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 The Albuquerque Museum has mounted a big show about the history of New Mexico's portion of the famous highway.  It is nicely put together, though for me all a bit overly familiar.  For Margaret it evoked memories of a cross-country road trip with her family in the 1950s.

A Sunday Car Show

Three Wheels

Friday Morning

The Saturday Ride

 We had a little preview of Winter earlier in the week with a bit of morning snow on the sidewalk.  Then the sun returned, so a ride on the trike into Old Town was obligatory.

Custom '32

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And an inspirational message...

He is the undisputed master of self caricature.

1948

 When we went to watch the flamenco performance on Saturday in Old Town I felt compelled to stop momentarily to photograph this Chevrolet.  Several other people stopped to admire the car also, impressed by the faultless restoration.

I thought my little Canon digital nicely captured the character of the car. The camera is not as compact as my Panasonic Lumix, but it has the virtue of an eye-level viewfinder which makes sunny day photos feasible.

Dead Morning

 A quiet morning in Old Town as preparations were being completed for the final day of Day of the Dead celebrations.

The Nash Metropolitan is an American automobile assembled in England and marketed from 1953 until 1962.

Everything to be known about the little Metropolitan is in the Wikipedia page.

Cool Morning

Trouble in Old Town

 Several shops in Old Town have been seriously vandalized.  

Security cameras have been installed and the APD has promised to step up patrols in the area.  That will likely cut down on some of the vandalism and burglaries.  Mostly, though, those measures along with locking up a few more miscreants will just move the problem to some other neighborhood.

The old car guys who display their creations on Friday mornings are unfazed by the crime wave.  Their assets are on wheels and they are taken home at noon.

Old Town Color

 

Low Rider

 

GMC Morning

 

Meanwhile...

 Mostly Sunny.

The old car guys are back on their Summer schedule, showing up around the Plaza Vieja with their meticulously restored classics and customs.

Curbside

These two fellows are regular visitors to the Plaza Vieja.  They park their restored classics in front of the church and sit across the street in the shade to admire them.  Both cars are faultless; they are mostly stock with a few embellishments.

The '57 convertible, with its red and white paint job and the dice hanging from the mirror, screams Rock 'n' Roll.

The coupe is nearer to The Jazz Age.  It rides closer to the pavement than it would have in 1938, and it is a lot shinier.

Albuquerque Museum Car Show

The Art Museum turns over its parking lot each year on a day in May to the car collectors who put on a fabulous show. It was a nice opportunity to try out my new cell phone camera.

car culture

Every other driveway in my neighborhood seems to harbor an old car, sometimes two or three. There's usually an old dog too.