*click on photo to enlarge
All along Route 66, often within a stones throw of the iconic highway, there is a vast cornucopia of sites and attractions. When one considers the ever increasing popularity of the highway it is quite amazing how many of these remain undiscovered.It was for that reason I penned my newest book, Route 66 Backroads.
These photos are of sites at the Airport Industrial Park in Kingman, Arizona. Few zipping along the old double six are aware that during World War II the highway cut through the middle of one of the largest flexible gunnery schools in the nation or that a surprising number of remnants remain.
Counted among these are the control tower, one of but a few from that era that remain, numerous hangers now used for a variety of purposes including a fledgling museum chronicling the history of the Kingman Army Airfield, and a multitude of concrete slabs. If at the airport entrance one turns north off Route 66 on to the dirt road they will be surprised to find pill boxes, a wide array of foundations, and roads to nowhere. 
Under the control tower are two commemorative plaques. One honors those killed in a tragic bus accident at the base and the other a mid air collision during a training exercise. 
In the 1950s the auxiliary field at Yucca on Route 66 was converted into a testing facility for Ford. Recently this property was upgraded and sold to Chrysler.Near the California border a short detour from Route 66, now I40, on highway 95 provides access to Lake Havasu City. During the war this remote location was labled as Site 6, another auxiliary field and R & R center for the boys stationed in Kingman.
The next time your motoring west consider getting your kicks on, along, and just off of Route 66. After all getting there is half the fun.
The next time your motoring west consider getting your kicks on, along, and just off of Route 66. After all getting there is half the fun.
