Since we were staying at the local RV park called Take it Easy we surely couldn’t leave the area without visiting downtown Winslow to of course stand on the corner in Winslow Arizona.
When the Eagles first decided to sing "Take it Easy" in a 1970’s rock song they probably had no idea this lyric snippet would launch a big tourism industry in sleepy Winslow Arizona. As a result the town created "Standin' on the Corner" Park where Eagles fans can stand beside a life-size statue of a cool dude with a guitar. Also parked nearby is the iconic "flatbed Ford" along with an eagle perched in a windowsill. There are estimates that over 100,000 people stop by every year to stand on the corner. We enjoyed the park and happily took several photos to commemorate our visit.
Besides standing on the corner in Winslow we also had some other sights to see. One was the Apache Death Cove. Back in 1878 Apache raiders attacked a Navajo encampment near the Little Colorado river where every Navajo man, woman, and child were killed in the raid except for three little girls whom they kidnapped.The story about the revenge visited upon the 42 Apache men can be found here. Chilling!
At the same location is Two Guns, originally known as Canyon Lodge, which began as a small trading post in the 1800’s. By the 1920’s this area became popular with those touring on Route 66 when the trading post became known as Two Guns. The history of Two Guns can be found here. The remnants of this once bustling tourist attraction were fun to poke around in.
We also drove out to see the miniature painted desert and if it hadn’t been so hot we would have enjoyed a short hike in amongst the eroded hills. One last spot we planned to stop at was the Arizona Meteor Crater. This sounded like an interesting place to check out but when I read it would be $22.00 per person to basically view a large indentation in the ground, I decided we could get about the same thrill looking through our binoculars at the full moon.
That wraps up our stay in WInslow as it became time to move on down the road…
NOTE: We are currently in Mesa, Arizona until November 1st…
It's a little hard to explain, but experiences like this stay with you for the rest of your life. We "stood on the corner" four years ago and now every time I hear "Take It Easy" I think, "I was there! On that corner!" That feeling never gets old and memories like this are one of the many pleasures and benefits of travel.
ReplyDeleteYes that pretty much sums it up. We often tell people we traded things for experiences and memories.
DeleteKnowing we were going to be "standing on the corner", we added to our play list. Enjoy it every time it comes up.
ReplyDeleteWe did the Crater back when it was a lot less expensive, it wasn't worth the entrance fee then either. but it did have some interesting inside exhibits, including a big hung of the meteor.
The last operational 'Harvey House' is also in Winslow
Yes it is a great song, it is what kept reminding us that we hadn't ever visited the site...
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