Route 66 Petrified Forest National Park

As you drive through Petrified Forest national park in Arizona, you’ll reach a highway overpass which separates the painted desert section of the park from the petrified forest area. To the north of this overpass is an unexpected displays on the side of the road which celebrates old Route 66. The old Route 66 used to travel right through Petrified Forest national park, and this small display is a recognition of this part of the park’s past.

There are several parts to the display. The first one you come across is a bench with the back side displaying the bumper and tail lights of an older car:

route 66 car bench bumper

The front side of the cement bench has the Route 66 logo / sign etched into the sitting area:

route 66 car bench

Probably the most prominent part of the display (which seems to catch most people’s eyes as they drive by) is an old, rusted-out car.

route 66 car

route 66 old car

While the bench and the old car are what most people seem to focus on when visiting this display, for me the most interesting part of it was the long, abandoned line of telephone poles. Looking at them shows exactly where Route 66 once ran (if you click on the photo to enlarge it and look closely at some of the distant poles, you can see some still have the glass conductors used for the lines on them)

route 66 telephone poles

This is what the informational sign at the display says:

You are standing near old Route 66. The line of the roadbed and the telephone poles in front of you mark the path of the famous “Main Street of America” as it passed through Petrified Forest National Park. From Chicago to Los Angeles, this heavily traveled highway was not only a road, it stood as a symbol of opportunity, adventure, and exploration to travelers.

A trip from Middle America to the Pacific Coast could take about a week — no interstate speeds here! For many, the journey was not just across miles, it was across cultures and lifestyles — from the most mundane to the exotic. Of course, getting to your destination was important, but the trip itself was a kind of reward. From the neon signs of one-of-a-kind motels to burger and chicken fried steaks of the multitudes of restaurants, from the filling stations that served as miniature oases to gaudy tourist traps, these more than 2,200 miles of open road were magical.

While it’s the unexpected beauty of Petrified Forest national park which makes it one of my favorite parks, I think it’s well worthwhile making this quick stop to learn a little about the history of the park as it relates to those traveling across the US.

3 Replies to “Route 66 Petrified Forest National Park”

  1. Good piece, evocative of long road trips we took as children, including Route 66. But why the multiple typos in a blog of this significance? This thoughtful topic and excellent NPS exhibit deserve better treatment.

  2. Been to that exact display last year. Loved the nostalgia. We stayed down the road in Holbrook at Root 66 RV Park, still had the old signage. Holbrook has some more Route 66 icons including the WigWam Motel.

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