I left Willams on my way to Albuquerque and made a couple of side trips. The first stop was in Winslow. It was tthe corner made famous by the Eagles in ?Take it Easy.? Williams is a small town just off of I-40, spread along a nice stretch of Route 66. It reminded me of Southport, you just replace the bayous and fishing boats with the desert and the Santa Fe Railroad.
Monday afternoon the building next to Standin? On The Corner Park caught fire and burnt out. On Tuesday the building collapsed, leaving the wall that the mural is painted on standing freely. The park was roped off and closed. I just happened to meet the fire inspector as I was finishing my last picture of the park. She gave me the story behind the closing. She introduced me to the head of the Standin? On The Corner Foundation, Glenn Howeth, who was waiting to see if the wall could be saved. They had brought in the best structural engineer in Arizona to check out the wall. He gave it a thumbs up. But the guy who owns the building the wall is painted on has contacted his own engineer to check its structural integrity. It looks as if the wall is safe for now, but there may be a legal battle in the future of the owner wants to tear down and rebuild. The wall is part of a historical monument, and is protected by federal law. It legally cannot be touched. The foundation is willing to fight if it comes to it, but they don?t think it should be too much of a problem. Glenn helped me get a few more pictures and gave me his card, which has the foundation?s web address on it: www.standinonthecorner.com. Here?s to their success in preserving the park. Maybe it will still be there when I try to go back. Speaking of going back, the foundation sponsors a free music festival the first weekend of every October. Sounds like a good time to go back, doesn?t it?
Well, I'm standing on the corner in Winslow, AZ. And such a fine sight to see!
After talking with Glenn, I went to a souvenir shop to buy my Route 66 memorabilia. It is a remodeled bank. They store their extra merchandise in the bank?s vault.
I was looking at a shirt and couldn?t decide what size to get. The owner said I could try the shirt on in the vault. So I did, then I asked her to take a picture of me in the vault. She just laughed and agreed to on the spot. It seem that I am the first person to ever ask to have my picture taken inside the vault. Everyone asks for the outside but no one asks for the inside. So I am a Route 66 first. Ha ha!
After Winslow I headed down I-40 to Meteor Crater, the world?s ?first proven and best preserved meteor impact crater.? Admission was $12. It would have been worth it had the wind not been blowing 50 miles an hour, preventing their tour of the crater rim. But I got a couple pf good pictures and I got to see something a little out of the ordinary.
A little further down I-40 I made a side trip to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park. Park fees were $10. It would have been worth it had I not just been to Grand Canyon the day before. I guess most things pale in comparison to it. Oh, great! I sound like a landmark snob. ?Oh, that?s nice. But you should see Grand Canyon.? Heh, heh.
Then a short while later I crossed into New Mexico and stopped at the Continental Divide. I didn?t know this but the Continental Divide is where precipitation is divided between the continent. To the east, rain water flows to the Atlantic and to the west, rain water flows to the Pacific. Neat, huh?
With my sightseeing out of the way for the day I pointed myself in the direction of Albuquerque and made my way. At the hotel I dined on PB&J and washed my dirty clothes before sitting down to update the blog with the happenings of the past few days.
Miles since rental: 1309.1