Winslow AZ
Breakfast was a PacTour parking lot breakfast, expect it was too cold to stand around outside, so Conner set up the buffet in his room and it was a grab ‘n go breakfast. Of course before that, yours truly scraped the frost off the Sequoia’s windshield to head to the Circle K for coffee! The Brewed Awakenings coffee shop was not open yet, so we had coffee while we packed before breakfast.
Yes it was cold, but not as bad with the sun out, here it was probably about 38 degrees.
It’s a straight shot on the I-40 from Williams to Winslow, but our route took us on old sections of Route 66. Based on the width of this road, I would guess this was the 1931 alignment.
This poor horse had a leg stuck in this fence. David and Mike helped get the leg out, but the wire was caught on the horses shoe. Dan checked the farmhouse in the background but no one was home.
This old shack was on the property. Short of going into that corral to free the horse, there was nothing we could do. We headed out, and within a few hundred meters, a car came up and we flagged it down. We told the driver about the horse, and she said she knew the owners and would check it out.
An actual convenience store in Parks Arizona, with Route 66 emblems and an old car out front.
Riding along on the gravel that now covers the old road, I spotted a medallion on a concrete culvert. Yup, its the 1931 alignment!
These old cabins were just beyond the 1931 culvert. They look 1930’s vintage.
We joined the I-40 outside of parks for about six miles. Along the way I spotted this section of old road just south of the freeway. I pulled over and climbed down the embankment to check it out. The cue sheet noted earlier that there was about 2.5 miles of old frontage road that ended in this dead end. The old road disappears under the I-40 just a few hundred meters from the barrier. Probably could have ridden this section, however you need to slip under that barbed wire fence, no barbs on the bottom wire thankfully!
Debby had left Williams well after me and was driving the I-40 to Winslow. She saw me scrambling back up to the freeway after I checked out the old road. She thought I had just stopped for a natural break! A little further we hit the high point of today’s route on the Arizona Divide and would be on downhill rollers all the way to Winslow.
Too bad this truck decided to park here. This is the Flagstaff Amtrak station and visitor center.
Lunch was on your own and Miz Zips was the recommended stop.
With my signature slow start, and old route exploring, most of the group was already here.
And best of all, Debby decided to stop and meet me for lunch. We enjoyed a patty melt sandwich for the main course and this delicious peach pie à la mode for dessert.
Ah yes, the historic Museum Club on Route 66. Established in 1931, it probably accounts for most of the DUI’s along this stretch of road! This was a favorite hangout for me and my colleagues from Arthur Young back in 1981 when we were auditing the Northern Arizona University.
The City of Flagstaff made this section of old Route 66 into a little park/bike path.
About 15 years ago Hunt Construction Group built the new Twin Arrows Casino resort a few miles from the old Twin Arrows Trading Post. I visited the jobsite during construction. When I visited, the old trading post building was remarkably well preserved and both of the Twin Arrows were standing. Now only one arrow remains and the white stucco walls have become canvas for whatever that is!
Stone ruins in the Two Gun area. The old Route 66 passed by those buildings. Shoot-outs, property disputes, and even a Mountain Lion exhibit are part of the Route 66 story in this area.
An Old Route 66 bridge visible from the I-40 freeway.
A roadside attraction, The Dino Drive-thru offers the chance to drive through a bunch of dinosaur exhibits. There is also a shooting range, paint-a-bug, gemstone mining, and the chance to hold a real meteorite!
I didn’t stop. I was more interested in checking out the dates on highway structures! This one is 46 years old and on an I-40 culvert.
After 45 miles on the I-40 today, I was very happy to exit the freeway and roll into tonight’s destination of Winslow Arizona.
St. Joseph’s Catholic Church constructed with native stone was built in 1921 and is still in operation.
Just a few more blocks and here we are at the ‘Standin’ on the Corner’ park in downtown Winslow. I traded cameras with another couple and we took each others’ photos.
So what had Debby been up to while I was making my way to Winslow? She decided to check her grandmothers old house in Winslow. At one time this house was a Trading Post on the Navajo Indian Reservation. It was moved to from Old Route 66 to its current location in 1967 when the Interstate came through. It was on condemned land and part of the agreement to give up the land was that government would move the house. During the move, the family dog was run over by the house movers, and the petrified wood fireplace was damaged. Too much for Merle Hohn, he had a heart attack and passed during the move.
Deb also went to the cemetery to pay her respects. It took some doing, but she found their grave and some other aunts and uncles. Nora keep going until 1983, just three years after Deb and I were married. One of our favorite memories was visiting her in Winslow. She took us to the Elks Lodge for drinks and to show us off to her friends. It was pets on parade, but we loved every minute of it.
We are staying at the La Posada Hotel. Built in 1930 it was the last of the Harvey House railway hotels. The Santa Fe tracks are just outside our window. The room even includes ear plugs for those guests that don’t ‘appreciate’ the railway traffic!
The hotel was closed in 1957 and gutted in 1961 to make way for Santa Fe regional offices. In 1997 the hotel was purchased from the railway and restored into a very nice hotel. We just finished a fine meal in the Turquoise Room. Reservations only! It certainly earned its reputation as one the finest restaurants on Route 66.
We are making progress on our journey. Tomorrow morning Debby heads back to Tempe. It’s been great having her join me for the last few days. We have a short run to Holbrook tomorrow to sleep in another Teepee Motel. We will be treated to a Harvey Girls presentation tomorrow morning here at the hotel, and we will have lunch in Winslow before heading out Holbrook. No worries the Teepee’s won’t be ready for check in until 4 pm and it’s only 40 miles away.
Breakfast at 7, Harvey Girl presentation at 8:30, load and roll at 11:30 for lunch at the Falcon Restaurant in Winslow.
Steve
There are Indian petroglyphs on the far side of the nearby butte. We had to hop a fence to get here but it was worth it.
We continued on Old Route 66 eastbound and the road is slowly being reclaimed by the desert. Here winter floods have washed out the road. We had to climb down into the wash and hike through deep sand to get back to the road.
Looking back across Crazy Creek, there is not much left of the bridge.
From here the Old Route 66 continues to deteriorate and nearing the I-40 the road turned to sand. We were able to use a large culvert under freeway to cross under. From there Julian and I decided to hop the fence and get back on the freeway for the next 2 miles to the town of Navajo. There is a Subway and convenience store there and we stopped for lunch.
