GC 067 Jericho Gap

In the early days of Route 66 the section of road between Alanreed and Groom was known as the Jericho Gap.  It was notorious for bogging cars down in the mud after rainstorms.  Local farmers and ranchers made supplemental income by pulling stranded motorists out of the mud for a fee.  There are even tales of enterprising locals watering down the road to increase business.  Even with paving of Route 66 in the area during the 1930s, horror stories remained for decades of the infamous Jericho Gap.  During my research for the trip I’d used satellite maps to plot  how to transit the unpaved historical sections of the Jericho gap.  But in the end I decided given:

1. The already advanced hour (almost noon); and 
2. The grief I’d get from Virginia were something to happen;

zipping down the interstate at 80 mph vastly more appealing than being able to say I’d transited the infamous Jericho Gap.