近距离内射合集

SANTA FE 鈥� Willie Lambert remembers a time in his life when he felt trapped.

In the late 1990s, he was working as a pit boss at Camel Rock Casino on Tesuque Pueblo, where his customers seemed as stuck as he was 鈥� losing at times everything they had on games of chance he was being paid to oversee.

鈥淚 knew I was getting close to quitting,鈥� said Lambert, now 73, speaking to me at his condo in Santa Fe this month. 鈥淚 had had enough, man. You鈥檙e like a caged cougar in the pit, so every weekend I was just hitting the road.鈥�

He ventured out for days at a time on New Mexico鈥檚 less-traveled roadways, pedal to the metal from sunrise to sundown, until the concrete ended and sagebrush-mottled roads began beyond the cattle guard.

This simple activity of climbing into his truck and driving helped him rediscover the sense of freedom he first experienced on Dec. 1, 1972, when he pulled into Santa Fe Plaza on the state鈥檚 original segment of Route 66.

鈥淐ity Different, and it sure was,鈥� he said, reminiscing. 鈥淭he smell of pi帽on and cedar in the air, the whole deal.鈥�

Lambert isn鈥檛 a historian by any academic standard, but there鈥檚 an argument to be made that he knows more about Route 66 in the Land of Enchantment than any one degree-holding person in the Southwest.

鈥淚 personally don鈥檛 have a lot of history on the Santa Fe area,鈥� said Melissa Lea Beasley-Lee, president of the New Mexico Route 66 Association, 鈥渂ut I can give you the phone number of someone who lives and breathes Route 66.鈥�

That鈥檚 how I ended up sitting in Lambert鈥檚 condo this month for two hours, surrounded by a small library鈥檚 worth of meticulous research, photographs, memorabilia and maps Lambert drew himself.

鈥淵ou have to really get into the mapping to understand what鈥檚 going on,鈥� he told me, flipping open binder after binder of maps he crafted using only construction paper, pen, pencil, rulers and razor blades.

He paused for a moment to switch on a 鈥淩oute 66鈥� neon lamp above his desk, its light casting a fitting mid-century glow across his research. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like anything, John,鈥� he continued, 鈥渢he more you look into it, the deeper it is.鈥�

The brainchild of businessmen Cyrus Avery and John T. Woodruff, Route 66 was established in 1926 to connect the Midwest to the West Coast of the U.S. It spanned 2,448 miles from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California, cutting a jagged path through the Southwest.

It became cemented into American history as a road for drifters, 鈥淥kies鈥� escaping the Dust Bowl and freedom-seekers of every stripe.

Santa Fe and its surroundings north of Albuquerque were only part of the route for about 10 years, from 1926 to 1937.

In the largest alteration in Route 66鈥檚 history, New Mexico鈥檚 section was dramatically re-routed by 1937 at the behest of former New Mexico Gov. Arthur T. Hannett, who by some accounts wanted to reduce traffic to his successor鈥檚 lucrative agricultural business in Encino.

While Hannett鈥檚 motivations are still disputed by some historians, Lambert says there鈥檚 little evidence the realignment along what is now Interstate 40 was anything but a petty act of political retribution.

It worked, too, drying up traffic along the old surface highway that ran through Encino on its way to Albuquerque.

鈥淚t鈥檚 what鈥檚 referred to as 鈥楬annett鈥檚 Joke,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淵ou gotta know that to get the lay of the land.鈥�

Lambert鈥檚 obsession with Route 66 originated about 20 years ago, when his older sister Kathie called him up and suggested they drive the Mother Road for her 66th birthday.

They covered the portion of the route from Oklahoma City to Santa Monica Pier in two trips. When they returned, Lambert鈥檚 wanderings on New Mexico鈥檚 roadways suddenly had a purpose: Charting the many lost corners of Route 66.

He opened to a page that showed a fragment of a roadway east of Santa Fe.

鈥淪ee, it鈥檚 in these books,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 got everything on this.鈥�

Over the years, Lambert has drawn nearly 500 maps, 40 of which detail the old route from Santa Fe to Romeroville at the junction of the Ozark Trail and the Old Santa Fe Trail 鈥� one of several centuries-old paths Route 66 paralleled in its heyday.

He has hundreds of postcards, license plates from generations ago, even a 643-word homemade crossword puzzle he uses at presentations to quiz listeners on Route 66 trivia.

鈥淭he whole thing is a puzzle,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not easy to find your way because there鈥檚 no signage. There鈥檙e so many questions here. The answers are somewhere.鈥�

Years ago, Lambert and his wife were invited to the New Mexico History Museum, but he said his backwoods New Jersey accent kept him at an arm鈥檚 length.

When he presented himself with a tote-load of research, he said a clerk at the front desk told a higher-up over the phone: 鈥淚 have a Mr. Lambert here, and he鈥檚 rather unpolished.鈥�

Lambert used the word for the title of his book: 鈥淩oute 66 Unpolished: Santa Fe to Romeroville,鈥� which The Historic Santa Fe Foundation published.

He says he and his sister reminisce on the phone about their Route 66 adventure, hoping younger generations will indulge their own wanderlust along the Mother Road.

鈥淏ut the road days are done,鈥� he said. 鈥淥h boy, we can鈥檛 catch every bus, but I caught this one, man, and I like it.鈥�

John Miller is the 近距离内射合集鈥檚 northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.