Day 12 - Holbrook AZ to Williams AZ

“I was standin’ on a corner
in Winslow, Arizona,
Such a fine sight to see,
It’s a girl, my Lord,
in a flatbed Ford,
Slowin’ down to take a look at me….”

After a fine night of sleeping in a wigwam, our first stop was Winslow. We had breakfast at the Falcon Café, then on to the infamous corner, which is marked with a statue of a man with a guitar and a mural of a woman driving Ford in the background (see photo). Winslow is a very small town, typical of most towns we’ve passed through on Route 66. The Route through town is actually separated into one way streets traveling east and west bound. The “Corner” is on the east bound side across from a music store, appropriately.

Then it was on to Jackrabbit Trading Post, in the town of Jackrabbit. This was one of the inspirations for Lizzie’s Curio Shop in the movie Cars. They have a big metal jackrabbit sculpture in front (see photo for a familiar face recently found riding the big bunny). Unfortunately, we arrived before the shop was open, so we didn’t get to see inside.

Moving on to Meteor Crater – WOW! This is something you’d definitely have to see for yourself to truly realize the impact (heehee) of just what happened. The meteor impact is believed to have occurred about 50,000 years ago. The meteor is estimated to have been around 150 feet in diameter. The largest fragments discovered have been only a few feet in diameter. The impact site is over 500 feet deep, and over 1 mile across. Over time, there has been much speculation over what actually occurred at the site, and it wasn’t until the 1920s that is was agreed upon that it was the site of a meteor impact. A gentleman during that time was determined to find the rest of the meteor body, which he believed must lie beneath the crater. He initially drilled straight down in to the center of the crater, but they could not break through the stone layer underneath. Later, they tried drilling at another site, but the soil was so fine it was like quicksand, so they were unsuccessful at excavating it. It is now believed that the entire meteor either vaporized or melted upon impact with the Earth’s surface.

The drive from Meteor Crater to Flagstaff is gorgeous – you move from the flat desert into the Alpine mountains, and it becomes dramatically cooler. On the way to Flagstaff, you pass through Winona (don’t forget) – which if you blink, you will miss it. The city of Flagstaff is a beautiful setting, surrounded by pine trees and the smell of fresh air.

Our resting place tonight is in Williams. We are staying at the Canyon Motel, and our room is very unique. We are staying in a 1950s vintage Grand Canyon Railway railcar! It has been converted into two rooms – very cool! We enjoyed dinner and a show in town - they stage a gunfight in the street!

We saw our first highway signs referencing mileage to Los Angeles today while leaving Flagstaff, and just outside of Flagstaff, we eclipsed 2,000 miles driven since we picked up the rental in Chicago. We have completed 77% of our journey.