Happy, happy May! You have to love any month that kicks off with Fun Run. And this one is going to be epic! Welcome to the newsletter of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona. I’m Roger Naylor, Arizona author and travel writer, and it’s my privilege to pen these newsletters that we hope will inform and entertain. Let’s rev those engines and get started.
This is the OG event. The Big Kahuna. The mac daddy. And it takes place on, what was for a time in the late 1980s, the only piece of Route 66 that existed. U.S. 66 had been decertified in 1985. But the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona successfully lobbied the state to designate a portion of the old highway as Historic Route 66. America got its Main Street back thanks to a handful of Arizona residents. That also provided the blueprint for all the other states to follow.
From L to R: Will Rogers Jr., Bonnie Bravo Royal (Miss Hualapai 1985-1986), Rose Mofford (Governor of Arizona 1988-1991) and Jerry Richard at the inaugural Fun Run
After the historic designation was achieved, the Association wanted to get the news out. They organized a memorable 3-day event. It was called the “Historic Route 66 Fun Run Car Rally and Show,” and took place April 22-24 of 1988. The dedication event attracted 152 entrants. Governor Rose Mofford cut the ceremonial ribbon, and Will Rogers Jr. served as grand marshal. Participants traveled the newly preserved Historic Route 66 between Seligman and Topock.
The event proved to be such a success that everyone wanted more. The Route 66 Fun Run became an annual event, growing larger each year. The 2026 Centennial version will be the biggest, baddest, bestest of all! This Fun Run takes place May 1-3 and features 900 vehicles, a record number of participants. It’s too late to register a car but everyone can participate. Come out to watch, come out to cheer, come out to ride along. Come out and be part of history.
Friday May 1 is packet pickup day with a stylish, shiny caravan pulling into Seligman, rumbling up and down the boulevard, and it’s all capped by an impressive evening cruise. On Saturday May 2, the colorful procession pulls out of Seligman and travels the longest intact stretch of Route 66, with festivities at every stop. The important thing is to just come on out and support the businesses along the old highway from Seligman to Topock/Golden Shores. It’s going to be a blast. Fun Run finishes up on Sunday May 3 in Topock, on Arizona’s West Coast at the edge of the Colorado River.
Everyone who shows up for Fun Run will get to enjoy a special treat. That’s the weekend the new gateway signs will be dedicated at both ends of Seligman. The stylish signs are much-needed landmarks commemorating the enormous cultural significance of Seligman as the Birthplace of Historic Route 66. This has been a long-term project involving many people, and was made possible by a donation from the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona.
A formal dedication ceremony will take place on Saturday May 2 at 8:00 a.m. at the west end of Seligman. All are welcome to attend. The monument signs are also being dedicated in honor of Pat and Lilo Russell, known for their decades of hospitality and commitment to this special community.
📷:The Bee News
May 2 will be an electric Saturday. One for the ages. The festivities start in the morning with the sign dedication in Seligman. Then that glorious Fun Run caravan, 900 strong, heads west on the Mother Road and finishes in Kingman. There’s the always popular Show N Shine car show in the afternoon, but that’s not the big finale this year. What comes later will brighten hearts and night skies. The historic neon sign atop Hotel Beale will be lighted for the first time in more than 40 years!
Built in 1898, Hotel Beale has been an anchor of downtown Kingman. The big neon sign that reads “Hotel Beale Air Cooled” was installed in 1936. It was Kingman’s first neon sign. Now it’s back, restored by Legacy Signs & Iron. The relighting ceremony will take place at 7:30 p.m. on May 2 as part of the Fun Run Afterparty. Everyone is welcome. A chunk of 4th Street will be closed to traffic. There will be live music from a local band, The Rivals, food trucks, plus a beer garden. And don’t be surprised if there’s a little dancing in the street bathed in the fresh, soft glow of long-forgotten neon. Don’t miss it!
It sometimes feels like Ash Fork is overlooked, but that’s a mistake. There’s so much cool stuff to see and do, plus great food to be found anytime. But if you want to see the little burg truly rocking, plan on a mid-month visit. Ash Fork Heritage Days take place on May 15 and 16, with a full slate of events. It all kicks off Friday evening with a community dinner and a theatrical event, Route 66 to the Grand Canyon, taking place at the school.
Then on Saturday, enjoy a car show, cruise, and parade. That’s followed by a chili cookoff, craft fair demonstrations, a scavenger hunt, live flagstone splitting demonstration, Route 66 storytelling and music, a Miss Centennial Pin Up Contest, and an old-fashioned sock hop. Whew! Tell me that doesn’t sound like an action-packed day. A lot of the festivities will be centered around the museum. You can visit their website to see all the times and locations.
Events are really starting to heat up this month. Please remember, you can find all Centennial information and events on the Association website.
May 5: Route 66 Stamps issued, Phoenix
The U.S. Postal Service will commemorate the centennial year with a set of eight Route 66 stamps. And the first-day-of-issue event will be May 5 at the National Postal Forum, in the Phoenix Convention Center (100 N. 3rd St.) at 9:15 a.m. It is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to register online.
May 15-16: Ash Fork Heritage Days on Route 66 Day
As mentioned, this community celebration includes a parade, classic car show, vintage fire engine display, chili cookoff, live flagstone demonstrations, a craft fair, homemade pie, games, and plenty more.
May 29-30: Holbrook Gunslinger Car Show & Festival
With it’s wild and wooly past, Holbrook adds a little Wild West flavor to the centennial celebration. It starts off with a demolition derby and burnout halftime show at the Navajo County Fairgrounds on the 29th at 7 p.m. Be sure to grab your tickets. The festivities on the 30th take place in Gillespie Park and include a car show, Little Miss Route 66 pageant, chili cookoff, a power wheels balloon derby, cornhole, beer garden, pie eating contest, live bands, and plenty more.
June 5-6: Williams Historic Route 66 Car Show
Now in its eleventh year, this popular show and shine event spreads 600 classic cars along the Mother Road through downtown Williams for this two-day event. There will be live music, vendors, and plenty of local food. The array of neon adds a vibrancy to the summer nights.
June 6: Flagstaff Route 66 Centennial Celebration
This big family-friendly event fills Heritage Square in downtown Flag and features everything from classic cars to balloon animals to axe throwing. There will also be music and food, and exhibits from local museums.
June 13: Jack Rabbit Trading Post Car Show
This little trading post in Joseph City has been a Route 66 icon since the 1940s. Full of great souvenirs and photo ops, the classic cars will add a colorful touch. The day will be filled with food, raffles, games, and prizes.
If you love driving Route 66, just wait until you get out and walk around on it. So much springs to life when you slow down to study the rich details. Freaky Foot Tours in Flagstaff just debuted a brand-new guided Route 66 tour. Aided by a cost share grant from the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, the tour was meticulously researched and prepared. It’s 2 hours long, covers 1.3 miles, and makes 18 stops through downtown Flag. This makes for a tasty way to spend some time in the mountain town discovering a wealth of documented stories about the Mother Road, both the original 1926 alignment and the 1934 reroute. Learn about Mars and murders, railroads and lumber barons, travel in the days of the Green Book, and so much more.
Hard to imagine any stretch of Mother Road as connected to the cosmos as our little ribbon of pavement across Arizona. This was where Pluto was discovered and where all the Apollo astronauts trained for their moon missions. And of course, we even received a very special delivery from outer space about 50,000 years ago. That’s when a slab of nickel-iron slammed into the grasslands and gouged out the best-preserved meteorite crater on earth.
Of course, we know that Meteor Crater is a special gem. Seems like everyone else does, too. A recent study by Betway Casino ranked more than 80 roadside attractions across the country. Meteor Crater came in at number 11. Impressive! All Route 66 travelers should stop to admire this ancient scar located west of Winslow. With observation areas, guided rim tours, a museum with interactive exhibits, gift shop, movie theater, and an Old West–themed coffee shop, this makes a great family-friendly experience.
And there’s even more celestial news. Homolovi State Park kicked off their series of star parties in April. The next one happens on May 9 and they’ll take place on the second Saturday of each month through November. The events feature a guest speaker from 7 to 8 p.m. in the visitor center. (Talks will start at 6 p.m. later in the year.) Those are followed by dark sky viewing through the Winslow Homolovi Observatory’s Moore Telescope. Night sky targets will change throughout the year but may include deep space nebulae, star clusters, and more. If you’d like to spend the night beneath that starry canopy, you can reserve your campsite now. Homolovi is the only one of Arizona’s state parks that contains its own observatory. Each event is free with park admission.
Don’t forget that May also contains one of my favorite holidays. May 28 is National Hamburger Day! As the author of a new book titled Arizona Boots and Burgers: A Guide for Hungry Hikers, I always like to talk about the most iconic of all sandwiches, and the ultimate road trip food. In honor of this joyous day, here’s a partial list of some wonderful burgers you can find in Route 66 towns across Arizona.
1. RelicRoad Brewing Company, Winslow
2. Miz Zip’s, Flagstaff
3. Diablo Burger, Flagstaff
4. Mama B’s, Flagstaff
5. Brown Bag Burger, Flagstaff
6. Tiki Grill, Flagstaff
7. Cruiser’s Route 66 Café, Williams
8. Delgadillo’s Snow Cap Drive-In, Seligman
9. Westside Lilo’s, Seligman
10. Kingman Craft House, Kingman
11. Airport Café, Kingman
12. Stuff It Burger, Kingman
Grab a copy of my book, Arizona Route 66 Road Trip to get the most out of your Mother Road journey across the Grand Canyon State. The book is packed with more than 110 restaurants (including all the ones listed above), 90 activities and events, and 40 motels, hotels, and inns. Enjoy some delicious food and small-town hospitality while supporting the mom-and-pop businesses we all love. All my books, including Arizona Route 66 Road Trip and Arizona Boots and Burgers are available in stores, on Amazon, and signed copies can be purchased through my website, www.rogernaylor.com.
Well, that’s it for now. Make the most out of this magical year! Plan some adventures on the Mother Road during the 2026 Centennial.
If you have items of interest you’d like to share in an upcoming newsletter, you can email them to me, Roger Naylor, at [email protected], or to Nikki Terlesky, Director of Operations at Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona at [email protected].
Thanks for being part of the Route 66 family. Happy motoring! 🚗💨