Bowlin's The Thing Travel Center

This is what the United States of America is about, people: roadside attractions. And if you pull off the road at Bowlin's in Arizona, on a remote stretch of I10 in Texas Canyon, prepare to encounter the fanfreakin'-tastictness of . . . THE THING.Go on and laugh, skeptics. Mock those of us who know the truth. Listen, friend: I, too, was a nonbeliever. I had the audacity to drive by Bowlin's numerous times, in both directions--foolishly ignoring the many many many many many many many signs informing me about The Thing--and then finally, I saw the light.And now I know.And all I'm allowed to divulge is: aliens vs. dinosaurs.You're welcome.Practicalities: gas, ample parking, friendly staff inside, giant store with every single Southwestern souvenir you could possibly want, bathrooms.

Great gift shop and the things is a lot of fun. Worth the 20 minutes to walk. Real friendly folks and not crazy priced. Has a DQ if you need a treat. Clean bathrooms. The Thing made a memory or 2 with my kids. I tell everyone I know to stop.

If you're traveling through and want to spend half an hour stretching your legs and venturing into the imaginative, be sure to stop at Bowlin's The Thing travel center!! For a couple bucks per person, we walked through this funny alien 'story' and kept our imaginations open as we put aside the logical. It's honestly very silly how they weave in the possibility of aliens into being behind major historical events, but it was cool to see how someone was creative enough to weave it in. Overall it was fun, lighthearted and it was a good way to take a 30 minute break from sitting in the car on any road trip if you're passing through. You also pass through a large Arizona souvenir shop, jewelry store and there's even a DQ there!

Fun stop on our road trip. Too good to pass up pricing to see their walk through museum and really nice gifts in their shop. The staff were all friendly and really cared you liked their exhibit. Clean restrooms and food available.

What a fun little adventure spot this is! I'm an arizona native and have always been curious about "the thing". My hubby and I planned a spontaneous trip to Bisbee and decided it was time to see the thing since it's on the way. We loved it since we're big space junkies . For a $5 entrance fee it's absolutely worth it!! I do wish there was more history about who built this entire exhibit but overall loved all the conspiracy theories and the history it mixed with everything. Super fun and a must stop on your travel journey! :)

If I could give more than 5 stars I would! This is a travel center like no other!! So many souvenirs, so many tchotchkes, so much STUFF!! There's a Dairy Queen attached so it's even a place to stop and eat! They've got it all!! The ladies working were super friendly and outgoing and the Native American jewelry is phenomenal, there's so much to choose from!Now, about "The Thing"! I had seen advertisements for years of this box that you walk up and look into, nothing fancy! Of course it was something I always wanted to do though so we just had to stop! Wow were we blown away! A mere $5.00 gets you entrance to one of the coolest "museums" we've ever been to! The displays are ginormous, very well done and lots of lights and noises to go with them. The descriptions and "history" throughout the entire walk through make you say "Hmmmmm...." a lot! It's somewhat humorous, historic and thought provoking all at once! It was completely redone in 2018 and boy did they do it right! I'll keep the "secret" for now and let you discover it yourself!If it's not on your bucket list it should be!

This was a fun stop on an otherwise mostly boring drive and once again, I was unable to resist the siren call of "WHAT IS THE THING?" billboards for the last several miles on I-10 as I drove west. I stopped!The exhibit has a variety of wood carvings and paintings and a number of sculptures with captions suggesting that perhaps two groups of aliens have been locked in a proxy battle here on Earth for millennia, using the natives (dinosaurs and eventually humans) as pawns. It's cute and interesting and totally worth wondering, "WHAT IF WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS TRUE?"And I won't spoil the ending for you.I had fun and it lasted about 15 minutes of walking through the exhibit before it exits into a gift shop with THE THING merchandise as well as other trinkets, baubles and stuff to purchase. Ice cream, too.It's harmless fun and very well presented. I suggest you stop and perhaps you too will wonder if "WHAT IF THE APOLLO MOON MISSIONS FOUND AN ALIEN SPACESHIP?"[Review 17493 overall - 80 in Arizona - 1011 of 2022.]

This place definitely roped my hubs with all the great signage we had to stop. Great place in the middle of the dessert. Friendly people, free restrooms, clean and a DQ a little bit of everything.We even did the museum and what if?

After 200+ miles of signs, we caved and stopped to see "the thing". When you enter, there is a vast variety of gifts to bring home to your friends. The entrance to the museum is inside, all the way back on the left through what looks like a storage door. Inside you'll find oddly familiar creatures and a "what if" type theme of events. It takes approximately 20 minutes to get through the museum to view "the thing". Worth a stop if you have time!

Decided to stop here on my way to California. The workers were very polite and nice. This is a pretty cool and interesting museum. I don't 100% believe everything that was in this museum. I recommend bringing younger kids that have an understanding and can comprehend certain things. The gift shop area was interesting. They have nice gifts you can take a souvenirs. I recommend stopping and checking this place out.