Unusual Attractions You May Not Have Heard Of
Move over Madame Tussauds - Watch out Ripley's Believe It or Not. We've compiled a list of wacky travel attractions. From classic American roadside travel stops, to offbeat museums and individually run venues - coast to coast there's a quirky place to add to your next vacation travel itinerary.
The Flintstones Bedrock City, Custer, South Dakota
Personally, I'm not quite sure that children today even know who the Flintstones are. At any rate, the Flintstones Bedrock City and Campground in Custer, South Dakota is still getting visitors. The campground brings the fictional setting of Bedrock alive; it is complete with Barney & Wilma's house, a telehorn office, and the KROCK radio station. Visitors can order a brontosaurus burger at the Drive-In just like the scene in the opening credits. With a swimming pool, theme park and a gift shop on hand - it's sure to be a yabba dabba do time.
The Toilet Seat Museum, Alamo Heights, Texas
Location: Barney Smith's Garage. Hours of Operation: Whenever he's around. That pretty much sums up the wackiness of this attraction. The Toilet Seat Museum (housed in an oversized garage - or dare I say - outhouse) is made up of Barney Smith's collection of Toilet Seat creations. Smith, who has been appropriately named "The King of Thrones," has decorated over 700 of the porcelain canvasses with various themes, license plates, military memorabilia, and other miscellaneous objects. The museum draws in around 1,000 visitors annually, proving that not everybody thinks that calling toilet seats 'art' is a load of... well, you know what.
Salvation Mountain, Niland, California
Salvation Mountain, located in Imperial County, CA is one man's tribute to God.
Leonard Knight created this piece of 'outsider art' to showcase and share his passion for God with passersby. Biblical and religious scripture, flowers, trees, waterfalls, birds, and many other fascinating and colorful objects flank the mountain's main message, "God Is Love." In 2002 Salvation Mountain was entered into the US Congressional Record as a national treasure. While Knight's intentions are too sincere to be labeled 'wacky,' his creation is truly one of a kind.
Wall Drug, Wall, South Dakota
In 1930's South Dakota, Ted Hustead's wife had an idea to help bring traffic into their declining drug store. Dorothy Hustead came up with a jingle and created a sign attracting drivers from the nearby highways - "Get a soda/Get root beer/Turn next corner/Just as near/To Highway 16 and 14/Free Ice Water/Wall Drug."
The sign worked, and Wall Drug has become an expansive tourist attraction of international renown, taking in more than $10 million a year and attracting some two million visitors annually to a remote town whose population has never exceeded 800.
The silly signs have become their trademark of sorts, in time Mr. Hustead was spending $300,000 a year on billboard advertising, including Wall Drug signs on London buses and in every train station in Kenya.
The little store has been expanded into a 75,000-square-foot sprawl of western kitsch, housing an enclosed mall - selling everything from souvenir T shirts to pricy cowboy boots- a 400-plus- seat restaurant and a range of free attractions.
While it's certainly a sight to be seen when traveling in the West, Wall Drug seems to be famous for its fame - as a sign at the Taj Mahal will prove - "only 10,728 miles to Wall Drug."
Museum of Bad Art, Dedham, Massachusetts
Affectionately known as MOBA, the Museum of Bad Art is an awesomely fun idea.
Founded in 1993, MOBA is located the in the basement of the Dedham Square Community Theatre in Massachusetts. The museum is the only one of its kind, priding itself on the collection, preservation, and celebration of bad art in all its forms. MOBA has collected over 400 pieces of unintentionally awful art, but due to limited space only 30-40 pieces are shown at a time.
Dreadful clowns, failed attempts at profound abstract art and grotesque nudes are examples of the museum's collection.
Jell-O Museum, LeRoy, NY
There's always room for... a Jell-O Museum? Apparently, in LeRoy, NY there is.
A carpenter named Pearle Wait created America's favorite dessert in Le Roy in 1897. The museum shares the building with the town's historical society and pays homage to the hometown treat. The museum offers a detailed history of Jell-O, trivia, past recipes and plenty of vintage advertising memorabilia.
Their latest claim to fame is the visit that longtime Jell-O spokesperson Bill Cosby paid the museum in 2004. If you enjoy Jell-O or are just interested in it's similarities to our very own brain waves, a stop at the museum is worthy of a short break.
Tinkertown, Sandia Park, New Mexico
Tinkertown is comprised of one man's collection of tinkerings. Ross Ward spent more than 40 years gathering glass bottles and carving wooden objects to create a whimsical, folk art site. Ward began working on the tiny western town in 1962. His motivation to create Tinkertown stemmed from his desire to keep the interest in roadside attractions alive.
Ward's desire was realized, as Tinkertown is a unique addition to New Mexico's roadside stops. Ward created everything in it, right down to its wooden "people." The collection includes an animated miniature circus, old west memorabilia, and an antique 40-foot sailboat that has sailed around the world. While Tinkertown's beloved designer passed away in 2002, Ward's family continues to operate the museum and carry on the tradition of this very special attraction.
National Museum of Funeral History, Houston, TX
Robert L. Waltrip opened the National Museum of Funeral History to fulfill his dream of educating the public and preserving the rich history of the funeral industry.
The Museum appears to be Waltrip's dream come true. Among its exhibitions are examples of fantasy coffins, (themes and shapes include fish, cars, and crustacean) elegant early 20th century hearses and a diorama illustrating Civil War embalming techniques.
NMFH also contains a 1900's Casket Factory, where visitors can witness how caskets were constructed before the advent of modern machines. For some reason the Museum holds private parties and corporate events. An interesting place to visit? Maybe. The perfect venue for a Sweet 16? I think not...
The Camera Van, coming to a town near you...
In true Weiner mobile fashion, the Camera Van is a wacky attraction on the move. In 1995, Harrod Blank took his love for photography on the road by covering his 1972 Dodge van in cameras - dozens of working cameras.
The Camera Van has taken pictures of perplexed onlookers from coast to coast across the USA attending all kinds of events, parades, exhibits and art car festivals. The Van, with all its dazzling décor, aims to capture a person in that magical instant of reflex reaction, of bewilderment, wonder, of curiosity in action.
The Camera Van gets 10 miles to the gallon. Although, Blank likes to mention that in smileage, though, the van gets 100 smiles per gallon.
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