Sonderman - Route 66 in Arizona

Motorists crossing the state line from New Mexico into Arizona saw this billboard, touting some of the natural wonders ahead, erected by the Arizona unit of the U.S. Highway 66 Association. Trading posts and curio stores line the highway at Lupton, named for the man who established the first trading post here.

The state line runs right through the Fort Chief Yellowhorse Trading Post, with its fake animals perched on the bluff. Chief Juan Yellowhorse bought Harry Indian Millers trading post at the Cave of the Seven Devils in 1960, and the post is still operated by the chiefs family. Billboards for the post said, We No Scalpum Paleface. Just Scalpum Wallet.

The Ortega family began trading with American Indians in the mid-1800s. Max and Amelia Ortega opened the Indian Trails Trading Post at Lupton on June 21, 1946. Their son, Armand Ortega, is now one of the worlds foremost American Indian jewelry dealers. The trading post was demolished to make room for the Interstate 40 service road in 1965.

Claude and Clara Lee owned the Querino Canyon Trading Post and bought Big Arrows from Slim Brazier. When Route 66 was relocated in the 1950s, they abandoned Querino Canyon and built a new Big Arrows. Their daughter Arlene and her husband, Jay Crone, managed it into the late 1960s, offering Arlenes Squaw Dress Originals.

Corporal Agarn, Sergeant ORourke, and the Hekawi Indians never were actually here, but the Fort Courage Trading Post at Houck was based on the 1960s television series F Troop . This good old-fashioned tourist trap was originally constructed by the Van de Camps. Later owned by Bill Gipe, J. T. Turner, and Armand Ortega, Fort Courage is now a modern trading post just off the interstate.

Al Berry operated the Log Cabin Trading Post near Sanders, built of pine logs and known for illicit gambling. Berry advertised the Largest Free Zoo in the Southwest and charged tourists to see American Indian ruins he had excavated. Only some ruins and a forlorn wishing well remain today west of the Indian Ruins Store operated by Armand Ortega.

The White Elephant bar, lodge and curio store was originally the Chamese Lodge, constructed by Mitchell Dickens and Robert Cassady Jr. There reportedly were illegal slot machines inside. Al Berry bought the lodge after it went bankrupt and later traded the property to Skeet and Maude Eddens. The White Elephant was destroyed by fire.

The Navapache Caf was located in Chambers, named for trading post operator Charles Chambers. Other businesses here included the Cedar Point Trading Post and the original Chambers Trading Post, later owned by Alice and Frank Young. They built the Chieftain Motel on Interstate 40 when Chambers was bypassed.

Charley Jacobs built a very successful business because he was one of the few craftsmen who could cut brittle petrified wood for jewelry. To attract even more business, Jacobs invited Navajo families to sell their rugs, jewelry, and other items while living year-round at his Navajo Village west of Chambers. His wandering burros also lured tourists.

Harry C. Osborne operated the Painted Desert Point Trading Post, 21 miles east of Holbrook. There were illegal slot machines inside, the take split with the operators of the Chamese Lodge farther east on Route 66. In 1952, the 78-year-old Osborne shot and killed his mentally ill son, Lee, at the trading post. A coroners jury ruled he acted in self defense. (Phil Gordon.)

Dotch and Alberta Windsor opened the Painted Desert Trading Post in 1942. They divorced in 1950, and Dotch married Joy Nevin. They advertised a 150-pound canary. When disappointed tourists found it was just a burro, Dotch informed them that prospectors called the burro the canary of the desert. The post was abandoned after Dotch and Joy split up in 1956, and the lonely ruins remain. (Steve Rider.)

Julia Grant Miller was the sister of Harry Indian Miller, owner of the infamous Fort Two Guns at Canyon Diablo. Her Painted Desert Park offered a spectacular view of the Painted Desert. Julia battled with Charles White Mountain Smith, superintendent of the Petrified Forest, who said her establishment was unsanitary and unsightly. A lion at the zoo once scalped a visitor.