Route 66 Wednesdays; The Twin Arrow Trade Post and Padre Canyon

Back in 2015, I revisited some of my favorite derelict haunts along former segments of US Route 66 between Flagstaff and Winslow. The first stop was east of Winona at the Twin Arrows Trade Post. The ruins of the Twin Arrow Trade Post are located immediately east of Padre Canyon off of I-40/US 180 exit 219.

The Twin Arrows Trade Post was originally started in the late 1940s as the Canyon Padre Trading Post. Apparently business at the Canyon Padre Trading Post didn't start taking off until the two 25-foot arrows pictured above were put in and the name was changed to the Twin Arrows Trade Post in 1954. I'm to understand the name change to Twin Arrows was partially inspired by close proximity to the Navajo Nation in addition to the booming business at the nearby Two Guns Trade Post to the east at Canyon Diablo. The Twin Arrows Trade Post shuttered for good in the 1990s and has been sitting on the south side of I-40/US 180 ever since. To the north of I-40/US 180, the Twin Arrows Casino Recently opened.

A surprising number of vintage gas pumps are still standing at the Twin Arrows Trade Post.

Despite the vandalism, the buildings that made up the Twin Arrow Trade Post are largely intact. There is a small Jersey Barrier in place to deter people from parking along the frontage road and visiting the Trade Post.

Interestingly to the west of the Twin Arrows Trade Post in Padre Canyon is the 1914 Padre Canyon Bridge. The Padre Canyon Bridge was not only part of the original alignment of US Route 66 but also was a key crossing on the National Old Trails Road. The Padre Canyon Bridge is apparently accessible heading east from Winona along Forest Service Road 394 but no longer westward from Twin Arrows. Roamin Rich posted a video six years ago when he obtained permission to use private lands to reach the Padre Canyon Bridge from Twin Arrows which can be seen here:

Roamin Rich on the 1914 Padre Canyon Bridge

The 1914 Padre Canyon Bridge was apparently replaced in 1937 by a new bridge which was at the location of the current I-40/US 180 crossing of Padre Canyon. More information about alignments of US Route 66 and the National Old Trails Road near Twin Arrows and Padre Canyon can be found on theroute-66.com.

theroute-66.com on Twin Arrows Trade Post

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