That Time I Stood On The Corner In Winslow Arizona …

Yep, I did. I also heard the song that line comes from about 1,000 times ... and I was only there a couple of hours.

First, the back story. "Take It Easy" is a song by The Eagles about a guy trying to sort out the mess his life has become romantically. In it, he sings about "standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona."

There really is a Winslow, Arizona and it's off the beaten track to say the least.

Most of us, from around the Borderland, take I-10 into Arizona and that route won't get you anywhere near it.

I was familiar with the song and the line but actually found myself there by accident. Headed for the Grand Canyon once, I decided to try something different and visit the North Rim.

US-180 is the most direct route but, for some reason, I decided to take I-25 up to Albuquerque and cut across. (Pot may or may not have been involved.) Anyway, it turned out to be a pretty cool way to get there as it put us on the legendary Route 66.

Lots of small towns and forgotten places lie along the "Mother Road" between Duke City and the canyon. Areas bypassed by the interstate that seem virtually unchanged since their pre-interstate days.

When I saw the sign saying Winslow, I wanted to stop just to say I'd been there. There isn't much to do in Winslow and I certainly wouldn't make a point to go there but we were there anyway so, we stopped.

Coolest thing about the place is the way they acknowledged their (seemingly) only claim to fame ... that song. The whole verse goes:

Well, I'm standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona

and such a fine sight to see

It's a girl my Lord, in a flatbed Ford,

slowin' down to take a look at me

So, on a corner, near a gift shop ... which, of course, is loaded with song related items and plays "Take It Easy" endlessly ... there's a statue of a man "standing".

On the street nearby sits, yep, a flatbed Ford.

Now that you've seen the pictures, you really don't need to make the drive. You're welcome.

Unless you love history and appreciate seeing the America of the pre - late 70's/early 80's. If that's you're thing then, the charm of that era, and the decades prior, lies all along Route 66 and will make the trip worth taking.

Even if it means not being able to listen to that song again for a while ...