Jackrabbit Trading Post

Joseph City, Arizona

Jackrabbit, Arizona on Old US Highway 66 is near a played-out, early 20th century mining community. Even the owners of its iconic signage and Jackrabbit Trading Post gift shop don't recommend driving much on its deteriorating pavement.

It was opened in 1949 by entrepreneur James Taylor, who arrived to his purchased property with a black rabbit statue in his convertible. The Jackrabbit Trading Post used classic roadside marketing -- in the Wall Drug/South of the Border/The Thing? vein -- with approach signs indicating miles to arrival at their "HERE IT IS" billboard.

While most of the approach signs are gone now, the trading post provides a fiberglass jackrabbit for photo ops and an assortment of souvenirs celebrating itself and Route 66.

It's reassuring that the trading post survives the region's weather (and more recent wildfires). Maybe Route 66 devotees gauge their own ages by the number of "HERE IT IS" sign repairs that they've lived through (some boards from the 1949 sign are still used),

The highway's centennial has helped revive it as an essential stop (though perhaps best approached from I-40 rather than unincorporated Joseph City). It's one of the few souvenir shops we've visited that also sells liquor.