The Apache Motel, a closed and declining motel on Route 66 in Tucumcari, N.M., recently was purchased by an Oklahoma group and is being rehabbed, according to someone I talked to at Truesdell Real Estate.

The Apache, which had the rock-bottom price of $59,500, had been under contract for several weeks. One Route 66 News reader told me that he drove through town Monday and saw that the motel’s furniture was sitting in the parking lot, up for sale.

The Truesdell spokesman told me the Oklahoma group that bought the Apache buys declining properties, rehabilitates them and resells them for a profit. With the Apache next to two restaurants, the group is optimistic it can find a willing buyer for the Apache once it’s in tip-top shape.

The Odeon Theatre of Tucumcari, N.M., which is just a few blocks north of Route 66, has been one of six theaters in New Mexico nominated to the State Register of Cultural Properties and the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Quay County Sun.

In his nomination of the theater, historian David Kammer of Albuquerque, wrote that the Odeon “retains a strong feeling of a pre-World War II motion picture theater.

“Its association with popular taste in theater design during the 1930s is particularly compelling with its modest but well-articulated use of Art Deco details, rendering it the best remaining example in New Mexico of a theater embodying that style.” [...]

The six theaters, including the Odeon, will be considered by the new Mexico Cultural Properties Review Committee in Santa Fe on Aug. 11, Murphey said.

The designation provides financial incentives and it does make it eligible for state and or federal income tax credits for certain work done on the theater.

The Odeon is a wonderful place to watch a movie. As the photo above shows, we were there for one the worst films we’d ever seen, “Kangaroo Jack.” But the sheer awfulness of that movie didn’t detract from the enjoyment of sitting in a cool, historic theatre. The $5 ticket prices and reasonably priced popcorn didn’t hurt, either.

The Lompoc (Calif.) Record reports that a group of about 40 motorcyclists from New Zealand is planning an excursion on Route 66 during a 13-state tour. They’re also including stops at the 66th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, S.D.

It appears Upcoming Pixar has a scoop. It’s linked to Ultimate Disney, which reports that the DVD for the “Cars” movie is scheduled to hit the streets on Nov. 7.

The site also has an early version of the DVD’s cover art, which can be seen at right. This doesn’t mean this is the final version, however.

The Nov. 7 release date sounds about right. Michael Wallis, who was Route 66 technical adviser for the film and provided the voice of the Sheriff of Radiator Springs, has told me all along that the DVD would be out well before Christmas.