Has the song inspired you to travel the route? The highway formerly known as Route 66 is sometimes referred to as The Mother Road,Main Street of America and the Will Rodgers Highway. Route 66 was one of the original federal routes, which was established on November 11, 1926. If you can find a vintage map of Route 66, you will see that the original route ran from Chicago Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The 2, 488 route ended at the beach at Santa Monica.

The reason that you will not find a current map of Route 66 is because in 1985, the route was officially decommissioned and replaced by the Interstate Highway System. The process was gradual. Beginning in the 1950s, the old Route 66 became bypassed, one section at a time. However, the original route still maintains its mystique. Towns along the old Route 66 like to play up their connection to the route. With the help of magazines and guidebooks, many have become landmarks.

The music industry has helped immortalize one of the Route 66 Arizona towns. Name this song:

Well, I’m a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and such a fine sight to see It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford slowin” down to take a look at me

To commemorate the Eagles song, Take It Easy,the town of Winslow Arizona has built a downtown park called Standin” On the Corner. The park features a six foot tall bronze statue of the man in the song, and a wall mural depicting the song’s events and characters. Standin” On the Corner Park is just one of the wacky sights along Route 66 Arizona that attracts a good deal of Arizona tourism. For example, the town of Seligman, Arizona still shows evidence of the Route 66 Arizona glory days. Take a walk through the town, and you’ll find the famous Snow-Cap Drive-In. In 1953, Juan Delgadillo built this unique restaurant from scrap metal. Although he passed away in 2004, his zany antics and great sense of humor have attracted visitors from all over the world.

Continue your Route 66 Arizona sightseeing at the Route 66 Gift Shop, which is owned by Juan’s brother, Angel Delgadillo. Angel is often called the “Angel of Route 66.” Angel Delgadillo had been the town of Seligman Arizona’s barber when Interstate 40 bypassed Route 66. Concerned with how this would impact all the businesses along the route, he started the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona. Every year, the association sponsors the Route 66 Fun Run. The three-day event is held in May. It begins in Seligman, and then continues for 140 miles to Golden Shores. Any type of vehicle can participate in the event.

Thanks to the efforts of the Route 66 Historic Association, the town of Seligman, as well as other Route 66 towns attract a good deal of Arizona tourism. In fact, a visit to the Route 66 towns is easy to combine with the rest of your Arizona sightseeing. If you are on the road to the Grand Canyon, plan on visiting Flagstaff, Arizona. In many ways, the passage of Route 66 through Flagstaff made Grand Canyon tourism accessible to millions of people. One of the great oddities of Flagstaff is the Museum Club, which once featured an extensive display of taxidermy animals. Although the museum is now a night club, it still retains its original Route 66 exterior. On the way to the Grand Canyon, you can also visit the historic town of Williams, Arizona. Spend a night at the Route 66 Hotel. This hotel was the first lodging property to be built along Route 66 in Williams.

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