News from the offbeat tourist attraction landscape of Roadside America.
Sightings Vol. 10, No. 6 - May 22, 2014

Bonnie and Clyde: Road Trip Pioneers?

Bonnie and Clyde were infamous for their lethal outlaw-lover lifestyle, but let's give them credit for popularizing a familiar style of American binge travel. Our Bonnie and Clyde Bloody Adventure Trail tour and map charts their hard-driving course 80 years ago through over a half-dozen states, each sight documented with memorials and relics. See their death hats! Visit the spot where they drove off a bridge!

Time Warp to Cherokee, NC

Cherokee.The town of Cherokee, North Carolina, tucked into a back corner of the Smoky Mountains, offers 21st century visitors olde tyme tourism thrills: the chance to pose with a real Indian, or a big fake chief, and to sleep in a pink motel.

Kent State: Relive the Tragedy

Kent State.At Ohio's Kent State University, you can learn about the 1970 anti-war protesters vs. government shootings at the May 4 Visitor Center. Campus parking lot spaces are blocked with memorial bollards to the fallen, and bullet holes are still visible on sculptures and buildings.

Mess with Genes — It's PostNatural!

PostNatural.Fish that glow in the dark. BioSteel goats. Transgenic mice — in 3-D. The extravagant new world of gene modification is artfully displayed in a low-key storefront museum, the Center for PostNatural History. Just remember: it's all for your own good.

Remember Henry Clay...uhmm...

Henry Clay.Henry who? Clay*, a forgotten 19th century Senator, wanted to be President. Instead, he was a 3x loser. But a town in Pennsylvania built a towering tribute statue in post-mortem appreciation of his protectionist politics. It's up in the woods!

* No relation to Clay Henry, the Beer Drinking Goat

Martin and Bobby Across the Sidewalk

RFK and MLK.Metal sculpture marks the spot where Bobby Kennedy informed a 1968 crowd that MLK had been shot. It shows the two men of metal leaning out of upright steel plates, the sidewalk below as the Great Divide, about to grasp hands in unity.

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Spotted by Tipsters

Barbells.Big Barbell: Seasoned travelers know that the size and other aspects of a big landmark might not be apparent in a photo without some human context. Kitty Stoner sent us proof from Pennsylvania that it is possible to perch on a giant parking lot barbell while wearing platform heels.

Chatty Belle.Talking Cow: And what about attractions that strive to be more than just concrete and fiberglass? In Wisconsin, Greg Holmes shelled out 25 cents so he could shoot video of the latest soliloquy by Chatty Belle, the World's Largest Talking Cow.

Wizard.Wizard: Fanatical tipster Jody Day happened upon a nighttime giant wizard head, so large it could rival the presidential noggins at Mount Rushmore.

Check out many more discoveries in the very Latest Tips.

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Time Travel to Yesterday's Roads

Yesteryear Travel.New installments in our Yesteryear Travel film series, curated by senior Roadside editor Ken Smith (author of the book Mental Hygiene). Spin back in time to the New Frontier to see the theme park Freedomland (1961); ride the Highway of Tomorrow that was once the Pennsylvania Turnpike (1951); and learn how to pack your car and how not to get lost in the instructional film How to Go Places (1954).

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Latest News on Roadside America

SPAM Museum.Attractions come and go with a velocity that not even Bonnie and Clyde could outrun. The SPAM Museum will soon be on the move, as will Last Chance Joe, and Giant Marilyn Monroe has already relocated for the summer. Bucking the trend, Santa Anna's leg is definitely standing still, while the Leaning Tower of Niles and Dine-a-Ville Dinosaur will soon get facelifts without budging an inch. Join us as we evade obsolete information at breakneck speed with attraction updates on the Roadside America Twitter feed.

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Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend,
The RoadsideAmerica.com Team

Mobile Apps

Roadside America iPhone app Roadside America App for iPhone: v. 1.8.7 - iOS 7 optimized.
For summer 2014 — more places than ever! 10,000+ USA/Canada offbeat attractions, inc. research targets and photos not on the website. Fun trip tools.

$2.99 on the App Store (inc. access to 1 region); addtl. regions or "All Access" is in-app optional purchase.
iOS 7 iPhone, iPod touch (iPad compatible)

Roadside Presidents App for iPhone: v. 1.3.7 - iOS 7 optimized.
POTUS road trip! New photos, new landmarks, essential Roadside Presidential sights. The legacy of our leaders — inspired, uplifting, hapless, tragic — first ladies, assassins, and ample patriotic bunting.

Only $2.99. iOS 7 iPhone, iPod touch, (iPad compatible). Available on the App Store.

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Main image: Replica Bonnie and Clyde Death Car, Historic Auto Attractions, Roscoe, Illinois.