Camelmania – Camel Races for Hi Jolly – Quartzsite, Arizona
Legends are wonderful and the legend of Hi Jolly is one that attracts thousands of people to this community annually. Hi Jolly is Quartzsite’s most famous citizen. He was a dreamer, adventurer and entrepreneur although he never achieved greatness with his visions.
In this community cemetery the gravesite of Hi Jolly is the largest tombstone in the city topped with a copper camel.
The Thing – Tucson, Arizona
Traveling on the highway south of Tucson you will see the signs that are reminiscent of the Wall Drug Store signs of years ago. Every few miles (and sometimes closer than that) you will see a sign promoting The Thing. It may say something like “Mysteries of the Desert” or “The Thing, Mysteries of the past.”
They go on for miles asking if you’ve seen it and so forth. Of course your curiosity is awakened by this marketing ploy, you really want to know what The Thing is!
Tom Mix Memorial – Florence, Arizona
Tom Mix was a silent-movie cowboy who died in 1940 but his legend still goes on today. He told a great story about himself, most of it not true, about his life prior to entering the movie business. He claimed to have been a Texas Ranger, to have fought in the Boer War and other wondrous adventures. He was a working cowboy, a night marshal in Dewey, OK and a peace officer in mining camps in Colorado so there was a little bit of reality in his exaggerations.
