A list of lodging/hotels, restaurants, shopping, service, fuel and health care locations for you and your pets on highway Interstate 10 in Arizona, exit 322. trap?" But focusing, The Thing comes into view. Amazing my jaw dropped as I walked in, but at the same time I miss The Thing I grew up going to. traveler would have to lack any stirrings of curiosity to pass this exit. Icons from an even earlier age are stationed out back (with the duck ponds) in the Diner-saur Park, home to a cluster of 10-foot-tall metal reptiles that you can see for free. Peering in throughthick plexiglass, I see only a mass of grayness at first, something nebulous. Loading comments. Interstate 10 West - New Mexico to Willcox - AARoads - Arizona radioactive mutant, and the more it suggests papier-mch. a 1937 Rolls Royce which is proclaimed to be Hitler'smaybe. For a small entrance fee, visitors work their way through a charmingly bonkers museum that uses dioramas (including the one pictured above), questionable historical artifacts, and some all-American paranoid conjecture to build a case for aliens as the root cause of the dinosaurs extinction, JFKs assassination, and everything else that has ever happeneda tale that culminates, of course, in the revelation of the long-awaited Thing. Brazier with its pecan mudslide. Attraction status, hours and prices change without notice; call ahead! Click to reveal In the 1950's Mr. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. Roadside America first visited The Thing in 1985, and continued to stop in when on I-10. survived as the thing ravaged the explorers' station. Once inside, we figured we may as well have a look while we were there For $1/person, we could finally put our curiosity about THE THING? Mrs. Although Prince died in 1969, the attraction was run by his wife Janet for many years. Internet Movie Database (IMDb), http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0044121/, Thanks for sharing your experience! (Not that the hundreds of billboards wont let you know that you are close!). Internet Culture Posted on Aug 17, 2015 Updated on May 28, 2021, 3:46 am CDT "Mystery of the desert," reads one billboard. Dragoon, Arizona. The Thing, United States Tourist Information The Thing is an Arizona roadside attraction hyped by signs along Interstate 10 between El Paso, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona. Upload your photo of The Thing! Amazon Price . Other maps, even my shiny new 2012 Rand McNally, doesn not list it at all. Mr. Tate, whose family came to Arizona in the 1890's, worked The Thing? - Interstate 10 Benson Arizona Exit 322 - YouTube Its a big store, brightly litand loaded with trinkets, T-shirts, caps and a whole bunch of other stuff. Wefollow yellow footprintsalong the cement walk. A pharmacy near Badlands National Park in western South Dakota turned its middle-of-nowhere location into an asset during the Great Depression. The yellow signs repeat themselves over and over, taunting you to visit and the irresistible urge to stop, becomes overwhelming. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The Thing has come a long way from its humble origins. Yoweee! The Thing, Dragoon, Arizona opened his roadside museum of oddities at Johnson Road between Willcox and agate bookends, belts, buckles, earrings, chicken basket meal, fresh hot Exit 322 was well advertised from numerous billboards along Interstate 10 and in Arizona advertising The THING? Arizona is sandwiched between New The object, supposedly a mummified mother and child, is believed to have been made by a creator of exhibits for sideshows named Homer Tate. I counted two such signs myself betweenWillcox and the exit, but strangely nothing close by. http://www.azcentral.com/travel/arizona/oddballaz/thing.html, The sites Enchanted Trail leads through Friedas surreal storybook vision (some of it left over from when this was the worlds first mini golf course) as well as genuinely impressive natural scenery involving rock formations, caves, and clifftop views that supposedly take in seven states. 17 rumbles. But we arrive at a solemn scene. Entire family $10. In the next shed Popsa restaurant, gas station, and soda ranchopened in 2007 in a sleek, glass-and-steel building with a futuristic cantilever roof and a 66-foot-tall pop bottle statue ringed with LEDs that light up and change colors at night. Next World's Largest Ball of Twine; Cawker City, KS. Prince moved the enterprise to Arizona. New from : Used from : Audio CD, Remixes included, Aug. 12 2016 "Please retry" $19.97: $50.95: Audio CD . The thing is located in Dragoon, AZ at 1-10 and Johnson Road. The Ann Wilson Thing #2: Wilson, Ann: Amazon.ca: Music Credit for the wooden figures is given to opened Tate's Curiosity Shop on East Van Buren in Phoenix. In the musical film Little Shop of Horrors (1986). Driving on Interstate 10 between. 92.62.135.11 Are we Alone?Exit 322 off of Interstate 10 in Benson, ArizonaSupport The Frontiersman at. Billboards line Arizona's I-10 highway asking you, "What is The Thing?" If you dare find out, pull off exit 322 to check out this incredibly kitschy tourist site. The Thing is located at 3205N 11003WCoordinates: 3205N 11003W just off I-10 at Exit 322 on a hilltop between Benson and Willcox, near Texas Canyon, at 2631 North Johnson Road, Dragoon, Arizona. A traveler would have to lack any stirrings of curiosity to pass this exit. On-route maps, 1,000s of photos, special research targets! Welcome to Bowlin Travel Centers, Inc. It was actually pretty neat Well, other than the feeling that perhaps we had just paid $1 to get mugged. Around the time that Mr. Tate was making his papier-mch mummies for modes of transportation--a 1921 Graham Page (made by the then largest Performance & security by Cloudflare. The original Thing was opened by attorney Thomas Binkley Prince in California's Mojave Desert, and eventually it was moved to Arizona. As mysteries go, this must be the bargain of the century. More, 40-Foot-Tall Jackalope, Wall, South Dakota (Jul 10-16, 2023). Thanks for sharing! Like a pre-internet version of clickbait, a parade of billboards mercilessly manipulates road trippers curiosity on an otherwise uneventful segment of Interstate 10 between El Paso, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona. He was the alien pilot of a spacecraft that Im expecting some kind of Halloween show. Unless you're texting and driving, you can't miss the 10 or so teaser billboards advertising THE THING? Here's the our members favorite photos of "Roadside Attractions near Dragoon". We won't tell. As the traveler heads east from Tucson, more billboards Look around the spacious gift shop and purchase a few gifts, a couple of pieces of Indian Handmade or gold jewelry, some pottery, or one of the many other items available at this location. Copyrights 2016 All Rights Reserved by American Expeditioners. Performance & security by Cloudflare. The Thing is located at just off I-10 at Exit 322 on a hilltop between Benson and Willcox, near Texas Canyon, at 2631 North Johnson Road, Dragoon, Arizona. dollar! Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Each one commands you to stop at a remote gas station/souvenir store/Dairy Queen to see the Mystery of the Desert. Sometimes they are so hidden by desert broom bushes and palo verde trees that you can barely see them as you . torture chamber filled with figures carved out of wood. Credits, Media/Business Inquiries The Thing Dragoon, Arizona Thomas Binkley Prince brought The Thing from California to Arizona in 1965, setting up shop on a patch of sagebrush off an I-10 exit ramp about an hour east of Tucson. A gas station, a gift shop, and a Dairy Queen front a stylishly presented museum telling stories about The Thing, a mummified corpse . Bowlin's The Thing Travel Center - Official MapQuest They are long and shapeless as if someone had substituted stout logswhere legs should be. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. promoting the establishment proudly announces, "The world's best Thing. They prefer to let you wonder for yourself. Far more than a place to fill up on gas and Slim Jims, the worlds largest truck stop occupies more than 200 acres off Interstate 80s exit 284 in Walcott, Iowa. It becomes apparent that this thing It's Arizona's most mysterious roadside attraction, located off exit 322. The first shed features (If you are coming from the east, the first billboard is outside El Paso, Once inside, we figured we may as well have a look while we were there. There are three sheds out there, he says. We leave to make the drive into Benson for the night. appear. Now with an expanded museum and gift shop, this stop is worthy for those traveling down Interstate 10. chest wall appears to have been eroded. Nor does it even show an exit here at mile post 322. mother-in-law want to go home.". There are 3 gas stations, 4 restaurants, and 1 hotels/motels near this exit. There is an ancient Edison phonograph and above glass-encased exhibits a large collection of driftwood sculptures. The displays turn gruesome as the yellow footsteps pass a Some tips may not be verified. Sorted by distance from exit. What Is The Thing In Arizona? - Tourismguide.info What is The Thing? Copyright 1996-2023 Doug Kirby, Ken Smith, Mike Wilkins. It is a nothing kind of place. Inside are a variety of exhibits, including odd wood carvings of tortured souls by one Ralph Gallagher, the "wooden fantasy" of painted driftwood purchased from an Alamogordo collector, framed lithographs, saddles, rifles, a covered wagon and several vintage automobiles. Admission: $5 per person or $10 per family. I-17 Arizona Exit 322 - Roadnow Binkley Prince Scholarship at the University of Arizona Law School in You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Established in 1945, the Bronner familys year-round Christmas store covers more than 2 acres and is stuffed to the rafters with ornaments, trees, lights, and Nativity scenes. The new Thing museum opens Saturday, August 25. The Exhibit: The exhibit-which costs one dollar for adults and seventy-five cents for children to enter-leads to three prefabricated corrugated steel sheds. His father, an alcoholic, was unable to hold a job. TIME takes a look (in alphabetical order) at 50 of the greatest. Plus, the waters still free. What is the thing in arizona, Thousands of people have done so each year, paying a buck or two to see The Thing, which until recently was housed in a shed behind the store. Inside Pops, the caf serves burgers and shakes, and floor-to-ceiling shelves display 700 different kinds of soda, grouped by color rather than brand and backlit by slanting windows. Perhaps even a glimpse of The Thing itself? accessed 2-19-05. It is said to be half human, half animal. whence it came. "What is it?" No portion of this document may be reproduced, copied or revised without written permission of the authors. VDOMDHTMLtml> The Thing? Submit your own tip. -- beckon along interstate 10. Trip Planning Caution: RoadsideAmerica.com offers maps, directions and attraction details as a convenience, providing all information as is. 3 What is the thing off of I 10 in Arizona? 64.6.158.20 If you wake it, Ill have to feed it.. RA Rates: The Best Save to My Sights Results 1 to 5 of 18. Just how did you survive? Photo: James Fisher. The Thing was purchased by former Thomas Binkley Prince in the mid-twentieth century, who quickly based a tourist attraction around the strange object. Well, it's not just a thing, it's The Thing. These phantasmagorias off the interstate stand as exemplars of small-town entrepreneurship and the effectiveness of persistent billboard advertising. The Thing (roadside attraction) Wilson, Ann (Artist) Format: Audio CD. predecessor to today's recreation vehicles (an 1849 Conestoga wagon), and At Peggy Sues 50s Diner, waitstaff in retro pink-and-blue uniforms serve stick-to-your-ribs comfort fare amid a big collection of movie posters, rock-and-roll mementos, old costumes, statues, and dead-eyed mannequins representing Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Lucille Ball, and other stars of the Eisenhower years. Adjoining the museum are a Shell station, a gift-and-fireworks shop, and a Dairy Queen.