Western New Mexico Aviation Heritage Museum

For years, intrepid adventurers have been discovering something strange way out in the middle of nowhere. In deserts and empty lots across America, gigantic arrows can be found crumbling in the heat. They all point the same direction, but who put them there? Where do they lead? The answer to the mystery of America's giant arrows lies in the history of the U.S. Postal service. Before the days when radio was in common use, the U.S. Postal service decided to imporve their mail delivery by putting old World War I military planes to use for an air mail service. In order to do so, and without the help of radio control towers, pilots would need a fool-proof way to navigate accross the country. This was a bit of a problem. The solution came in 1924 when the federal government funded the creation of giant concrete arrows, painted bright yellow and measuring anywhere from 50 to 70 feet in length, to be placed every ten miles across the entire country. Each arrow was placed near a 50 foot lighthouse, ensuring that pilots had a sort of cross-country runway for their midnight flights. The giant arrows worked surprisingly well, guiding pilots through every manner of rough weather, but by the time WWII rolled around, use of the radio was commonplace, rendering the giant beacons obsolete. Most of the airway lighthouses were scrapped and recycled during the war, but many of the giant arrows still sit in the desert to this day. Thankfully, there are preservation programs like Passport in Time which aim to protect the few remaining beacon sites for those looking to experience the history of air mail for themselves.  You can see lovingly-restored beacons at the National Postal Museum, or visit an original beacon site at the Aviation Heritage Museum in New Mexico, but if you want to go hunting for the giant arrows yourself, one of your best bets is to head out to the Utah desert. Don't worry, if you get lost, the arrows will point the way. -Roadtrippers The Western New Mexico Aviation Heritage Museum is a small aviation museum located at the Grants-Milan airport (KGNT) in Grants, New Mexico. It was dedicated on June 9, 2012 It commemorates the Los Angeles to Amarillo segment of the Transcontinental Air Transport, an early air mail provider. It consists of a lighted tower, a small building with a generator, and a concrete arrow which helped aviators find the correct direction to continue in.