Williams, Americana At It’s Best On Route 66
Take some time and visit your local small towns. Located just west of Flagstaff, Arizona, Williams is one of those fun, quirky little tourist towns that just makes you smile. It is located centrally to many great activities, most notably the Grand Canyon. But there are tons of other things to do as well. There is an animal sanctuary not far away, campgrounds galore and a little known walk to some ancient petroglyphs left by Native Americans hundreds of years ago in a place called Keyhole Sink.
Cruising down Historic Route 66 in Williams makes you think of the old days. I flashed back to movies like “American Graffiti” and ”Dirty Dancing”, TV shows like “Happy Days” and music from all eras. Many of the shops are corny and sell trinkets that make you want to buy them anyway. I got my fortune told by Zoltar. Remember him? The fortune teller from the movie “Big”? I’d say his fortune for me was spot on.
The streets are lined with restaurants. We chose a cute little pizza joint called Station 66. The food was fine, but that wasn’t what struck me most walking around here.
As we strolled I heard a man’s voice singing along to his guitar. It was haunting. We walked past the restaurant patio on which he was playing. On our way back I asked Deanna if we could stop and sit for a bit. She knew I was really enjoying his playing when I ordered a beer. I vary rarely drink.
The patio was part of a diner that isn’t exactly known for the best food, so we left for the pizza joint. While eating, I convinced Deanna to go back to the diner for dessert so we could listen some more. It was getting cold but we were able to score a table near an open door so we could still hear him playing outside. Here is a clip of one of the songs he played, “Stone” by Whiskey Myers. I hope you enjoy it.
The diner we were at is called Cruiser’s Route 66 Cafe, and while the food is ok, the desserts are the bomb!!! Deanna ordered herself a chocolate malt while I got the banana split. They had to role us out of the place afterwards.
So what’s my point to all of this? Am I telling you to drop everything and head to Williams? Nope. What I’m saying is, grab a loved one, maybe a couple of friends, too. We all have one of these little towns not far away. Go there. Spend the day being present with them, laughing, talking, acting silly. You never know what other gems you might find along the way.
As Zoltar says, ”Time is the most valuable currency. You will never be able to get lost time back or buy more. Spend it wisely, my friend…”
