The Topkapi Palace is now a museum but in the 15th and 16th centuries it served as the main residence and administrative headquarters of the Ottoman sultans. I must say our visit was not as pleasant as it could have been. First it was raining, and second it was so crowded there were very long lines to get into any of the buildings. So we mostly wandered the grounds, which were beautiful. It is also huge and we did not have a guidebook.

We toured Acoma Pueblo with Bob and Zeina Cook in late October 2018. Also known as Sky City, it is situated on a 367-foot high mesa in New Mexico. You check in for a tour at the Sky City Cultural Center and ride to the top of the mesa on a road that was blasted into the rock face in the 1950s. The original footpaths can be used for your return trip if you choose. (Click on any photo for a larger view.)

Below left is the view of the mesa from the road to the mesa. On the right is a view from the mesa.

I discovered the old feed mill in Johnson City, Texas, in 2008. It had been converted into a complex of businesses that were no longer in operation and it was already in disrepair. I took it upon myself to attempt to photograph it. Recently I came back to these photos and realized there seems to be very few photos of it on the internet, so I decided to process my photos for a story. The complex has now been turned into the Science Mill and it is from their site that I got its history.

This photo is the widest view of the complex that I have, so I decided to start with it. As you can see, someone went to a huge amount of work decorating the buildings. Stay tuned for many photos of the complex I took in 2008, 2009 and one last shot of what the street side looked like in 2018. The Science Mill was established in 2012.

Taos Pueblo is a National Historic Landmark and a World Heritage Site. According to the Taos Pueblo website “the multi-storied adobe buildings have been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years.” You can read an interesting introduction to the site on the nps.gov Taos Pueblo website.

Although it was closed to the public for a while during the covid pandemic, it is now open again. These photographs were taken in June 2009. Click on any photo for a larger view.

Tucumcari is so much fun it deserves a post for itself.

According to Wikipedia, in 1901, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad built a construction camp in the western portion of modern-day Quay County. Originally called Ragtown, the camp became known as “Six Shooter Siding”, due to numerous gunfights. It was renamed Tucumcari in 1908.

We start off with our favorite place, the Blue Swallow Motel, with a night shot and a daytime shot. Most of these photos were taken in September 2021. Click on any image to see a larger view.

Still on the way to Route 66, we make a stop at Fort Richardson State Park, Jacksboro, Texas, on Route 281. Fort Richardson was established in 1867 to protect settlers along the Texas frontier.

In November 2018 we went north on 281 Mineral Wells and Decatur, TX. That is the same route we took in 2021 to get to Route 66 just west of Oklahoma City. These photos were taken in November 2018.

Mineral Wells became famous for its healing water attracting tourists, and the Baker Hotel opened in 1929 as an international resort destination and was for many years considered one of the country’s most glamorous resorts. But things changed, and the hotel finally closed in 1972. The good news is the hotel is currently being renovated.