Wandering with Wendi

I’m so sorry it’s been a while since I’ve been exploring! LIfe sure did get in the way!!! This post is a little different than my normal abandoned photos but I wanted to share because it really is Wandering with Wendi!! This past week I did a whirlwind tour of New York City!!! Here are just a few of the photos I took along the way!!!!

Last post of the day! Kind of sad that this is the last of my unedited photos. It's time to get back out there and find more abandoned places soon!!! With this group, I decided to do all of them in black and white. I love black and white photos and this abandoned house somewhere near Quanah, TX just screamed OLD.....so enjoy! Hopefully very soon I'll be back with new posts!!

Next up is Medicine Mound, TX. I found information about it on historictexas.net. Early inhabitants of this area were Comanche and Kiowa Indians whose campsites were situated around four dolomite hills called Medicine Mounds and known for their healing properties. In 1854, area land was deeded to a railway company. Anglo settlers began to arrive in the 1870s. A small village developed but was moved 2.5 miles north in 1908 when the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway was built. A townsite was platted that year and was fully established by 1911. At its peak, Medicine Mound boasted 22 businesses and a population of 500. Economic hardships, the Great Depression and a 1933 fire that burned the entire town were primary forces in the town's eventual demise. The last business closed in 1966. (1999) - Historical Marker text

On to another place. This was from a blustery day in November 2021. An old abandoned school in Gilliland, TX. I found information on onlyyourstate.com. The information was written by Meg Archer. Many ghost towns are the result of adversity; once productive mines exhaust their profitable resources, droughts destroy crops and force farmers to move on to greener pastures, or natural disasters create unlivable conditions. Other ghost towns simply pass into hazy memory as time forgets their stories. Gilliland, Texas is one of them. Gilliland, which is located in Knox County, was first settled in 1871. A school district was created in 1892, a post office added in 1907, and a relatively successful cotton gin was built in 1910. The population topped out at 120 residents in 1947, and in 1948, the high school was moved to the nearby town of Munday, leaving a dwindling student body attending the elementary school shown here. As time moved forward, the people here moved on, and in 2000, only 25 inhabitants remained in Gilliland.

The next stop that September day was Glenrio NM, TX.....yep, its in two states!! I found some information about it on wiki. Glenrio, formerly Rock Island, is an unincorporated community in both Deaf Smith County, Texas, and Quay County, New Mexico. Located on the former U.S. Route 66, the ghost town sits on the Texas–New Mexico state line. It includes the Glenrio Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Today I'm editing old pictures and so excited to share! Please be prepared for a bunch of posts! I'll start with one from last September. An old abandoned bar near Grady, NM. I believe it was called Ed's Bar, but I really cannot find much information. I'd love to hear about it if anyone knows! There were two pictures on the walls of the cute little Grannie. Wonder who she was/is???

I'm so excited to be back to adventures and exploring! Here are a few pics from the past few weeks...some old houses and a barn between Tarzan and Big Spring, amazing sunset pics from Salt Flat and a really cool house just outside of Seminole!!

Last post for today because the Cowboys are playing now lol! This is such an incredible find. There is an old building in Stamford, Texas with a huge history. It opened in 1901 as the Stamford Inn. I found some super cool info on www.vanishingtexas.net..."The Stamford Inn in Stamford, Texas was built in 1900 by the Swenson Interests for visiting clients looking to do business related to their ranching business. In 1901 the Inn opened its door for its clients.

At some point the Inn was purchased by A.C. Cooper and on Christmas Eve of 1924 the hotel was lost to a fire. After the fire Mr. Copper built a new Inn and its the building that you see today. He and his wife ran the inn for twenty years until they retired and sold the Inn to E. B. Wheeler sometime in the 1940s.

Then in 1964 Dr. Hudson and Jack Southerland (both deceased) purchased the Inn and turned it into a nursing home. In 1970 the nursing home became the Teakwood Nursing Home until 1972 when a newer building was built closer to the new Stamford Hospital.

Then sometime in the late 70s or early 80s the Inn was purchased by 4 businessmen and turned into a “supper club or gentleman’s club.” This was a members only restaurant and bar with pool tables. The club turned out to be a popular place and was the last business to operate inside the Inn. We aren’t sure to when the club was shut down or as to when the Inn was abandoned."

We also visited with a couple firefighters next door and they commented that a man had died during that original fire and he haunts the building today! Sadly, so ghost sightings that day!! I'm posting a photo of the original Stamford Inn that I found on the Vanishing Texas website!!

Back in September, while driving down Hwy. 277 near Seymour, TX, I saw this old church off the highway. Of course I had to go check it out, and SO glad I did! It is the former St. John's Catholic Church of Bomarton. While it is no longer an active church and for the most part, abandoned, the owners allow visitors to come and look and photograph! You can picture the beauty in this building and still feel the presence of God. This is one of my favorite places I've visited so far!!

It's time for some more Wandering with Wendi posts! Sometimes it takes a long time to get to editing and posting photos as I'm a special education teacher and single mom. It's fun going back to the photos that I took even months ago and remembering that day! Here's a day from my very first weekend living in Midland. Went downtown to check it out! The library is amazing and the buildings in downtown are even better. I want to explore more down there soon! We even came upon an old car that of course I had to get a few shots of!!

Here are the rest of the pics from Lamesa! We stopped at a building with a smokestack and got some cool pictures. An old sign on the front says They Country Store with the names Lonny Sherrill and Gordon Waldrop underneath. I found a little snippit about the building on mrt.com - A West Texas man captured an image of a now-silent monument to industry in Lamesa, and is sharing it with other readers of the mywesttexas.com web site.

"The Country Store, Lamesa," said Michael L. Jordan, who sent the photo. "Formerly known as the 'Egg Plant.' They produced powdered egg products in the early 1940's."

This was a super fun outing! Headed to Midland on the last Sunday in May to look at apartments, we made a quick stop in Lamesa. I've seen the Sky Vue drive in theatre there for years and was always curious about it, so it was time for a little picture taking! Another spot where literally time stood still. It was so cool! I grabbed some information from cinematreasures.org - Opened in 1948 with a capacity for 583 cars and seating for 320 walk-in patrons. The Sky-Vue Drive-In is open and thriving in the friendly farming community of Lamesa. It is a great 1950’s throwback complete with playground, swings and merry-go-round. Not to be missed is the snack bar ( also open to the public) featuring the “Chihuahua” sandwich, which was originally concieved and introduced by R.A. “Skeet” Noret and his wife, Sarah. They also built and ran the theater for many years and remain active in the movie theater business.

This was one of many successful movie ventures for the Norets. Sadly the concession building of the theatre was destroyed by a fire on November 27, 2015, putting the theatre out of business.

Stay tuned for one more post from Lamesa!!

The final stop of the day in April was in White Oaks, NM. It was later in the day and we'd been driving for a long time, so we checked out the school (I mean, of course I have to go see a school!!) and then a quick stop at the No Scum Allowed Saloon. The information I found on this cool little town was from whiteoaksnm.com and nosccumsaloon.com- Nestled beneath the Carrizozo Mountains of southcentral New Mexico lies the small, serene community of White Oaks, once a promising, booming mining town, home of many successful businessmen and well-known travelers such as Billy the Kid, Sheriff Pat Garrett, and others. The White Oaks Schoolhouse, built in 1895, still stands today, embracing history in its wonderful display of old relics from days gone by.
The No Scum Allowed Saloon is ranked as one of the top 10 western bars in the country! Housed in an 1884 building that was first an attorney’s office, then a print shop for one of the town’s early newspapers, the name comes from one of the “Young Guns” movies where White Oaks was depicted as the home “of 756 Respectable People NO SCUM ALLOWED.” For several years, the bar was run on the honor system: Patrons would fetch the key from under a rock, get a drink, leave their money, and lock up.
The saloon, known locally as the White Oaks Bar, has seen horse races, shoot-outs, and played host to multi-generation patrons who come for food, drink, live music, and dance. Owner Karen Haughness is the first woman to oversee the establishment. (And just a note - the photos from the No Scum were taken on my iphone)

The hidden gem of that windy day in April was a random house we found on the side of the road. And when I say road...We were possibly on a county road but I'm still not sure it wasn't just a ranch road on someone's land. A wrong turn was made when trying to find Ancho and a lot of extra time was spent but how cool to come up on this. I have no clue why I didn't get a full picture of the house, but the pictures I did get turned out pretty cool. I just call it Somewhere, NM.

Not far from Ancho is Duran, NM. The information I found about this little "ghost town" (There are still about 35 residents) was from newmexcio.org - In February 1902, the El Paso & Northeastern Railroad finished the “Arrow Route,” a stretch of track between El Paso and Santa Rosa, where a connection to Leadbelly’s Rock Island Line awaited. Blas and Espiridón Durán, two brothers, owned wells in central New Mexico which could provide water to railroad work crews. So, the railroad built repair shops and even a wooden roundhouse in what became Duran. The railroad also turned the town into an important supply point for area ranches virtually overnight. Duran’s population probably peaked shortly afterward at 300 or so.

But the railroad eventually moved its operations south to Carrizozo and the roundhouse came down in 1921. Yet Duran remained important to ranchers and, when two-lane U.S. Highway 54 came right through the heart of town in the 1930’s, the increased flow of north-south traffic gave Duran another boost. This lasted until the 1960’s, when I-25 was constructed about 60 miles west, strangling U.S. 54 of travelers.

Ok ya'll its been a minute! I've taken lots of pictures but fallen way behind on editing and posting. Going to be adding lots of posts in the next few days! This first post was from a windy day back in April. We hit up a bunch of old Ghost towns in New Mexico. This town was very hard to find and there wasn't much there. Ancho, NM - I found this information on Legendsofamerica.com - About 23 miles north of Carrizozo, New Mexico, is the ghost town of Ancho, a former railroad and ranching community. The settlement was established at the turn of the 20th century when families settled the fertile valley, followed by several homesteaders who became the area’s first sheep and cattle ranchers.

Ok post number 2 and I have lots more to share on this one. The fun day I spent visiting Santa Rosa and Tucumcari, I came upon this gem - Cuervo, NM. I got my information from the legends of America website. The town of Cuervo was started between 1901 and 1903 when the Southern Pacific railroad pushed through the area. When Route 66 came through, the town of Cuervo began to boom. At its peak, there were two schools, two churches, two hotels, two doctors and lots of other businesses. The population reached almost 300 in the 1930's but had dropped to under 150 by the 40's. When I-40 was build, it literally went right through town and buried much of it. Today, around 50 people live in Cuervo. The abandoned houses and buildings are on both sides of I-40 and some of them look like time just stood still. It is on I-40 between Santa Rosa and Tucumcari (on both sides!). What a fun place to photograph!!

Been getting some editing done yay! Two posts for today! The first one was somewhat of a request by Tammy Brown for pictures of the wind turbines. Last fall, I spent a cool day taking pictures of the wind turbines! One of my friends is a crane operator building them. Let me tell you...it was such a cool thing to see these monsters up close! I don't even know if the pictures do them justice! The wind farm is near Elida, NM so I thought it would be a great idea to get some pictures and history of the town. Well the pictures came easy, but the history not so much! I was really intrigued by the murals painted in the downtown area, but could find nothing about them. Luckily, my friend had some information. Apparently the lady who did them owns the RV park in town and didn't like the way downtown looked, so she asked the city if she could paint some down there and they said yes. As far as history of the town, if someone has some information, I would love if you shared it.

Finally got some pictures edited! A new laptop and new editing software takes a little while to get used to! So during our softball trip last month, my stepmom suggested the coolest little town, Oatman, AZ. This little ghost/tourist town DID NOT DISAPPOINT!! Oatman was founded about 1906. By 1931, the areas mines had produced over 1.8 million ounces of gold. By the mid-1930's, the boom was over and in 1942, the last remaining mines were closed as nonessential to the war effort. Burros first came to Oatman with early day prospectors. The animals were also used inside mines for hauling rock and ore. Outside the mines, burros were used for hauling water and supplies. As the mines closed and people moved away, the burros were released into the surrounding hills. Now, about 100 people live in Oatman, along with the daily visits from the burros (whose population is close to 2000). Every day, The Oatman Ghostrider Gunfighters (which just so happen to be the oldest gunfighters in Arizona) stop traffic through town for a wild-west shootout!! This is definately a town to see!!

Just across the street from Kix on 66 is an old abandoned motel, The Relax Inn. I’m so intrigued by this place. The only information I could find on it was a small write up on Dead Motels USA - “This place has been abandoned for so long that I can’t even find photos of it when it was open...Apparently it’s located next to (and owned by) an RV park which has done nothing to revive it or sell it, leaving it to sit vacant and decay more than it already has.” Look at the pool rules sign picture I took... it tells swimmers if they have long hair it must be put in a swim cap. Oh how I want to know the history of this motel AND to visit again and take more pictures!!!

Just up the road from The Blue Swallow was a fun diner, Kix on 66. I couldn’t find too much history on it but it was originally a Denny’s and it still has that feel. Growing up traveling with my family, I ate at my fair share of Denny’s! The wait staff was super nice and I got my food quickly as well! I had a delicious grilled cheese sandwich and waffle fries! I don’t eat meat, so I apologize for my bland food choices lol. Looking around at what others had though, everything looked great! One of the fun things was on the menu, there was a comedic story about how Tucumcari got its name!! Definitely visit this restaurant if you are there! It was inexpensive, fun and nostalgic!!!

Next stop on this beautiful Saturday was Tucumcari, NM. Driving down Route 66 I came across the Blue Swallow motel. Well of course I had to stop and check it out! While walking around, I was lucky enough to meet one of the new owners, Dawn Fredrico. I just loved visiting with her! She told me some of the history of the motel and how they came from somewhere up north (eeek, I can’t remember where) to run a historic motel on the “Mother Road”. Their website gives even more history about this beautiful motel!!! It’s even listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1993. Even with the updates and new comforts, you can still feel the old Route 66 motor court vibe! I didn’t get to see the neon lights at night but there is definitely an overnight stay there in my near future!!!!

Happy Wednesday! Today will be 4 new posts of cool places I visited on a day trip a couple weeks ago to Santa Rosa and Tucumcari!! After a fun visit to Don Laughlin’s car museum, I had to check out the world famous Route 66 Auto Museum in Santa Rosa! The website says the the owner has been rebuilding, modifying and restoring vehicles for over 40 years. My Dad would have liked him for sure! This museum was smaller than the last one but they had nostalgia items everywhere!!! It definitely took this girl way back!! The lady who was working that day was awesome to visit with and I really enjoyed this place. The only sad thing is I was so caught up in looking and reminiscing that I literally took no pictures inside, so y’all will have to visit and see for yourselves!!! I definitely recommend it!!!!

A quick stop in Las Vegas on Fremont Street was a great end to the softball weekend! Las Vegas has finally opened back up and boy was it busy! It was Sunday night but the wait was still around an hour to eat anywhere! We ended up choosing Whiskey Licker Up Saloon and it was definitely worth the wait!!! The food was delicious and our waitress was awesome!!! It’s a definite must visit if you are on Fremont Street! The nachos were so good that we forgot to snap a pic before digging in!!

Along with my photography and stories of the towns I visit, I want to include businesses that I visit along the way! On our recent softball trip to Laughlin and Las Vegas, we went to a couple noteworthy places! Growing up with my Dad, classic cars were a daily part of life! He was often rebuilding them, showing them or even racing them. When he was 67 years old, he counted up that he’d owned 67 vehicles - not all of them classic or race cars, but nonetheless cool. Except maybe that Ford Pinto when I was little, although I seem to recall a story that maybe he had souped it up! While in Laughlin, it just seemed right to visit Don Laughlin’s Classic Car Collection. It’s located at the Riverside Resort Hotel and Casino and is filled with more than 80 exotic, rare and historic vehicles. There are also vintage slot machines and gaming tables on display. I can assure you, my Daddy would have loved this place and probably could have told many personal stories about the cars on display! The admission was only $2 and my daughter even picked up a classic Mustang shirt in the gift shop!! The final picture was one I caught of my stepmom taking a little break. As I walked up on her, I could almost feel my Daddy sitting next to her and telling her one of those stories!