Day Four: Eagles, Meteors and Two Guns
Tuesday morning was clear and crisp, due in no small part to the 6,000-plus altitude. We had been climbing gradually ever since the Rio Grande, and ever after crossing the Continental Divide the terrain mostly stayed above 5,000 feet. After packing the Vette and availing ourselves of the free motel breakfast, we drove downtown to stand on Winslow’s fabled corner.
There is a mural and bronze statue commemorating the Eagles lyric at the corner of Kinsley and 66. The building on which the mural was painted has burned down, but the one wall was preserved intact and the empty lot behind is slated to become a city park. Shops on the other three corners do a brisk business and there are some entrepreneurial folk who will take your photo for a nominal fee. There was a lot of foot traffic on the streets among the shops going east from the corner, and most of it appeared to be local folk. The stores were mostly occupied and were in good repair or freshly renovated. The Seattle Grind coffee house provided a caffeine fix and great ambiance. It made us feel good to see a small town living well, especially after seeing what had happened to other towns along the Route.
