Courtesy Photo Flickr

“I was standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona; such a fine sight to see.”

The Eagles may have been singing about a pretty girl in a “flat bed Ford,” but we know that Winslow IS a fine sight to see, one that has more than just a famous street corner.

If you happen to be strolling in from Route 66 or stopping on your way out of Flagstaff, you’ll most likely see that famous statue headlining the Standin’ On the Corner in Winslow, Arizona Park. The park was constructed in 1997 when a group of volunteers decided to create a park in Downtown Winslow, instilling a new sense of tourism-based business. Prior to the 1960s, Winslow was the largest town in all of northern Arizona, due to its prime location on Route 66. When I-40, a transcontinental highway was built, the community saw a downturn in tourism dollars.

Today, the park draws many to its famous corner. It features the statue of the man aimed at being the feature of the song. The statue is surrounded by inscribed donor bricks from community members and visitors, who have told their individual stories about Winslow and its famous corner.

Courtesy Photo Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce

Flagstaff calls itself home to many things: Arizona Snow Bowl, Northern Arizona University, and until recently, home to the discovery of the ninth planet.

That’s right, the world’ most popular dwarf planet was seen from the very telescope that sits atop a mountain right in Flagstaff. The Lowell Observatory was started in 1894 by Percival Lowell, an American businessman, mathematician and astronomer. His creation of the observatory was brought upon by the purpose of studying the solar system and conducting astronomical research in an effort of public education.

Astronomers have conducted research that is essential to the current basic knowledge of astronomy today. The discovery of Pluto was made in 1930 and at the time, was considered the universe’s ninth planet. While the planet has since been demoted to “dwarf planet” status, the observatory remains the birthplace of the important discovery. The name Pluto is believed to have been given in part because of its shared initials with observatory originator Percival Lowell.

The Observatory opened a visitor center in 1994, on the centennial of its inception. They have received more than a million visitors; nearly 80,000 visit annually. In 2012, the observatory completed a 4.3- meter Discovery Channel Telescope, which brings satellite images to people across the globe.

Lowell Observatory is open daily throughout the summer months and visitors can come to tour the facility, participate in a solar viewing, enjoy the telescopes, stargaze and learn about the history of Lowell’s discoveries

Photo Courtesy Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce

If you head, as the brochures pithily recommend, “Out Wickenburg Way,” you’ll find a nice photo opportunity in the town’s much-advertised Jail Tree. It’s a 200-year-old mesquite, tucked absentmindedly behind a Circle K near the corner of Tegner Street and Wickenburg Way.

According to legend, and the tree’s authoritative metal sign, the ancient mesquite served as Wickenburg’s “hoosegow” from 1863 up until 1890 when the town finally got itself a real jailhouse. As the sign attests in its characteristic Western font, there were no escapes. The same as any town’s oddball jail attraction.

Myth has it that convicts were sentenced to the tree and chained there until they either died from exposure or, if lucky, they completed their stretch. But, in truth, the tree was simply a holding facility. Offenders were shackled or tied to the tree only until a Phoenix lawman could make it up that way to retrieve them. Still, according to Wickenburg’s Chamber of Commerce, this could be anywhere from two to five days. At least they had some shade.