HERE IT IS: The famous bright yellow sign with the black rabbit and the large red letters alerts travelers that they have arrived at the Jackrabbit Trading Post. This sign was used in the Pixar movie ‘CARS’ giving the trading post additional notoriety. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Trading Post: The Jackrabbit Trading Post is housed in an old railroad building. The train tracks are on the other side of the road, running parallel to Route 66. The face of the building is painted with various southwestern figures and designs, making it impossible to miss when driving by. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
Traveling across northern Arizona is an interesting journey that we have made many times, dating back to the years that our daughter attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and before.
Interstate 40 is the only route that guides travelers from border to border as the east-west highway leads travelers across the state. Before I-40, the road of choice was Route 66. Many sections of the old Route 66 were paved over when I-40 was constructed, but there are several sections where Route 66 can still be driven.
During the era when Route 66 was the main road, several stops of interest were established to serve travelers as they made their way across the high desert. Some of those stops still exist while others were lost once I-40 opened.
One popular stop along Route 66 is the Jackrabbit Trading Post in Joseph City, Ariz., or I should say about six miles west of Joseph City. The trading post opened in 1949 and has been in business since that time. Owners of the trading post created a very successful way to attract travelers along Route 66 as they placed bright yellow billboards with a silhouette of a jackrabbit and the number of miles to the business in several locations along the route. The signs piqued the interest of travelers and brought in many over the years.
Once travelers approached the business, it could not be missed as another bright yellow billboard with the jackrabbit stood across the road with the words “HERE IT IS” in bold red letters.
The trading post also gained notoriety when the Pixar movie “CARS” featured the famous yellow billboard.
The Jackrabbit Trading Post was fortunate in that the location of the business is on the old Route 66 but the site was just a short distance from I-40, which was huge in keeping the business active. The trading post is housed in a former railroad building across the road from the tracks running parallel to Route 66.
While the building has been expanded since 1949, the trading post has been located in the same building since 1949. It is six miles from the small town of Joseph City and sits by itself in the desert.
The owners of the Jackrabbit Trading Post are Tony and Cindy Jaquez. Cindy’s grandfather bought the business from the original owner in 1961 and he operated the store until 1969. He passed the business to his son Philip and his wife and they operated the business until the 90s. They handed the business over to Cindy and Tony in 1995. The trading post has been with the family since 1961, 65 years!
There have been many ups and downs over the years but the trading post is doing well 77 years after it was opened. The owners are hoping for a banner year in 2026 as Route 66 is celebrating 100 years and travel along the now Historic Route 66 is expected to be high.
The Jackrabbit Trading Post is just one of many roadside businesses that still exist along the “Main Street of America”. The owners of these businesses and the many others work tirelessly to keep Historic Route 66 alive and vibrant. The road is more well known and popular now than ever.
When traveling in areas of Route 66, stop in at these “mom and pop” businesses and get to know the owners. The people you meet along this famous route are just one more thing that makes traveling the backroads along Historic Route 66 so popular. These are treasures that dot the route as travelers make their way across Arizona and the other states along the route.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Tony and Cindy Jaques: Owners of the Jackrabbit Trading Post Cindy and Tony Jaques pose for a photo inside the well known Route 66 stop near Joseph City, Ariz. Cindy’s grandfather purchased the business in 1961 from the original owner and ran the trading post until 1969 when his son took ownership. When Cindy’s brother decided to move on, Cindy and Tony took over the trading post in 1995, keeping ownership within the family. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Ride the Rabbit: A rabbit statue sits next to the building at the Jackrabbit Trading Post. Children from around the world have had their photo taken while sitting on the rabbit. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Jackrabbit: This view shows the yellow billboard and the trading post with Route 66 running between the sign and the building. The train track is just out of the frame of the photo on the right. This photo also illustrates how open the business is in the northern Arizona high desert. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Rabbit: Yet another rabbit sits next to the trading post. This vintage yellow Volkswagen Rabbit bears the license plate commemorating the Jackrabbit Trading Post’s 70th anniversary in 2019. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com