Back in the late 1970s, I used to visit my brother-in-law in Apache Junction and we would ride motorcycles while open carrying holstered revolvers shooting at cactus along the way. Great fun!
Open carry is very common in Payson, where I lived as an adult. Sounds like you had fun before fun was outlawed! We used to ride in the back of my dad’s pickup truck all the way to Apache Lake along the Apache Trail. That drive is still AWESOME.