Top 10 Must-See Roadside Attractions

[bholas]

Summer is the time for road trips and family vacations. And I believe it is the law in most states that families must make a pilgrimage at least once across a large expanse of this wonderful country we call America. And during these travels you will see many roadside attractions and like some siren’s song they invite us to pull of the highway and take a look, sit a spell and remember when driving was part of the fun of traveling. While we haven’t ranked these in any order, you’ll find 10 of the top roadside attractions below. Would you add any? Please leave comments with your own memories or suggestions for a roadside attraction you enjoyed.
Superman Museum

Metropolis, IL

Sometimes known as “The Superman Hall of Trophies,” this museum is devoted to Superman and located in the heart of Metropolis, Illinois. The Superman Museum features trophies, statuaries, and artifacts of the man of steel. The museum is the work of Jim Hambrick who has been collecting Superman memorabilia since 1959 and owns over 100,000 Superman items and showcases some 20,000 in the museum. It features, among other things, a statue of Superman holding aloft a globe of Krypton and George Reeves’ original torso-molded special effects device that allowed Superman to fly on TV. Outside the museum, a huge monument to the Superman is the perfect backdrop for a family photo — you can even immortalize your visit by buying a brick in the pathway being constructed for the Lois Lane statue

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[bholas]

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox

Bemidji, MN

The plaid-shirted, 18-foot tall, 2.5-ton Paul Bunyan statue was built in January 1937 by the townsfolk of Bemidji, Minnesota. Paul’s faithful companion Babe the Blue Ox, was moved as an attraction to Minnesota carnivals for a few years before joining Paul permanently in 1939. The shores of Lake Bemidji are said to be the birthplace of Paul Bunyan. Nearby Paul and Babe you can find other over-sized objects such as a toothbrush, playing cards and a flyswatter.

The statues have been hailed by the Kodak Company as the “second most photographed statues in the United States”, behind only Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

[bholas]

Cadillac Ranch

Amarillo, TX

While you thought it was merely a Bruce Springsteen song, there really is a Cadillac Ranch. The San Francisco art group Ant Farm successfully proposed the idea to Stanley Marsh III, and in 1974, part of Marsh’s ranch became the Cadillac Ranch. Ten graffiti-covered Cadillacs representing the “Golden Age” of American Automobiles (1949 through 1963) are half-buried, nose-down, “at the same angle as the Cheops’ pyramids.

In 2005, the Cadillacs were painted pink in a tribute to breast cancer victims. Visitors are allowed to add their own graffiti.

[bholas]

South of the Border aka Pedroland

Dillon, South Carolina

Any traveler heading for Disney or the Sunshine State from the north will recall the roadside attraction, South of the Border. There are approximately 120 billboards announcing the roadside stop, some only a few hundred feet apart on I-95. It is a amalgam of hotels, souvenir shops, a theme park and rest stop; South of the Border has it all. It’s a little bit funky and a lot kitschy.

South of the Border was developed by Al Schafer (1914-2001), who founded a beer stand at the location in 1950 and steadily expanded it with Mexican trinkets and numerous kitsch items. And no stop would be complete without a visit Sombrero Room Restaurant, serving the best Mexican food in northern South Carolina.

[bholas]

World’s Largest Ball of Twine

Cawker City, Kansas

Made from over 7 million feet of sisal twine, the World’s Largest Ball of Twine measures 40 feet in circumference and weighs almost nine tons. The ball “started rolling” in 1953 when Frank Stoeber started saving bits of sisal twine and adding them to a small ball in his barn. Four years later his twine ball weighed over 2 ½ tons and stood 8-feet tall. Housed under a canopy in Cawker City on Highway 24, the ball is a work in progress, so bring some twine, wrap it around, and consider yourself part of the record books.

The town of Cawker began an annual Twine-A-Thon, where anyone can add twine, and in 2003 the total length was recorded at over 7-million feet!