Brit Reacts to First Time in America! California/Arizona Road Trip

[@JIMBEARRI]

Most of the "Ghost Towns" were originally built around mines. When the ore ran out, the people moved on.

[@donnaoleske6804]

Glad you enjoyed my state! For more mining and cowboy towns in Arizona, check out Tombstone, Wickenburg, Jerome, Bisbee, Morenci (largest copper mine in the US). For a fun squirrel story, check out the recent controversy with Peanut the Squirrel in New York. I love your commentary!

[@Sandra_Kidd]

I’m so happy you watched one that featured Horseshoe Bend, and the Grand Canyon. Horseshoe Bend is in Page, Arizona, which is a pretty short drive to the Grand Canyon, maybe like an hour and a half tops. I used to live in Page. If you ever make it to the United States, make sure you visit the Grand Canyon photos and videos do not do it justice. You can’t put into words how breathtaking it is. And as long as you’re there, you might as well make that short trip up to see Horseshoe Bend. Another stunner that has to be seen in real life to be believed and experienced.

[@SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish.]

You trying to pronounce “squirrel” and still struggling with it is great!! 😂

[@gordoncarr8653]

I love your reactions. Your channel is the most genuine of them all.

[@ramonalfaro3252]

L3WG is cool too!

[@ramonalfaro3252]

Also, Adam Crouser!

[@gordoncarr8653]

@@ramonalfaro3252 I agree.

[@josephsoto9933]

The little town is Oatman, Arizona. It's an old gold-mine town. It started in 1915 as a little mining camp where two guys dug over $10-million in gold (about $120million in today's money). The town once had over 2000 people but now only about 100. It's kept as a tourist trap, old western cowboy town, sort of a ghost town, but is famous for having wild donkeys roaming the street. They are very very friendly....they come roght up to you, tourists feed them. The car is a Chevy "Camaro". It's a "muscle car", same class (and rival) as the Ford Mustang....but a bit heavier.

[@JIMBEARRI]

In public parks in the US, squirrels are accustomed to being fed by people. So long as you don't scare them by making any sudden moves, they'll come right up to you and take food out of your hand like any pet.

[@tinahairston6383]

The squirrels are used to being treated to some nuts or seeds so they aren't afraid. That's not just out in this kind of setting either. Some of our regular city parks, the squirrels do the same thing. Marie from Frenchtastic fed a squirrel grapes in the park. The Chevy Camaro is of the original muscle cars. The first ones were rolled out in 1966.

[@JRush374]

I always recommend that people visit these places in the winter. The sites are so much more beautiful when there's snow.

[@frankisfunny2007]

That red car they rented is a Chevy Camaro. Quite common in the US, actually! Some police departments have them as a police car.

[@WhatDayIsItTrumpDay]

A ghost town is a generic term to describe a town that has been largely abandoned due to lack of work. For example, a lot of the Old West towns popped up around mines. And when the mines ran dry, the townsfolk just abandoned the town. I don't know how many true ghost towns there are, but there's quite a few, especially out West where mining was the major draw.

[@WhatDayIsItTrumpDay]

Muscle cars are built with large V8 engines. And yes, the Camaro is a Muscle Car. Always has been. The 5th and 6th Generations have more closely resembled the Gen 1 and Gen 2 versions. The Gen 3 and Gen 4 versions were typical 80s and 90s style designs.

[@ramonalfaro3252]

I picked up my uncles friend from New York at LAX and he was not impressed with our downtown at all (Understandably), but, when we drove out to Mojave he was stunned at the vastness of open space. As, we drove he would repeatedly exclaim in a stunned voice, "I can see forever!!! It doesn't end!!! He had never seen so much open space in his life! We also saw one of those mega trains that blew him away. The Tehachepi Loop (trains loops over itself to reduce steepness of downhill grade) in The Tehachepi Mountains of California is a busy East/West/North/South train-hub/choke-point for freight trains and after trains get through this choke point its straight across open desert from there on until The Rockies pretty much. These long straight stretches allow for safer transport of longer mega trains, Chicago is the main central distribution point for the US and trains tend get longer as the move towards Chicago and smaller as they move towards the coast. Being from NYC he was flabbergasted at the by length trains could reach on an open stretch.

[@mbh2743]

One thing to understand about the desert is very few things deteriorate because there's no rain. The climate is so dry it tends to mummify things. There are 1200 year old Native American ruins built into the canyon walls in Arizona. The best KZbinr to see these structures is Desert Drifter

[@JIMBEARRI]

Yes, there are boat tours on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

[@WhatDayIsItTrumpDay]

Thurston, squirrels are pretty friendly in the US. Most will gladly come up to you if it looks like you're offering food to them. I don't know what y'all have done to traumatize them in the UK, but squirrels are pretty friendly creatures. Chipmunks and Ground hogs are the same way. Raccoons can appear to be too, but those little rascals can be dangerous if you aren't careful.

[@the_dog_says_moo]

I don't know what squirrels you come in contact with but here in Iowa, you're not getting within 20 feet of one without them taking off up a tree

[@TwistedSisler]

@@the_dog_says_moo Where I live in IL, they are pretty tame. I have one that lives in a tree on my property and comes right up to my door begging for food so I'll bring him out a tray of peanuts. He likes to sit on the roof of my garage and argue with my cat through the window lol.

[@paulsmith8510]

I live in New Hampshire. Gray squirrels won't come near you unless you are downtown. Woodland squirrels don't mess around, city squirrels are pretty chill. Red squirrels are ALWAYS dicks.

[@AC-ni4gt]

When you're in the area around the Grand Canyon and the neighboring desert areas: hydrate constantly. Even when you're not thirsty. It's nasty to be in a desert caught without any source of drinking water.

[@SGlitz]

It will sneak up on you and by the time you realize it, you're in trouble. So Hydrate!

[@beatsbycole9399]

In my opinion, the Grand Canyon is a must-see in your lifetime. I was speechless the first time I saw it.

[@deanpreston3603]

Hi Thurs, You look very relaxed today. I hope your exams went well. Chevrolet Camaro is indeed a very sporty car and very powerful however Chevy also makes the Corvette which is extremely sporty and extremely powerful. They are made in my home town in Kentucky. This video was made in the desert and it is always hot as hell in the daytime and cold at night. I do hope you get to the US to see the Grand Canyon someday. For me the sight was a spiritual experience. There are parts of the desert that go for miles and there is nothing there or any place to get off. You always want to make sure your gas tank is full and you have water in the car. I could tell you enjoyed this video.

[@WhatDayIsItTrumpDay]

Thurston, our freight trains are VERY LONG. Sometimes numbering in around 100 cars. All they have to do is add more locomotives. This is how they move a lot of military equipment around as well. It's not uncommon to see trains loaded down with Tanks and APCs. There's a armor storage depot out in the California desert which is a much better storage area than where Russia stores their equipment.

[@SGlitz]

The Grand Canyon is 240 Miles from my house. It is worth it. So is Jerome, Grand Canyon Caverns, Sedona, Verde Valley, Walnut Canyon-- All in Northern Arizona.

[@mbh2743]

The interesting thing about having the bottles out in the desert sun is many of the older bottles turn colors in the Sun especially the cobalt blue

[@nicoleembry8477]

The Grand Canyon is 277 miles or 445 km long. put it this way, if driving at 75 mph in United States it, it would take up to four hours.

[@ramonalfaro3252]

00:34 You might be surprised how many people I've met who who dream of going to Foggy Ole Londontown. So many great works of literate & film have practically made the Fog & Drizzle of The UK a character when writing about Great Britain. I met a girl who fantasized specifically about visiting castles and running through the Scottish Moores in the midst of a heavy fog. The dreary weather is part of the experience! Also, My Godson, who is a travelling musician, loves to vacation in Ireland (Loves the people) and their weather is similar to the UK.

[@paulayala4816]

LOL, the whirlygig is a fan from a car. Oatman is not completely ghosted, there are some hardy folks who still live there. Also, depending on the time of year, there can be thousands of people, stopping, shopping and looking around the streets of Oatman. Photos and videos do not do The Grand Canyon justice, they tend to flatten the scene. You look down the walls, and it just keeps getting deeper and deeper and deeper. The best time to go is late fall/early spring when the crowds are not all there, it gets very cold, with snow on the ground, but at least it isn't blazing hot. The Camaro they are driving would be considered a muscle car. Here in America, we makeup different classifications for performance cars. Some terms you might hear are: Muscle cars, Hot rods, Pro- Street, Lowriders, Factory freaks, Rat rods, High boys, Low boys, Lakesters..."I know I am missing a bunch terms for cars." The green car is a Bucket-T (Model T) Ford with a blown small block Chevy it probably weighs about 2,500 lbs, but might make around 500 - 800 horsepower. The blue car is a 57 Chevy, which looks to be blown and injected with the injector sticking thru the hood.

[@pghrpg4065]

I live in the eastern U.S., but this part of the country is one of my favorites to visit.

[@donnaoleske6804]

The man standing beyond the rail at Horseshoe Bend was probably a Navajo tribe member, as it's on their land. I know they have Navajo guides at Antelope Canyon as well.

[@JIMBEARRI]

The pin wheel was made from a car engine cooling fan.

[@Kronicdice23]

Well, rule #1 when on a road trip especially in the west/ desert, don’t stay in a cheap little motel like that. You’re gonna get weird stuff going on. I mean, he rented a 3- $400 car a day I’m sure they can afford a better hotel..

[@Tarzan91303]

That was perfect, except for the Howard Johnson hotel. Eww. My favorite road trip hotels are the Hampton Inn chain. They are budget friendly and upscale.

[@license2kilttheplaidlad640]

I think my English friend said it best . "M8 ya remember when Dorothy stepped out of the house and it all went to super color? That's what this is like for me boyo". He swears by it 25 years on .

[@michaelhenault1444]

American squirrels are very friendly when they want food. French friends were astonished. Quite ordinary.

[@JustMe-dc6ks]

When they’ve learned to see people as a food source rather than a potential threat.

[@derekprzesmicki9578]

15:20 Umbrellas were invented to block the sun actually

[@JustMe-dc6ks]

Parasol ☂️

[@andrewbrumana3226]

My wife and I live in Las Vegas. We went on a day 'adventure' to Oatman a few years ago. It's 125 miles away from Vegas. It's a Old West-style tourist trap, complete with wild donkeys that roam down the street & where 'cowboys' perform fake shootouts multiple times a day. It's a fun experience if you want something out of the ordinary. We've also traveled to the Grand Canyon - it's a 4 1/2 hour drive to where our hotel was in the Grand Canyon Village (right on the south rim). It was an amazing experience; you can't comprehend the sheer size of what you're looking at from photos or a video. It doesn't look real. But there you are, standing on the canyon rim at something that looks like a photo... but it's 100% real.

[@williambranch4283]

Grand Canyon is 277 miles long ;-)

[@jacobs2162]

Kingman, Arizona is a stop mentioned in the Route 66 song

[@chuckgraf8141]

Oatman is a tourist spot. I wouldn't necessarily call it a ghost town. People still live there, but it's a very small town now. It's a cool place to visit, and it's not far from either Kingman AZ or Laughlin NV.

[@nermal2811]

Howard Johnson is a cheap hotel. Spend a little more and get much better quality and comfortable stay.

[@mwooldridge9155]

Oatman isn't a ghost town, lots of cool shops there. I drove RT 66 from start to finish last year. Took 3 weeks to do it and could have taken longer. Lots to see and do.

[@Ojisan642]

Flagstaff is a very small town in the middle of nowhere. In a town like that, you should opt for the most expensive hotel, not a cheap one like they did. I’ve stayed in Flagstaff before and it’s not that bad. But they picked a cheap hotel, like $75 per night. There are some $100 per night hotels in flagstaff that are fine.

[@license2kilttheplaidlad640]

Thurston that bottle display actually is the meaning of recycling as the objects are put back into use as the are not using energy and pollution to break them down and back into a new use material. In other words dont buy a new doorstop find something heavy. A car cooling fan blade repurposed.

[@U-DISTRICT]

Cowboys are still around, just not outlaws

[@ndfnq7811]

The Chevy Camaro is a modern era muscle car. The green and gold car is a Hot Rod

[@Northanteus]

You'll find rundown motels in middle of no where in the US, in certain places. They're probably passed down to family members and never renovated because they are not rich nor making that much money. They just keep it open to keep it going. There are horror movies that are centered around rundown motels. Makes sense when you saw that before. 🤣 Not all are like that, but some are.

[@WhatDayIsItTrumpDay]

That's a Chevrolet Camaro. First debuting in the mid 60s as a competitor to the Mustang. The version they're driving now is the 6th and final Generation. At least for now anyway. 2024 is the last year for the Camaro. It is being replaced by another older Muscle Car, the Chevelle, but in a new modern form. It's practically an updated version of the 1970 Chevelle. The Generations of Camaro go like this... 1st Gen - 1967 - 1969 2nd Gen - 1970 - 1981 3rd Gen - 1982 - 1992 (the generation of most of my schooling career) 4th Gen - 1993 - 2002 5th Gen - 2010 - 2015 (same basic style of Bubblebee in the Transformers movies) 6th Gen - 2016 - 2024

[@Ojisan642]

This is what you should do. You and your girl take a road trip in a section of America (I suggest the middle, Chicago to San Antonio, so you can meet up with Lawrence from Lost in the Pond at the start).

[@sunflower3281]

Love you channel 😊

[@trapper54]

It's a "no tell motel"...

[@mbh2743]

The Grand Canyon is 277 Mi long converted that makes it $445 km

[@pacmanc8103]

But without the dollar sign.

[@timothykissinger4883]

The Horseshoe Bend rock has the face of Jabba theHut

[@talesofcinderella]

That was one creepy hotel room. I would refuse that one and move on down the road.

[@carlbeaver7112]

It's not uncommon for trains in the SW to be up to 5 miles long (8km) and travel ~ 60 mph (97kph.) That was a car radiator 'flex' fan, made of fiberglass and metal. Grand Canyon: "Sixteen people have died within the 1.2 million acre preserve in 2024. That's five more than in 2023, which was an average year for deaths. The causes of death range from drownings, cliff falls, and extreme heat, among others. August was the deadliest month, with a total of five. Sep 26, 2024" I've seen several tarantulas, about the size of my fist, hop across paths, in front of me, at the canyon. I don't know if they've ever caused someone to stumble over the edge when surprised by one... just another good reason to not push your luck. The blown car is known as a T-bucket. It's a Ford Model T body mounted on as light weight of a frame as possible without breaking in half when the gas pedal is mashed to the floor. They are a PITA to drive - your knees into the bottom of the steering wheel, have to use your hand to pull your knee up high enough to hit the brake pedal - well, if you're taller than 5'6" (I'm 6'4"). Those with blowers (superchargers) on them require two people to see where it's pointed... That's the sort of motel you get when spending less than $70/night or you're in the absolute middle of nowhere and no other choices for 50+ miles.

[@license2kilttheplaidlad640]

Word of advice to anyone with convertible ambitions light color interior. You will roast in dark interiors in the sun. And anyone thinking shirtless is the way to drive in a convt . Dont! Ill let u find out why.

[@thseed7]

That motel looked sketchy AF. Person climbed over the guardrail for a photo. Somewhere around 10-25 people die every year doing that at the Grand Canyon. Staff found the body of someone who had fallen without witnesses while trying retrieve the corpse of someone else who had fallen to their death last year or the year before. Just stay on behind the rails.

[@wilhelm-z4t]

That's a beyond low-class motel!! Yuck. I would have given that a pass for sure. They must have spent all their money on the flashy car. 😉

[@alexp1873]

"When cowboys existed"

[@Beans-1111]

How's your school going?

[@SGlitz]

Oatman has a 2024 population of 87.

[@johnstewart150]

Oatman is not a ghost town

[@evanhughes1510]

Why do they need to put techno sounding music over the video when they should the canyon views ?

[@wizloon9052]

Thurston, your pimple was not noticeable at all, even after you pointed it out.