April 13th – Gonna stand on a corner
We left Gallup with a course set for a famous corner in Arizona. But before that we took a trip to the Petrified Forest National Park (using that America the Beautiful park pass) and were treated with the most spectacular views of the Painted Desert. This badlands area with its colors of red, orange, purple and white were formed by ancient mudstone and sandstone deposits and is truly another one of God’s masterpieces. The colors change with the weather, obviously you hope for a bright sunny day that would show off their vibrancy, but we had to settle for spotty sunshine. I’ll take it, it was still gorgeous. You can drive to numerous pull-offs for photo ops or just take in all the beauty. After this treat, we continued the route to the Petrified Forest. The petrified wood has its own vibrant color palate, and is 225-million years old, yes, that’s what I typed, 225 million! Of course, I took a ton of pictures and will share the best of them, although it will be hard to pick a few, every spot you look at was so pretty. In addition to the petrified wood, you can see petroglyphs, which are anywhere from 600-2,000 years old and ruins of an ancient village at Puerco Pueblo. This is the only national park with a section of Route 66 running through it. Another must see if you are ever in that area.
We departed the park and jumped back on the route, heading for Winslow. Back in 2021, Joey and I planned a trip around standing on a corner in Winslow. Unfortunately, United Airlines had different plans for us. Our connecting flight to Tucson out of Chicago was cancelled, we had to stay overnight and catch another flight the next today, this one to Pheonix. Of course, the airlines promised us our luggage would be there, yes, we were stuck overnight with no luggage. And in line with how airlines are these days, they lied. Joey’s luggage was there, mine was not it was in Tucson. I did not trust those lying ba$tards to deliver my luggage to us, so we drove to Tucson and retrieved it. Because we were delayed by a day, we had to cancel our trip to Winslow. So here we are five years later and finally making this stop!
We were a bit early to check in which worked out well. We parked at the hotel and thankfully “the corner” was only three short blocks away, the area was bustling with lots of activity. The “Standin’ on the Corner Park” was created by the Standin’ on the Corner Foundation and was dedicated on September 11, 1999. They did a great job paying homage to the Eagles song. In case you were unaware, Jackson Browne wrote most of the song but was stuck after the verse, “well I’m standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona”, Glenn Frey was his neighbor at the time and when Browne played it for him, Frey added “Such a fine sight to see. It’s a girl my lord, in a flatbed ford, slowin down to take a look at me.” And the rest as they say is history, Winslow is now on the map. And I am sure you’ll have that song stuck in your head for a while, you’re welcome 😉
We took our pictures, read the plaques, and enjoyed the moment, finally! Now that we have completed a bucket list item, five years later, time to check into another historic hotel, La Posada.
The hotel was opened in 1930, remained in operation until 1957 and was slated to be demolished many times over the next 40 years. In 1997 it was purchased by Allan Affeldt and partners and completely restored. It is styled in Spanish Colonial Revival and Mission Revival. Something not many hotels have, their own train station, you can still catch an Amtrak right out the back door. This hotel like the El Rancho has hosted numerous celebrities, presidents, scientists, royalty, poets, authors, etc. Okay, I’ll name a few, Albert Einstein, Ameila Earhart, Bob Hope, Franklin Roosevelt, John Wayne, The Crown Prince of Japan, and so many, many others. There’s a museum, numerous gardens, award winning restaurant, and gift shop. This was a beautiful spot, I wished we had booked another night. Here is the link to their website, it’s worth a look as I haven’t touched on all the history behind it. https://www.laposada.org/about-us
We had a great dinner, met some fun people, including a group of women who were celebrating turning 66 with a girl’s trip along Route 66, cute idea! This is another spot we’d love to visit again.
Tomorrow, we jump off 66 and head south for an overnight in Sedona.
See you down the road.
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