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Friday, March 28, 2014

Road to Phoenix: Nothing

Once there was Nothing here.
Normally a weekend drive to the Big Phoney would not warrant vacation blogging.  I mean I was desperate for the time off, but re-opening the vacation blog?  Not normally what I would do.  Except:  I want to make sure I know how to use all the vacation blogging tools with the new laptop before I head off to Brazil in less than 90 days.  Less than 80 days in fact.

Hence blogging my stop at Nothing.  Nothing, Arizona.  Which used to be a convenience store in the middle of nowhere between the twin metropolises (metropoli? metropoles?) of Wikieup and Wickenburg.  The Twin Wicks, so to speak.

There once was a convenience store. Now there's nothing but gravel.
Just some faded signage is all that's left of Nothing.


Solar panels and radio antennae. It may be abandoned, but it's 21st Century.
I originally was going to make this my mostly-annual trip to Arizona for baseball spring training.  But I'm taking the year off for baseball.  Between the Red Sox love from the national media and the Derek Jeter farewell tour of which I am already wretchingly sick, the magic is gone from my love affair with baseball.  So instead of checking spring training schedules, I checked the Culvers flavors of the days listing.  Instead of a ballyard, I decided to go to the M.I.M.

And I will stop at Nothing.

Driving to Phoenix: Wikieup

Snoopy. Woodstock and assorted other beagle (Spike from Needles?) welcome you to Wikieup
Last weekend I decided to take one of my occasional trips down to the Big Phoney, Phoenix, Arizona USA.

Few things in life have improved so much over the 20 years (plus) I've lived in Las Vegas than the drive to Phoenix.  The Tillman/O'Callaghan Bridge has ended the interminable winding to go over Hoover/Boulder Dam. The Wickenburg bypass ended another bottleneck.  The road seems to have enough passing lanes so that it is not a death trap suicide rap. (I don't even know if I see any memorial crosses on the side of US-93 anymore.)

But one thing has not changed.  Snoopy, Woodstock and other beagle welcoming you to that plumbed bathroom known as Wikieup, Arizona.  Why Snoopy?  Why a rocket ship?  Forget it, Jake.  It's Wikieup.