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The only way to find out is to pull off Interstate 40 at Exit 269, then just swing over to an old ribbon of Route 66 and there it is. And you know that's where it is because there's a big sign there that tells you HERE IT IS. It's a rabbit, all right. And yes, he's wearing a saddle. Welcome to the Jack Rabbit Trading Post! It's a gimmick that's worked for nearly 60 years now. The outpost was opened in 1949 by James Taylor––an entrepreneur, not the singer-songwriter of bittersweet folk rock––during the Mother Road's heyday. Taylor bought out a snake farm in Joseph City, remodeled the building and, much to the locals' distress, let all the snakes loose. (Another source says it was simply a Santa Fe Railroad building, but the snake story is far more interesting.) |
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