Arizona Route 66

We are taking an RV cross country road trip adventure for the first time, from California to Key West and back.
We are heading back west and taking Route 66, a drive I have wanted to do for a long time. My original dream was to drive our old Nash Rambler the entire route, but this opportunity came up and I'm pretty sure this was the better way of doing it.
Most of the time we drove Interstate 40, taking exits to see the remains of Route 66 based on a quick list I had made.
Our stops in Arizona were:
00:10 Yellowhorse Trading Post
00:56 Petrified Forest National Park
06:42 Holbrook Arizona & Wigwam Motel
07:54 Winslow Arizona
09:17 Meteor City & The Worlds Biggest Dream Catcher
09:53 Meteor Crater National Landmark - We didn't actually see it though
11:09 Two Guns Arizona Ghost Town & Apache Death Cave
17:38 Sedona - Quick look, it will have it's own video
18:08 Flagstaff Arizona
19:27 Williams Arizona
21:49 Seligman Arizona
23:47 Kingman Arizona & The Arizona Route 66 Passport
24:43 Oatman in 2013 - We didn't make it that far on this trip
25:27 Our Outtakes
The Arizona portion of Route 66 felt more fun and lively to me, compared to the other states we went through, I would say it was my favorite Route 66 state even with visiting some of these stops before in 2013.
There were so many stops along this leg of the trip that I really enjoyed, like the Petrified Forest, the Wigwam Motel, Winslow, and Two Guns was at the very top of the list and I think it would have been even better if would would have know all the history before we went there.
So here it is, and there is some debate whether all of these stories are true, but here is what I have read.
In 1878 Apaches attacked and looted a Navajo camp murdering everyone, except three Navajo girls who were taken prisoner. The Navajos eventually discovered that there was a cave that the Apaches were hiding in it with their horses. The Navajos threw burning wood into the cave. The Apaches killed their horses in an attempt to put out the fire after they ran out of water, and when the Navajo heard that the girls were killed they threw more fire into the cave. All 42 Apaches died in the cave, and it became known as the "Apache Death Cave"
In 1879 & 1880 Billy the Kid and his gang hid here on the west rim of Canyon Diablo.
In the 1880's it was a lawless western town with drifters, gamblers, and outlaws, and in 1889 four men robbed a train at Canyon Diablo stealing money, silver, and gold, as well as watches, jewelry, and diamonds.The loot was never found and was said to have been buried in the canyon rim near Two Guns.
In 1920 Earle & Louise Cundiff purchased the 320 acres for $1,000 and built a trading post, restaurant and gas station. A few years later in 1925 they leased some of their land to Harry Miller who opened up his own trading post and a zoo. The story goes, that Harry Miller gave paid tours of the Apache Death Cave and even sold skeletal remains to tourists. It was just a year later in 1926 that Earle & Harry had an argument over the lease, and Harry shot the unarmed Earle killing him. He was arrested but acquitted of the murder. He then fought with Louise Cundiff, saying that he was the rightful owner of the land and after paying $15,000 she finally received the title and government patent. Harry Miller left Arizona and moved to New Mexico, while Louise Cundiff remarried and continued running the property.
In 1950 S.I Richardson bought the property and during construction of a parking lot a bulldozer unearthed several graves, there is very little information on this expect that one skull was believed to be a middle aged white male.
The town continued on with a new gas station, motel, restaurant, gift shop and some remodeling of the zoo, until 1971 when a fire destroyed it all and it became what we see today.
There is even more detailed information, like the several earlier fires that they had and a few animal attacks on Harry Miller, so if you are interested in reading more about these stories here are some links.
Short Read - azdot.gov/adot-blog/two-guns-...
Short Read with old photos - pinintheatlas.com/travel-blog...
Long Detailed History - www.hkhinc.com/arizona/twoguns...
Wiki History - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Gun...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
So with that craziness out of the way, we are almost done with our road trip. We have an amazing detour in Sedona, before getting to Las Vegas and then heading home, so hopefully we will see you then.
The app we used www.justahead.com/?fbclid=IwA...
Music from www.musicbed.com/

[@Route66BothLanes]

The desert landscape has always be a place of beauty and calm to us.

[@scheduledadventures]

Yes there is definitely something about the desert that’s calming.

[@glorialiu7536]

Thanks for the detailed description to let us know the history and interesting points to see. Riding the beautiful bicycle is a highlight!

[@chuckborghoff8443]

The revival of Rt 66 was begun in Seligman ,Az by the Delgadillo Brothers. The Snow Cap is still owned by the family. For Rvers to be aware: the section of Rt 66 after Kingman is not rv friendly all the way to Oatman. A 30’ class C and a class B might be ok, but scary. No guardrails. The passenger might want to close their eyes! Arizona has a great section of 66 and lots to see. Thanks for your video.

[@scheduledadventures]

I love seeing the revival in Seligman, I really hope every town along Route 66 can get someone to put some time into sprucing them up, to help preserve that history.
I was wondering if we could drive that section of Route 66 with an RV or if they have a warning sign. I remember driving it in our truck on a foggy evening and my kids were freaking out in the backseat, they are now use to hairy drives. 😁