Albuquerque, Tucumcari, Santa Rosa, Grants, Gallup and even Santa Fe lie along the old Mother Road. Motor west for a nostalgic look at the landmarks of Historic Route 66.

Historic Route 66 in the USA is famous the world over. Though it no longer appears on the map as an official highway, you can still drive stretches of the Mother Road. In New Mexico, I-40 follows old Route 66 all the way across the state.

The traditional way to drive Route 66 is from east to west. It can be difficult to follow the exact path, which often changed during its 60-year history. But I-40 links many original Route 66 towns where festivals, museums, souvenir shops, restaurants and landmark motels keep the spirit alive.

"Motor west," as the song says, for the highlights of Historic Route 66 in New Mexico:

Tucumcari is the first major town on I-40 after the Texas border. Take a photo at the Route 66 Roadside Attraction in front of the Convention Center. The sculpture stands three stories tall and sports a chrome tail lights and fins design like the cars of the road's heyday.

Among the 17 large murals painted around the town is the largest mural in the country depicting the Mother Road. The Tucumcari Historical Museum has a collection of Route 66 memorabilia.

Nighttime is the best time in many Route 66 towns, where you'll still see the flashing neon signs that once enticed motorists to stop for a bite to eat or a night's sleep. A Tucumcari landmark is the Blue Swallow Motel, which still has the garages characteristic of motor courts of that era.

Take the scenic route that parallels I-40 through Montoya, Newkirk and Cuervo to see stone ruins, abandoned "filling stations" and advertisements painted on large roadside boulders.

At Santa Rosa, look for the iconic billboards of the Fat Man, which once advertised the old Club Cafe. It's now closed, but the Fat Man lives on at Joseph's Bar & Grill, dating from 1956.

Bozo and Anna's Route 66 Auto Museum is filled with classic Corvettes, Thunderbirds, and other vintage cars. Santa Rosa holds an annual Route 66 Festival and motorcycle rally in September (for 2007, Sept 7-9).

In its early days, Route 66 veered north from Santa Rosa on the Old Pecos Trail through Romeroville and Pecos to Santa Fe. It then looped down via La Cienega and Bernalillo to Albuquerque.

But in an act of political spite, a defeated governor took revenge on his opponents and rerouted Route 66 by building of a new leg of the highway in 1937 that bypassed the capital and went straight to Albuquerque. I-40 follows this direct route.

Old Route 66 runs right through the middle of Albuquerque along Central Avenue. One of the best preserved stretches lies between the modern Downtown and the historic Old Town districts. Along here are classic hotels, movie theaters and striking architecture, such as the landmark KiMo Theater, decorated in colorful tiles in a fusion of the Art Deco and Pueblo Revival styles.

Near the university, don't miss the 66 Diner. Decked out in turquoise and black booths, neon signs and Route 66 memorabilia, it serves up burgers, fries, blue plate specials, and great milkshakes from its shiny counter.

Further west on I-40, Grants is another old Route 66 town where a few old motels and curio shops still remain. It holds an annual Route 66 Fire and Ice Bike Rally in July.

Gallup, an important market center for the surrounding Navajo Nation, is the last Route 66 stop before the Arizona border. Local art galleries and downtown murals combine with historic trading posts and motels to give it much character.

Many old Westerns were filmed in Gallup, and the 1937 Historic El Rancho Hotel was a favorite of the Hollywood stars. Famous guests included John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Rosalind Russell, Humphrey Bogart and many others, whose signed photographs decorate the balcony.

To read more about Route 66 in the Southwest, click here.

To follow Route 66 in Arizona, click here.

To follow Route 66 in California, click here.

The New Mexico Route 66 Association lists contacts for the towns in this article.