Eccentric stops along the way
Yesterday, I stumbled onto a web site touting this book called Eccentric America. It highlights some of the quirkiest people and places in this fine country. I immediately went and bought it. I don't know how pure to the route we want to be, because some of these are not technically on the Mother Road. I'll bring the book along so we can decide as time allows.
- Museum of Funeral Customs in Springfied, IL. This place documents the history of American funerals as well as maintaining a library of funeral practices worldwide. We can also learn all about Lincoln's funeral before going to see his tomb! But there are examples of post-mortem photography, so maybe this isn't the best stop. Website here.
- World's largest catsup bottle in Collinsville, IL (near St. Louis). This isn't technically on Route 66, but I thought it would be a fun thing to go see. Website here.
- The following might be a must-stop for me. It's the Precious Moments chapel complex in Carthage, MO. That's right ladies, a CHAPEL COMPLEX. The book has such enticing tidbits as "the chapel itself has 52 biblical murals, 30 stained glass windows, and bronze relief panels all done in the Precious Moments art style." Hee. There's also a Victorian Wedding Isle, honeymoon mansion, bridal cottage. Wow, how romantic! If you go to their website and look through the Wedding Island photos, the picture of the bridal bed is something else.
- Totem Pole Park near Foyil, OK. We can climb up the largest pole on top of a giant turtle and gaze out onto the plains from the observation tower. There's also a Fiddle House that has 11 sides. Website wasn't up.
- American International Rattlesnake Museum, Alburquerque, NM. In case we want the real truth about these fabulous reptiles. Website here.
- Chilili, NM. It's a cemetery where dozens of tombstones are made of tin sheets mounted on marble pedestals. Probably not a must-see, but interesting nonetheless.
- Tinkertown Museum, Sandia Park, NM (20 miles from Alburquerque). This guy carved an entire animated, miniature Western town. It's got a three-ring circus, parade, menagerie and side show. After building this, he put it in a building constructed entirely of 50,000 recycled bottles. Website here.
- International Banana Club, Hesperia CA (a few miles off Route 66). Another guy (the Top Banana) has been collecting all things banana for over 30 years. There are 17,000 items, including sofas and clothing. Sounds intriguing! Website here.
2 Comments:
I *love* this show and their Web site offers some fun folk art places to visit.
http://www.kcpt.org/rare_visions/
Don't forget to eat at any place that ends in SHOPPE (Like Omlette, or Waffle).
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