Looking for 566

This was one of those days when we got in the truck and just drove.

We headed east out of Gallup, NM, on I-40, looking for Route 566. This highway was said to travel through some scenic territory. We traveled a good distance without seeing an exit for 566.

We re-traced our route but still did not see our exit.

All this time on I-40, we noticed that a highway was paralleling the interstate. With the approach of "what-do-we-have-to-lose," we decided to take this frontage road--after all, this was an adventure day.

Well, we soon learned that this road was not merely a service road for people living along the interstate. Once we turned onto this road, we saw signs typical of a major highway--we were traveling on a portion of Historic Route 66. We took a moment to reflect on the significance of this route--and then resumed our search for Route 566.

We soon found the clearly-marked sign indicating our turn.

Route 566, with ample shoulders, provided us with several opportunities to pull off the highway to take some photos. The day was warm with just enough big, puffy clouds to present us with several photo opportunities as the road wound through some beautiful scenery. On only rare instances did we see homes or any other buildings on the highway that led to the Navajo Indian Reservation.

So, we have included some of the sights that warranted a stop for photos along New Mexico's 566.











After we returned to the portion of old Route 66, we stayed on the segment of the "Mother Road" which also served as the main route through Gallup's downtown.