There was a time when crossing a bridge like this meant you were doing more than simply getting from one place to another. You were traveling Route 66 — the Mother Road — through a part of Arizona where the journey itself was the attraction.

This old concrete bridge remains stretched across the rocky canyon, surrounded today by vegetation and open desert. Its weathered surface, aging concrete, and graffiti tell a very different story from the days when automobiles traveled these roads carrying families west toward California, vacationers toward the Grand Canyon, and curious travelers stopping at the unusual roadside attractions that became synonymous with Route 66.

Nearby, this landscape also became associated with the old roadside zoo and wildlife attractions that once captured the attention of motorists passing through the area. Those places were part of a uniquely American era of travel, when brightly painted signs, gas stations, motels, animal attractions, trading posts, and roadside curiosities could convince a family to pull off the highway simply to see what was there.

That is what makes this photograph more than an image of an abandoned bridge. The bridge is part of a larger story. It represents an era before interstate highways encouraged travelers to bypass small roadside destinations. Route 66 moved at a different pace. People stopped, explored, bought gasoline, took photographs, visited attractions, and discovered places they had never planned on seeing.

From above, the bridge still appears remarkably purposeful, spanning the canyon as though another automobile might arrive at any moment. But the landscape slowly reclaiming the area tells us that its busiest days belong to another time.

This image is also the beginning of a larger photographic story. Other photographs in the collection will reveal some of what existed around this historic Route 66 location, including images connected to the former wildlife attraction and its mountain lions — remnants of the strange, fascinating, and sometimes unexpected history travelers encountered along the Mother Road.

Fun Fact: Route 66 became one of America’s most famous highways not simply because of where it went, but because of what travelers discovered along the way. Roadside zoos, trading posts, unusual attractions, motels, diners, and giant signs became part of the Route 66 experience, turning an ordinary highway journey into an American adventure.