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Aksarben, don't forget that in Darwin, MN we also have the world's largest ball of twine. Yes, I have seen the both, world traveler that I am. Heh. One is larger by volume and the other by weight.
The source of the Mississippi river is in Itasca State Park and if you visit it is nearly an obligation to wade across the rocky little stream where it begins.
We also have the Spam Museum in Austin, MN. Yes, the little rectangular can of meat product. Nearby you can eat a spamburger and fries in a restaurant.
Wall Drug in Wall, SD has been a frequent stop on our way to the Cycle Rally in Sturgis which is an oddity in itself. While in the Black Hills we have also visited the Cosmos where gravity appears to be skewed and we can watch water run uphill. And don't forget the Presidents' faces carved on Mount Rushmore with a very interesting film on how it was done.
The site of the Seattle Word's Fair housed the Jones' Fantastic Museum where you could spend hours looking at antique carnival oddities including the mummified "body" of Olaf the Giant gathered in an enormous collection. There's a Facebook page for this.
The Mutter Museum in Pennsylvania is still on my wish list. It's a collection of medical oddities. The Mayo clinic used to have a small but very interesting one but it has been archived. This included collections of items which had been removed from people's stomachs.
Baraboo, WI, home of the Ringling Brothers houses a Circus Museum and archives as does Sarasota, Florida.
In Florida I have also visited Gibsonton, off season home of sideshow royalty in years past.
Coral Castle near Homestead, Florida is an interesting visit.
Those are only a few of the many "can't miss" experiences I keep an eye out for when I'm traveling.
I'm that kid in the backseat pleading, "Can't we stop and see that?" Where others see "tourist trap" the child in me, tired of a world where every restaurant serves the same food and every motel room looks the same, is forever looking for the offbeat remembrances of days gone past.
(As a kid I once begged to stop at a run down gas station in Okoboji, IA on an annual trip to an amusement park The sign over the cage advertised "rattlers." Finally one year dad stopped. And I crept over to have a peek. There they were - a pink one and a blue one, just the right size to fit in baby's hand. Yes, Dad was politely buying gas for the privilege.)
When I saw the illustration, my initial reaction was that the Jell-o Museum was in Hastings, NE. Then I realized that I was thinking of the Kool-Aid Museum.
I'm a half days drive from the arctic circle. Not going and thats that.
I was also half a days drive from the Arctic Circle. Half a day's drive NORTH of it. Thule Air Base, Greenland. (pronounced "tooley").
Actually I guess that was more like a full day's drive north of it. If there was a road going to it, which there isn't.
There is no truth to the rumor that on Dec. 24 at midnight, you can see Santa passing overhead southbound, in a miniature sleigh with eight tiny reindeer.
But our big radar system did see him coming down from the pole.
I really want to do a cross country drive east to west one day and stop in to a few of these kinds of places, before joining the old route 66 to finish off
Oatman AZ on route 66 is a fun place to stop. You can feed the wild burros that wander the streets.
Route 66 is the main drag in Williams AZ. You can take the train up to the Grand Canyon. The railroad was built in 1901.
Lol! I've actually been to or by several of these places. I think I've been to the West Bend Grotto three times. It was less impressive each time. The locals love it!
The 60 mile drive through the black hills is fun, thats where Geronimo hid.
Its like a lunar landscape, we found fossil clam shells sticking out of canyon walls, big as a car fender.
Get out of your car and walkabout.
I would not waste my time seeing wall drug, its a kitschy tourist trap mall. But some people love that.
Take a packhorse tour into the backcountry of Yellowstone, I liked that.
Lots of places to visit by car but get out of the car.
Nobody so far has mentioned "THE THING?" roadside attraction in Arizona. After passing it a couple of times, we finally had to stop and see it. Yep, it's a thing. What The Thing? is.....well, that's up for discussion.
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