POPSICLE HAPPY HOUR starts promptly at 4 p.m. at Hotel Zazz—and I wasn’t about to be late. It had been years since I’d enjoyed one of the frozen treats, so a few minutes beforehand, I made my way to the far corner of the renovated 1950s Sleepy Bear Travelodge in Albuquerque’s Nob Hill neighborhood. 

A vintage red Coca-Cola cooler sat under a disco ball. A neon banana glowed on the wall to the left. This had to be it. Inside the ice chest, a mix of grape and orange Popsicles awaited. (Okay, honestly, not my favorite flavors as a kid, but I grabbed one of each for my wife and me and headed back to our room.)

We chilled out on the colorful poolside patio filled with swoopy purple, turquoise, and yellow plastic furniture, soaking in the spring sunshine and the retro vibes as Route 66 traffic moved past just beyond the property’s wall. Maybe the Popsicles were meant for families with kids in tow, but it didn’t take long before the stress of our workweek slipped away and was replaced by thoughts of summer picnics, afternoons at the ballpark, and vacations at the beach.  

Owner Sharmin Dharas and her daughter, Shayrooz, enliven Hotel Zazz. Photograph by Jen Judge.

It’s the kind of thing Hotel Zazz owner Sharmin Dharas likes to call “newstalgia.” Dharas, who grew up in the Central Avenue hotel previously owned by her parents, has added an entire road trip’s worth of imaginative and memorable touches designed for guests to make new memories while evoking the Mother Road’s storied legacy of cross-country travel. 

That same spirit runs throughout this month’s “Tales from the Road” feature celebrating the centennial of Route 66. A mix of then and now, these stories offer perspectives on what the iconic highway has meant to New Mexico, while providing some of-the-moment inspiration to take to the road, including a throwback bingo game to play as you go.

To make the most of your trip along the Mother Road, download New Mexico’s Route 66 app, which earns you a fun sticker postcard and the chance to win cool prizes just for checking in to places you visit. There’s also a great itinerary-building tool and plenty of pre-selected routes to follow as well. And look out for our new coffee-table book, Road to Enchantment: A Century of Route 66 in New Mexico, available this month. 

So whether you’re planning a road trip or just basking in the history, we’ve got you covered. Because as Debbie Post, president of the East Mountain Historical Society, says: “In American culture, Route 66 represents magic, freedom, and seeing new things. It’s got a vibe.”