You Never Know Who You Might Meet in the Desert

This isn't the post that relates to the VERY strange thing we found in the desert recently. I have to do a little more research because the more I do, the weirder it gets...

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Although not as weird as the post I'm working on, this stuff was far from normal! We drove into Yuma just to check the town out. Yuma is a very old and I'm sure you've all seen at least a dozen Westerns that were made about this town, or the things that happened here. As we were driving around we met a couple of people that are the type you can ONLY meet in the desert.

 Meet Muffler Man

Back in the 50's and 60's these guys could be found all over the country. Besides being huge, they also had one thing in common. They all were holding an automobile muffler. They stopped making them in the mid-60's and they are becoming more rare everyday.

Instead of a muffler, these days you might see them holding various tools, candy canes, hot dogs, donuts, weapons, or nothing at all... Somewhere around here I have a photo of one holding a giant corn dog!  

Muffler Man is kind of like the giant donuts that used to be a fairly common sight on top of donut shops. Remember them? They are also becoming very rare. Everybody has heard of Route 66 and all the cool things that it represents, right?  Well, one of America's other great historic roads runs through Yuma. That road is U.S. Highway 80.  Okay, enough about Muffler Man and giant donuts. Ladies and germs, may I present....

Giant Sunglasses Man

We were on our way back to the highway spotted this image sitting in a strip-mall. 

 Check out the drawing of this big headed guy on the sign behind him.

I like the name of the shop as much as the giant head

Is it art? Certainly not in the classical sense, but it is an awesome piece of folk art.  It's going to be an amazing piece of folk art in five, ten or twenty years, when after the business shuts it's doors for the final time and this guy is left in some desert lot or somebody's front yard. Then people will see it and wonder about where it came from and how did it end up where it is then.  How do I know that? I know it because that is exactly what people do with old things in the desert. They either dump them, or just put them out in the yard. Lot's of room and not many neighbors to complain.  The desert doesn't care.  

Don't get me wrong, I love the pristine, beautiful and desolate desert. I also love the outskirts of desert towns like Yuma and the hundreds of small thirsty towns. Each of them has their own beauty, oddities and interesting characters.


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