That's the Thing

The open road is boring repetitiveness after awhile. Like those madly repeating backgrounds from old cartoons. A visual song on infinite loop.

That's why enterprising people set up tourist traps. They catch suckers driving along these lonely highways.


The Thing is a famous stop near Tucson, AZ. It's a mixture of gift shop and mystery museum affixed to a Dairy Queen restaurant. Pure genius. The weary traveler's money pit. A little curiosity in the middle of nowhere.

Signs along both directions of the I-10 warn you to stop and see "The Thing."

I won't spoil the mystery involved. It was a special memory from a trip taken with family several years ago. My recent stop in 2011 was total nostalgia.

Warnings and beckonings persist for hundreds of miles on the freeway. You're primed to stop and see this place.


The thing is... there's nothing else there!