Celebrating 100 Years of U.S. Route 66

Flagstaff, North Carolina – U.S. Route 66 is marking its centennial as one of America’s most iconic roadways.

The highway stretches 4,448 miles, linking Chicago to Santa Monica, California. Although it was decommissioned in the mid-1980s, various towns and states have worked to maintain what’s left of this historic route.

Northern Arizona features some stunning landmarks along this stretch. One notable site is Meteor Crater, renowned for being one of the best-preserved meteorite impact locations globally. Interestingly, in the 1950s, reports surfaced about UFO crashes near Kingman, Arizona, located on the western side of the route. Flagstaff, an integral part of Route 66 in Arizona, is often referred to as the Grand Canyon and the Gateway to Space by locals.

Before Route 66 came into existence, astronomer Percival Lowell established an observatory in Flagstaff. “They look up and see what looks like a big birthday cake on the hillside,” noted Kevin Schindler, a historian from Lowell Observatory.

Lowell speculated about the possibility of life on other planets, particularly Mars. “We now know there’s no intelligent life on Mars, but he raised awareness about the potential for it,” Schindler added.

In 1930, Clyde Tombaugh, another astronomer, discovered Pluto, previously thought to be the ninth planet. Schindler pointed out that Tombaugh was born in Streator, Illinois, not far from Route 66, the site of his groundbreaking discoveries. The observatory still has the telescope used for identifying Pluto, and it continues to serve educational purposes.

Additionally, Flagstaff has attracted NASA’s interest for astronaut training. In the 1960s, Apollo astronauts conducted lunar training at Cinder Lake Crater, northeast of the city. NASA also used the terrain north of Flagstaff for lunar simulations to experiment with rovers and other equipment.