The Last Stoplight
May 19, 2017
by Steve
We're in Williams Arizona, about 60 miles south of the Grand Canyon. Williams is home to the Grand Canyon Railway, which makes a daily run to the Canyon, taking 13 train cars of tourists up to the canyon for the day. The train goes right past the RV park where we are staying. I guess that may be why it's called "Railside RV Ranch," although there is very little "ranch" about it.
The town of Williams seems to survive mainly on tourists. But not just the ones there to visit the Grand Canyon by train, although that does seem to be a lot of people. The town's claim to fame is that it was the last town on the old Route 66 to be bypassed by the expressway. In October of 1984, the section of Interstate 40 that runs across northern Arizona was completed near the town of Williams, thus eliminating the last stoplight between Chicago and Los Angeles.
That stoplight in the town of Williams has since been removed, and now Williams is a no-stoplight town. But it is cashing in on Route 66 and the nostalgia that people have for the old road that once carried so many travelers the 2200 miles from Chicago to LA.
If you don't know about Route 66, you can read more about it here. I tend to think of it as a road that had its heyday in the 1930s, traveling through small towns with diners, motels, and lots of roadside kitsch. But the last section of it to be replaced by Interstate highway was in 1984—only about 30 years ago.
Speaking of kitsch (in the nicest possible way), check out the necklace and earrings this town inspired Jane to make.
One group of tourists that really seem to love the Route 66 nostalgia are bikers. You often see groups of 10 to 20 bikers in Williams.
Their Harleys will all be parked along the road like this, and you'll see long hair, beards, leather vests, and hear them speaking Swedish. Wait, did you say "Swedish"? Well, yes, unless it's German. It seems that the Route 66 nostalgia is really strong among European bikers. They love to come to America, rent a Harley Davidson motorcycle, and take an epic American road trip on Route 66.
We've seen multiple groups, and I've recognized both German and Swedish, but there may well be other nationalities represented. Their nostalgia is for something that they never experienced. It's the vast openness of the American West, and an epic motorcycle trip on a road that's easily longer than the continent of Europe. And so they come, and cruise, and enjoy a glimpse into a life that they never knew but want to experience anyway. So if you see a group of bikers on the highway in Williams, there's no need to worry; it's probably just some friendly Europeans getting their kicks on Route 66.
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