Today was to be just a travel day but with less than 150 miles to travel we were able to work in a little sightseeing. We left Grants, New Mexico, around 9:00am local time and head
ed west. We soon made it to Arizona, since we were only 81 miles from the border. Since Arizona is only one of two states that does not honor Daylight Savings Time (Hawaii is the other) we gained an hour so we arrived at the Root 66 RV Park a little after 11:00am. This park is supposedly in a town called Sun Valley. Actually all that is here is the RV park on one side of Interstate 40 and two businesses on the other side, one called Knife City and the other is one of the many places selling Indian art, crafts and artifacts along the road. The park is actually called "Root 66" although there is no portion of the old Route 66 highway left anywhere near this location. Anyway, we got settled in and were finished with lunch before noon.
ed west. We soon made it to Arizona, since we were only 81 miles from the border. Since Arizona is only one of two states that does not honor Daylight Savings Time (Hawaii is the other) we gained an hour so we arrived at the Root 66 RV Park a little after 11:00am. This park is supposedly in a town called Sun Valley. Actually all that is here is the RV park on one side of Interstate 40 and two businesses on the other side, one called Knife City and the other is one of the many places selling Indian art, crafts and artifacts along the road. The park is actually called "Root 66" although there is no portion of the old Route 66 highway left anywhere near this location. Anyway, we got settled in and were finished with lunch before noon.We needed a couple of things from the store and also where hoping to find a visitors center to find some in
formation on the Petrified Forrest and the Painted Desert, our destinations for tomorrow. We decided to head west in the car and go four miles into the town of Holbrook. Turns out all that is in Holbrook is a bunch of motels for travelers to stop over for the night. So on we pressed the forty miles to Winslow. Winslow is a fairly large town and at one time was the largest city in Northern Arizona. It fell on hard times during the 1960's when the interstate opened and took the traffic that went down Route 66 away. It has revived itself mainly due to a song by the group The Eagles. In the song "Taking it Easy" there is a line about standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona. Local busi
ness men have banded together to make a park in the middle of downtown, right on the old Route 66, called Standing on the Corner Park, complete with a statue of a 1970's style young man standing on the corner with a guitar resting on his boot. This has now become a popular spot for tourist to stop to take their picture. As it turns out this is the weekend of the "12th annual Standing On The Corner Park Festival" and the town was loaded with people. We had to wait our turn to get a picture of the statue. Also, could not resist taking a picture of this vintage car sitting on Route 66. We enjoyed seeing the new makeover to downtown and then sought out the Wal-Mart store to pick up the items we needed. Made for a pleasant day of unplanned sightseeing.
formation on the Petrified Forrest and the Painted Desert, our destinations for tomorrow. We decided to head west in the car and go four miles into the town of Holbrook. Turns out all that is in Holbrook is a bunch of motels for travelers to stop over for the night. So on we pressed the forty miles to Winslow. Winslow is a fairly large town and at one time was the largest city in Northern Arizona. It fell on hard times during the 1960's when the interstate opened and took the traffic that went down Route 66 away. It has revived itself mainly due to a song by the group The Eagles. In the song "Taking it Easy" there is a line about standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona. Local busi
ness men have banded together to make a park in the middle of downtown, right on the old Route 66, called Standing on the Corner Park, complete with a statue of a 1970's style young man standing on the corner with a guitar resting on his boot. This has now become a popular spot for tourist to stop to take their picture. As it turns out this is the weekend of the "12th annual Standing On The Corner Park Festival" and the town was loaded with people. We had to wait our turn to get a picture of the statue. Also, could not resist taking a picture of this vintage car sitting on Route 66. We enjoyed seeing the new makeover to downtown and then sought out the Wal-Mart store to pick up the items we needed. Made for a pleasant day of unplanned sightseeing.
2 comments:
We've stayed at the Root 66, but the last time was just that...the LAST time! We had such horrid electric...kept popping breakers. We finally ended up running our generator all night long! Even moved sites. We've taken the short trip to the Petrified Forest. Don't try to take anything OUT of the park. It's illegal to pick up ANY petrified wood! Enjoy your siteseeing! We've enjoyed our time there too!
In our Route 66 tour of 2008, virtually everyone had to get their photo taken standing on that stupid corner! And even the saner folk from Australia bought souvenirs. Sad people... (I missed that part, being in OKC taking care of family business; else I'd likely have a photo of me there, as well...)
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