Exit 96 on Interstate 40 in Texas:
TX-207; Conway, Panhandle

Traveling I-40 through Texas is essentially an exercise in going miles and miles through flat, remote, rural, countryside (the definition of “Middle Of Nowhere”), interspersed with some cities and towns.

East of Amarillo, in the “Middle of Nowhere,” is Exit 96, overnight stopping point for Day 3 of our Roadtrip.

The Exit, which was once a bustling stop, now features only an aging Executive Inn motel and a small, somewhat rundown Love’s Travel Stop. However, it’s worth noting that the Travel Stop is currently being rebuilt and will soon be in much better condition.

The Executive Inn is a classic old-style motel located along the Interstate Highway, a type that has become increasingly rare. The motel features an L-shaped building with twenty rooms, a check-in office, and an apartment for the owners. It serves primarily as a stopover for travelers; guests can stop to sleep before continuing their journey, so it lacks many amenities. During our visit, most of the rooms seemed to be occupied by men with large pickup trucks who were part of highway construction crews.

_{^{(An aside: The Executive Inn is owned and operated by an Indian family… from India, not Native American… that live onsite. Not to profile, but over the years, I have had the opportunity to stay in several older or lower cost lodgings owned and run by families of Indian origin. Without exception, these establishments had very clean and well-appointed rooms that were obviously well cared for. The owners took great pride in ensuring their establishments were well maintained, despite the age of the buildings. This Executive Inn was no exception.)}}

We arrived late in the day, and were rewarded with a wonderful Texas sunset.

The motel is perfectly located to attract guests, being on the east-bound exit ramp frontage road.

At one time it had a large sign advertising what was there. The sign is still there, but a quick run of Wheel Of Fortune is needed.

The Cafe/ Restaurant, that is part of the motel property, still stands but has been closed for a while.

An interesting tidbit about some of the motel guests. Above a light fixture next to one of the rooms, a new family has taken up residence.

They have obvously been there a while with no effort made to run them off. Kudos to the owners for letting them stay!

What was but is no more.

Next to the motel, the frontage road leading to the road that crosses I-40 was once home to several thriving businesses.

The lead-off was the Route 66 Budget Fuel station.

Little is left.

Next was a store of some kind. Probably souvenirs.

And another building of an unknown purpose. Vehicles are also abandoned… and covered with graffiti.

On a little further, closer to the intersection, was another motel and cafe. It’s sign is in somewhat better shape.

August 17, 2025

Click/ press here for full-size, no watermark, images at www. ImagesByBill.us

Click/ press here to see my entire Out of Business/ Abandoned series.

Thanks for visiting!!

---

I appreciate your support and hope you enjoy my posts! Your contributions make a significant difference in my journey, and any donations would be greatly appreciated. Together, we can keep the creativity flowing and deliver even more engaging content. Thank you for being part of this journey!

August 17, 2025