Winslow and Holbrook, AZ

Friday evening, March 24, 2012

AZ87 climbed to over 7000' elevation before it leveled off across a wide open high mesa plain of low juniper trees. I was now in Navajo County. I could see the San Francisco Peaks around Flagstaff to my west as the sun lowered in the horizon. Was I going to be able to see the corner in Winslow, Arizona before sunset? I didn't race to reach the destination, but seeing it in daylight prevented me from having to overnight in Winslow. I discovered there isn't much else to see in that town besides the "corner" which the music band the Eagles made so popular in their song "Take it Easy."

AZ87 enters Winslow from the south, just a block from downtown but also within eyesight of some rather dilapidated buildings. A "Ron Paul" sign was painted over a closed-down gas station, perhaps a remnant from the last presidential election in 2008. I saw plenty of squalor in this town and not much else; finding the "Standin' on the Corner" park would be quite a feat.

I drove down the main street going one-way west before turning around and catching a directional sign. The sun was now casting its copper glow over some of the buildings and I had to find my destination fast. Luckily a "Arizona Route 66" sign was in the intersection of where I needed to be. I parked the van on the southside of the street, left the windows down far enough for the dogs to see me, and photographed the little corner from several angles. Two other couples also came and went in the 15 minutes I was there. The park was silhoetted by the waning sun, casting deep shade which I had to open wide via my fast lens for detail.

A small souvenir shop across the park played Eagles music. A replica red flat-bed Ford was also parked at the corner. The building behind a bronze guitar player was just a facade. The corner was a cute tourist site, but there wasn't much else to see in Winslow besides the run-down buildings along Route 66, which ended just east of town. I had to get back on I-10 and travel east to Holbrook, in the blinding sun reflecting off the metallic sides of semi-tractor trailors in the right lanes.

I passed through another small town called Joseph City before entering Holbrook. By now the sun was down and neon lights brightened the aura of this small railroad town. This town is also the southern terimus for the Petrified National Forest 18 miles away, my destination for tomorrow. It was 7pm and I had some time to have dinner and find a cheap hotel to stay warm in as tonight's low was forecasted to be 38F.

There are several very nice and affordable restaurants in Holbrook. I saw an Italian place, several Mexican restaurants, an American diner. There was even a theatre showing "The Lorax" with a queu outside. This was definitely a happening town compared to Winslow!

I finally settled for "Joe and Aggie's American and Mexican diner" across the street from another Mexican diner. Both places looked busy, and I chose Joe's because I was able to park the van off the Main Street and still see my dogs safely from inside.

A blond waiter, Christopher, served me. I ordered a chicken enchilada entree which also came with sopapilla, chips and salsa. I had one beer. The bill was just under $15 and I was stuffed! Christopher was also a good waiter who let me look at a catelog of things to see in the area. Originally from the Phoenix area, he moved to Holbrook allegedly when the van he was in died in the area nine years ago and he's been in Holbrook ever since.

I enjoyed my meal. I was at Joe's from 7:40pm to 8:30pm; the diner closed at 9pm as did most other places in the area. Where to go from there? Christopher gave me a few pet-friendly hotels to check out, but the first one, the "Globe Trotter" off Route 66, which had a German woman behind the counter, told me dogs were only allowed "if they sleep on the floor." Knowing the needs of both Sadie and Sieger, I opted to check elsewhere. That elsewhere was a mile north at the "American Best Motel" and a ground room for easy access. After spreading all the extra sheets and blankets I had in the room, I let the dogs in for the night, and both quickly took claim to the bed.

I was up until 2am watching the news, listening to the story of the recent gunning-down of an unarmed black teen in Florida, Trayvon Martin, by a neighborhood volunteer watchman, George Zimmerman (himself a Hispanic). the senseless murder is getting a lot of blacks to walk in protest across the nation, and the majority of people want Zimmerman arrested and charged with murder. I personally need to see more evidence before I pass judgment.  Why did Zimmerman attack Martin?  Was Martin armed?