Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66 - Part 7, eastern Arizona

We continue our trip on Route 66 through Arizona. Heading east, once you reach Seligman, Arizona, Route 66 follows I-40, with some sections of old pavement and some sections along the frontage road.

Ash Fork is a tired old railroad and quarrying town, once said to be the Flagstone Capital of the World. The town was founded in the 1880s, and the name Ash Fork may be from the ash tree where outlaws were hanged. It is at elevation 5144 ft, but my car did not yet noticeably bog down in the thin air. Route 66 splits, with the eastbound following one main road through town and the westbound on another road. Flagstones decorated the front of the Oasis Lounge on Park St., which is the eastbound path.

I was surprised to see a shotgun shack. I thought this was an style mainly used in the US southeast and did not know they were built in the west, too.

Huge flagstone form sidewalk steps, evidence of the former quarrying output.

The Emmanuel Trinity Methodist Church at 47243 N Fourth Street has a stone veneer replacing the former windows of this shop. Note the unusual bas-relief statues.

The church bus had seen better days, like most of the town.

Not a bad Chevrolet wagon. Old cars don't rust here in the dry high altitude air.

The political message on the old shipping container was a bit (well, very) obscure.

I pressed on eastward on I-40 because I was short on time. I had lunch in Flagstaff but saw nothing there of Route 66 interest. Flagstaff is touristy because of its access to Grand Canyon National Park, and much of the downtown has been rebuilt. I found a gasoline station with ethanol-free fuel and continued east. I pulled off at Joseph City, which was founded by Mormon settlers in 1876. Today, there is not much city here, and the Old Historic Route 66 Hay Sales & Feed was closed.

I processed these two in color to show the subtle colors. The painting on the teepee proves that aliens have been here.

Downtown Joseph City was rather depressing. So many of these small towns are just drying up.

My last stop in Arizona was in Houck. At one time, Fort Courage was a replica of the fort used in the doofy 1960s television show F Troop. As far as I could tell, Fort Courage was closed permanently, as was the adjoining Pancake House, with its huge teepee holding up the sign.

This is the end of my travels on the Mother Road in Arizona, and the next article will be in New Mexico. Photographs taken with a Fuji X-E1 digital camera, with some files processed in PhotoNinja software.