The drive east along Interstate 10 heading out of Tucson can be a dull one, with few towns or much of anything else to look in hopes of staving off complete boredom.
That is, of course, except for The Thing.
If you've driven into Tucson from the east or out of town toward El Paso, you've no doubt seen one — or several — of the dozens of billboards touting the mystery that is The Thing, a roadside attraction housed in the Bowlin Travel Center at Exit 322.
"We've got billboards advertising it all the way from El Paso westward to The Thing, and we've got signs north of Tucson," said Kip Johnson, director of operations for the Albuquerque-based Bowlin Travel Centers. "It's designed to raise your interest and curiosity."
Found midway between Benson and Willcox, The Thing has been in its glass-encased resting place since the mid-1960s, when the Prince family set up a convenience store at the Johnson Road exit, Johnson said.
People are also reading…
"They originally bought The Thing from one of the old sideshow deals," he said. "They actually took it on the road, but at some point in the mid-'60s, they put that where it's now located.
Bowlin bought the store in the late 1960s and has operated it ever since, Johnson said, with between 60,000 and 75,000 people going into The Thing's cramped chamber in the back of the store each year. The low admission price ($1 for adults and 75 cents for youths 6 to 18, with kids under 6 getting a gander for free) makes it something people don't mind spending a few minutes checking out, said Jay Tulk, the store's assistant manager.
"People come through all the time," Tulk said. "There are a lot of people that came and saw it when they were kids, and they come back now when they're adults and bring their kids."
Tulk said The Thing's busiest day came earlier this year when, due to accidents on both sides of I-10, close to 700 people ended up checking out the attraction.
"It was insanely busy that day," Tulk said.
So what exactly is The Thing?
Well, if we told you that, it would be like blabbing to someone about to see "The Sixth Sense" that Bruce Willis was dead the entire time.
"It's unique; it's funky; it's kind of hokey," Johnson said. "People go in there and kind of shake their head. It's one of those things you have to just see."
Got an oddity?
Is there something you've noticed while driving through Tucson that has piqued your curiosity to the point that you wish you could find out more about it?
Call Brian J. Pedersen at 573-4224 or send an e-mail to bjp@azstarnet.com
