Rowlesburg, West Virginia: Cool Springs Park

Even the previous, very well written description did not prepare us for the industrial graveyard that is Cool Springs Park. We didn't see geese but there were two donkeys, an emu, and a few vocal turkeys. Even more impressive are the rusting farm implements, railroad rolling stock and random mining carts, along with a few antique automobiles. Truly a sight to behold. There was also a random teepee on the mountainside across the road.

If Green Acres' persistent peddler Mr. Haney had built a roadside attraction, it would be Cool Springs, near Aurora, West Virginia.

This Route 50 landmark has served every conceivable motoring need for 75 years, dispensing gas and grub along one of the least populated stretches of America's backbone highway. But just in case mom and pop are content to drive past, Cool Springs reaches into the back seat, grabbing youngsters' attention with an eclectic collection of caged animals, railroad artifacts, and agricultural implements.

The ornaments in the metallic garden are racing to see which will fully dissolve into the West Virginia soil first, and some have "tetanus shot" written all over them. But this is one of the few places where you can walk-through a derelict caboose, pull the levers in an old steam engine, and get bitten by a goose without violating any posted policies.

This is your destination if you've misplaced your rubber tomahawk, need a highly varnished cedar clock, or just can;t live without a giant flyswatter that says, "For HOUSE FLIES and SPOUSE LIES!"

Motorcycle tourists savor this section of Route 50. A fusion of asphalt and hairpins, the road accommodates the adventurous far better than the hurried. Just west of Cool Springs is the famous switchback curve, where you swear that you complete several full circles before the blacktop serpent mercifully spits you out the other side. There are actually historic postcards of this curve.

When I was a little girl (25 years ago) this was a frequent destination on Sundays. They had a park with old trains, animals, and replicas of teepees. There was a stream that ran through it. You could visit the restaurant for a famous foot-long hot dog, and shop in the large gift shop for Indian moccasins, coal figurines, and candy. Last time I was there, it is in some disrepair, and the people around there use it as a convenience store kind of place.