At Sightings we want to get you excited about what's up at RoadsideAmerica.com. This might be a good time — Auld Lang Syne and all that — to share what we will and won't do to elevate your opinion of us.

For example, we would almost never ding your intelligence with a screaming, misleading headline such as "THE SWEETEST TRAVEL DESTINATION EVER" about Hershey's Chocolate Factory Tour. And we'd have to be pretty low on the ethical totem pole to call attention, out of context, to the NAKED BODIES mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter, or to try to deceive you with a sensational reference to the "DEATH SITE OF BONNIE AND CLYDE" when, in fact, its presence here is not nearly as lurid as that treatment might suggest.

Did we mention we won't be mentioning the NAKED BODIES yet? Oh, of course, yes, there it is in the previous paragraph.

So, anyway, straight talk, no humbug. Happy holidays from all of us at RoadsideAmerica.com, and please don't drive over THE DEAD DOROTHY FROM THE WIZARD OF OZ in your rush to get home.

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Spotted by Tipsters

A clan of rare white squirrels -- Earth's most lovable rodent mutation -- has been ferreted out by Charlotte Briones, who found them frolicking at the seaside in Dana Point, California

Candace S. drove to an especially empty part of Utah to track down the artsy Sun Tunnels. They've been quietly basking since 1976.

Doug Dirr put Bloomington, Illinois on the map -- at least, our map. He submitted multiple worthy tips for this detour-worthy town. It's where you'll find the tombstone of Dorothy, namesake of the Wizard of Oz character.

Check out more discoveries in the very Latest Tips.

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Field Fresh

Too busy for roadsiding during the holiday rush? No problem; we're dashing through the snow for you.

• Arkansas
  • Clinton Wedding House
• California
• Twin Bunyans of Hayward
• Missouri
• Big Green Head of Charlie Parker
• Nevada
• Atomic Liquors
• Pennsylvania
• Hershey's Chocolate Factory Tour
• Tennessee
• The Cotton Museum
• Virginia
• White House Replica
• West Virginia
• Marx Toy Museum

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Tourism News

After disappearing from Portland, Oregon, in 2009, Velveteria, the Museum of Velvet Art, has reappeared in an old Chinese restaurant in downtown LA, with more velvet unicorns and naked bodies than ever.

We bid farewell to The Flower Man, who for years was our favorite folk-art visionary in Houston. "I had this vision and it was just junk. You know, like a whirlwind goin' round and round? Pretty, pretty, pretty!"

In Littlerock, Washington, the mysterious Mima Mounds have baffled everyone for centuries. Now a California geologist says he's created a computer model that proves that the mounds were made by -- hyperactive gophers.

Get more info about these and other breaking news stories on the Roadside America Twitter feed.

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Enjoy your holidays with the Yesteryear Ski Family!
The RoadsideAmerica.com Team