Tourist trap that is.
Yesterday on Facebook, I tossed out that I was looking for some tourist idea for an upcoming drive from Seattle to Chicago. I already have Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore, the Bad Lands, Little Bighorn, Devils Tower, Wall Drug (gotta get me a Jackalope), and of course the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD.
In the comments, I made an aside to the fact that we would be traveling too far south in the state to hit the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota. I've already seen it, and driving to Darwin, MN (60 miles due west of the Twin(e?) Cities) wasn't going to happen.
Then I realized that some of you may have missed out on ever seeing one of the largest twine balls on the planet (I'll explain in a second*).
So one July, I drove up to the Savage, MN, to see my good friend, T-Bone and his wife. We had a great time, as we always do, when he looks me dead in the eye and asks me if I wanted to see the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota.
That's like asking a shark if it wants to dine on some tender surfer toes.
So, off to Darwin we went, to see the largest sisal twine ball built by one person. And there it is, in all it's glory.
God Bless America!
* Wikipedia lists a number of twine balls, using different judging criteria.
Largest sisal twine ball built by one person - Darwin, MN - 17,400 pounds, 40 ft , and weighs 17,400 pounds
Largest sisal twine ball built by a community - Cawker City, KS - 17,886 pounds, 40 feet in circumfrance (and still growing)
Heaviest ball of twine ever built - Lake Nebagamon, WI - 19,336 pounds and growing.
Guinness Book of World Records - Branson, MO - 41.5 feet in circumference
I know what you're thinking: Alright, monkey-boy, play the damn song:
So, what are your memories of the roadside attractions?
6 comments:
I'll be honest, any road trips we took as kids, I slept most of the way. So did my dad and brother. It was a defense mechanism for when mom was driving.
I do remember Rushmore, the Corn Palace, and Wall Drug. Other than that, it was always looking for random animals along the way. Like those llamas in Fort Collins, Colorado.
I dunno.... I guess the best roadside attraction I ever saw was in snooty, uppity Bellevue WA. Two skinny white guys in glasses were at the side of the road with a sign that said "will box for food" and they were both dressed like Apollo Creed. It was soooo funny because they REALLY didn't belong there. But that's probably not the kind of roadside attraction you meant.
Make this your Bible.
The great concrete dinosaur sculptures off the 10 near Palm Springs were my favorite attraction. If you've seen Pee Wee's big Adventure, you've seen them. Sadly, now they're obscured by fast food joints and outlet malls. Even sadder, I've heard that one has been turned into a creationist museum.
That would have to be Bedrock City in Custer, SD. Imagine too many kids cooped up in a station wagon, only 1/2 way to the East Coast. I think our parents just stopped there so we wouldn't be bouncing off the walls in the hotel room that night.
Wall Drug was another favorite. We bought so much crap that they probably became millionaires.
And I noticed that all your twine balls are in the Midwest. Kinda makes me proud to be a Californian. ; )
That twine ball is cool but better still it has given me a great idea of what to do with all of that used floss I've been saving! W.C.C.
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