Arizona
Following is a series of Interactive Field Trips taken to various parts of Arizona over the past decade. Appearing on this page is part of the interactive field trip taken on April 18, 2005 through Central and Northeastern Arizona up Interstate 17, Interstate 40, and historic Route 66.
Replaced by a major Interstate highway as the main connector from one end of Arizona to the other in the 1970s and 1980s (the last section of I-40 was completed in 1984 near the town of Williams), Old Route 66, which first opened in 1926, is actually now mostly heavily-worn surface streets that are either in complete disuse and disrepair or cut through many of Northern Arizona's smaller towns. The view down Old Route 66 (picture on the left) shows the main street through downtown Winslow, the town made famous by the 1970s rock group The Eagles and their song "Take It Easy," which contained the opening lyrics "Standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona..." As an act of civic pride, the city erected the statue and sign (picture on the right) commemorating the town's brief moment of glory in 1999.
The sign showing when the "Standin' on the Corner" landmark was dedicated (picture above). For many, this attraction is the only reason for stopping in Winslow; many dilapidated buildings were abandoned or had burned down (which explains the chain link fence around the statue in the picture below), and the weather that day included temperatures in the high 90s, with a heat index well over 100 and a relative humidity of 13%.
Click here for a tour of breathtaking Sedona