My Kicks on NM State-68: Classical Gas Museum
I’ve always been mesmerized by highway signs and fascinated by the history of big highways. There’s also big nostalgia, because Dad loved highway driving and road trips. He was the sole driver on the Trans-Canada highway between Vancouver and Calgary or on US Interstate-5 to Bellingham and Seattle. How obvious is it then, that a deep yearning for open roads comes directly from my father.
The following is a part of day 8 (of 17) in our drive through the American Southwest.
We set out on a day trip from Santa Fe to Taos and Taos Pueblo, with a scenic drive on New Mexico highway NM-68, the “low road” or “river road” along the Rio Grande river between Española and Taos. With low light in the morning hour, we didn’t see it when we drove north to Taos. But on our mid-afternoon return on the low road, we found the Classical Gas Museum in the small town of Embudo. We pulled into an open sandy rocky patch, marvelling at the collection in front of rusting gas pumps and a wooden building resembling a historic gas station.
The Classical Car Museum is owned and run by Johnnie Meier who is a retired scientist and former employee at the nearby Los Alamos National Laboratory. His interest and collection grew to the point where he needed more space. Reading about the museum is one thing, but it’s no match for seeing in person his extensive collection of memorabilia, including whole and partial gas pumps, highway signage, oil cans, gas company signage, license plates, a miniature-model gas station, a working vintage Coca-Cola cooler, a classic car or two parked on the premises, an entire pre-fabricated diner building, and a mascot for a once thriving restaurant-chain. From within the building, it’s the glow which provides further fuel for interest, and once inside, the neon and warm illumination of symbols and signs combine for the inevitable “wow!” Altogether, it’s a broad mix of elements from mid 20th-century American history which is all about highway-driving and open-road nostalgia. There’s a saying about how someone’s junk is somebody else’s treasure, but the entire collection deserves careful cataloguing and a larger permanent building. A new museum would be fitting somewhere along the old US-66 highway. Santa Rosa, NM is a leading candidate, but other cities in the state are also possible.
For now, the museum is located next to highway NM-68 in Embudo; the coordinates are 36.209102 degrees North, 105.951658 degrees West. The museum sits on 0.81 hectare (2 acres) of Meier’s land, and the museum building is 93 square metres (1000 square feet) in size. There is no admission charge, though donations are most welcome, especially for the local animal shelter. You might want to call ahead (505-852-2995) to see if Meier is around in case the building is closed.
Roadside attraction.
Old gas (petrol) pumps: Shell, Conoco.
Old gas pumps, of many colours.
Old gas pumps: Sinclair Dino, Sunray, Texaco Sky Chief; note ‘lead’ caution at the latter pump.
“damn fine stuff.”
“damn fine stuff” to the side and out back.
1950s Valentine diner: prefabricated mail-order small diners made in Kansas. Plans for this diner include renewal and conversion to an ice cream parlour.
Big Boy mascot and Johnnie Meier. The Big Boy double-deck hamburger (1937) was inspiration & model for McDonald’s Big Mac, Burger King Big King, etc.
Building entrance: love the bright red vintage Coca-Cola drinks cooler.
Building entrance.
Illumination inside, and all those logos lit-up.
Illuminated pumps.
“Thirst Aid”: CGM Collection.
Model, Texaco station: CGM collection.
A symbiosis of cars (Ford) and gasoline (Phillips 66).
Phillips 66.
Highway signage.
One final fond look.
More
• Atlas Obscura.
• Dull Men’s Club.
• The Globe and Mail (Canada), 2 Sep 2018.
• Roadside America.
• Santa Fe dot com.
I made all images above on 11 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-prime camera. Thanks to AB for making this memorable trip possible. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-dbh.
Fotoeins Fotografie 
12 Responses to “My Kicks on NM State-68: Classical Gas Museum”
Oh wow, such antiques! 😉
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Hi, Lorelle. Do you have favourites among the images?
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Hi Henry, I do love the diner with the Big Boy mascot. But those neon signs are pretty cool too.
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The moment I saw those rusting petrol pumps, my eyes lit up with little car-shaped hearts 😍 But I’m also a fan of the big yellow arrow “damn fine stuff”. I was also amazed to learn that a company made those pre-fab little diners all around America, and that separately, the Big Boy restaurant chain had an original double-deck hamburger which was the precursor to McDonald’s Big Mac.
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Isn’t it all just so interesting?
Haha, yes those petrol pumps would do it for any automobile lover ⛽️😍
Have a great week Henry. 😊
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I like highway driving but I’m not exactly an example of someone who’s big on cars or car culture. This past US Southwest trip, however, provided me a big glimpse and important insight The owner wants to move his very large collection into the warm dry confines of a building somewhere in New Mexico. Thanks for your comments, and have a great week, too!
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I am loving your post, Henry
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Hi and thanks, Cornelia. Do you have a favourite from the images?
If you haven’t already done so, the area between Santa Fe and Taos is beautiful country, as much as the entire state of New Mexico appears to be just as beautiful. I want to go back! Visiting the Classical Gas Museum to see the collection is a great experience, because the vintage collection and the pieces to do with American driving culture in the mid 20th-century reminded me of Dad. I’m certain he would’ve loved seeing the collection, and perhaps, he would’ve provided more stories.
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[…] We missed seeing the signage on our way north to Taos. But on return to Santa Fe, we find the sign by the road, and we’re soon in the thick of fuel pumps, a diner building, brand decals, and the warm glow of neon signs. For more about our visit, click here. […]
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[…] Classical Gas Museum: Embudo, NM – 11 Oct 2018 […]
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[…] Taos area (11 Oct), including a stop at the Classic Gas Museum in Embudo […]
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[…] to the Classical Gas Museum, in Embudo, NM – 11 Oct 2018 […]
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