News from the offbeat tourist attraction landscape of Roadside America.
Sightings Vol. 13, No. 7 - July 21, 2017
Sightings

Guardians of the Blacktop

This crew has the makings of a summer blockbuster franchise: a beer-drinking cowboy rebel, a half-human robot piloted by an alien, and a star-spangled superhero fueled by Nitrogen. And they're all towering giants! Paulverizer, Nitro Girl, and, um... Beer Dude have the ability to grab human eyeballs and force vehicles traveling 70 mph to a dead stop. Summer increases their power, their turf is the roadside, and no tourist can escape their gravitational attraction. They win, we all win.

Paulverizer!

Nitro Girl!

Beer Dude!

and their comrades on the Muffler Men Map

*****

American Museum of the House Cat

American Museum of the House Cat

America's largest private collection of cat collectibles, strange cat art, and cat memorabilia, assembled by Harold "Cat Man" Sims. No feline mascots lurking, unless you count the mummified one. Story

 

Buckland Museum of Witchcraft and Magick

Buckland Museum of Witchcraft and Magick

High priest Raymond Buckland's accumulation of occult relics spans many decades. Highlights include Aleister Crowley’s wand, Sybil Leek's crystal ball, a witch's broom, and a demon in a box. Story

 

Just Try to Outlive Snooty, World's Oldest Manatee

Snooty, World's Oldest Manatee

Snooty celebrated his 69th birthday this week. He was born at the old Miami Aquarium in 1948. He eats up to 100 pounds a day of fruit, vegetables, vitamins, and monkey chow. Story

 

Your Unalienable Right to See the Founding Fathers. And Shoot at Redcoats.

>America's Founding Fathers

Famous Declaration of Independence painting "comes to life" as 47 3-D sculptures in a faux Independence Hall. After learning about the Founding Fathers, head to the musket range to shoot at target Redcoats. Story

 

Blindshot Barnaby's Circus Golf

Blindshot Barnaby's Circus Golf

Weirdest mini-golf on the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge tourist Strip. Wind your way through an I-may-never-get-out-of-here mirror maze, then whack golf balls indoors surrounded by black-light dummy freaks from a sideshow midway. Story

 

Confused by Judaculla Rock

Judaculla Rock

Mysterious boulder, with its cryptic mass of 1,548 prehistoric petroglyphs, has puzzled visitors for centuries. Vintage postcard proof of the unknown and the unknowable. Can you spot the multi-tentacled handprint of Judaculla himself? Story

 

Grave of the Confederate Camel

Grave of the Confederate Camel

"Old Douglas" was killed by a Yankee sharpshooter during the siege of Vicksburg. He was given a tombstone with the other Rebel dead, but not before his former Confederate pals ate him. Story

 

Russell Cave: Caveman Hangout

Russell Cave: Caveman Hangout

The third longest cave in Alabama only lets tourists go in as far as its big, gaping entrance. As consolation, cave people dummies are posed to show how they made good use of their prehistoric home. Story

 

Sad Song of the Grand Guitar

Grand Guitar

Built in 1983, seventy feet long and three stories tall, it once housed a gift shop, recording studio, country music AM radio station, and a mini-museum of musical instruments. Now it's a curiosity for passing interstate travelers. Story

*****

Superfans of highway superheroes,
The RoadsideAmerica.com Team

Spotted by Tipsters

Spotted by Tipsters

America's superabundance of roadside attractions threatens to overwhelm fiber-based maps; appearance of World's Largest Raspberry suggests continuing attraction fecundity.

Latest Tips

*****

Apps & Tools

Roadside America iPhone app Roadside America (iPhone)
12,000+ USA/Canada offbeat attractions, research targets, interactive Near Me maps. New places and "research targets" added frequently! Quirky categories, top-rated recommendations. Navigate with Waze, Google or Apple Maps.

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

*****

Roadside Presidents iPhone app

Roadside Presidents App for iPhone
US Presidents, VPs, First Ladies, even dastardly assassins -- visit where they lived, worked, played, died! Updated for faster performance, with place maps, a new President, and turn-by-turn directions via Waze, Google or Apple Maps.

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

*****

Roadside America My Sights Planner My Sights Route Planner - Save places you read about on Roadside America, create a trip, and then email it to friends or export a .cvs file to upload onto a GPS device (Garmin, TomTom, etc.). Learn more and try it!

*****

Copyright © 2017, This Exit LLC, All rights reserved.
E-mail Comments, New Tips and Photo Submissions

Main image: Muffler Men from New Jersey, Virginia, and South Dakota