David Bales

 

New Mexico has some of the neatest neon signs in the world, particularly those in Gallup and Albuquerque. Sometimes it seems there's a cool or just plain strange neon sign waiting to be discovered around every bend in the road. My personal favorite in Albuquerque is the wrench sign for Rupert's Plumbing on Lomas Blvd. Alibi readers however, voted the Scott's Dog Grooming sign as best neon sign in ten Best of Burque polls in a row.

On this day in 1915, Frenchman Georges Claude patented his "neon tube" in the U.S. Check out the "Neon Report" for a large collection of New Mexico examples, pictured both in their heyday and in their "fazed cookie" stage.

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A seriously tweaked out drivin'-and-shootin' video game, 2 AM Truck Stop puts you behind the wheel of a careening big rig. The highway in front of you is littered with neon daemons. Shoot 'em off the road, pick up the magical chunks of "crystal" and keep on truckin'! What drug-addled driver wouldn't appreciate this trippy challenge?

Posted to Alibi's Flickr photo pool by mjhinton.

neon bug

unreal (photo by Merri Rudd)