Edith Grove with the Duke City Fix has an interesting article about Caravan East, a country-music club on Central Avenue (Route 66) in east Albuquerque.

The sign outside says it was voted “America’s #1 Country Music Night Club.” I’m guessing that vote took place around 1972. But the large pictures of Willie Nelson, Travis Tritt and others prove that this club was a big draw. And it still hosts a packed parking lot on Tuesday: Ladies’ Night.

Ladies’ Night features two live bands, a free dinner buffet earlier in the evening, $1.50 margaritas and $1.50 Chablis. Chablis! Plus all the ladies get a ticket to a drawing that somehow involves a rolling corral of stuffed pink pigs. Don’t ask…I don’t really understand how it works. [...]

The Caravan is dark inside with an expansive dance floor, raised stage, three bars and a smattering of pool tables. It can hold up to 800 people. Many of the attendees were appropriately dressed in cowboy hats and boots are the footwear of choice. One large screen mutely displays sports news while another runs nonstop rodeo footage.

One delightfully surreal moment took place when the DJ in between bands - by request - spun Clarence Carter’s “Strokin’.” The dance floor was packed with line dancing while the dirtier parts of the song were bleeped.

So there. If you’re a boot-scooter and want to let your hair down while in the Duke City, you know where to go.