Prairie Sentinel

  Twenty-four miles west of San Jon, is Tucumcari, the county seat of Quay County. The town's name is 
pronounced (TOO-COME-CARRY).  The town was named for Tucumcari Mountain, which looms south of town. Tucumcari Mountain is really a mesa and it only rises about 700 feet above the surrounding plains. The summit of Tucumcari Mountain is 4,956 feet above sea level while the town of Tucumcari rests at 4,237 feet above sea level. Despite its dimunitive stature, Tucumcari Mountain is a regional landmark as has been for centuries. Indians used it as a landmark on their travels and  many of their trails went past the base of the hill. Later, cowboys and other travelers used Tucumcari Mountain as a landmark as well. Today, the hill silently reposes two miles south of Interstate 40, still beckoning passersby the same way it has for centuries.
Now, there are radio antenna towers adorning its summit, twinkling their iridescent glow under the endless prairie sky.
  The mountain's longtime status as a lookout probably explains the origin of its unique name. It has been said the name means "to lie in wait for something to approach" in an Indian language. But verification of that has proven to be elusive. Tucumcari could be the corruption of an Indian word or it could be just a myth like the current one that has been perpetrated on the traveling public.
  The myth that has been 'sold' to the American public for decades, especially in the halcyon days of U.S. Highway 66, is that there were once two star-crossed teenage lovers, Tokom and Kari, that were from warring tribes and their romance was scorned upon by members of both tribes. As a result, Tokom and Kari killed themselves in a suicide pact while holding hands and died at the base of the mountain that now bears their name. "Tokom" was changed to "Tucum" to make pronounciation easier. Shades of Romeo and Juliet you might say.