, hotels, sightseeing, transfers, and more.

Railbookers offers guests a seamless way to explore the globe on vacation.

-Since 1975, we've inspired adults to learn and travel the United States and in more than 100 countries.

From exploring our national parks to learning about art and culture in Italy, we've introduced adults to places, ideas and friends.

We are Road Scholar.

We make the world our classroom.

♪♪ -Ever wonder where your sense of wonder went?

Maybe it's winding its way along the banks of the Colorado River.

Or waiting in the shadows of giant canyons.

Or maybe it's revealed in all the moments in between.

Introducing Canyon Spirit, a rail experience between Denver, Moab, and Salt Lake City.

Canyon Spirit, proud sponsor of "Places to Love."

-I haven't started Route 66 in New Mexico.

[Laughing] Oh, no.

I've been on a quest to explore the whole thing.

[ Laughs ] Starting in Illinois, I've made it through five states on my way to California.

So if you're just joining the adventure now, there's a few things you should know.

-In 1985, Route 66 was federally de-certified, literally removed off the maps.

-After 59 years, The iconic road was replaced by the Interstate Highway System.

Five highways over the next three years replaced it.

-Small towns began to die.

-But not all of them.

So you have a lot of new things are resurrected or repurposed sites, and then people always like to make sidebar trips off the road.

-You're going to encounter gas stations, cafes.

You're going to meet interesting people.

-Welcome to Uranus!

-Welcome to Uranus!

-Sometimes it follows a highway, really plain and simple.

Other times it cuts into more rural environments and you're like, "Where the heck am I?"

-Enjoy the journey because the destination is not where you're going.

-Talk to a local, they'll talk back to you and you're going to have a great time.

-Life truly begins at the off-ramp.

-So you heard the rules of the road, and I've been following them.

And riding shotgun is a pie from the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas, which sits at the exact center of Route 66.

Brenda Hammett, the owner, makes pies to cry over, and when she found out my next stop was Tucumcari, New Mexico... -Are you going to go see Larry at the Safari?

-The motel?

Yeah.

Yeah.

-Yeah.

Because I would like you to take him a pie for me.

-I was more than happy to help myself to another slice of that pie.

And so as I make my way across state lines, the wide open spaces get wider.

Oh!

[ Laughing ] This is incredible.

This is where you really need a map because if I was driving down this road, I might not think it was Route 66.

And it feels like I'm in a snow globe without the snow.

Because you can see, like, 180 degrees of sky.

It's just all around me.

Route 66 crosses the entire state of New Mexico, and I'll be visiting some of its most famous cities on this leg.

But about 40 miles from the Texas border is the city of Tucumcari, where I had a promise to keep.

[ Bell rings ] -Hi.

-Hello.

Are you Larry?

-I am.

-I have a special delivery from Brenda.

-Of course.

That looks like the Elvis.

-Your favorite.

-It is.

-A few pieces missing.

Sorry about that.

-I hope -- I hope it would be because you should enjoy it as well.

-She would like the glass pie plate back.

-Of course.

That's part of the process.

-She told me I had to come here, that this was really a place that represented Route 66 in its heyday.

And as it moves forward to the next 100 years.

And you're a part of that.

What made this a place for so many people to stop, for so many hotels to be in the middle of nowhere?

-It's the, uh, the legend of "Tucumcari Tonight," it was always just a great tagline that's lived for years.

-An oasis in the middle of the desert.

-It is.

And it's always drawn travelers in.

-Mm-hmm.

Motel Safari opened in 1959.

And it's not only mid-century modern, it's Googie or doo-wop style architecture.

-The extended brickwork, the oozing mortar and the brickwork.

Holes in the walls, all that get people's attention, which is what Route 66 is all about.

-All the rooms have been renovated.

There's even a "Rawhide" suite.

The legendary TV show shot episodes nearby.

And I guess it's time for me to head 'em up and move 'em out too.

If you're heading towards Albuquerque on Route 66 like I am, you pass through the small city of Santa Rosa, home of the Route 66 Auto Museum, and some of the cars are actually for sale.

1960.

Ooh, $32,000.

It's a barn find.

Find a lot of great things in a barn.

The interiors are equally as fascinating.

Check this one out.

This has got to be original.

Just beautiful.

I mean, it's a little, you know, frayed around the edges, but... So would you if you were born in 1958.

-Excuse me?

I was born in 1958.

-Oh!

[ Chuckles ] You look wonderful.

Coming out of Santa Rosa, you have a choice of which Route 66 to take.

The newer 1937 alignment, which is a straight shot to Albuquerque or the original 1926 route.

It does add 107 miles to the trip, but the scenery alone is worth it.

And it goes through one of my favorite cities in the world -- Santa Fe.

Route 66 here in Santa Fe really shows how Route 66 just followed existing roads, correct?

-Yes, this is Santa Fe, ancient center of trade and culture.

So the Via Rail from Mexico City, the old Santa Fe Trail from Kansas City, and then in 1926, Route 66 from Chicago to L.A., the Mother Road came right through here, through Santa Fe.

I'm Tomas Gallegos.

My family came here in the 1640s looking for a better life.

And I'm now a tour guide here in northern New Mexico, helping to bring the culture through.

-So Route 66 only enjoyed 11 years here.

The original version.

And then it ended in 1937.

What happened?

-Well, the original Route 66 was altered to go through the interstates on I-40, through Albuquerque, onto California.

-Just a more straight route.

-Yes.

But all the people who drove it over the many years also knew that they came to Santa Fe.

So they did, and still continue to come to Santa Fe knowing it's the earliest part of Route 66.

Everything here is built on the Pueblo culture.

These Native Americans who've traditionally lived here for the last 1,200 years, right here, where we're standing, were always here.

-Is that why me today, and everyone who comes to Santa Fe has this feeling?

Do you think that comes from the Pueblo people?

-It does.

It's a matrilineal society, which is rare in America... -A matrilineal society?

-Yes.

It's not matriarchal or anti-men.

It's matrilineal, which means the property goes through the women, from your grandmother to your mother, to you, to any daughters you have.

So the women truly own the property.

-I knew I loved Santa Fe for a reason.

I wasn't able to sort of, you know.

-Which is why I call it Powerful Woman Place.

Most people in America don't know our Native Americans very well, not in New Mexico and northern New Mexico.

We interact with them.

They're part of every bit of our culture here.

-Santa Fe is always considered a crossroads of cultures, and nothing says that more than the plaza.

-So other trails have come right to here.

People have always traded and gathered and shared information nationally here forever.

-Santa Fe has left its mark on us.

Is there a way that we can sort of give thanks to Santa Fe as well?

-Yes.

I'm going to put some cornmeal in there.

For the Pueblo people, corn is life.

For you, your breath is your spirit.

So one way to leave your spirit here forever is to blow your breath with the corn and leave it in this place.

♪♪ -We have made it to Albuquerque.

This is a great city on its own just to explore, but we are here for Route 66.

We are driving on right now, and Albuquerque has -- Let me -- see if I can get this right -- the longest continuous urban stretch of Route 66 at 18 miles.

And that is not the only piece of trivia I'm going to hit you with right now.

Ready?

Albuquerque, New Mexico is the only place where in all of 2,400 miles, Route 66 crosses itself.

That's the old alignment, this is the new alignment.

Or that's the old alignment, this is the new alignment.

Sorry, I didn't check that out.

One business steps away from this crossroads has been a beacon on Albuquerque's Route 66 from the beginning.

The Kimo Theatre.

-People love that sign.

It's not the original original.

But it looks like the original.

This thing is photographed every day.

Every day somebody is on that corner or somebody walking down or at night.

-So it's a point of pride.

-Definitely a point of pride.

-But the pride doesn't stop at the iconic sign.

The interior of the Kimo is an architectural knockout.

Oh my gosh.

Wow.

What a theater.

So this was built in 1927.

-It opened in 1927.

-Okay.

Which is basically the same timing as Route 66 coming in to be.

-Yeah, absolutely.

During that time, it was all about Art Deco.

There was the Egyptian Deco.

There was all kinds of Deco, but here architecture was based on the Pueblo style.

So this became like Pueblo Deco.

-Pueblo Deco.

-Pueblo Deco.

-I've never heard that architectural term before.

-That's why you see a lot of Native American imagery, you know, all kinds of signs and symbols and references to kind of indigenous cultures here in New Mexico.

-Are there ghosts?

-Of course there are ghosts.

Our ghost is Bobby.

Bobby was a little boy who was killed in an accident here at the Kimo in the 1950s.

So he's little boy.

So he's not a mean ghost.

He's mischievous.

So if you don't bring him something, a toy, a treat, something to play with, then he will make his own mischief during your production.

-Maybe the cameraman forgot to record this entire scene-- Better safe than sorry, Bobby.

Just steps away from the Kimo Is one of the most specialized businesses in all of Albuquerque.

The name of the shop is so simple.

The Man's Hat shop.

And yet, choosing a hat is so overwhelming and intimidating.

You know?

-That's our job is to help you... -Okay.

-...find something you like.

-It's like you're playing matchmaker, right?

So you don't make any of these hats.

You fit them.

-That's correct.

And then we designed the different shapes out of whichever body and color the person asked for.

-So this is sort of like a blank slate right here.

-Yes it is.

-And and then you add this, you can.

-And we can also take the brims and cut them down to whatever size.

Change this if this is not acceptable to the customer.

-So when I come in here I've got a little head and a little little shaped face.

And I find most Western hats are overwhelming to my face, but I still love them.

So could you tell me out of all these hats, like, can you just look at them and go, "You know what, this one's going to be right for you"?

-Well, this we can take and cut this down and design it to fit you and where you like it.

And it looks good on you.

-Could you change the top as well?

-Yes I can.

-You could take that out and then kind of impress another design.

-We do.

-I had no idea.

It's really.

It's a canvas.

-Most people don't.

They think that this is where the-- -That's what I thought, I'm like, "I don't know if I could pull this one off or this one."

But so you would put it and press a shape on that.

-Exactly.

-Are all of these men's hats, are they-- They can be both.

-Ladies wear them as well.

They're unisex.

-Because I was like, "Well, where are the women's hats?"

And I couldn't figure that out.

That stumped me.

So the whole shop is open to me.

-Yes it is.

-Okay.

All right.

So I'll try this one.

-Okay, we're gonna put it on this block here.

-Okay.

-And the idea is I'm going to shrink this down to the block height.

-You're going to shrink it down.

How do you shrink the hat?

-I'll show you.

-Okay.

-Heat and moisture.

-How long is this process?

-We can turn them out, usually depending on how busy we are.

Within 20 minutes.

-Oh my gosh.

That's very quick.

-Yeah.

-Having something so customized.

There's so much to be in awe of at the unassumingly named Man's Hat Shop.

For starters, Stewart's father started the business in 1946 after returning home from World War II.

And the workshop is filled with wonderful tools, like these hat blocks that are over 120 years old.

And also being here in Albuquerque, you, uh, have a huge movie industry.

-Yes, it's been real good for us.

-Yeah I bet.

-"Breaking Bad" was big for us.

And, uh, Cranston came in and, uh, picked several hats to take, uh, back to costume to get approved.

And everybody liked the pork pie.

-So you did Walter White's pork pie hat.

Oh, my gosh, that makes you a legend.

-Well, I don't know about that.

-[ Laughs ] Look at that.

So you've just erased what was there before?

-Exactly.

See how short that is?

-Yes.

-And it was just simply the heat.

And the felt actually just shrinks to this block.

-So you've made it smaller?

-Yes.

Shorter.

-For my little head.

-Yeah.

-[ Laughs ] Just because it's a 20 minute process doesn't mean it's not intense.

Once the crown is done, the brim needs to be shaped on a flange.

And now Stewart has his blank slate.

Look at that.

It's a totally different hat.

-Yeah.

So now we're going to start from scratch.

-Yeah.

-Okay.

I'm going to cut this down three quarters of an inch.

-[ Laughs ] -There's $100.

-My hat is sanded with hatter sandpaper to soften the edge made by the cut.

And now the crown gets its glory.

I feel like this is the most artistic point.

-Exactly.

-Oh, yeah.

-This is the finishing touches.

-When you get to New Mexico, especially from Texas, all of a sudden the landscape just changes.

It's so inspiring.

And so a hat is a great way to commemorate, like, I'm in a very different place on earth.

Wow!

That is beautiful, Stewart.

-You make the hat look good.

-[ Laughs ] Leaving Albuquerque and continuing further west, Route 66 takes me to a small city with a hidden history.

-The largest known deposit of uranium is in this area.

At one time we had over 8,000 people working in the industry here.

Over 100 mines and seven major mills.

All that material went to the U.S.

government.

My name is Terry Fletcher, and I was involved in the underground mining for 20 years.

-Terry is on the board of directors of the New Mexico Mining Museum here in Grants, and he often conducts tours of the museum's very convincing recreation of an underground uranium mine.

-The mines average anywhere from 600 to 3,000 feet deep, depending on which mine you were in.

You notice it's much smaller because if it gets large, it spontaneously caves in.

-Okay.

-So a lot of people ask me, "Why isn't this oak?"

It'd be stronger.

This is aspen wood.

The reason they use this softwood is the miners learn how to read that, and they hear the creaking and groaning, and they know by this whether it's in danger of collapsing in here.

-So this is the canary in the coal mine.

-That's right.

Right around the corner is the drill that the miner uses to drill the rock.

-Holes were drilled four feet deep, then loaded with explosives to blow out four feet of rock.

-He tries to follow the dark streaks because that's the concentrated uranium.

-So I'm sorry, is the uranium creating that dark streak?

-Yes.

-Oh.

-He will try to follow it because the miner only gets paid for producing uranium.

He doesn't get paid by producing rock.

-So this is the money, no money.

-Right.

-[ Laughs ] One thing I can't understand, Terry, is that.

okay, so we're in a movable space, so miners would be roaming these these halls.

-Well, just the one guy.

-Oh, this is just one person.

-One guy does everything.

-One person.

-He's a contract miner.

-Okay.

-And he's paid by the amount of uranium he produces.

-Not even by the hour.

-Not by the hour or not by the barren rock.

-So when you have everyone from people my age, from out of town to, like, local schoolchildren, what do you hope this museum really promotes and the understanding that we take away from it?

-So the main thing, and it's not just the children, it's a lot of adults too.

Do you have a computer?

Do you have a cell phone?

Do you have a TV?

And finally, they understand that there's only two things.

It's either mined or it's grown.

Because if we don't have mining, we don't have the minerals to build all the things we need.

-Back on Route 66 again, and I'm headed for the point in the Western Hemisphere where rainfall starts flowing into either ocean and that's the Continental Divide.

So of course, there'd be a place for visitors to stop.

And at Ortega's Indian Market, all the jewelry and crafts are locally made.

It's a road trip rule to never pass up a great opportunity for shopping.

My last big stop in New Mexico is the city of Gallup, and it wouldn't be Route 66 without a giant muffler man, and Gallup's got one -- Dude Man.

But what Gallup also has is Earl's, a family restaurant that's been on this site for 75 years.

And I've ordered one of its specialties -- the Navajo taco.

-Here you go.

Hope you're hungry.

-Oh my gosh.

[ Laughs ] It did say "for two" on the menu.

-Yes.

-But I couldn't split it.

-No.

-Or maybe I can take half of it home.

So what makes -- Is it on frybread?

Is that what makes it-- Yes, it is on frybread.

-Oh, wow.

-Which we make here.

I would say probably about 90% of our food is made from scratch.

-Is that right?

-Yeah.

If not more.

-So, were you related to Earl?

How were you related to Earl?

-No.

None of us were related to the original.

Mr.

Nelson, that was his name, he had gone through three of his children trying to make them into managers, and someone that he hoped he could turn the business over to.

None of them made it as a manager.

So my mom was just a waitress, and then she became manager, and then she brought the business.

-Wow.

So your mom started this basically.

-Yes.

The whole thing.

So, but the restaurant this large, it can't just be travelers passing by.

You really serve the locals here as well.

-Oh, no, the locals -- I would say that is probably our stop and trade.

We have some families that have been coming in for like 30, 40 years.

-When people stop and Gallup, why do they stop here?

-We do have a history museum downtown and for the Native American jewelry.

-Right, you know, a lot of the surrounding communities off the reservation come and do their trading here.

-And that's all their jewelry as well.

-Yes, yes.

-Wow.

Sherol, this is fantastic.

-I'm glad you like it.

-Thank you.

-Can I get you anything else?

-Just a to go box.

-Okay.

-[ Laughs ] The museum that Sherol was referring to is the Gallup Cultural Center.

It opened in 1996, in the old Santa Fe Railroad depot, and contains exhibits and galleries exploring the histories and cultures of the truly Native Americans of the area.

But a unique highlight of the museum is the section dedicated to the legendary Navajo Code Talkers of World War II.

So were the original Navajo soldiers recruited for this purpose?

Was it known that they had this intellectual property that no one else had?

-Yeah.

The idea was sold to the Marine Corps, that Navajo would be a good choice to use in World War II as a code.

The Marine Corps had never used a Native language.

And so the idea was brought to them by a gentleman who had grown up on the Navajo reservation.

And, um, and they bought it.

-And they bought it.

-[ Speaking native language ] My name is Dr.

Zonnie Gorman, and I am a historian of the Navajo Code Talkers from World War II.

I grew up with the story.

My father was a Navajo Code Talker, and he was a member of the original pilot group that created the first Navajo code that set the program in motion.

-And this is him right here.

-Yes.

-This is my dad, Carl Gorman.

-When he was recruited, what did he think he was recruited for?

-Well, they were told it was a special assignment, but they really had no idea.

The Marine Corps said, "We want you to make a code in your native language."

-Wait a minute.

You're usurping our language for what?

-I think a lot of them thought-- -Distrust, right?

-Distrust, yeah.

Considering what, you know, the boarding schools where they were not allowed to speak Navajo.

-Yes.

And now you want our language?

-Yeah.

-How many code terms are there?

-The code, by the end of World War II, had a little less than 700 terms in total.

So each airplane was designated the name of a bird.

And they looked at the characteristic of the bird, the characteristic of the airplane, and kind of matched them up.

It was all voice transmitted.

-Wow.

-Two men on one side, two men on the other side.

One that would crank the machine.

One that would get the message.

He'd write it down.

It wasn't just Navajo to English.

It was coded.

So they had to know the code in order to translate it.

-But the code never was broken.

-The code was never broken during World War II, no.

Back in the early '80s, there was a movement to recognize the Navajo Code Talkers.

-Mm-hmm.

-Under Ronald Reagan, President Ronald Reagan, the Navajo Code Talkers received their first national honors, and National Navajo Code Talker Day was proclaimed in 1982.

So for the Navajo people, the Navajo Code Talkers represent the ability to survive considering what they had to go through with the boarding schools, trying to eradicate the language and the culture.

And so for us, it's more than just patriotism.

It's survivance.

-The history one encounters along Route 66 cuts deeply.

Each stop reminds us how the Mother Road is more than a nostalgic joyride, but a complex journey, helping us to see the chiseled marks to the soft touch that helped forge this nation's identity.

New Mexico's Route 66 connects main streets to main squares, from doo wop hotels to local restaurants that have survived a changing world, driving us through places we've never been to before but somehow feel like home.

Wow.

It's why I have a love of travel, and why New Mexico's Route 66 takes us to so many Places to Love.

For more information about this and other episodes, destination guides, or links to follow me on social media, log on to places to placestolove.com.

Major funding of "Places to Love" provided by Oceania Cruises.

-A journey aboard Oceania Cruises is designed to cultivate curiosity.

Evenings offer craft spirits, international wines, and dishes prepared by our master chefs.

That's the Oceania Cruises small ship experience.

-Railbookers helps you discover the world by train.

From bucket list dreams to iconic scenic journeys, a Railbookers itinerary includes trains, hotels, sightseeing, transfers, and more.

Railbookers offers guests a seamless way to explore the globe on vacation.

-Since 1975, we've inspired adults to learn and travel the United States and in more than 100 countries.

From exploring our national parks to learning about art and culture in Italy.

We've introduced adults to places, ideas, and friends.

We are Road Scholar.

We make the world our classroom.

-Ever wonder where your sense of wonder went?

Maybe it's winding its way along the banks of the Colorado River.

Or waiting in the shadows of giant canyons.

Or maybe it's revealed in all the moments in between.

Introducing Canyon Spirit, a rail experience between Denver, Moab, and Salt Lake City.

Canyon spirit, proud sponsor of "Places to Love."

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪