Transcript
Danielle (0:02)
When you visit Petrified Forest national park, you travel back in time. Trees that stood tall when dinosaurs roamed the earth now lie scattered on the ground, fossilized in brilliant red and white quartz, lending the area the name of Rainbow Forest. Museum exhibits take you back to the Triassic period, showing the plants and animals that once lived there, including reptiles that predate dinosaurs. Throughout the park, you see signs of life that were once vibrant and thriving, forever changed by the passage of time. But if you came for fossils, there's one sign of life that might surprise you. Driving north, you'll find a line of abandoned telephone poles stretching into the horizon and the rusted frame of a 90 year old car sitting without wheels in the dirt. The park's last remnants of what was once Route 66. Nicknamed the Mother Road, Route 66 was not the first paved road to cross the country, but it quickly became the most famous. Connecting Chicago to LA, the 2000 mile route became a symbol of America's rising car culture. With iconic diners, neon signs and drive in movie theaters, it helped popularize many attractions across the west, like Petrified Forest National Park. For others, it was a sign of opportunity. Struggling rural towns along the road were transformed into bustling cultural hubs. Families plagued by the Dust bowl escaped by driving Route 66 west to sunny California. But as the 20th century marched onward, the government paved millions of miles of interstate highways. Wider roads with higher speed limits that slowly made Route 66 obsolete. Over time, mom and pop businesses that thrived on tourism closed their doors. Gas stations, cafes and motels sat empty as tourists passed them by on the interstate. In 1985, Route 66 was officially decertified and disappeared from road maps. And the abandoned stretch within Petrified Forest national park was ripped up by the Park Service to allow it to return to nature. Today, the road lives on only in memory. Hundreds of historic sites along the route have been preserved to keep its memory alive. But some believe that the road lives on in other ways. In many of those historic sites, old hotels, military forts and lighthouses, you'll hear rumors of hauntings. Chairs that rock on their own, figures in the mist, and wine glasses ripped from waiters hands. What might you find along Route 66? Welcome to National Park AFTER Dark Foreign.
Cassie (2:56)
Hello everybody.
Danielle (2:57)
Welcome back.
Cassie (2:58)
I'm Cassie.
Danielle (2:59)
And I'm Danielle.
Cassie (3:00)
And I am here for this episode. Already A road trip Hauntings National PARKS I've actually been craving a road trip. I don't know, it's been so long since I've had a real road trip and I've been Craving one. So I feel like this is already has my internal wheel spinning of ideas, so I'm really excited.