10/5/2025 - Downtowner Motel (Route 66) in Flagstaff, Arizona

 Wow, it has been a while since I have been on here.  In October 2025, my dad and I took a week trip up to the north of Arizona to see some cool things.

On our first day we drove up to Flagstaff and looked at some more Route 66 places.  The sign that I saw was Downtowner Motel located on the southwest corner of Phoenix and San Francisco.  It was originally the home of K.J. Nackard, who owned a store nearby. He converted his home into a motel on Route 66 in mid 1920's, in 1933 added a bunkhouse and in the 1935 the wing that closed the court.

4/7/2024 - Take it Easy by The Eagles (Winslow)

 

These statues are located on W. 2nd Street and N. Kinsley Ave.  Take it Easy is a song from The Eagles.

Song lyric: Well, I'm a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.

4/7/2024 - Lorenzo Hubbell Trading Post and Warehouse/ Visitor Center (Winslow)

 This was one of the Hubbell Trading Post.  It was a warehouse and wholesale store in Winslow, AZ.

Lorenzo Hubbell began trading with the Navajo from Pueblo Colorado AZ in 1878.  He ended up owning 24 trading post and freight lines.  In the early 1920, he opened this trading post in Winslow. In 1954, his empire went bankrupt.

The building is still standing and now it is the visitor center in Winslow, AZ.

Winslow, Route 66 Arizona 

4/7/2024 - Meteor Crater (Route 66)

This use to be called the Barringer Crater which in turn was named after Daniel Barringer who suggested its meteoric origin when most scientists believed it to be an extinct volcano.  Later on the name changed to Meteor Crater.  This is U.S. National Natural Landmark.

Diameter: 0.737 miles

Depth: 560 feet

Rim rise: 148 feet

Meteor Diameter: 160 feet

Meteor type: iron meteorite

Mass: 300,000 tons

Impact speed: 28,600 mph

Impact energy: 10 megatons

Rubble layer thickness: 690 - 790 ft above the bedrock

There is a fee to get in.  There are exhibits and displays.  They have a film to watch. The Apollo craft is there to see. There is a tour you can of walking around the rim for a fee.

 

Meteor Crater: A Must-See Natural Wonder | Top Things to Do in Arizona

4/7/2024 - Two Guns (Route 66)

This was the second zoo in Two Guns, AZ.  It was behind the Texaco gas station.  The first zoo closed when Route 66 was realigned in 1939.

This is behind the zoo.

Two Guns, Route 66 Arizona

 

4/7/2024 - Twin Arrows (Route 66)

There used to be two twin arrows standing here.  The older arrows were made out of two telephone poles. Then restored by the route 66 volunteers and the Hopi in 2009.

This was going to be called Canyon Padre Trading Post in the 1950's. Later on, this building was called Twin Arrows Trading Post. It was open from 1955 to 1985. The place closed in 1990 and reopened in 1995 but then shut down for good.  Route 66 volunteers and Hopi restored the buildings 2009 but didn't reopen.

This was Valentine Diner next to the trading post. A diner is a classic example of Route 66 "Americana". Diners were prefab restaurants, defined as, "a restaurant shaped like a railroad car", the name derives from "dining car."

You can see part of the place in the movie, Forrest Gump.

Twin Arrows, Route 66 Arizona

 

4/5-6/2024 - Snow Day in Flagstaff (Route 66)

 After Ash Fork, AZ we drove up to Flagstaff for the night and day.  When we got there it started to snow when we were driving through Williams.

We stopped at the railroad station in a few minutes when it was closing.  Got my stamp and souvenirs for Route 66.

We found a hotel for the night, and it snowed all night.

We try to leave Flagstaff to go to the places but the roads on the highway were icy and they were back up with semi-trucks.  We stayed at the same hotel and watched NCAA Men's tournament basketball all day.  We did leave the next day for the rest of our adventure.

4/5/2024 - Ash Fork (Route 66)

 In 2001, Arizona House of Representatives name Ash Fork "Flagstone Capital of the World."

We stopped Ash Fork Maintenance Camp #1; this was the road and highway maintenance camp that dates back 1922 when the National Old Trails highway was built.  It later took over the upkeep of Route 66.  Now it houses the Ash Fork Route 66 Museum and Tourist Center.  The old warehouse is still standing and here is a picture inside.

4/5/2024 - Snow Cap Drive In (Seligman)

This is a "mom and pop" Route 66 Cafe that used an eye-catching parapet on the roof with ice cream cones decorating it.  Juan Delgadillo and his family built it in 1953.  He became part of the Snow Cap Drive-In chain of Prescott, Arizona and sold their ice creams until the company went broke in 1997.  Juan negotiated with them became owner of the brand name; this is the last Snow Cap in operation.

 

4/5/2024 - Angel Barber Shop (Seligman)

This is Angel & Vilma Delgadillo Gift Shope in Seligman, Arizona.  This building was built in 1914, and it had two residences.  Angel set up his pool hall and barber shop there in 1972 with a striped barber pole in the front.

Here is a picture of his barber shop.

Here is me with Angel. (paper cut out)

In 1987, it became the office of the "Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona", and this prompted Angel (founder and president of the Association) to sell Route 66 souvenirs in his shop.  This new business grew and took over the old pool hall part of the store.

4/5/2024 - Road Kill Cafe (Seligman)

Roadkill Cafe is located in Seligman, Arizona.  It was once called O.K. Saloon.  It used to be a saloon.  The logo is "You Kill It, We Grill It."  It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.  They have some weird plate names to choose from, Deer Delectables, Bad-Brake Steak, Fender Tenders, Caddie-Grilled Patty and many more.

It was packed when we went into the building.  We looked at all the artifacts and gift shop.

Also next to it is a motel that was once called Navajo Motel and now it's called the Historic Route 66 Motel.  Here is the picture of the sign.  On the website said that the layout of the motel is same has the same layout.  It has been remodeled.

Attractions - Pope Enterprises

4/5/2024 - Grand Canyon Caverns (Route 66)

 

Grand Canyon Caverns are a place that you can go down into some caves.  The place was open, but I could not go down the elevator.  There is a gift shop and a restaurant.  There is also a motel that you can stay in.  The cool thing is that about these caves is that you can stay in a room that is part of the cave.  I think you can also eat down there too.  There is a little room that had different kind of artifacts from early year.  There also were dinosaur's statues around the area.

4/5/2024 - Peach Springs (Route 66)

 On the road to Peach Springs on Route 66 I really didn't see anything that was from earlier time.  I have might have missed it.

Peach Springs is the "Capital of Hualapai Nation."  We stopped at the Hualapai Lodge Hotel & Resort.  There is a gift shop with tribal art and a restaurant.  We ate at the restaurant for lunch.  I had fried bread with meat.  It was big and very good.

Where the resort is used to be Osterman's Auto Court in the 1930's.

4/5/2024 - Valentine (Route 66)

 Along route 66 you can see this building. This was the Truxton Canyon Training School.  It was created by President McKinley in 1898.  The school opened in 1901, and the schoolhouse was built in 1903.  It was a boarding house for boys and girls who lived there from September to May.  It was expanded in 1924 and again in 1927 and 1929.  Its bricks were manufactured on site by the Hualapai students.

After closing in 1937, two of the three main buildings were demolished.  The fields cultivated by students went fallow and settlement withered.  It is now owned by the Hualapai Indian Nation.

Over the 36 years of its existence, it educated around 750 students.  Non-Indian children used another building, the Red Schoolhouse from 1924 to 1969.

It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

3/21/2025 - Tohono Chul

 

On 3/21/2025, my stepmom Cathy and I went to the Tohono Chul located in Tucson, Arizona.  At this place there are a lot of different gardens, trails, galleries, and a bistro.

We walked around the gardens and trails and saw some cool things.  There were sculptures to see, different kind of plants and little waters areas.  It was a nice peaceful day.

Tohono Chul | Botanical Gardens & Galleries | Tucson AZ

3/20/2025 - Oracle Historical Society Museum

The Oracle Historical Society Museum is located at Acadia Ranch in Oracle, Arizona.  In this museum you see a lot of different artifacts on things about Oracle.  Here is some information about this building.

Originally the headquarters of a ranch the Acadia was built around 1880 by ES Dodge who owned a boarding house in Tucson and moved to Oracle for Mrs. Dodge's health.  He named it the Acadia after the settlement in Nova Scotia where they originally lived.

From 1885-1901 the Acadia served as Oracle's Post Office after it was moved from American Flag Ranch.  Dodge wanted to name the post office Acadia Ranch, but the USPS would not allow a two-word name, so he chose "Oracle" after one of the first mines in the area established by Weldon and McKay.  Weldon named the mine after the ship he had taken around Cape Horn, "The Oracle."

In 1914 Mr. and Mrs. William Neal, owners of the Mountain View Hotel bought the Acadia and operated both until 1923 when they sold to William Trowbridge of New York City, who also purchased the Triangle L Ranch.

In 1945 Katherine Trowbridge sold Acadia to Mr. and Mrs. Reginald Ramsay for their family home.  In the early 1950's Mrs. Ramsay operated a beauty parlor in one of the front rooms.

The newly organized Oracle Historical Society bought the Acadia in 1978 for use as a museum.  In 1984 the Acadia Ranch building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

oraclehistoricalsociety.org

4/5/2024 - Hackberry (Route 66)

 

Hackberry General Store aka Northside Grocery is located in Arizona on Route 66.  There was a service station in Hackberry in 1930.  The store opened in 1934 on the new alignment of Route 66 that was built on the northside of the railroad and bypassed the small town.  It had a Conoco gasoline station and remained in operation until the interstate bypassed this section of Route 66 in 1978, that year it closed.  In 1992 it re-opened as a souvenir shop and information center.

There are a lot of artifacts from the 40's to the 60's inside the store and outside.

I have a little funny story that happened when we were there at the store.  I was at the counter getting my items to buy I saw a roll way rack of shirts going down the driveway from the wind.  The wind was strong.  You see flying clothes, lol.

4/5/2024 - Antares (Route 66)

 Antares is a small community located north of Kingman on the historic segment of Route 66.  This is where Rancheros motel was located around 1965.  Now it is a visitor center.  It was closed when we  stopped by.  You can see the new attraction since 2004, the Giganticus Headicus - the gigantic Tiki head.  Also you can see some old cars too.

14 feet high, painted green and was built with wood and plastered with stucco to give it a stone - like surface.