Tom Zoellner

Gerbils are, uh, you know, amazing pets, and most people that really enjoy gerbils and are part of the American Gerbil Society are, you know, people that are kind of, you know, sensitive, kind people, the kind of people that might get bullied on the playground.

As we pass the state line over the Colorado River and into Arizona, I call Tom Zoellner, a journalist who has written extensively about his native state.

We end up talking less about that and more about Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson's famous book that chronicles a drug-fueled road trip across the desert.

I'd stopped to get an ice cream sandwich at a gas station in Blythe, so I'm high on sugar and chocolate chips.