Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Wild West Trip: Day 4 - Hotel El Rancho, Gallup, NM
We ate breakfast at Hotel
El Rancho in Gallup, NM. Steeped in history, signed photos line the
hotel walls, with a one-of-a-kind lobby with Western and Native American
influences evident throughout with a large stone fireplace and vintage
furnishings. All the great movie stars have stayed here while filming
nearby since the hotel opened in 1937, from John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart,
Jackie Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Kirk Douglas, Errol Flynn, Gregory Peck,
Alan Ladd, Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn, Jane Wyman, and many
more. While eating, we saw some British couples who were touring Route
66 and had brought over their vintage cars to drive it first-hand. 
After
our breakfast of pankcakes, eggs, bacon, and breakfast tacos, we toured
the Presidential Suite where Presidents Ronald Reagan and Dwight
Eisenhower have stayed. The large room had a Western motif, with the
bathroom a purple framed mirror, sink, and shower with rock walls. Each
room within the hotel has the name above the room of a famous movie star
who stayed there. 
Each
August in Gallup the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial is held, a tradition
for over 60 years, with rodeos, pow-wows, arts and crafts. Just a short
drive from many national monuments and sites, Gallup also contains many
signs and businesses along Route 66 to remind you of how the highway
used to be.
From here we head to Meteor Crater to explore more
of Route 66 and Flagstaff.