Meteor City, Two Guns, Twin Arrows, and Winona, Arizona

 After the exhilaration of Winslow, Arizona, the 50 miles of Route 66 between Winslow and Flagstaff are a bit of a let-down. The sights here are almost all ruins, although some have enormous potential if someone would be able to invest in them.

We left Winslow by taking West 3^rd Street (westbound Route 66) about a mile and a half to I-40, then got on I-40 west. In about 13 miles, we took Exit 239 (Meteor City Road). At the end of the ramp, we turned left (south) to cross I-40, then turned right (west) on Meteor City Road. In a few hundred feet, we reached Meteor City. It’s the ruins of a geodesic dome built in 1990 as a gift shop.

Geodesic dome at Meteor City

The dome inspired Fillmore’s Taste-In in the movie Cars.

There are several other structures nearby, including a large dreamcatcher.

Dreamcatcher at Meteor City

There are also a few teepees.

Meteor City's teepees are on the left side (one is behind the one on far left)

The late Route 66 enthusiast Bob Waldmire painted the “Longest Map of Route 66” (though it wasn’t) on one of Meteor City's walls. I suspect it was on the wall pictured below, now obliterated.

Perhaps once a map of Route 66 by Bob Waldmire?

There are other handpainted signs around the complex.

Signs at Meteor City

More signs at Meteor City

After checking out Meteor City, we backtracked back onto I-40 westbound and drove about 6½ miles to the exit for Meteor Crater Road. Once again we turned left (south) to cross I-40. Here a gas station has another geodesic dome.

Geodesic dome at Meteor Crater's gas station

We chose not to visit Meteor Crater. Instead, we got back on I-40 westbound for another four miles. We exited at Two Guns Road, again turning left (south) to cross I-40. Here are the ruins of Two Guns, a tourist stop since at least 1915 and, for us, one of the most interesting stops on Route 66. Just past the interstate overpass is an abandoned, graffiti-covered Shell station on the left.

Former Shell gas station at Two Guns

A sign on the right and some water tanks in the distance are all that’s left of a KOA campground.

Former KOA campground at Two Guns

We turned right (west) at the old KOA sign onto a paved fragment of Route 66 built in 1938. We soon saw the remains of stone structures on the left (south) side of the road.

Some of the ruins of Two Guns, Arizona

I had a hard time piecing together the story of Two Guns because a lot of what I found may not be true. In the 1950s a man named Gladwell Richardson operated Two Guns for his father. In 1968 he published a book called Two Guns, Arizona that was supposedly a history of the place. A lot of what he said in that book is still repeated in online articles on Two Guns. But Richardson wrote a lot of Old West fiction, and much of what he wrote about Two Guns may be fiction as well.

Richardson’s book says that in the 1880s this area had a gruesomely lawless and violent Wild West railroad camp called Canyon Diablo. But Canyon Diablo was possibly about 3 miles north of here and relatively quiet. Richardson wrote that Billy the Kid and his gang hid out here during the winter of 1880, but that also may be fiction. And he wrote a very elaborate story of 42 Apaches hiding in a cave here in 1878 and Navajos—with whom the Apaches were at war--smoking the Apaches out of the cave and killing them as they emerged. Again there appears to be no solid proof that this happened, at least not with all the elaborate details that Richardson provided.

Here's what I was able to piece together about Two Guns.

The National Old Trails Highway came through here in the early 1900s, and a concrete arch bridge carrying the highway over Canyon Diablo was built in 1914-1915. Daniel Oldfield built a trading post, gas station, and restaurant along the highway near the bridge.

Canyon Diablo Bridge and former trading post at Two Guns, Arizona

In 1922, Earle and Louise Cundiff bought the land around here and built their own trading post, gas station, and restaurant on the west (far) side of the bridge.

Three years later, in 1925, Harry Miller leased some of the Cundiffs’ land. He built his own trading post and a zoo and named the complex Two Guns in honor of silent film star William S. Hart, also known as Two Gun Bill. He also made the “Apache Death Cave” into a tourist attraction. He may have created some of the story about the cave that Richardson later wrote about.

In 1926, the National Old Trails Highway here became Route 66. That same year, Miller got into an argument with Earle Cundiff about his lease and shot him dead. He was acquitted, but karma struck. He was mauled by two of the mountain lions in the zoo and bitten by one of its Gila monsters. He soon left the state.

Louise Cundiff remarried and continued to operate and expand Two Guns. She probably built the structure over the Apache Death Cave in the 1930s.

Apache Death Cave (tall structure on right) in Two Guns, Arizona

In 1938, Route 66 was moved to the fragment we drove, near I-40, and Louise built a Texaco station along it. The Canyon Diablo Bridge was abandoned. We saw ruins of some buildings along the Route 66 fragment.  I’m guessing that Louise built them around the same time as the Texaco station.

Ruins along the Route 66 fragment in Two Guns, Arizona

At the end of the Route 66 fragment, a short gravel road leads to some ruins of the zoo, with its much-photographed “Mountain Lions” sign.

Remains of the Two Guns zoo

There are also two stone pillars that look like they may have been the entrance to the zoo.

Pillars on the right may have been the zoo entrance

I’m guessing that these zoo buildings were also built by Louise after Route 66 was moved here in 1938. I’m assuming that Miller’s zoo would have been built closer to the Old National Trails Highway. In fact, I have a feeling that a lot of the stone ruins throughout the property are from the 1930s or maybe even later.

In 1950 the zoo closed, and Gladwell Richardson’s father bought Two Guns. By the time the Shell station was built in 1963, much of the complex was abandoned and already in ruins. I found a brochure for Two Guns that the website Frontera says is from the 1960s. It has a photo of a relatively modern building with a sign “Coffee Shop.” My guess is that the coffee shop and a motel were built near the Shell station. Guided tours were offered of the Apache Death Cave and the ruins of “Old Two Guns.” It all didn’t last long. The Shell station was gutted by fire in 1971, and apparently that spelled the end of Two Guns.

We found Two Guns fascinating. We were struck that, unlike the Shell station and KOA sign, the stone ruins haven’t been touched by graffiti. We agreed that this is the rare abandoned Route 66 property that we didn’t want to see restored, just preserved as is. I wish I could have found authoritative information on what each ruin once was or when it was built. If the stone ruins could be stabilized and proper trails and interpretive signs added, this would make a great park.

A note on visiting Two Guns: This is private property. (One of the many maybe-fact-or-fiction tidbits I read is that it is now owned by Russell Crowe for possible use as a film set.) There are nails and broken glass, and there may be snakes among rocks and stones. So while many people have traipsed over the property, leaving dirt trails, we stuck to the Route 66 fragment and the gravel road leading to the Mountain Lions sign. You can see everything from those roads, although you’ll be seeing many of the ruins at a distance. There is a good view of Canyon Diablo bridge from the left edge of the Mountain Lions sign.

After seeing Two Guns, we went back on I-40 westbound for about 12 miles to the Twin Arrows exit. One again we turned left (south) to cross I-40, then turned right (west) on another Route 66 fragment. Here are the ruins of Twin Arrows Trading Post, built in either 1945 or 1954 (sources give varying dates).

Twin Arrows, Arizona

One of the buildings was once a Valentine Diner.

Former Valentine diner in Twin Arrows, Arizona

Only one of the twin arrows is still standing.

The remaining arrow at Twin Arrows, Arizona

The other arrow fell about a year before our 2022 visit and is still laying on the ground.

The second arrow at Twin Arrows, Arizona

You can probably tell that the arrows were made of old telephone poles. Many Route 66 fans would like to see the arrows—and the whole complex—restored. Sadly, there’s no sign that will happen anytime soon. The land and buildings have separate owners who, for a variety of reasons, apparently can’t agree to invest in the property.

Once again we returned to I-40 westbound. This time we drove about 8 miles before exiting at Winona (County Road 394). We turned right to go northwest on County Road 394. This was Route 66 until 1947. In about a mile we reached the Walnut Canyon Bridge on the right.

Walnut Canyon Bridge near Winona, Arizona

The bridge was built in 1924, two years before this road was designated Route 66. It is now closed to traffic, but you can walk across it.

Another view of Walnut Canyon Bridge

 We continued on County Road 394 another ten miles. The landscape started changing here. The desert of Two Guns and Twin Arrows was now behind us, and we saw some trees.

Route 66 west of Winona, Arizona

By the time County Road 394 ended at US 89, the landscape was pine forest.

Route 66 northwest of Flagstaff

Here Route 66 turns left (southwest) onto US 89. Within a mile, we were on the outskirts of our next stop: Flagstaff, Arizona.