#155 - The Ekland in Clayton, NM

On the Road

Don and I spotted Hotel Ekland on our drive to Colorado, 4 years ago.

This time, we spent the night at the old hotel, which by the way, was actually built before 1905.

The Older the Better

I like the oldies! This sturdy, stone hotel (at least the first 2 floors) was built in 1892. I think they should flaunt that.  Originally, shops were on the first floor and rental rooms on the top. Carl Eklund bought the building, some years later and added a saloon. The saloon brought in enough money to add that third floor.   

Stone Meets Brick

I always like figuring out the puzzle pieces of old buildings and their additions.  On the side of the hotel, there was a pleasant little sitting area with tables and flowers.  We could see where a brick addition had joined the old stonework.

The Lobby

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The lobby had a living room feel, with a small sitting area and some unusual rockers.

Nuns and Popes For Sale

Near the entrance, there was a small gift shop where we could buy postcards or jewelry. But for a more unusual travel souvenir, we could have bought a gourd painted like a nun or monk or pope! The "innkeeper" was busily working on her gourd crafts when she wasn't attending to desk. 

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Framed Hotel History

While Don distracted our gourd artist to get us checked in, I found some  historical goodies. Hotel wallpaper, circa 1893 (with an arrow on the bullet hole) and a rosary, found imbedded in the plaster wall of room #2, when they did renovations.

Up We Go 

There was an elevator, but the stairs were handy to our second floor room.

206, The Dorsey

There were 3 rooms on the second floor, that shared the hotel's balcony. Our room #206 was the middle one. It was named Dorsey, not for Tommy of Big Band days, but Stephen Dorsey. Mr. Dorsey started up this town of Clayton, and gave the town his son's name.

Western Decor

Originally there were 42 guest rooms and some community bathrooms. After renovations were completed in 2004, there were 26 rooms with private baths.  I was happy to not share a bath down the hall.  Ours was spotless and the towels were fluffy. The western style furniture was newish, but not exactly hotel quality. I don't think it would have stood up to those rough cattlemen who stayed here 100 years ago.

Outside Time

There was a steady wind, gusting through town all evening, but we were determined to make use of the balcony.  Don and I spent a little time hanging out on the breezy terrace, keeping an eye on Main Street.

The Luna

If it had been a weekend, we could have strolled across to the old movie house. There were no shows on Tuesday night, so we took a walk down Main Street.

Train Tracks

We walked down past the Feed & Supply warehouse.  We didn't see any trains, but we heard them in the night. You have to get used to train sounds if you want to stay in old hotels.

​The Saloon

We had to wait for the big set of metal gates to be unlocked, before we passed through the swinging saloon doors. Funny, they had similar locked gates keeping us out of the dining room as well. Maybe that's because Clayton has had to deal with some notorious characters in the past.  We learned about Blackjack Ketchum when we had a drink in the saloon. There were some rather eerie pictures of him being hung.

The Old Oak Bar

The beautiful bar, that Mr. Eklund won in a poker game, was mighty impressive. You could picture some dusty characters lined up along the stand-up bar. The lack of stools meant you could get a good look at the arches and pillars in the design. The lack of a bartender, made it hard to get a drink. 

Quiet at First

We amused ourselves with the buffalo head and some old photographs until a young woman wandered out to serve us a drink.  The dining room was closed, so we ended up eating dinner in the bar, which eventually filled with a crowd of mostly locals. The meatloaf, salad and soup was actually quite tasty. 

Morning

Don and I waited for the gates to open in the formal dining room for the complimentary breakfast. The woman putting out the food seemed to have a system that we didn't want to disturb. 

We watched her bring out numerous trays with dishes covered in plastic wrap. We were a bit perplexed by the cold quiche and oatmeal, but then realized a nearby microwave was there for our convenience.

A Little Scared

Don found us a table by the fireplace, under the watchful eye of Mrs. Eklund... I think.  We were careful to avoid the lower part of the dining room that had been purposefully blocked by a chair. Our food server told us that some guests just want to sit there because it's  pretty. I wanted to ask her, "And why exactly aren't guests allowed to sit there?" But she sort of scared me.

​Don doesn't look scared in this photo, but he should have been!

Look at the whispy bit of a ghost that seems to be photobombing this image! Yikes, that might be the spirit of Blackjack Ketchum!

What's Notable?

I'll remember how sturdy The Eklund felt, in this town of dust and wind. The sandstone exterior, will be what I remember.  The interior was less impressive with lobby knickknacks and mixture of real and "new" antiques. It was exactly what I expected to see, because small town historic hotels often reflect the personality of the community... those who contribute.
My favorite part of the hotel was the porch with the view of Main Street. I could sit there and imagine it was 1910. The ranchers and railroad men would be pretty thirsty when they arrived and headed for the great oak bar in the saloon!