Glenrio once was busy enough that Rt 66 had to be widened to four lanes through town, with concrete dividers down the middle. Greyhound buses stopped. There was even a train station, right on the Texas-New Mexico line.

Glenrio must have seemed like an oasis, especially in bad weather. It was 70 miles of hard driving along narrow pavement in either direction before a real city appeared. Out here the wind is always blowing, and the climate is what the travel brochures call "four-season."

But when Interstate-40 got built a short distance to the north, travel got a lot easier, faster and safer. Nobody had a reason to stop here anymore, and Glenrio no longer had a reason to exist.

The image is from September, 2010. This crumbling gas station survivor from Rt 66 days was just on the New Mexico side of the line. It collapsed and was demolished to create parking for a marijuana dispensary.

(This image is on display at the Route 66 Interpretive Center, Chandler OK.)