Ghost Riders in the Sky...

1776 miles travelled, they leave an impression on Arizonaargh as it has left an impression on them... 

1776...the same number as the US took to reach independence. Co-incidence? I think not! 

We are the ghost riders in the sky! 

NOW GEEETTT!

Big Stuff.

After leaving Tuscon, we headed back to Phoenix, and whilst killing time decided to visit the Botanical Gardens. Unfortunately it was closed, so we had to go in via the exit at a price discount of 100%, in order to get a caffeine fix. Whilst wading through epic scenery we found something that rather obstructed the way. Yes folks, the WORLDS BIGGEST CACTUS was indeed a sight to behold. As you can see below we have measured it's height using the world reknowned and scientifically sound 'dad method.' By this method, we can deduce that the cactus is approximately 20 dads high, 1/2 a dad higher than the previous biggest cactus 'Big Henry' from Kew Gardens, UK...

 

In what continued the trend of big things, we decided to stop at toys'r'us, to get our toy fix, when lo' and behold, there was another specimen to examine. Lurking in a vending machine 'midst some rather unspectacular neighbours, was the WORLD'S BIGGEST BUBBLE GUM! The short video below details the scientific and extremely important processes by which we determined it's scientific worth....  

Left home in Tucson Arizona

Have left Tucson, staying in the self-declared "coolest hotel in Tucson", where gangsters John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson were captured in 1934. It is an amazing place and is over 50 years old, unusual for the US. Let's put some perspective on it though:

• Original 1930s rooms with fans and telephones - cool
  
• Amazing bar room where you can imagine fights - cool
  
• Guys at the bar who tell you that they never F*ck cr*ck wh*res - cool  (but disturbing)
  
• Retro Freight Trains with proper boxcars passing day and night outside the window - very cool
  
• Swamp coolers - cool
  
• Singing a waiver on arrival to say that you won't drink alcohol in your room - not cool
  
• No coffee in room - not cool
  
• Hotel mission statement on wall saying that they want to be cool - not cool 
  
• Karaoke night for the utterly tone deaf playing awful cheesy songs until 3am - very uncool
  
• Waiter not knowing what a long drink was and thinking it was about having a drink in a "tourist glass" - not cool
  
• Same waiter 5 minutes later upon asking what type of fish catfish was, simply replying "catfish" - just plain stupid.
  

But we said goodbye to the guitar and I left it in Room 214 for future guests to play...here she is in situ...

Tombstone Blues...

On our way out of Bisbee, we went down a copper mine (as you do..) on a narrow train, and were given a tour by a Tony Clifton soundalike ex-miner...

Then on to Tombstone, where they act out the gunfight at the O.K Corral every day at 2pm precisely. Unfortunately this has led to copycat crimes all over the city. The boy in the photo below was shot for not walking like a cowboy, and showing absolutely no interest in either Country or Western.  

German guitar holiday music pawn

Weird things happen in Bisbee... was playing a set on the deck outside the tiki bus, and a lady from Germany said  'you must be a musician...'. 

I said that I was playing a $50 guitar from a pawn shop...

She smiled and said "I didn't know they sold stuff like that there..."

I said "yes, really they do..."

At this point Louis interjected and explained that it was pawn shop as in p-a-w-n, not p-o-r-n...which caused great merriment.

Anyway,  she was part of a film crew, making a road movie documentary with an (apparently well known) German actor. After several beers and introductions to the rest of the crew, Louis was invited to be filmed outside the bus for the programme, where he had to sit outside in sunglasses posing. Nice work...

Home SWEET Home

By night it's scary...

By day it's amazing...

But it's always THE TIKI BUS.

600 mile drive in a day, it's your funeral

Drove a long way. Ended up in a place called Bisbee. It's a hippy town with cool hearses. Had to take a photo of one...But nanoseconds after this photo was taken about 20 mourners came out of the funeral home...very embarrassed.