We got up early this morning feeling bad about missing Winslow, AZ. The wind was just too bad yesterday. So, since the wind had subsided quite a bit, we decided to backtrack the 20 miles to Winslow before getting on our way west. We got the RV ready to go then took the truck and headed for Winslow - 20 miles east of the RV park.
The thing we wanted to see in Winslow was "The Standin' on The Corner Park". You may recall the Eagles, a 70's rock group, recorded a song called "Take it Easy". The lyrics include reference to Winslow, AZ, a stop on Old Route 66..." I was standing on a corner in Winslow, AZ and such a fine site to see. Its a girl my Lord, in a flat board Ford, slowin' down to take a look at me....".
Well, Winslow, AZ didn't have a lot going for it after I-40 bypassed the town, so an inspired community decided to make the song an attraction to the town. The Standin' on the Corner Foundation was formed to create a renaissance of Winslow. Determined to build on tourism, the foundation took advantage of the town being mentioned in the song "Take It Easy" made famous by the Eagles. From 1997 until 1999, the foundation was busy finding donors and planning design concepts. On September 10 and 11, 1999 the park was opened to the public.
The park contains a two-story trompe-l'œil mural by John Pugh, and a bronze statue by Ron Adamson of a life-sized man who is standing on a corner with a guitar by his side. In 2016 a statue of Glen Fry, lead singer of the Eagles, who along with Jackson Browne wrote the song, was added to the park.
The park is surrounded by a wall of bricks, with windows to peer into; each brick has a donor's name on it, and a story by each of the donors describing their fondness for Winslow, Arizona.
The park is now a photo op destination and over 10,000 people a year make the pilgrimage to have their picture taken "standin' on the corner".
We finally got on the road west about 10:00 am. We encountered wind to Flagstaff, then snow flurries as we crossed the Arizona Divide at 7,300 ft just west of town. As we descended towards Kingman, AZ it was still windy but not as bad as it was mostly a quartering headwind.
We turned north at Kingman, AZ towards Las Vegas and arrived at our stop for the night at the Nellis AFB FAMCAMP in NE Las Vegas around 3:30 pm local (we gained another hour as we are now in the Pacific Time Zone). We will be here two nights. Tomorrow will be an R&R day with nothing planned other than maybe laundry.
It was a long day, but we are glad we took the extra time to backtrack to Winslow. The adventure continues.
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