AZ – Jul 2026

Stop four takes me here to Seligman, AZ – home to the Roadkill Cafe.  From here I will explore the local attractions, as well as visiting nearby Rt 66 towns of Williams, Ash Fork,  and Flagstaff. Still so much to see along this historic stretch of road, so let’s get to it.

Seligman, AZ

In all of my travels so far, downtown Seligman rates right up there as one of the more quintessential Rt 66 historic towns.  With a total area of just over 6 miles and a population 0f 446, besides Rt 66 fanfare, there’s not much happening in this one-horse town.  Seligman was a town along the Beale Wagon Road (discussed in the prior blog) and thus ended up being part of the Rt 66 family.  This was also a very busy junction and switching yard with the Santa Fe, Atchison, and Topeka railways having routes through town.   It was once also home to a Fred Harvey Company Harvey House – this one called the Havasu House.  This was a Seligman hotel and restaurant that catered to passengers on the Santa Fe Railway.  It opened in 1905, was closed in 1954, and sadly was demolished in 2008.  Similarly, passenger trains ceased stopping in Seligman in the mid 1980s.  But it’s Rt66 charm has never wained.  In 1987, Seligman coined the name “Birthplace of Historic Route 66”.  It gained that claim to fame by convincing Arizona state officials to designate the longest continuous stretch of Rt 66, a 160 mile run from Seligman to Topock on the east side of the Colorado River, as a Historic Highway.  Thus, Seligman was credited with creating the historic route, and thus the birthplace.

So it would be Rt 66 that would keep Seligman on the map so to speak, both during its heyday as the mother road, and now as a Commercial Historic District.  The portion of Rt 66 that runs through the middle of Seligman is only about a mile and a half long, but virtually every commercial entity on either side of the road has embraced its Rt 66 heritage. Of all the places I’ve visited thus far, it has been the most tourist occupied of them all. Even tourist buses were present bringing dozens of anxious lookie-loos into town to enjoy the many sites. Lots of historic hotels, restaurants, and auto service stations line up and down this portion of the route – many built between the 1930s through 1950s. It was 1978 when I-40 bypassed the town just a few miles south, all but decimating downtown traffic.  In 1987, local barber Angel Delgadillo (at left, top left) had a belief and vision that traffic would return.  As such, he opened the first Rt 66 themed souvenir store here in downtown Seligman.   He also became the first president of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, and was instrumental in creating the Historic Route 66. Those actions were the start of the revival, leading to hundreds of Rt 66 themed souvenir stores in eight different states.  In addition to all this activity, Angel continued to cut hair at his barber shop until 2022 when he retired and celebrated his 75th anniversary as a professional barber at the age of 95. His barber shop is now a museum.

Up and down this 1.5 mile stretch has more historic Rt 66 places than any other that I’ve visited so far.  From the Highway Hot Dog joint (at right, top left) to the 1960s bright neon sign to the Supai Motel (at right bottom center right).  In fact, the Supai was built in 1962 – just prior to the town finding out about the upcoming I-40 interstate.  Despite the interstate being some 16 years away from opening, the Supai was the last new business built and from that point on, new construction was pretty much suspended.  Despite all the traffic loss, the Supai continues to operate to this day, and its neon sign lights up the skyline each night.  Definitely shows the resilience and survival determination by this classic town. One of the crown jewels of the Rt 66 adventure.

Williams, AZ

My next town tour takes me to Williams, AZ – about 43 miles due east of Seligman.  I’ve actually been to Williams once before back in October of 2025 as I was returning from my west coast adventure.  While I did see a few Rt 66 attractions during that prior visit, I new at the time that I would be back again the following year, so I limited my site seeing to just a few places.  This time, I ventured to see all that Williams had to offer from back in the heyday.  One of the things I learned was that Williams was the most tenacious defender of Rt 66, and strongly opposed the I-40 bypass.  In fact, it was Williams that was the last town to be bypassed by I-40 – commemorated with a mural (at left, top right).  It was that opposition that netted Williams not one, not two, but three exits off of I-40 leading into this rural town of just 3,200 residents.  Besides its Rt 66 heritage, Williams is also known as the Gateway to the Grand Canyon – a mere 60 mile, one hour drive due north along Rt 64 to the canyon’s South Rim entrance.  But it would be the Rt 66 attractions that garnered my interest.  First up is Pete’s Route 66 Gas Station Museum (at left, top left).  This restored 1949 Union Oil gas station features a 1950 Ford under its canopy, and a vast collection of oil and gas memorabilia to include vehicle consumable parts, metal signs, vintage tools, and the like.  It’s a beautiful example, and a rare survivor, of the many gas stations once lining all along Rt 66.  Next, the gift shop featurig the “Addicted to 66 Deals” outside sign (at left, bottom center right) also sports what is reported to be the worlds largest steel Rt 66 shield sign (at left, bottom left).  This 8-foot tall sign helps to get potential gift buyers into the store.  Nice touch!  Last up was a revisit to the Poozeum (at left, bottom right and center left) – a museum dedicated to ancient poop.  I was actually here in 2025, so if you want more details on this place, check out that blog article HERE.  A view of downtown Williams Rt 66 main drag (at left, top center right) shows the plethora of Rt 66 themed businesses. A nice historic town!

Between Seligman and Williams is the tiny town of Ash Fork, AZ – population 361 and home to the Ash Fork museum.  The town is also known for its abundance of stone quarries featuring flagstone – calling itself the Flagstone Capital of the World.  It was also once a train stop along the Santa Fe railway in the late 1800s, and also home of the Escalante, a large hotel and “Harvey House” built in 1907, closed in 1948, and sadly demolished in the 1960s.  It looked to have been quite the compound as depicted in the scale model that was built (at right, top right).  A serious town fire in 1977 devastated the town, and destroyed most of the downtown businesses.  When I-40 bypassed the town soon after, drastically reducing traffic on Route 66, the local economy never fully recovered.  But an old circa 1920s warehouse serves as the home to their museum featuring artifacts and stories of their history.  Sections dedicated to their card playing western days, their jails, and of course their Rt 66 heritage, make up this very nicely done regional museum.

Flagstaff, AZ

The last stop I visited during this week-long stay would take me out just over 75 miles to the big city of Flagstaff, AZ.  Flagstaff has a strong tourism sector, due to its proximity to the Grand Canyon, Oak Creek Canyon, the Arizona Snowbowl, Meteor Crater, and of course, Rt 66.  This is one of the larger places I would visit in AZ having upwards of 77,000 residents.  However, this visit would be cut short due to a crazy fire known as Pocket (at left, top left) that was happening a mere 20 miles southwest of town.  I was not aware of the fire before heading in that direction, but as you can see from my dashcam pictures (at left, center and botom right), the smoke drifting directly into downtown Flagstaff from this runaway fire was substantial.  When I actually arrived in town, it was gray and filled with smoke.  I went ahead and made some stops in town, but after about a couple hours of breathing in that nasty stuff, it was time to depart.

While the town is big with people and attractions, its Rt 66 offerings are limited.  I did manage to stop at the Visitor Center to collect my Rt 66 ink stamp, and wandered around town to check out a few of their other attractions – mostly historical hotels.  There was one area where I walked across some active railroad tracks, and this warning sign painted in the sidewalk (at right, center right) was most entertaining.  Overall, between the busy roads with limited parking, to the smokey environment from the Pocket Wildfire, it was a quick trip with minimal things seen.  Oh well Flagstaff, I hope that fire gets resolved soon so that your town can return to its once beauty.

Holbrook, AZ

Well, my weeks stay in Seligman had come to an end, and it was time to move further along my Rt 66 trail.  Holbrook, AZ would be my next stop, with the added bonus of connecting with my oldest brother Dick.  He is flying in to spend the next two weeks, with me in the RV, exploring Rt 66.  He had actually travelled and camped the entire 2,448 miles of Rt 66 some 12 years ago, so he is pretty well versed in all things Rt 66.  So, I packed up and moved myself and the RV about 167 miles further to the east and settled at the Holbrook KOA.  The following day after my arrival, I would drive back to the west to Flagstaff (yea, back in the smoke) to pickup my brother.  That trip was mostly uneventful, and so begins our joint adventure taking in all that Rt 66 has to offer.

Our first day out playing tourist together takes us out to the east of Holbrook to visit several Rt 66 gems.  First up, about 70 miles to the east, we were to visit Chief Yellowhorse Trading Post and the Hole in the Wall. But it would seem that was not meant to be.  Despite it being middle of the week, the trading post was gated closed and locked (at left, bottom left).  We could see the hole in the wall in the distance, but that was about it.  So, we worked our way back to the west catching a few other trading posts along the way.  Next up was the Tee Pee Trading Post.  This Tee Pee shaped building featured your regular gift shop items, and a couple murals to boot.  Even though I’m pretty good at avoiding gift shop purchases, I did see a really nice Rt 66 themed button down shirt – that according to the accompanying sign, was a limited edition to only 500.  Well, I did have a Rt 66 shirt on my list, and this one was seemingly right up my alley.  However, the $99 price tag did cause me to pause – at least for a couple of minutes.  I’ll show off the shirt in a future blog.

Back to the east another 20 miles or so was the next trading post – known as the Painted Desert Indian Center.  In addition to the gift shop, which was actually closed due to a power outage, there was lots of interesting artifacts in and around the parking area.  Lots of petrified wood was there, several tee pees, and even an ancient Indian weather station (at right, center left).  We wandered around the area a bit, took a few pictures, then moved on.  Just down the road was apparently another trading post at one time, but it is no longer.  It did, however, have a very interesting and unique signage that once advertised its existence (at right, bottom right).  Alas another Rt 66 relic bites the dust.

Next, we decided to visit the only National Park in the country that has a portion of historic Rt 66 within its boundaries.  The Petrified Forest National Park, besides having beautiful scenery, large deposits of petrified wood, the iconc and historic Painted Desert Inn (at left, bottom right), it once had Rt 66 running right through it.  If you look closely at the picture of the rusty old 1932 Studebaker, you will see a row of telephone poles.  That is the alignment where from 1926 to 1958, the original Rt 66 had been – that is until it was relocated to eventually become I-40.  We both had actually been to this National Park before, but apparently brother Dick did not recall the Rt 66 Highway of Dreams section from his past travels.  So, it was created after his Rt 66 tour, or he simply missed it.  Actual answer unknown.

The next highlight of this adventure would include a nights stay in the Wigwam Motel located in Holbrook.  And what a treat that was!  We got ourselves checked in, then headed out to a local italian restaurant for a nice dinner.  Then we return to our assigned Wigwam, relax, and watched the rest of a World Cup match.  Wigwam Motels, or as they are also known as Wigwam Villages, are a chain of motels built in the 1930s and 1940s with individual concrete tee pee looking buildings serving as the rentable rooms.  Seven such villages were built – two in KY, and one each in AL, FL, AL, LA, and CA.  Today, only three villages remain – CA, AZ, and the original village located in Cave City, KY.  In the AZ village, each wigwam is accompanied by a historic vehicle parked in front that sort of enhances the early to mid 1900s vibe.  We were in number 15 on the property, which also was the only wigwam with outside lights.  While I didn’t record any video of our stay, I happened to see someone else’s video posted on Facebook, which featured the same number 15 wigwam as we had stayed in.  So, if you want to see a guided tour of the place, you can check out that video HERE.

After a fun nights stay at the Wigwam, we headed out for another day of playing tourist in and around Hollbrook.  First up, I needed coffee so Route Sixty Sips (an obvious play on Rt 66) would be our first stop.  I thought we could possibly also grab a bit of breakfast there, but it turns out to only be a beverage place that featured lattes and dirty sodas with a twist.  They didn’t even have regular coffee.  I had to get an Americano coffee which was a latte with boiled water added.  I also asked if they could add hazelnut flavor, which they did.  Unfortunately, that syrup was heavily sweetened, and between that and the watered down latte, the coffee was undrinkable.  Dick had some sort of cherry soda concoction which he thoroughly enjoyed.  So Hollbrook is most certainly a Rt 66 town, and its many beautiful murals scattered about do represent the town well.  One in particular (at left, top left) was painted in 2004 to honor Frank DoBell as the petrified wood pioneer.  It was he who in 1936, recognized that Hollbrook and surrounding area was litered with petrified wood, and was in fact Hollbrook’s most abundant natural reesource.  It was Frank who got the idea that Rt 66 tourists might want to purchase a piece as a souvenir.  So in 1936 he opened a shop selling it, and it’s been selling here in town ever since.  Also, this massively beautiful Welome to Hollbrook mural (at left, bottom right) was a recent addition to town just a few years ago.  Nicely done!

There were lots of other places to check out in Hollbrook.  First up is the remnants of what was considered to be the oldest building in Hollbrok (at right, top).  Records are a bit sketchy, but is believed to have been built in 1881 or 1882.  Additions were made in 1883 and in 1884, the building was sold.  Additional rooms were added and it became a boarding house.  It sold again in 1889, and with additional expansion, became the Brunswick Hotel.  Upper floors also served as a dance hall and saloon – certainly common venues of the time.  Later in life, it is reported that it also served as the Hollbrook Hospital.  As traffic through the area increased in the 1920s, additional changes were made to the property and in 1927, operated as the Arizona Rancho.  An additional wing was added around 1930, and the hotel did well with traffic from nearby Rt 66.  However, that was short lived, and by the 1940s, other more modern facilities were built, reducing the business here.  During WW II, the property was leased to house pilot candidates training for the U.S. Navy.  After the war, it went bak to being a hotel, but not for long.  After a small fire in 1980, the building was shuttered.  Today, lack of maintenance and neglect have taken its toll, and this is how the building now sits.  Another interesting building with an interesting history is the Terrel’s Cottage Saloon (at right, center left), or as it’s also known as, the Bucket of Blood Saloon.  Apparently, several people have suffered gruesome deaths in the saloon, often leaving behind lots of blood on the floor.  It operated from late 1800s to early 1900s, but has remained vacant for decades.  They even had to use steel posts to keep the wall from falling over.  Several restoration attempts and fund raising have ensued, but the building remains closed and neglected.  Lastly there were a number of other vintage hotels and trading posts featuring neon signs dating back to the 40’s and 50’s.  So much to see in this little town.

We wrapped up our tour of the Hollbrook area by checking out some final vintage places.  Just north of town was this old barbershop with an interesting barber pole out front, sitting next to a brontosaurus.  This dino was hand built by Adam Luna – owner of the town’s Rock Shop and home to many other circa 1980s home-made prehistoric creatures.  This one was completed in 2015, and adorns the Moon Lite Barbershop – owned by Daniel Luna, son of Adam.  Very nicely done.  A few more area murals were captured followed by a drive out of town by a dozen or so miles in an attempt to visit a Roadside America site known as Alien Acres – a desert UFO and ET garden.  What roadside failed to mention was that about the last 7 miles or so of the trip would be on dirt roads – ever increasing in quality and safety.  After a couple miles of some really sketchy roads, I opted to skip this attraction in favor of saving my truck and my sanity. On the way there though, my brother spotted this interestingly named RV Park which calls itself Root 66.  So of course we had to make a stop and get a photo.  Interesting place!  Then, it was time to call it quits for the day and head home.  I had planned a grilled steak and baked potato dinner for that evening, so I got busy with that once we returned.  Overall, a great day of exploring with a nice dinner ending.

Winslow, AZ

The following day, we head into the town of Winslow – you know, the “Standin’ on the Corner” place.  Lots to see here, and we also take our second sabatical from the RV and spend the night in a historic hotel.  First we head on down by the railroad track to check out a few things.  When brother Dick did his Rt 66 trip a dozen years ago, he definitely came through Winslow.  However, there were a few things he did not see, so I got him caught up.  First up, my body Peter Toth, the artist who developed wood carvings in each of the 50 states known as the Trail of the Whispering Giants, has his AZ piece here in Winslow (at right, bottom center).  It is still looking good after all these years!  Next we checked out the pair of classic cars (a VW Bug and a Ford Fairlane) that have been transformed into street art. The Ford is from the Winslow Arts Council and is painted in the style of Hopi pottery, while the VW is the product of HGTV’s Home Town Kickstart program, and features Southwest and Arizona styled art.  There are also a couple of other cars in town.  The theory behind the Art Car program was to provide other areas of interest around town for tourists to visit besides the Winslow’s standing corner.

But, as is the tradition, we of course had to get our obligatory “Standin’ on the Corner” selfies.  From the Eagles classic “Take it Easy”.  It’s the line “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 flat-bed Ford slowin’ down to take a look at me” that helped put the little town of Winslow on the map.  Today, due to the popular song, Winslow is a major tourist destination – not for just its Rt 66 connection, but also the famous corner.  They even have a red flat bed Ford nearby for additional photo ops.  Both Dick and I have done this corner selfie in the past, but its always a fun time to do it again.

There were a number of other attractions to see in town.  Again, many murals adorn the exterior walls of several buildings bringing color and fun to the town.  One mural in particular (at right, top), apparently done in 2018, features the towns railroad heritage along with an element featuring Peter Toth’s Indian carving.  I had not seen this mural before, and likely, neither has Peter. So, being that Peter and I had become text buddies, I sent a copy of the picture to him for his info. No response yet.  Just down the way from the corner is the proclaimed smallest church on Rt 66 (at right, bottom left).  This 7 by 4.5 foot open sided shed-like structure was built in 2012 to offer refuge and a tiny place for prayer.  Not sure how many customers it gets!  A few other random interesting things in town includes this guitar playing, pot smoking hippie located in the town’s Take it Easy Store, and this interesting bike rack in the form of a bike.  Very cool!  Lastly, we walked past these old railway boxcars with a sign in front reading “Coming Soon – Downtown Boxcar Restrooms”.  Now there’s a creative repurposing project!

Miscellaneous

So, to keep this from becoming too long of a read,  I’m going to end the normal Rt 66 content here, and add a final couple of other items of interest before closing.  First up, I have a couple of artifacts that are traveling with me this summer. First up, a custom made Rt 66 Bluey character that came to me from my daughter Samantha, and of course, my season winning trophey from this past year’s fantasy football.  I planed to use these as props in various photos throughout my Rt 66 travels, but have discovered that it takes time, effort, and as I’ve recently learned, some specialized photo setup to make the pictures work.  I’ve not done very well on any of these tasks, especially the setup one.  As you can see from the various photos I’ve taken so far, the subject elements are way too small compared to the scene in which they are being photographed.  Also, I didn’t always have these items with me as I was playing tourist, but I think I’ve got that issue resolved now.  So, I need to work more on getting better pics with these items, and especially do a better job of setting up the shot. We’ll see how things progress going forward.

Next, I want to mention how seemingly disappointing I have found the small number of other Rt 66 tourists and campers on this trip.  As you can see from this photo, the campgrounds that I’ve stayed in recently in Seligman, Hollbrook, and Grants, have been extremely barren of other campers.  Lots and lots of empty campsites throughout.  Similarly, you might have noticed from many of the pictures I’ve taken and shared, there is a lack of any sense of crowds at any of the Rt 66 venues.  Granted, I do tend to use the magic of AI photo editing to sometimes eliminate background noise in the photos such as cars, and other people.  But frankly, there haven’t been many people to eliminate to begin with!  I had anticipated running into lots of other tourists along Rt 66 – especially with it being the 100th anniversary. But, that just hasn’t been the case.  I frankly don’t have an explanation for the lack of people.  Perhaps it’s the time of year – it is very hot these days.  Maybe earlier in the spring, and perhaps in the fall, we would see greater crowds in the more pleasant weather.  I sure hope I’m wrong on this, and that the towns and businesses are doing well.  I’m sure they have put in a lot of work to prepare for this centennial celebration, and it would most certainly be nice for them to be rewarded with lots of tourist $s for their efforts.  I suppose there will be stories written about how the year went after the fact, so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see until then to find out.

Final Thoughts

I’m having a great time continuing my Rt 66 adventure, and especially enjoying the company of my brother Dick.  We’ve got a bit more to see in the next day or two, and a special, non Rt 66 related treat coming up next week.  More on that in a future blog.  I’ve also got a truck issue once again, and have an appointment with the Ford dealership in ABQ to get it looked at.  Hopefully, it will be a quick and not too costly repair. I guess that’s to be expected for driving a 14 year old truck.  I think it’s about getting time to put it out to the pasture.  We’ll see what next year brings.  In the meantime, stay tuned for lots more Rt 66 shenanigans in the coming weeks and months.  I’ve still got lots to explore.  Till next time, be well and safe travels!

I only show a sampling of my adventure pictures here in the blog, and do so mostly in collage format for brevity and ease of reading. If you want to view an album containing individual full fidelity and hi-res images of all my travel pictures related to this specific blog, click the image below. Enjoy!