East of Apache Junction, Az, which is east of Phoenix.sWelcome to one of the largest events of its kind in the nation, the Arizona Renaissance Festival is a time to revel in the atmosphere of a 16th Century European Country Faire. Explore the bustling marketplace and mingle and interact with nearly 2,000 costumed characters and their endless merriment and mayhem.

This is a LOT of fun! Their website is here.

Saturdays, Sundays and Presidents' Day Monday, February 7-8 thru March 27-28, 2004. Open 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM

Third Wednesday of every month in 2004.at the Pine, Az Community Center Cultural Hall. Got a fiddle? Think you're any good? Come and jam. It's free.

Call for info: 928-476-3547 or 476-4791.

Oatman, Az is an old mining town just up in the hills west of Laughlin, NV and is fun to visit anytime, but this event gets pretty crazy. Jan 10 & 11, 2004.

Parade of funny nightwear, Chamber Pot Band. Bed races & gunfights. Call for info: 928-768-6222.

...might come to a speeding car you're in if you aren't careful. Winter snows in the high country bring deer down close to populated areas and they are just about one, dumb animal when it comes to cars.

Collisions with deer in this country claim 150 human lives and over a million deer lives every year .

If you're in deer country, slow down, especially at night!

...in Quartzsite, Az, on I-10 just before you cross into California. Hundreds of dealers from around the world in minerals, jewelry, gems, antiques and just about anything else you can think of. Also music, races, flights in airplanes, crazy musicians, a real people-watcher's paradise. Crowded, dusty, noisy...I've been to this a dozen times and never fail to be amazed.

Jan 17 thru Feb 1, 2004. Call for info: 928-927-5213.

...will be held at Angel Fire in northern New Mexico Jan 31 thru Feb1, 2004. "Standard Class" races see contestants sitting on shovels, racing down a snowy slope at speeds up to 60 mph. The "Modified Class" are folks who have built sleek compartments around a shovel and go even faster. Saw some pretty spectacular crashes the year I was there.

Check around ski areas in the SW for other unusual activities.

...same thing as above but they race across the desert around Laughlin, NV. Jan 15 thru 18, 2004.

Call 800-227-5245 for info