The Phoenix Traveler

You may have seen this book, or maybe not. But Sam Lowe, the author of Arizona Curiosities (now in it’s second edition), happens to be a funny guy with a lot of quirky stories to tell, including one about the time he interviewed a couple at a nudist colony in Tonopah. And, yes, they were unclothed. Well…he was, after all, in search of the “bare facts,” as quoted from his book.

Not only is Sam funny, but the guy’s also got guts.

Guess that’s why Marshall Trimble, the state’s official historian, recommended Lowe to the publisher, Globe Pequot, as the guy to write this book. The author, a former full-time newspaper columnist for the Arizona Republic and the now defunct Phoenix Gazette, writes regularly for Arizona Highways and Highroads, AAA Arizona’s travel magazine, among other publications. He’s also just completed his third book in the “Curiosities” series, only this one’s about New Mexico. It’ll be out in September.

I had the opportunity to meet the author for lunch this week at Café Carumba in Scottsdale. We chatted about our mutual work as Phoenix-based travel writers and then he answered a few questions for me about his book:

Q: First, tell me a little bit about what you did to find the curiosities.

A: I drove 12,000 miles across Arizona. I went to every town in the state, except for Young (He’s since been there, too.), and it took me eight months. Because of my column for the newspaper, “On the Lowe Road,” I pretty much knew what was there already. I was just following up, to make sure it was still there.

Q: During your eight months on the road for the first book, what was the most surprising thing you learned about Arizona?

A: The most surprising thing for me was at The Thing. I was really surprised at that. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I didn’t expect to see what I saw. It’s just a mummy. (I recommend that you read his book to find out more about what he calls a “billboard marketing success” story.)

Another surprising thing I discovered was near Hillside (in northwest Arizona, between Congress and Baghdad). There’s this really big rock painted to look like a skull. It’s huge, probably 25 tons, and very well done. It’s been there 100 years and was painted by railroad workers. I expected it to be kitschy.

Q: Is there one location where curiosities abound?

A: I think that would be in southeastern Arizona. There’s the monastery in Florence. There’s Tombstone. It has a rosebush–a Lady Banks Rose–that was planted in the late 1800s. It’s still growing and is (maybe?) 10,000 square feet wide. And Bisbee itself is weird. In Douglas, there’s one square block where you’ll find a church on every corner, different denominations. There’s the lady with the bookstore in her home near Benson, and then there’s Gammon’s Gulch.

Q: Where do you go to find out this information?

A: In the small towns, go to the Chamber of Commerce or the local bar. Anyone there knows where to find the curiosities, though it’s not usually curious to them. You have to ask a lot of questions.

Q: What are some of the more unusual things you’ve found in Phoenix?

A: At the Mineral & Mining Museum they have an exhibit of rocks that looks like food…steak and mashed potatoes. And if you go to McDonald Drive and 40th Street, there’s a house with an unusual rock garden. And then there’s the big plywood cut-outs at Cotton Lane off the Interstate 10 in Goodyear (One is a giant baby cut-out. She’s playing with toy tractors in a plowed field.) You can only see those when you’re traveling west on the interstate. 

Q: The entries are short, easy to read and humorous. It seems like this book would be a great book to read in the bathroom.

A: It is a definite bathroom reader, although I find that my legs always fall asleep when I read on the loo.

Tip to Sam: Don’t try to read all 300 pages in one sitting.

Before the interview ended, I couldn’t help but ask the author for his top-five pick of curious attractions statewide. In no particular order, they are:

1. The big frog rock in Congress.
2. The tiki head in Kingman on Route 66; it looks like something off of Easter Island.
3. The 30-foot-tall concrete kachina figure in the Tonto Hills subdivision northeast of Carefree.
4. The lizards on the retaining walls running up and down Highway 101 (Pima Freeway) in Scottsdale.
5. The Artichokes at Scottsdale Community College; it’s the name for the school’s mascot.

If you don’t get a chance to see any of Sam’s picks, at least consider looking for his book. Not only is it good bathroom reading, but it’s a good guide to what you’ll surely find when in Arizona–the unusual, the odd, and especially the curious.

(For the photos of the book, I wish to thank my boyfriend for loaning me his copy, and Sam’s photo above was printed with his permission. Thanks, Sam. See you on the road.)

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