Just over a four hour drive from Las Vegas, is a small community of Winslow, Arizona.
This enclave is on route I-40 that was once part of the historic Highway 66 which went from Chicago to Los Angeles.
There are a number of beautiful vistas along the way.
This high desert city has a population of only about 10,000 people. So why go there?
The city was made popular on an Eagles/Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey 1972 song “Take It Easy,” which has the line “I’m a-standin’on a corner in Winslow, Arizona..”
Well, I’m a-standin’ on a corner in
Winslow, Arizona
Such a fine sight to see
It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flat-bed Ford
Slowin’ down to take a look at me
The “Standin’ On the Corner Foundation” has placed an iconic mural and sculpture on West 2nd Avenue and N. Kinsley Ave.
In our mid-March visit of 2015, there weren’t too many people “a-standin’ on a corner.” The area does make an interesting picture, particularly if you are an Eagles fan. It was definitely a creative way to draw more people into Winslow.
A visit to Winslow is not complete until you visit the historic La Posada hotel.
This place was the last of the famous Harvey House hotels to stay while traveling on the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The name “Winslow” may have actually been named after a railroad president. Another legend says the name “Winslow” came from a nearby prospector. Designed by legendary Mary Colter, the La Posada hotel opened up in 1930.
Fortunately, it was not torn-down, but restored back in the mid-1990’s.
A walk through this hotel is going back in history. Many of the rooms are named after famous people who have stayed at this hotel and in that very room: Amelia Earhart, Albert Einstein, Charles Lindbergh, John Wayne, FDR, Shirley Temple and Frank Sinatra to name a few. We took a walk through memory lane going through the various hallways.
On the upper floor there was a rather interesting art gallery.
The Bielicki’s, undramatically, stayed in a Best Western just outside of town along I-40. The Winslow Best Western did have a very nice foyer and even a small size pool. The hotel even included breakfast.
We did manage to have lunch in La Posada restaurant, The Turquoise Room. As I recall, it was not expensive and the lunch satisfying. I remember there is a soup they offered which was half bean and half cream corn. It was delicious with the homemade corn bread.
You have to love a community that placed a lot of monies and time to construct “The 9-11 Remembrance Gardens” to honor all those that were affected by this tragic event. There are two very large beams from the Twin Towers to be seen. They had a large ceremony just a year after the event, September 11, 2002. These gardens sit just east of town.
In the 1940’s, Winslow was a major community along Highway 66.
There are run-down places today in Winslow no doubt. What I understand, though, Californians are purchasing these dilapidated places and fixing them up for investments.
Other good reasons to stay in Winslow is to make it your home base to see other attractions. Just a thirty-minute drive west is the famous Meteor Crater.
You can’t miss the road as it is called “Meteor Crater Rd.” There is an interesting gas station on route I-40 nearby with adobe architecture.
Ironically, this natural land mark is privately owned by The Barringer Family. The area is advertised as “the best-preserved meteorite crater on Earth.”
The marginal cost of admission would have normally stopped us. The facility is quite large.
The views on top of the Barringer Museum are awesome.
We just had to see this place, though, as the 1984 John Carpenter movie, “Starman,” with Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen, inspired us to view this famous natural phenomenon.
The crater is 560 feet deep and about 3900 feet in diameter. The cataclysmic event occurred about 50,000 years ago. The museum and complex itself is quite interesting and worthy of a stop, and your money.
Just about 50 miles east of Winslow is the Petrified Forest National Park.
Fossils of petrified trees are literally everywhere in the 346 square mile park. The fallen trees date back to 225 million years ago in the Late Triassic Epoch.
There is a small museum in the National Park.
There are a number of interesting paved trails to take.
Indians lived in the area 8000 years ago. There are over 600 archeological sites which includes petroglyphs. We never did see any of these sites along the main route. We did see the historic Wigman Hotel which had tee-pees as rooms.
Removal of any of the petrified wood is strictly illegal. I have to admit, as a 13-year-old child, I did take a small piece out of the park in 1968. I remember the officer asking us if we took any pieces. My answer was a lying “no.” I still feel guilty about the whole incident.
It is ironic that as payment for my volleyball coaching services many years later, a parent gave me a large piece of petrified wood. It does make a good door-stopper.
We did see a number of vendors selling the petrified wood outside the park. I guess there are areas that still remain in private hands.
Directly north and across I-40 is “Painted Desert,” which is under the control of the National Park System. This area was first described back in 1540 by Francisco Coronado as “El Desierto Pintado” looking for the Seven Cities of Cibola. The rock layers comprise of iron and manganese compounds which provides pigments for the various colors.
