Rt 66 - Fort Courage, AZ
/Visited on September 28, 2014
Fort Courage, Arizona. A tourist trading post already faded into the past. I pulled into the parking lot to find the gas station, restaurant and trading post all closed. And for what appeared to be quite some time. But that was okay with me, no crowds to worry about and I could walk freely about the area.
Fort Courage was inspired by the 1960s television show, “F-Troop.” Anyone who has seen the short-lived series (I still remember parts of the theme song) will recall that Fort Courage was the name of the wilderness outpost in the program. I imagine that during the late 1960s and 1970s, this was a very popular stop for travelers along Route 66 and I-40. Among the amenities were a coffee shop, gas station, grocery store, trading post, motel units, trailer park and campground.
After parking my truck, I must admit the first building I wanted to take a look at was the Pancake House Restaurant. It's round, like a pancake. And the sign was pretty cool. I could almost smell pancakes sizzling on the griddle, as a lonely wind from the past quietly wafted over me....
Returning to my senses, and now hungry, I headed over to see what I could find around the grounds of the fort. This was the main entrance to the Trading Post and Gift Shop. As I'm not really sure what all the other buildings were for, I'm just going to include some of the pictures I took in the slideshow below.
The Armco Gas Station also sits abandoned. At least all of these buildings are still boarded up and appear to be in decent condition, unlike some of their contemporaries along Route 66. Someone with a dream and a lot of money could bring this place back to life.
Below are a few old postcards from a souvenir book that was sold inside the trading post.
