We rolled into this sleepy little town after high-tailing it from Quemada, NM, where there were waaay too many similarities to the town where the Texas Chainsaw Massacre occured! We stayed at the "Rode Inn", which has some history. The hotel used to a be a dance hall / casino back in the day and John Wayne used to frequent this hotel. He owned a large ranch near this town, so Springerville became one of his regular hang-outs. The next morning we woke up to find the streets lined with folding chairs of all kinds... seems we were going to be treated to a 4th of July parade! And what a treat it was! Horses, ATVs, Veterans, big semi-trucks, more ATVs and of course, explosions from the pyrotechnic team doing the fireworks later that night. Definitely a great way to start the day!