The Long Road

As we made our way from the vast uninhabited reaches of Arizona back towards civilisation, there was a marked change in the views from the car. This:

Gradually gave way to this:

And the open road gradually became a very long, thin carpark.

This sign was an exemplar of understatement. Our speed wasn't merely reduced. It was eliminated.

Do you have any idea how long it takes to travel 8 miles at approximately 0 miles per hour? It's a very, very long time.

This could have been the best revenue raising opportunity the state of Arizona would ever see. Two policemen could have swept through, booked 10,000 cars for illegally parking on the highway and then fined them all double.

Gradually, as the journey dragged on, the signs became less amusing although, alas, perfectly accurate.

They told us so.

By this stage I would have been willing to throw myself off the promised damaged bridge.

After long enough on the road in the hot sun you start to lose your sense of humour. Eventually, you might even start to feel a little paranoid. I did. I'm sure this sign was put there just to mock me. It would have been a miracle if we'd cracked 6 miles an hour.

The traffic finally started moving, before the car ran out of fuel or exploded in the heat, and before any of the motorcyclists collapsed with sunstroke. Fortunately there were still a few roadsigns to entertain us. This one I captured just because I'd failed to photograph any of the proper cacti we saw in Arizona (sorry Murray).

I wasn't too sure what they meant by this last one. I presume the first two words were intended as a description of the product. It's hard to put the third word into a meaningful context. Does it refer to the size of the serving? The recommended frequency of purchase? Or is it perhaps advertising an added benefit of consumption?