On one of my adventures out driving around the country looking for my “Vanishing American Icons”, I was driving down Route 66 in Arizona. The section of 66 had been turned into Interstate for a large section in Arizona, but I noticed a small town on the old road map I was using as reference. I was thirsty and decided to pull off into Sleigman, Arizona for a cold drink. Well, I happened upon a really nice drive-in named the Snow-Cap, opened in 1953. This place was a real “frozen-in time” experience. The soda jerk behind the counter even wore a pillbox paper hat! Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let me set up a camera inside, so I had to settle for the exterior photo. I can understand the owner’s reluctance to have me do that. The town couldn’t have had a population of more than a few hundred folks, but it seemed like they all were in the Snow-cap at the same time. The place was packed! I did get a Limeade with lots of ice and hit the road. Fresh squeezed by the way.
As a note, the town of Sleigman, Arizona was used as the reference for the movie “Cars” after John Lassiter talked to the owner of the Snow-Cap, Juan Delgadillo, about how the re-routing of Rt.66 to the Interstate had hurt his business and the town’s prosperity.
