Dawn is breaking over "Dirt 66" in the background. This section just inside New Mexico was likely constructed in the 1930s and served as Rt 66 until it was bypassed in 1951. Old concrete pavement has been removed.

The wooden 66 bridge spans a "dry wash" (a streambed wet only after a thunderstorm) and has the same type of construction as a railroad trestle. Some components are in fact ties and pilings.

In the foreground is the Rock Island Railroad bed, dating from 1900. 80-years later, the Rock Island stopped operating and abandoned its lines. Rails were removed for their scrap value, but these wooden trestle pilings have been left to decay.

This desolate spot was filled with traffic right through the Dust Bowl era, World War II, and up until 1951. Cars, trucks and buses made long-haul trips through here on narrow concrete. And from time to time, the steam engine of a Rock Island train--filled with passengers--thundered past.