What is That Thing!?!?

Tonight we were grilling some shish-ka-bobs for dinner and Tim had been out with the grill but he came inside to grab something. I was busy getting things ready, but I turned around and Tim had no clue that this HUGE bug thing was on his back. I couldn't even talk, I just started screaming like a banshee and told Tim to run outside. So, like the obedient person he is, he just went running and I shut the door behind him as I continued to scream my face off. I finally managed to yell to him that there was a bug on his back. So then Tim starts spinning around like a dog chasing his tail, trying to get the bug off. He is yelling at me to help him, but there was no way I was getting withing arms reach of that thing. So he finally flicks the thing off and it flys up on our door and he gets a look at the thing. We are both stunned- it looks like a grasshopper on steroids!!! It was a good 6 inches long and had these nasty looking legs!! Yuck. Anyway, I guess that's what happens when you live in the desert.