used cars in the aftermath of the first OPEC oil embargo.

After lunch at Del's Restaurant, we headed west to Albuquerque, our schedule forcing us to miss the sight of Tucumcari's collection of neon at dusk. Traditional Route 66ers opt for the El Vado Motel on the city's west side. It, too, is slated to meet its destiny with the wrecking ball unless local preservation efforts prevail over the interests of condo developers.

Day Five: Albuquerque, New Mexico to Williams, Arizona (360 miles)

With the racing Unsers calling Albuquerque home, it's almost impossible to escape their presence on the west side. Across from the Unser Children's Center on Central is the Unser compound, home to Bobby and Al Sr.

A few miles west of Budville, in the hamlet of Cubero, is the Villa Cubero. Now a gas station and general store, it once was a popular motel. Ernest Hemingway wrote portions of The Old Man and the Sea here. In keeping with the day's literary theme, the next highlight on our map was Thoreau, where our caravan crossed the Continental Divide.

After entering Arizona, we detoured through Holbrook, site of one of two remaining Wigwam Motels, where guests can sleep in a teepee. We pressed on to Winslow, an archetypal Route 66 town along the old Santa Fe railroad, and the SC/Rambler was reunited with its owner. And there we landed at "the