I probably saw her as a ten year old girl in the 50s. I thought that would have been the best job ever. I'm sure it probably got to be a bit tedious after a while in reality, but to a kid it seemed awesome.
Some of my gymnastics classmates were mermaids in the 70s. I very much enjoyed the glass bottom boat ride on the river. There's also a big Fina dino filling station nearby.
This "old" phenomenon has spawned a new type of traveler: the two- and three-wheel traveler. Many of (us) older Americans are exploring our country, kinda roughing it on a motorcycle, preferring the backroads to the superhighways of those in a hurry. I spent the majority of my life exploring the world in the Navy, but now I'm devoted to exploring my country. Bravo, it's a world, and history, worth remembering... Love your channel..!
I’m a rider too, and the only time I take the big highways is when I’m short on time. Wow, the places I’ve seen. There are some real hidden gems out there that many people will never see.
We moved from Illinois to California in 1960. Dad had been transferred and was already there, waiting for us. We - mom and five kids, the oldest going into 7th grade, the youngest pre-kindergarten. were going to drive. My mom decided that as long as we we were driving, we'd do a grand tour, swinging up to the Dakotas, down past the Rockies to the Grand Canyon, over to Disneyland, then up to San Francisco. The trip was shortened dramatically when we hit "THE GAS STATION WITH THE MOST PUMPS IN THE WORLD", in Colorado as I recall. As my mother recalled, "That was the first time you kids got your noses out of your comic books". She pulled out a map, took a ruler and found the most direct path to San Francisco. We didn't make it to Disneyland until four years later. On the plus side, I did get to sleep in a real bunkhouse with a real cowboy. Pretty hot stuff for a seven-year old.
was your dad stationed at the Presidio? My brothers and I lived with our dad in San Francisco from '66 to '69. comfortably on his E-8 army retirement and salary as a mail clerk at Crocker Bank. We spent a lot of time at the Presidio, fishing from the beach, and off the wall at Fort Point. My dad would double park on Haight street and I'd run in and buy a box of frozen prawns for bait from the old man who owned the Chinese grocery. We (my wife and son) went back while traveling through about 2 years ago. Nothing like the memories, that's for sure.
That's a really cool story. Your mother sounds like a she was a cool woman. I'm about to take a road trip through the Rockies out to Northern Idaho and will definitely be stopping at some of these places.
@@Novocain-stain Thanks! She was cool. Years later, when were sharing our epic tales of the trip, someone asked "It was just you and 5 rowdy kids for three weeks in a car. How did you keep from going crazy" "What makes you think I didn't go crazy" she replied...
The worlds largest collection of the smallest replicas of the largest things got a laugh out of me and seems worth visiting just for the awesomeness of seeing all the oddities.
He did say Lucas Kansas? this is the home of The Garden of Eden. Fellow done with the Civil War ended up moving there and over the years, a lot of concrete surrounded his house with biblical sculptures. Funny thing was his youngest son was an Air Force Captain in Vietnam flying fighter jets. The Captain was asked for a human interest story if he had military in the family...fun path down wars to get to his father being in the War Between the States.
Being from N.Y. and stationed at N.A.S. JAX Fla. between '73 &' 77 I would drive home and back again along I 95 on leave from the Navy. I never got tired of the seeing the billboards for all the attractions along the hi- way. I always remember the ones coming into the Carolinas that would announce you were starting to come "South of the Border" That said " Chili today, Hot Tamale" ! And the Alligator Farms, Pecan and peach stands and so on. Memories of a bygone era. ✌🤔
Wow! This brought back memories! When I was six (1968), my parents took us on a trip to South Dakota to see the Black Hills. We saw Wall Drug, Mount Rushmore, and the Dinosaur Park in Rapid City. I remember we spent a good hour one day trying to get to Dinosaur Park. Later, we were back in the hotel, and I noticed that it was at the top of the hill right behind the hotel! We could have walked there in a few minutes! Thanks for the memories.
The feeling of the open road, the wonders, the oddities. Born in 1948, and married in 1969, I have been fortunate to have traveled when "Kitsch" was King. So many attractions to see, "motor courts" to stay at night, watching the drive-in movie across the road till you feel asleep, seeing the "world's largest hand dug well" in Greensburg KS, and on and wonderful on. Thank you for re-opening the family photo album of memories of my youth.
This is exactly the reason we always try to plan a couple of extra days when we travel as a family and get off the interstate. We have a great country with many interesting places and people. Getting off the beaten path and seeing it all gives you a better perspective about things.
@@DudeInOhio85 Wouldnt want to live in a city again. Des Moines is ok but more like a big town. I have no plans to return to Phoenix tho. I lived across from El Hambra highschool. It was like living in a war zone. City life makes people crazy.
I now live in "the fly over" state of Nebraska. Our governor titled us that after a freak storm tore up a large chunk of our state, and no one knew because national news didn't report it. But after moving here, I started ranging out on my motorcycle to discover my new state. If you slow down and look. Or, pray tell, even stop in those small towns on the backroads, you can find so many neat and interesting things. It is sad the things overlooked all over our great country. I am glad that I started taking the road less traveled, and started looking for what lies out there!
@@ronfullerton3162 I hear ya. If you go thru Rochester Minnesota you'll see an old water tower shaped and painted like an ear of corn outside the Jolly Green Giant canning factory. Lake Mills has a Sherman tank in their city park. And Prairie Du Chien Wisconsin has the Villa Louis mansion where there's a great big Rendezvous every Summer. Ok, its not Los Vegas, but there are some interesting things all over the country. Even in the Upper Midwest.
@@billd.iniowa2263 I don't think it matters where you go, there are neat things around everywhere if tou look. I moved here from Iowa. Just off highway 92 in Columbus Junction, Iowa is a suspension bridge for foot travel that is long in length. People I have directed there have felt it worth while to stop and experience. Those things exist most everywhere. You just have to find them.
I have my high school graduation tonight. Thank you Mr. History guy for bringing back my love of history. I am excited to start a new chapter in my life.
Say what you will about it, but when I entered the maelstrom of sensory overload called Wall Drug, covered in road dust from hours of riding in strong winds, they welcomed me with a good lunch and slaked my thirst with iced tea. I loved it. Thanks, Lance, for this. Somewhere Charles Kuralt is surely smiling !
If you drive through the heartland of Spain you can see giant black silouetttes (15m) of fighting bulls on the horizon. They are the trademark of the Anglo/ Spanish Osborne Company that produced Sherry and Brandy. There are about 90 of these giant anatomically correct (huge cojones) advertisements remaining, and are a popular symbol that Spaniards have taken to heart. They are "listed" and being preserved for future generations.
Couple of years ago I made a round trip tour of the US. Except for when I absolutely, no excuse had to use an interstate it was all "blue highways". Whenever possible I took Rt 66 and other "old" roads and saw more of the country than those whizzing by on that big slab. Truly, travel fun is in getting there, not getting there the fastest. As Charles Kualt once said: "With the modern interstate its now possible to cross the entire country and see absolutely nothing." How true.
Have you read "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat Moon? I recommend it to all fans of "slow travel". And of course there's Steinbecks' Travels With Charley....
joemackey1950 - oh thanks so much for reminding me of Charles Kuralt and his "On The Road" episodes. Damn, as a nation we lost a lot when he stopped doing those quirky and intriguing segments! RIP Charles Kuralt!
I visited Wall Drug in the hot summer of 1984 - we first encountered signs for Wall Drug just after crossing the Mississippi River, around ... Iowa? Many, many hundreds of miles away from SD but still every so often there would be a sign for 'Wall Drug' along the entire road there. As an early teenager bored-out-of-my-mind on the family road trip when AM radio was the chief entertainment of the VW Beetle and there was little-to-nothing worthy to be heard on that, especially in the rural mid-west. These roadside attractions were, as you described, a very welcome reprieve from the car and my mother nagging at me because I wasnt listening to her: I had just discovered the 'Walkman' and my purchase at Wall Drug was: 4 AA batteries. Walkman inventor, you deserve a Nobel Peace Prize.
I live near Wall, SD and my parents live in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan. There is a Wall Drug advertisement in Northern Wisconsin that makes me chuckle whenever I pass by.
LOL...When I was a teenager (late 60s) I worked for a summer at a dude ranch outside Lead, SD. On the bus ride to Rapid City, where the ranch staff would pick me up, I started seeing "Wall Drug" signs hundreds of miles from Wall. By the time we got near, well, you just HAD to stop and see what it was all about. The bus made a short layover of a couple hours there. I bought a camping knife in one of the stores. I still have it.
After I retired from the Marines in 2014, I hit the road as an owner operator truck driver. I've been to many icons of the road- the Cabazon dinosaurs, Yuma prison, the meteor in AZ, Two Guns, Wall Drug, Tail of the Dragon, and so many closed down gas stations and ghost towns. This beautiful country is so full of great places to visit, you just have to get in your vehicle and go!
But your vehicle needs to be something other than a truck because it's very rare to have time to stop and see these places. I was an OTR driver for years and in '94 I stopped by the dinosaurs in Cabazon and took my picture under the "claws" of taller one. Kinda looked like he smooshed me.lol! Then I went into the Resturant there (now closed) and had dinner. I miss seeing all the different places, weather and meeting some cool people!
I’ve been to wall drug store like 40 times in my life. My grandfather used to live in Rapid City as long as I have been alive until he passed on so we would travel around dad would go home to see his folks and we would stop at wall drug I can drive to the badlands and of course no trip to The Black Hills was ever complete without stopping at some of the thousands of tourist traps on the side of the road many of which have gone away but live fondly on in my memories.
Wall Drug in South Dakota is so expansive it can be more than just a roadside attraction, but the destination. The more you explore all the...stuff, the more you are drawn in and soon find yourself purchasing some quirky little piece of merch that becomes your next show and tell item proclaiming proudly that you have visited Wall Drug.
Every tourist destination that gets some wind under it is like this; they sell you all kinds of knickknacks and merch that you can get online for way cheaper. Before the internet you could find it in gas stations in the area and whatnot. Still can; in Chicago you don't need to go to the Loop, Mile, Sears Tower, or Navy Pier (or the airport lol) to buy overpriced souvenirs since they sell the same coffee mugs and keychains and crap in every Gas Station and Walgreens for miles in every direction.
Thanks to the movie "Nomadland" I just learned about Wall Drug's existence. Google maps street view will give you a good look around it, outside and in.
Years ago we got into the habit of planning our driving & camping trips to see historical sites, parks, and as many quirky kitschy things as possible. Still love doing it, and am looking forward to the next one.
I remember my first road trip back in 1972. I was 8 and stuck in the back seat of our parents' Mustang with my 11 yr old brother towing a slightly worn tent trailer. For 6 weeks we crossed the continent and back. It remains one of my fondest memories.
When I was 8, in 1961, we were living near Toronto, Ontario. My parents decided on a road trip for my father's 2-week vacation: we were going to visit a relative near Vancouver, BC. We had emigrated from England only a year before, and in retrospect my parents did not fully appreciate just how big North America is. There were six of us in the car. I was the eldest child, and my sister was about 18 months. We entered the USA at Niagra Falls and headed west. At the end of a week we had managed to reach the western tip of Lake Superior. So the plan was changed to go home by going north around the Great Lakes. Once back in Canada, that part of the trip was rough. The road was mostly gravel or dirt. We saw more First Nations people than I had ever imagined. The route was through real wilderness. It was days before wilderness gradually gave way to farmland, then a town. The saga of circumnavigating all but one of the Great Lakes! Note: I did eventually get to Vancouver, in 1992, where my wife and embarked on a cruise to Alaska to celebrate our 20th Anniversary. I have also been there a few times since on business.
How fitting that I watched this at the Kingman Airport in Arizona, with the Mother Road right outside the window. Made being stuck in Kingman for a couple of hours more bearable.
Mom, dad and me did ALL of this on a massive, incredible lower 48 road trip in the mid 60’s before we went with pop out to Southeast Asia. I went home with enough kitsch to fill a room. Paul Bunyan and Babe thrilled me, along with practically everything along every mile of both Dakotas. We also spent a lot of time at the magnificent National Parks, where I met a buffalo, and lived to tell. I jumped when I saw Paul and Babe, and shed a tear. What a contrast to the fascinating but often horrific war torn Asia I then grew up in. All of this contributed to my love of history, and interest in political science later on, when I read it at Harvard. But I mention that because, though my passion, I often enjoy your videos more than any book or lecture I ever attended. You are a gem. Thank you, for the ones I laughed at, the ones I marveled at, and the ones you haven’t made yet. Please take care Mr. Geiger!
Was in the military from 69- 95, my wife and I drove all over US in late 60s early 70s. Always loved to stop and take a break at the roadside attractions. Thanks for remembering this history. 😊👍
Good God, this takes me back. I was lucky enough to have been a kid in the 60's and saw some of those places before the interstate system really took over.
In most ways cars created the road trip and then bypassed it by being more comfortable. Try to go 4 hours in a 49 chevy truck at 40 mph. Do the same in a 2020 at 80 in one your eyes are smoked you're dehydrated your ears ring. In the other you are bankrupt.
Thank you History Guy for this bit of forgotten history. It brings back memories of the late 50's and early 60's traveling across the vastness of the United States. We traveled on the old Route 66 while on vacation from Maine to California. Decades later I have traveled past many forgotten roadside attractions as an over the road truck driver traveling on I-40 through New Mexico and Arizona. Recently I watched old family 8mm films of those travels. While they were captured on Route 66, I remember them from my driving days on I-40. Many are still there and harken back to those early days of the intercontinental highways being buillt. In the mid nineties, my wife and I took Route 66 east bound out of Kingman Arizona to stop at the Grand Canyon Caverns. Specifically to indulge in a past "roadside attraction" that most people under 50 would never know. Thanks for the memories.
I find all your videos interesting but every now & then you touch on a subject so fascinating, I'm left wondering why I hadn't thought about it before! Thanks for all you do!
Loved this. One of my favorite TH-camrs is Jacob the Carpetbagger (who also lives in NC) who's channel covers a ton of roadside attractions around the US, quirky places like cryptid museums, haunted attractions and darkrides, and amusement parks. I've seen a lot of the places in THG's story here on his channel. You'd be surprised how many of these old places are still around.
He covered Storyland, a good-sized fantasy and fairytale theme park off of Rt. 16 in Glen, NH. It's a childhood favorite of many throughout New England. While it takes cues from Disney Parks, it more focuses on capturing the atmosphere on a smaller scale and as such, feels like more than just another Canobie Lake Park for us New Englanders.
Coming from a former tractor trailer driver I still LOVE taking Road Trips. I never get tired of the road side attraction or just enjoying Mother Nature. And I prefer US Highways to Interstates any day. Thank you Mr HG.
1969, mother and older sister drove my brother, younger sister and I from Toledo to San Diego in our 68 Plymouth wagon via Wall Drug's and a place so obscure, we drove past it back and forth 3 times before we found "Four Corners". Just a raised slab of cement in the middle of nowhere. We had to put a canvas water bag on the front of the car to keep it from overheating in the Desert. We got the see the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde, but it took us I believe (I was 11 at the time) about 8 days to get there. I can't remember all the places but we did stay at one of those Tee Pee motels. Yes, we had adventure.
Your Mom was one brave lady. I remember just driving the kids from Toledo to Niagara Falls (as the sole parent/driver) about knocked me out. Not that the kids were acting up -- they handled it well -- but having to make all the "pit stops," navigate Canadian side roads, and manage car issues, finances and weather solo was "a real trip." I decided it would be a while before I'd try that again. (I did. -- including managing downtown Chicago traffic.) The kids loved it, though! They were 8 and 11.
I grew up in the 50's and my parents did a lot of travelling. We always had a station wagon and the back window was always open; no AC. My sister and I spent the time playing in the rear. There were so many games in which we all played. "I see something you don't see", "Who can spot the most number of different state license plates", "What color will be the 15th car coming the other way". Each night we stayed at wonderful little road side motels. Our parents would spend the evening talking with other parents and we kids spent it playing with our new, if short duration, friends. Next morning everyone went their separate ways. A trip today that takes one day, would be three back in the 50's. I no longer remember the destinations but I still remember the trips.
I grew up in the 50s and 60s. There was something that became an attraction of its own, the Burma Shave signs. Once you saw the first sign you were compelled by your own curiosity to look for the subsequent signs. Bobby Troup wrote "Route 66" and it was recorded by Nat King Cole, and became a hit. There even was a television series about Route 66. Thank you for posting something that brought back a lot of pleasant memories to me.
"If you don't know" "Whose signs these are" "You must not" "Have driven very far" "Burma Shave" I was on Route 66 about five years ago, outside of Seligman, Arizona and while I'd never seen a Burma Shave sign in my life I knew about them. I saw the first little sign with the verse above and knew exactly what it was. That was such a cool surprise. Little did I know a couple of years later I'd be laid off and use the opportunity to drive ALL of Route 66.
The signs were spaced so that when you finished reading one, you were passing it and starting the next, when at the speed limit. They were sticklers about doing it right. One crew got caught cutting posts short when they dug into shale.
History Guy, an incredible journey back to my childhood. Route 66 in Tulsa Oklahoma was filled with countless roadside signs and the countless disappointments that came with them. I thank you for this trip back to my youth.
What a wonderful session. Brought many oh-so-pleasant memories back from childhood - ALL worth remembering. Hwy 99 on the west coast is a trip down memory lane, even today. Thank You Mr. History Guy. Will watch this session again because it is Worth Remembering!
We left Seattle 1 day after school was out in 1964, just mom two sisters and me in a brand new 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 station wagon. We spent, until 2 days before school started on a monumental road trip. drove through every state for three months. I remember many of the "tourist traps" presented here. thank you for presenting this
Our family goes on a "road trip" every year. We have circled much of the country, most of it in the west. We cherish the memories we have made. Yes, even the some of the bad ones (13 hours in a car will do that to kids). We rarely hesitate to stop at interesting roadside attractions, and often seek routes off of the Interstate to discover hidden gems (literally and figuratively). Thank you for highlighting this part of history.
Thanks for taking me down memory lane. Once my paternal grandparents moved to FL in the early '60s, we would make the trip from MD. Watching this episode was like a "Been there/done that "that" episode. You would start seeing signs for SOUTH OF THE BORDER miles away.
As a child of the 60's this video was so much fun! Nostalgic? Yes! Sometimes I have seen an old "oddity " in a small town. It makes me think about what a wonderful place it was at one time.
I Remember driving with my parents in 68 from michigan to california and all the wonderful highway attractions that were spotted along the way it was wonderful. Thank you for this awesome Video
Thank you for taking me back to my childhood when Dad would take us to visit these places. Some Sunday's were devoted simply to visiting road side attractions. WITHIN THIS VALE OF TOIL AND SIN YOUR HEAD GROWS BALD BUT NOT YOUR CHIN BURMA-SHAVE
I grew up making family road trips at least twice a year. As an adult I have driven across the US and Canada multiple times visiting all 50 states. Many of these roadside attractions I remember with great fondness. Thank you for this touching tribute to car culture, something that is more typical under relentless attack these days.
The furthest “See Rock City” sign was some 300 miles from the actual destination in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. In my childhood, the roads were covered with them. Not just the painted barn roofs, but the billboards as well. They are often in tandem with “See Ruby Falls” signs.
Gatorland in Florida is great. The actors perform like it's the first time. Went there one 2012 and it was a wonderful "tourist trap" experience for the kids and adults both.
Years ago as a challenge to myself on my annual trip back home to Pennsylvania which took 14 hours I decided to do it without using a single stretch of highway, to use as many backroads as possible. the trip was twice as long but it was one of the more memorable and enjoyable trips I’ve been on. Instead of rushing to get to a destination I just enjoyed where I was.
I just found this episode and I can’t believe you mentioned the “largest chair” in Anniston Alabama! That’s about 30 miles from where I live and it’s been around as long as I can remember and I forget how unique it is. Thank you for the shoutout.
I seem to recall back in the late 70s or so there was state-wide legislation to limit the number if billboards. Is that right? I know they started becoming fewer and fewer around then.
@@billd.iniowa2263, "Lady Bird" Johnson had something to do with it through her support for the Highway Beautification Act. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_Beautification_Act
Nothing more exciting than a road trip off the beaten path! And roadside attractions are the reason why. They add a sense of adventure and discovery to what would only be a journey from point A to point B without them.
I was so excited to hear you mention Weeki Wachee! I live right next to it in the town of Spring Hill. The park and mermaids remain and it is still a wonderful place to visit. Sadly the town of Weeki Wachee no longer exists as it was incorporated back into Brooksville a few years ago. The population was too low. Thank you History Guy!
Mother grew up in Port Richey. Used love that drive to go see grand dad. I remember the snake show and roadside zoo stops along the way as well. By the time I was in high school what was miles of Florida flat woods was slowly getting built up a few miles at a time always creeping north. I probably wouldn't recognize any of it. Saddens me that my grandkids will never see what Florida once was.
Speaking of tourist traps, does Tarpon (I learned from mother that Tarpon Springs is just Tarpon to those who grew up there) still have all the shell and sponge shops? I loved going to Tarpon, eating at Pappas and the baklava.
Prior to 1960 there was a place near Ocotillo, CA that advertised "See the desert springs!" To get to the springs you had to follow a footpath up a hill. At the top of the hill were some old steel springs set into a small concrete slab. They sold a lot of cold sodas to tourists who were parched after hiking in the hot sun up the hill and back.
I got to visit many of these on family trips in the 80s. Gatorland, Wal Drug, South Of The Border.. I remember my cousins and I begging my grandfather to stay at "Bedrock" campground in South Dakota and I know we also stayed at at least one "Jellystone" campground. I still have a tiny bear trap labeled as a "mosquito trap" I got on one of those tacky gift shops I love so well. Great episode! It makes me want to hit the road.
We began our family vacations in 1951 and our first trip to Florida. RT # 301 was the only way to Florida and it was filled with roadside attractions. The motels were new and most had a pool for the nominal fee of $8 for the four of us. Silver springs and Cypress Gardens were THE attractions that could not be missed. On the glass bottom boats of Silver Springs the boat operator threw a quarter onto the glass, where all eyes were glued to the sights below. He then said, "Thank you sir." The others felt the need to toss pocket change onto the glass.
This is great! I lived in the town (Wilmington, Ill) & have take my wife (since 1966) there many times! Thanks! And we raised 3 kids a few miles north of Odell, Illinois.
Remembering the fun road trips in the 50s and early 60s with the family us kids in the the back 2 seats of the station wagon going to grandma's pazt the pirate ship I Cliffwood Beach, NJ and trips to Seaside, N J to play on the boardwalk, or the Keansburg, NJ boardwalk and a visit to my Aunt, and never did a summer go by without that trip to Margate, NJ to see Lucy. Wonderful memories of times past but live as current memories of times gone by when Mom and Dad were here. Such a wonderful trip down the memory lane at the greatest place to live The Jersey Shore! I can't thank you enough for a trip I needed! Thank you History Guy it was a great trip! I love all you History lessons!
My mother used to catalog Burma Shave signs when she saw them. My dad was a Naval officer and when he was home on leave, a road trip with tent camping was always a thing we did. One farmer here in Upstate New York has repainted a series on his property just for posterity sake.
One of my favourite US tourist traps is "South of the Border", off I-95 just south of the NC-SC state line. I've loved it since seeing the humourous billboards advertising it when my family first went to Florida in the mid-80s.
As a truck driver and a former over The road trucker if I'm going to suggest anybody visit a roadside Attraction I definitely suggest Iowa 80 Walcott truck stop along the i-80
Oh yes!!! Most definitely because that place is huge and if you're a trucker, they have anything you'd want for your truck. Good thing I'm a company driver! 😂
Dude!!!! You have to do one on "south of the border" in dillion, South Carolina. They have advertisements for miles leading up to it. It's right along i-95
oH YEA pEDro. I 95's great mile marker. Total of four stops spread out over 39 years headed for sin/city-Orlando. If you go the same store twice youve seen too much lol.
My family LOVES Wall Drug!! We design road trips specifically to stop at these roadside attractions. Thank you for highlighting some of them. When my family looks back at its history one day, these moments will not be forgotten.
Genuinely my previous job was to travel across NY state and run educational programming at different parks. I don't think any travel day was better than when we stopped for a sign that said "We have a big rock." Because that's all it was a hilariously large glacial erratic in the middle of a playground that I promptly climbed and had the breather I really needed that day.
Another excellent history not to be forgotten. Growing up, I loved those roadside attractions. When I was a child, my parents took me to the store once a year to get what was called a car coat. This was for the journeys and the traveling in the backseat of a car. This was americana, we did not sit in a basement playing video games, you had all the gaming right outside your car window. Love those and miss those times.
I'm just old enough to remember those! Hadnt thought of them in quite awhile. They were weather worn, paint chipped and bare wood showing, but you could still read them. Thanx, you made me smile. :-)
Grew up south of The Mystery Spot and north of the artichoke. Just west of the Mystery Spot there was a place called Santa's Village that had a little pedal powered train. My two little sisters and I could always get the grandparents to stop by. I can remember my grandfather having a big smile while we were playing on the train. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I smiled when you referred to the need for stops along the road when the "bickering" became too much. This was the flavor of our family road trips through West Texas & New Mexico in the 50s & early 60s. Nevertheless, we always got someplace interesting. The crystal clear Artesian springs of Balmorrhea. The abandoned 19th century Fort Davis, TX. Indian Lodge further up in the mountains. The blessed coolth of the evergreen-clothed mountains of Cloudcroft & Ruidoso, NM. And the furthest we reached when I was a kid via the highways: a fishing trip with Dad (Mom eschewed the pleasure) on the Conejos River in Colorado. In 1966, my mom, my best friend Janey & I set off on Route 66 to drive to California. We stopped at Yosemite where the spectacular, glacier-carved valley stole a piece of my heart & never gave it back. But then we went on to fog-shrouded Carmel. And once I discovered fog, a blessing bestowed upon a child of the hot, dry West Texas desert, I never looked back. Within 2 years, I had graduated high school & was living on the California coast & that's where I live today. Road trips! The best way to discover where your heart dwells.
We used to stop at The Thing in Arizona on every trip from California to Texas. Last time I was there was in 1974 when I was 12. I looked it up on the internet recently and I'm glad to see it's still there.
Any love here for the Longaberger Basket building in Dresden, OH? My mother used to collect their baskets so we visited the place during a trip to see family when I was a kid.
My dear parents made their first trip in a Ford Station Wagon no AC. Grandma, newborn, 18 month old toddler, & me almost 4 years old. Believe or not I do remember seeing the road signs , that would tell you which tourist trap you could expect next. Grandma being an English teacher would write the sign down on paper & it was my job to sound out/ figure out what it said. With the pictures to help Grandma had me reading in 7 days on a trip from Boston to LA. I have often wondered if my my lifelong bad spelling would have been better had we had 2 extra days on the road 😆 If it wasn't for the road side attraction s that trip & many others as we added brothers & sisters there would be much more road rage I think 🤔 Oh how many trinkets & rocks we collected , jackolopes , big foots & aliens we thought we saw in the distance! The hundreds of museums we stopped to look at when we had lunch will forever be the greatest memories from my childhood road trips in the '60s & '70s !
Wall Drug is my favorite!! Mid sixties I was in the air force at Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City. Many times I had breakfast at Wall Drug. Two eggs and toast for 23 cents and coffee at 5 cents a cup with free refills. Great wake up coffee!! Unless you can sleep with stomach cramps. LOL Usually ate under the big cottonwood tree inside. Lots of times at a table with one of the many mannequins the graced the room.. Studied all the local ranch brands burned into the walls with samples of barb wire from forever. Never did take a picture on the Bison out back or the bucking bronco. Did take one with the Ogalalla Sioux chief that was there. 1963 to 1967, Still miss those Black Hills..
I was amazed and delighted that several of the roadside attractions featured on this episode were ones that I saw in person just this past summer on a roadtrip from Texas to Minnesota and the Black Hills - The Largerst Ball of Twine (by a single person), Wall Drug and it's Dinosaur, and the Largest Big Foot statue in Keystone, SD, close by Mount Rushmore. Next summer I plan to tour the entire length of Route 66 towing a small teardrop camper and I cannot wait to see the sights along the way!
We also had a THING billboard between Las Vegas and California. I don’t remember ever stopping at it but we definitely talked about it as we approached it in our 55 olds Super 88. No air conditioning back then. As an adult I lived in San Louis Obispo and have stayed in the Madonna Inn. I think it’s still in operation.
The family visited "The Thing" after seeing the road signs advertising it, it was a little disappointing once you saw what it was. We also visited the "Trees of Mystery" which I remember enjoying. I've also been to the Cabazon Dinosaurs and ventured up to the head of Mr. Rex to see the view from his mouth. Gatorland in Florida is another place I visited, I enjoyed the "Jumparoo Show" where one of the employees would attach a chicken (dead) to a clothesline device that was strung out over one of the gator pits, the gators would launch themselves up to grab the chickens, we were told that the gators were able to do this by using their tails on the bottom of the shallow pond. One last thing that I just remembered, I spent the night at the Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino, Ca. It was built in 1949 on the historic Route 66!
lol, yeah, I've seen "The Thing" when I was a kid traveling with my family. It was great back then, but no way would I stop there again.... damn it, I'm in a hurry to get to where I need to be.
I spent many a night where "The Thing" is. I was told by countless other truck drivers that I need to stop and see "The Thing" but they would NEVER tell me what it is and it seems that no one one here is saying what it could be! Lol! I've been to the Cabazon Dinosaurs several times also to spend the night before going to LA in the morning and first, it is soooo quiet out there you can just hear the wind blowing. The Dinosaurs were just in a huge unpaved area back then and I'd crawl under the claw nail of Rex and get pics taken like he was stepping or should I say squishing me to death,lol! The restaurant was good too but unfortunately it closed the last time I was by it and now has a paved parking lot along with a fast food place I believe. I will always have fond memories of both and a few other places I've been as a OTR truck driver. 🚚
Great topic for one of your most interesting stories. It brought back so many memories of my childhood traveling across the country with my family. A more quiet, nice, gentler time. thank you.
As a frequent traveler on the highways & byways of the central United States I quite often detour just to visit these “tourist traps” wherever I go. Thank you so much for making this video!
My grandma was one of the “mermaids” at Weeki Wachee Spring! She has pictures of her underwater with the breathing tube. She’s turning 90 this year!
I probably saw her as a ten year old girl in the 50s. I thought that would have been the best job ever. I'm sure it probably got to be a bit tedious after a while in reality, but to a kid it seemed awesome.
That is so cool! Remember seeing postcards.
Well Bless her dear heart. Always.❤
Some of my gymnastics classmates were mermaids in the 70s. I very much enjoyed the glass bottom boat ride on the river.
There's also a big Fina dino filling station nearby.
I watched them when I was a kid :)
This "old" phenomenon has spawned a new type of traveler: the two- and three-wheel traveler. Many of (us) older Americans are exploring our country, kinda roughing it on a motorcycle, preferring the backroads to the superhighways of those in a hurry. I spent the majority of my life exploring the world in the Navy, but now I'm devoted to exploring my country. Bravo, it's a world, and history, worth remembering... Love your channel..!
I’m a rider too, and the only time I take the big highways is when I’m short on time. Wow, the places I’ve seen. There are some real hidden gems out there that many people will never see.
We moved from Illinois to California in 1960. Dad had been transferred and was already there, waiting for us. We - mom and five kids, the oldest going into 7th grade, the youngest pre-kindergarten. were going to drive.
My mom decided that as long as we we were driving, we'd do a grand tour, swinging up to the Dakotas, down past the Rockies to the Grand Canyon, over to Disneyland, then up to San Francisco.
The trip was shortened dramatically when we hit "THE GAS STATION WITH THE MOST PUMPS IN THE WORLD", in Colorado as I recall.
As my mother recalled, "That was the first time you kids got your noses out of your comic books". She pulled out a map, took a ruler and found the most direct path to San Francisco. We didn't make it to Disneyland until four years later.
On the plus side, I did get to sleep in a real bunkhouse with a real cowboy. Pretty hot stuff for a seven-year old.
was your dad stationed at the Presidio? My brothers and I lived with our dad in San Francisco from '66 to '69. comfortably on his E-8 army retirement and salary as a mail clerk at Crocker Bank. We spent a lot of time at the Presidio, fishing from the beach, and off the wall at Fort Point. My dad would double park on Haight street and I'd run in and buy a box of frozen prawns for bait from the old man who owned the Chinese grocery. We (my wife and son) went back while traveling through about 2 years ago. Nothing like the memories, that's for sure.
@@siggishwiggish3513 no, he was out of the military at that point.
That's a really cool story. Your mother sounds like a she was a cool woman. I'm about to take a road trip through the Rockies out to Northern Idaho and will definitely be stopping at some of these places.
@@Novocain-stain Thanks!
She was cool. Years later, when were sharing our epic tales of the trip, someone asked "It was just you and 5 rowdy kids for three weeks in a car. How did you keep from going crazy"
"What makes you think I didn't go crazy" she replied...
@@johngregg5735 60's california good place to go crazy :-) nice story
Parents took us cross country for 2weeks in 1981 and stopped at every roadside attraction and tourist trap. Best trip ever. Thanks mom and dad
The worlds largest collection of the smallest replicas of the largest things got a laugh out of me and seems worth visiting just for the awesomeness of seeing all the oddities.
He did say Lucas Kansas? this is the home of The Garden of Eden. Fellow done with the Civil War ended up moving there and over the years, a lot of concrete surrounded his house with biblical sculptures. Funny thing was his youngest son was an Air Force Captain in Vietnam flying fighter jets. The Captain was asked for a human interest story if he had military in the family...fun path down wars to get to his father being in the War Between the States.
Being from N.Y. and stationed at N.A.S. JAX Fla. between '73 &' 77 I would drive home and back again along I 95 on leave from the Navy. I never got tired of the seeing the billboards for all the attractions along the hi- way. I always remember the ones coming into the Carolinas that would announce you were starting to come "South of the Border" That said " Chili today, Hot Tamale" ! And the Alligator Farms, Pecan and peach stands and so on. Memories of a bygone era. ✌🤔
Yes! Pedro says, “Come to South of the Border.” Big part of our trips from the DC suburbs to anywhere in SC, GA, or FL.
Wow! This brought back memories! When I was six (1968), my parents took us on a trip to South Dakota to see the Black Hills. We saw Wall Drug, Mount Rushmore, and the Dinosaur Park in Rapid City. I remember we spent a good hour one day trying to get to Dinosaur Park. Later, we were back in the hotel, and I noticed that it was at the top of the hill right behind the hotel! We could have walked there in a few minutes! Thanks for the memories.
We did same trip accept in 1973-74
The feeling of the open road, the wonders, the oddities. Born in 1948, and married in 1969, I have been fortunate to have traveled when "Kitsch" was King. So many attractions to see, "motor courts" to stay at night, watching the drive-in movie across the road till you feel asleep, seeing the "world's largest hand dug well" in Greensburg KS, and on and wonderful on. Thank you for re-opening the family photo album of memories of my youth.
Memories of family road trips. Always a special treat to make an unscheduled stop to see an attraction we had been tempted by for long miles.
It's amazing how many of these attractions I've seen. I remember "The Thing" had a mummy. It was awesome as a kid in the '70's.
This subject is close to my heart. I grew up in Joplin, Missouri, three blocks from Route 66. The major industry was “tourism” - meaning motels.
Born in Joplin, living there now. It's all about trucking now, for better or worse. Oh, and all the casinos...
I grew up in Niagara Falls, so I knew all about tourist traps.
I can’t believe that you had an episode about tourist traps but failed to mention South of the Border on I-95 in South Carolina
That place wishes it was a tourist trap.
Been there, never "Porky's"
@@avega2792 What do you mean? That place is the very essence of a tacky tourist trap.
Came here for this.
I think I bought some overpriced hooch there in Jasper County.
This is exactly the reason we always try to plan a couple of extra days when we travel as a family and get off the interstate. We have a great country with many interesting places and people. Getting off the beaten path and seeing it all gives you a better perspective about things.
Yea it makes you realize how cancerous cities are
@@DudeInOhio85 Wouldnt want to live in a city again. Des Moines is ok but more like a big town. I have no plans to return to Phoenix tho. I lived across from El Hambra highschool. It was like living in a war zone. City life makes people crazy.
I now live in "the fly over" state of Nebraska. Our governor titled us that after a freak storm tore up a large chunk of our state, and no one knew because national news didn't report it. But after moving here, I started ranging out on my motorcycle to discover my new state. If you slow down and look. Or, pray tell, even stop in those small towns on the backroads, you can find so many neat and interesting things. It is sad the things overlooked all over our great country. I am glad that I started taking the road less traveled, and started looking for what lies out there!
@@ronfullerton3162 I hear ya. If you go thru Rochester Minnesota you'll see an old water tower shaped and painted like an ear of corn outside the Jolly Green Giant canning factory. Lake Mills has a Sherman tank in their city park. And Prairie Du Chien Wisconsin has the Villa Louis mansion where there's a great big Rendezvous every Summer. Ok, its not Los Vegas, but there are some interesting things all over the country. Even in the Upper Midwest.
@@billd.iniowa2263 I don't think it matters where you go, there are neat things around everywhere if tou look. I moved here from Iowa. Just off highway 92 in Columbus Junction, Iowa is a suspension bridge for foot travel that is long in length. People I have directed there have felt it worth while to stop and experience. Those things exist most everywhere. You just have to find them.
I have my high school graduation tonight. Thank you Mr. History guy for bringing back my love of history. I am excited to start a new chapter in my life.
Say what you will about it, but when I entered the maelstrom of sensory overload called Wall Drug, covered in road dust from hours of riding in strong winds, they welcomed me with a good lunch and slaked my thirst with iced tea. I loved it. Thanks, Lance, for this. Somewhere Charles Kuralt is surely smiling !
Nothing better than a good road trip and some quirky roadside attractions!
If you drive through the heartland of Spain you can see giant black silouetttes (15m) of fighting bulls on the horizon. They are the trademark of the Anglo/ Spanish Osborne Company that produced Sherry and Brandy. There are about 90 of these giant anatomically correct (huge cojones) advertisements remaining, and are a popular symbol that Spaniards have taken to heart. They are "listed" and being preserved for future generations.
Couple of years ago I made a round trip tour of the US. Except for when I absolutely, no excuse had to use an interstate it was all "blue highways". Whenever possible I took Rt 66 and other "old" roads and saw more of the country than those whizzing by on that big slab. Truly, travel fun is in getting there, not getting there the fastest. As Charles Kualt once said: "With the modern interstate its now possible to cross the entire country and see absolutely nothing." How true.
Have you read "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat Moon? I recommend it to all fans of "slow travel". And of course there's Steinbecks' Travels With Charley....
joemackey1950 - oh thanks so much for reminding me of Charles Kuralt and his "On The Road" episodes. Damn, as a nation we lost a lot when he stopped doing those quirky and intriguing segments! RIP Charles Kuralt!
@@goodun2974 Very good book, read years ago and thought "I'd like to do that someday" and I did. :)
Thanks for mentioning Australia’s love of “big things “. Big things were and I guess even now, a big thing.
Lol I wondered if that's where the phrase "the next big thing" came from.
I’ve seen our pineapple, prawn, banana, rocking horse, ram, sheep, gold planner and even Ned Kelly....I think that’s all I’ve seen.....
Oops big orange.....
Lol oyster at Taree and the cow was in disrepair when I seen it...
@@jribeye1818 There is a 30 ft high chicken at Kemps creek.
I visited Wall Drug in the hot summer of 1984 - we first encountered signs for Wall Drug just after crossing the Mississippi River, around ... Iowa? Many, many hundreds of miles away from SD but still every so often there would be a sign for 'Wall Drug' along the entire road there. As an early teenager bored-out-of-my-mind on the family road trip when AM radio was the chief entertainment of the VW Beetle and there was little-to-nothing worthy to be heard on that, especially in the rural mid-west. These roadside attractions were, as you described, a very welcome reprieve from the car and my mother nagging at me because I wasnt listening to her: I had just discovered the 'Walkman' and my purchase at Wall Drug was: 4 AA batteries. Walkman inventor, you deserve a Nobel Peace Prize.
I live near Wall, SD and my parents live in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan. There is a Wall Drug advertisement in Northern Wisconsin that makes me chuckle whenever I pass by.
LOL...When I was a teenager (late 60s) I worked for a summer at a dude ranch outside Lead, SD. On the bus ride to Rapid City, where the ranch staff would pick me up, I started seeing "Wall Drug" signs hundreds of miles from Wall. By the time we got near, well, you just HAD to stop and see what it was all about. The bus made a short layover of a couple hours there. I bought a camping knife in one of the stores. I still have it.
After I retired from the Marines in 2014, I hit the road as an owner operator truck driver. I've been to many icons of the road- the Cabazon dinosaurs, Yuma prison, the meteor in AZ, Two Guns, Wall Drug, Tail of the Dragon, and so many closed down gas stations and ghost towns. This beautiful country is so full of great places to visit, you just have to get in your vehicle and go!
But your vehicle needs to be something other than a truck because it's very rare to have time to stop and see these places. I was an OTR driver for years and in '94 I stopped by the dinosaurs in Cabazon and took my picture under the "claws" of taller one. Kinda looked like he smooshed me.lol! Then I went into the Resturant there (now closed) and had dinner. I miss seeing all the different places, weather and meeting some cool people!
I’ve been to wall drug store like 40 times in my life. My grandfather used to live in Rapid City as long as I have been alive until he passed on so we would travel around dad would go home to see his folks and we would stop at wall drug I can drive to the badlands and of course no trip to The Black Hills was ever complete without stopping at some of the thousands of tourist traps on the side of the road many of which have gone away but live fondly on in my memories.
Wall Drug in South Dakota is so expansive it can be more than just a roadside attraction, but the destination. The more you explore all the...stuff, the more you are drawn in and soon find yourself purchasing some quirky little piece of merch that becomes your next show and tell item proclaiming proudly that you have visited Wall Drug.
Like a sign saying, "This many miles to Wall Drug"!
Every tourist destination that gets some wind under it is like this; they sell you all kinds of knickknacks and merch that you can get online for way cheaper. Before the internet you could find it in gas stations in the area and whatnot. Still can; in Chicago you don't need to go to the Loop, Mile, Sears Tower, or Navy Pier (or the airport lol) to buy overpriced souvenirs since they sell the same coffee mugs and keychains and crap in every Gas Station and Walgreens for miles in every direction.
@@karenl6908 Me too!
I couldn't wait to get to Wall Drug.
Thanks to the movie "Nomadland" I just learned about Wall Drug's existence. Google maps street view will give you a good look around it, outside and in.
Like the bumper sticker that reads, "Wall, I'll be drugged." Total kitsch.
Years ago we got into the habit of planning our driving & camping trips to see historical sites, parks, and as many quirky kitschy things as possible. Still love doing it, and am looking forward to the next one.
I remember my first road trip back in 1972. I was 8 and stuck in the back seat of our parents' Mustang with my 11 yr old brother towing a slightly worn tent trailer. For 6 weeks we crossed the continent and back. It remains one of my fondest memories.
LUCY!!!❤❤❤ she was also a speakeasy during the prohibition! One of my favorite things about living in south jersey as a kid was Lucy
My dad used to sail out from Ocean City NJ and when it was foggy he said they would use Lucy as a navigation aid as they returned in from fishing.
@@qbertq1 so cool!
When I was 8, in 1961, we were living near Toronto, Ontario. My parents decided on a road trip for my father's 2-week vacation: we were going to visit a relative near Vancouver, BC. We had emigrated from England only a year before, and in retrospect my parents did not fully appreciate just how big North America is.
There were six of us in the car. I was the eldest child, and my sister was about 18 months.
We entered the USA at Niagra Falls and headed west. At the end of a week we had managed to reach the western tip of Lake Superior. So the plan was changed to go home by going north around the Great Lakes. Once back in Canada, that part of the trip was rough. The road was mostly gravel or dirt. We saw more First Nations people than I had ever imagined. The route was through real wilderness. It was days before wilderness gradually gave way to farmland, then a town.
The saga of circumnavigating all but one of the Great Lakes!
Note: I did eventually get to Vancouver, in 1992, where my wife and embarked on a cruise to Alaska to celebrate our 20th Anniversary. I have also been there a few times since on business.
How fitting that I watched this at the Kingman Airport in Arizona, with the Mother Road right outside the window. Made being stuck in Kingman for a couple of hours more bearable.
Mom, dad and me did ALL of this on a massive, incredible lower 48 road trip in the mid 60’s before we went with pop out to Southeast Asia.
I went home with enough kitsch to fill a room. Paul Bunyan and Babe thrilled me, along with practically everything along every mile of both Dakotas. We also spent a lot of time at the magnificent National Parks, where I met a buffalo, and lived to tell.
I jumped when I saw Paul and Babe, and shed a tear.
What a contrast to the fascinating but often horrific war torn Asia I then grew up in.
All of this contributed to my love of history, and interest in political science later on, when I read it at Harvard.
But I mention that because, though my passion, I often enjoy your videos more than any book or lecture I ever attended. You are a gem.
Thank you, for the ones I laughed at, the ones I marveled at, and the ones you haven’t made yet.
Please take care Mr. Geiger!
I'm a fan of Bill Bryson. His "Lost Continent" sums all this up so very well and is the best laugh.
Was in the military from 69- 95, my wife and I drove all over US in late 60s early 70s. Always loved to stop and take a break at the roadside attractions. Thanks for remembering this history. 😊👍
Good God, this takes me back. I was lucky enough to have been a kid in the 60's and saw some of those places before the interstate system really took over.
Thank history guy for bring old memories… at 85 yrs old now, I remember many of attractions along highway 99,40,50 66, 1 and others…
And as the building of the Interstates bypassed towns, the "old road" cafes, motels, and attractions often became vacant properties.
I agree. However, it did lead to one great Hitchcock movie, Psycho.
@@kmlammto and Cars!
@@geoffreypruitt1764 my thought precisely!
In most ways cars created the road trip and then bypassed it by being more comfortable. Try to go 4 hours in a 49 chevy truck at 40 mph. Do the same in a 2020 at 80 in one your eyes are smoked you're dehydrated your ears ring. In the other you are bankrupt.
that's what happened to the Bate's Motel
Thank you History Guy for this bit of forgotten history. It brings back memories of the late 50's and early 60's traveling across the vastness of the United States. We traveled on the old Route 66 while on vacation from Maine to California. Decades later I have traveled past many forgotten roadside attractions as an over the road truck driver traveling on I-40 through New Mexico and Arizona.
Recently I watched old family 8mm films of those travels. While they were captured on Route 66, I remember them from my driving days on I-40. Many are still there and harken back to those early days of the intercontinental highways being buillt.
In the mid nineties, my wife and I took Route 66 east bound out of Kingman Arizona to stop at the Grand Canyon Caverns. Specifically to indulge in a past "roadside attraction" that most people under 50 would never know.
Thanks for the memories.
I find all your videos interesting but every now & then you touch on a subject so fascinating, I'm left wondering why I hadn't thought about it before!
Thanks for all you do!
One of the fun things on being a trucker. My parents hated going to these places, but when I have time I make it point to stop.
Loved this. One of my favorite TH-camrs is Jacob the Carpetbagger (who also lives in NC) who's channel covers a ton of roadside attractions around the US, quirky places like cryptid museums, haunted attractions and darkrides, and amusement parks. I've seen a lot of the places in THG's story here on his channel. You'd be surprised how many of these old places are still around.
He covered Storyland, a good-sized fantasy and fairytale theme park off of Rt. 16 in Glen, NH. It's a childhood favorite of many throughout New England. While it takes cues from Disney Parks, it more focuses on capturing the atmosphere on a smaller scale and as such, feels like more than just another Canobie Lake Park for us New Englanders.
Coming from a former tractor trailer driver I still LOVE taking Road Trips. I never get tired of the road side attraction or just enjoying Mother Nature. And I prefer US Highways to Interstates any day. Thank you Mr HG.
1969, mother and older sister drove my brother, younger sister and I from Toledo to San Diego in our 68 Plymouth wagon via Wall Drug's and a place so obscure, we drove past it back and forth 3 times before we found "Four Corners". Just a raised slab of cement in the middle of nowhere. We had to put a canvas water bag on the front of the car to keep it from overheating in the Desert. We got the see the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde, but it took us I believe (I was 11 at the time) about 8 days to get there. I can't remember all the places but we did stay at one of those Tee Pee motels.
Yes, we had adventure.
Your Mom was one brave lady. I remember just driving the kids from Toledo to Niagara Falls (as the sole parent/driver) about knocked me out. Not that the kids were acting up -- they handled it well -- but having to make all the "pit stops," navigate Canadian side roads, and manage car issues, finances and weather solo was "a real trip." I decided it would be a while before I'd try that again. (I did. -- including managing downtown Chicago traffic.) The kids loved it, though! They were 8 and 11.
I grew up in the 50's and my parents did a lot of travelling. We always had a station wagon and the back window was always open; no AC.
My sister and I spent the time playing in the rear. There were so many games in which we all played. "I see something you don't see", "Who can spot the most number of different state license plates", "What color will be the 15th car coming the other way". Each night we stayed at wonderful little road side motels. Our parents would spend the evening talking with other parents and we kids spent it playing with our new, if short duration, friends. Next morning everyone went their separate ways. A trip today that takes one day, would be three back in the 50's. I no longer remember the destinations but I still remember the trips.
I grew up in the 50s and 60s. There was something that became an attraction of its own, the Burma Shave signs. Once you saw the first sign you were compelled by your own curiosity to look for the subsequent signs. Bobby Troup wrote "Route 66" and it was recorded by Nat King Cole, and became a hit. There even was a television series about Route 66. Thank you for posting something that brought back a lot of pleasant memories to me.
"If you don't know"
"Whose signs these are"
"You must not"
"Have driven very far"
"Burma Shave"
I was on Route 66 about five years ago, outside of Seligman, Arizona and while I'd never seen a Burma Shave sign in my life I knew about them. I saw the first little sign with the verse above and knew exactly what it was. That was such a cool surprise. Little did I know a couple of years later I'd be laid off and use the opportunity to drive ALL of Route 66.
The signs were spaced so that when you finished reading one, you were passing it and starting the next, when at the speed limit.
They were sticklers about doing it right. One crew got caught cutting posts short when they dug into shale.
Along the old Route 17 in New York, we had the signs for Kirk’s Garage, noting our approach in miles, then in feet.
History Guy, an incredible journey back to my childhood. Route 66 in Tulsa Oklahoma was filled with countless roadside signs and the countless disappointments that came with them. I thank you for this trip back to my youth.
What a wonderful session. Brought many oh-so-pleasant memories back from childhood - ALL worth remembering. Hwy 99 on the west coast is a trip down memory lane, even today. Thank You Mr. History Guy. Will watch this session again because it is Worth Remembering!
We left Seattle 1 day after school was out in 1964, just mom two sisters and me in a brand new 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 station wagon. We spent, until 2 days before school started on a monumental road trip. drove through every state for three months. I remember many of the "tourist traps" presented here. thank you for presenting this
Our family goes on a "road trip" every year. We have circled much of the country, most of it in the west. We cherish the memories we have made. Yes, even the some of the bad ones (13 hours in a car will do that to kids). We rarely hesitate to stop at interesting roadside attractions, and often seek routes off of the Interstate to discover hidden gems (literally and figuratively). Thank you for highlighting this part of history.
Thanks for taking me down memory lane. Once my paternal grandparents moved to FL in the early '60s, we would make the trip from MD. Watching this episode was like a "Been there/done that "that" episode. You would start seeing signs for SOUTH OF THE BORDER miles away.
I stumbled across Walldrug on a road trip. I had to stop in and see what it was all about. Its epic
As a child of the 60's this video was so much fun! Nostalgic? Yes! Sometimes I have seen an old "oddity " in a small town. It makes me think about what a wonderful place it was at one time.
I Remember driving with my parents in 68 from michigan to california and all the wonderful highway attractions that were spotted along the way it was wonderful. Thank you for this awesome Video
The history guy is the best written & best presented history on the web!
Thank you for taking me back to my childhood when Dad would take us to visit these places. Some Sunday's were devoted simply to visiting road side attractions.
WITHIN THIS VALE
OF TOIL AND SIN
YOUR HEAD GROWS BALD
BUT NOT YOUR CHIN
BURMA-SHAVE
George Forbes - one I remember still...
He used a match
To check gas tank,
Now they call him
Skinless Frank!
Burma Shave!
I grew up making family road trips at least twice a year. As an adult I have driven across the US and Canada multiple times visiting all 50 states. Many of these roadside attractions I remember with great fondness. Thank you for this touching tribute to car culture, something that is more typical under relentless attack these days.
There is a billboard for “The Thing” between Socorro and Albuquerque, NM. Yeah they really like to promote it, hundreds of miles away!
Ever driven thru SD? Wall Drug does the same thing, you start seeing signs by Mitchell, home of the world famous Corn Palace.
Ever visit "The Thing"....?🤔
Damn. The Thing? attraction is just outside of Tucson
@@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245 I lived in Tucson and I know about the thing.
The furthest “See Rock City” sign was some 300 miles from the actual destination in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. In my childhood, the roads were covered with them. Not just the painted barn roofs, but the billboards as well. They are often in tandem with “See Ruby Falls” signs.
Gatorland in Florida is great. The actors perform like it's the first time. Went there one 2012 and it was a wonderful "tourist trap" experience for the kids and adults both.
Years ago as a challenge to myself on my annual trip back home to Pennsylvania which took 14 hours I decided to do it without using a single stretch of highway, to use as many backroads as possible. the trip was twice as long but it was one of the more memorable and enjoyable trips I’ve been on. Instead of rushing to get to a destination I just enjoyed where I was.
I just found this episode and I can’t believe you mentioned the “largest chair” in Anniston Alabama! That’s about 30 miles from where I live and it’s been around as long as I can remember and I forget how unique it is. Thank you for the shoutout.
I think that I shall never see
A billboard lovely as a tree.
Perhaps, unless the billboards fall,
I’ll never see a tree at all.
-OGDEN NASH
Sounds like something you'd expect to have seen on a Burma-Shave sign
@@timinwsac And there's another piece of forgotten history.
@@timinwsac, well spotted. Nash was an ad copy writer.
I seem to recall back in the late 70s or so there was state-wide legislation to limit the number if billboards. Is that right? I know they started becoming fewer and fewer around then.
@@billd.iniowa2263, "Lady Bird" Johnson had something to do with it through her support for the Highway Beautification Act. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_Beautification_Act
Nothing more exciting than a road trip off the beaten path! And roadside attractions are the reason why. They add a sense of adventure and discovery to what would only be a journey from point A to point B without them.
I was so excited to hear you mention Weeki Wachee! I live right next to it in the town of Spring Hill. The park and mermaids remain and it is still a wonderful place to visit. Sadly the town of Weeki Wachee no longer exists as it was incorporated back into Brooksville a few years ago. The population was too low. Thank you History Guy!
I am sure that there are folks there that still call it Weeki Wachee. There are still folks (like me) that call my location Wakulla Station.
Beautiful clear cold water.
Mother grew up in Port Richey. Used love that drive to go see grand dad. I remember the snake show and roadside zoo stops along the way as well.
By the time I was in high school what was miles of Florida flat woods was slowly getting built up a few miles at a time always creeping north. I probably wouldn't recognize any of it.
Saddens me that my grandkids will never see what Florida once was.
@@dbmail545 Yes we still call it Weeki Wachee.
Speaking of tourist traps, does Tarpon (I learned from mother that Tarpon Springs is just Tarpon to those who grew up there) still have all the shell and sponge shops? I loved going to Tarpon, eating at Pappas and the baklava.
Prior to 1960 there was a place near Ocotillo, CA that advertised "See the desert springs!" To get to the springs you had to follow a footpath up a hill. At the top of the hill were some old steel springs set into a small concrete slab. They sold a lot of cold sodas to tourists who were parched after hiking in the hot sun up the hill and back.
Sides and roofs on barns throughout Tennessee- painted with the words
SEE ROCK CITY-!
"See Ruby fall"; er, I mean, "See Ruby Falls"!
And birdhouses!
Mail Pouch Tobacco!
I got to visit many of these on family trips in the 80s. Gatorland, Wal Drug, South Of The Border.. I remember my cousins and I begging my grandfather to stay at "Bedrock" campground in South Dakota and I know we also stayed at at least one "Jellystone" campground. I still have a tiny bear trap labeled as a "mosquito trap" I got on one of those tacky gift shops I love so well. Great episode! It makes me want to hit the road.
We began our family vacations in 1951 and our first trip to Florida. RT # 301 was the only way to Florida and it was filled with roadside attractions. The motels were new and most had a pool for the nominal fee of $8 for the four of us. Silver springs and Cypress Gardens were THE attractions that could not be missed. On the glass bottom boats of Silver Springs the boat operator threw a quarter onto the glass, where all eyes were glued to the sights below. He then said, "Thank you sir." The others felt the need to toss pocket change onto the glass.
Highway 301 in Florida is where I saw my first bald eagle. It was eating a road kill. I thought it was a good metaphor for the time and place.
@@dbmail545 GA used to be the "speed trap" state. Pay on the spot.
This is great! I lived in the town (Wilmington, Ill) & have take my wife (since 1966) there many times! Thanks! And we raised 3 kids a few miles north of Odell, Illinois.
Another great episode!
We even got a special mention in this one?!
Thank you THG fam!
Remembering the fun road trips in the 50s and early 60s with the family us kids in the the back 2 seats of the station wagon going to grandma's pazt the pirate ship I Cliffwood Beach, NJ and trips to Seaside, N J to play on the boardwalk, or the Keansburg, NJ boardwalk and a visit to my Aunt, and never did a summer go by without that trip to Margate, NJ to see Lucy. Wonderful memories of times past but live as current memories of times gone by when Mom and Dad were here. Such a wonderful trip down the memory lane at the greatest place to live The Jersey Shore! I can't thank you enough for a trip I needed! Thank you History Guy it was a great trip! I love all you History lessons!
I loved the old Burma-Shave signs that dotted the roads. I miss them.
There are still lots of them in Arizona, on old Route 66
My mother used to catalog Burma Shave signs when she saw them. My dad was a Naval officer and when he was home on leave, a road trip with tent camping was always a thing we did. One farmer here in Upstate New York has repainted a series on his property just for posterity sake.
One of my favourite US tourist traps is "South of the Border", off I-95 just south of the NC-SC state line. I've loved it since seeing the humourous billboards advertising it when my family first went to Florida in the mid-80s.
A wonderful edition to your library of history👍 thank you very much for this virtual vacation 😎🙏
This video brought back so many memories of traveling with my family back in the 50's and 60's.
As a truck driver and a former over The road trucker if I'm going to suggest anybody visit a roadside Attraction I definitely suggest Iowa 80 Walcott truck stop along the i-80
Oh yes!!! Most definitely because that place is huge and if you're a trucker, they have anything you'd want for your truck. Good thing I'm a company driver! 😂
Dude!!!! You have to do one on "south of the border" in dillion, South Carolina. They have advertisements for miles leading up to it. It's right along i-95
I use the signs for South of the Border as a measurement of distance traveled rather than the small green "official" markers on the roadside.
"Fill Yo' Trunque Weeth Pedro's Junque!"
oH YEA pEDro. I 95's great mile marker. Total of four stops spread out over 39 years headed for sin/city-Orlando. If you go the same store twice youve seen too much lol.
I remember those in the 70s
I stopped there once to send a fax. I give them 2 impressment points, they had a fax, and it worked.
My family LOVES Wall Drug!! We design road trips specifically to stop at these roadside attractions. Thank you for highlighting some of them. When my family looks back at its history one day, these moments will not be forgotten.
Genuinely my previous job was to travel across NY state and run educational programming at different parks. I don't think any travel day was better than when we stopped for a sign that said "We have a big rock." Because that's all it was a hilariously large glacial erratic in the middle of a playground that I promptly climbed and had the breather I really needed that day.
Another excellent history not to be forgotten. Growing up, I loved those roadside attractions. When I was a child, my parents took me to the store once a year to get what was called a car coat. This was for the journeys and the traveling in the backseat of a car. This was americana, we did not sit in a basement playing video games, you had all the gaming right outside your car window. Love those and miss those times.
Don’t miss the ubiquitous billboards, but Burma shave had some catchy verse.
I'm just old enough to remember those! Hadnt thought of them in quite awhile. They were weather worn, paint chipped and bare wood showing, but you could still read them. Thanx, you made me smile. :-)
In Illinois a gun rights group keeps the Burma shave tradition alive.
"He lit a match, to check gas tank, that's why they call him, Skinless Frank - Burma Shave".
@@HemlockRidge lol!
@fred McMurray I believe that book was called verse by the side of the road.
Grew up south of The Mystery Spot and north of the artichoke. Just west of the Mystery Spot there was a place called Santa's Village that had a little pedal powered train. My two little sisters and I could always get the grandparents to stop by. I can remember my grandfather having a big smile while we were playing on the train. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I appreciate the enthusiasm for this segment of history - very specific - and very well done. Shout Out to the Cabazon Dinosaurs!
I smiled when you referred to the need for stops along the road when the "bickering" became too much. This was the flavor of our family road trips through West Texas & New Mexico in the 50s & early 60s. Nevertheless, we always got someplace interesting. The crystal clear Artesian springs of Balmorrhea. The abandoned 19th century Fort Davis, TX. Indian Lodge further up in the mountains. The blessed coolth of the evergreen-clothed mountains of Cloudcroft & Ruidoso, NM. And the furthest we reached when I was a kid via the highways: a fishing trip with Dad (Mom eschewed the pleasure) on the Conejos River in Colorado.
In 1966, my mom, my best friend Janey & I set off on Route 66 to drive to California. We stopped at Yosemite where the spectacular, glacier-carved valley stole a piece of my heart & never gave it back. But then we went on to fog-shrouded Carmel. And once I discovered fog, a blessing bestowed upon a child of the hot, dry West Texas desert, I never looked back. Within 2 years, I had graduated high school & was living on the California coast & that's where I live today. Road trips! The best way to discover where your heart dwells.
Ha ha da yooper tourist trap is one of my favorite places to go. I just love road side stops i think they are a blast.
As a kid in the 50s, we stopped at a number of these. Thanks for the memories
I'm from central Florida been to silver springs and weeki wachee probably 50 or more times, the mermaid show is fun to watch.
We used to stop at The Thing in Arizona on every trip from California to Texas. Last time I was there was in 1974 when I was 12. I looked it up on the internet recently and I'm glad to see it's still there.
Our road trip last year was to Casey IL. I have been to Wall Drug, and The Corn Palace. I to live a few miles form the Brooks Catsup bottle.
Holy crap! Lucy the elephant is right down the street from me. Always cool when something close to you makes it into the episode
Been to Silver Springs in Florida and "The Mystery Hole" in West Virginia. :-)
Any love here for the Longaberger Basket building in Dresden, OH? My mother used to collect their baskets so we visited the place during a trip to see family when I was a kid.
My dear parents made their first trip in a Ford Station Wagon no AC.
Grandma, newborn, 18 month old toddler, & me almost 4 years old. Believe or not I do remember seeing the road signs , that would tell you which tourist trap you could expect next. Grandma being an English teacher would write the sign down on paper & it was my job to sound out/ figure out what it said. With the pictures to help Grandma had me reading in 7 days on a trip from Boston to LA. I have often wondered if my my lifelong bad spelling would have been better had we had 2 extra days on the road 😆 If it wasn't for the road side attraction s that trip & many others as we added brothers & sisters there would be much more road rage I think 🤔 Oh how many trinkets & rocks we collected , jackolopes , big foots & aliens we thought we saw in the distance! The hundreds of museums we stopped to look at when we had lunch will forever be the greatest memories from my childhood road trips in the '60s & '70s !
Wall Drug is my favorite!! Mid sixties I was in the air force at Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City. Many times I had breakfast at Wall Drug. Two eggs and toast for 23 cents and coffee at 5 cents a cup with free refills. Great wake up coffee!! Unless you can sleep with stomach cramps. LOL Usually ate under the big cottonwood tree inside. Lots of times at a table with one of the many mannequins the graced the room.. Studied all the local ranch brands burned into the walls with samples of barb wire from forever. Never did take a picture on the Bison out back or the bucking bronco. Did take one with the Ogalalla Sioux chief that was there. 1963 to 1967, Still miss those Black Hills..
Memories, that was fun, thank you
I was amazed and delighted that several of the roadside attractions featured on this episode were ones that I saw in person just this past summer on a roadtrip from Texas to Minnesota and the Black Hills - The Largerst Ball of Twine (by a single person), Wall Drug and it's Dinosaur, and the Largest Big Foot statue in Keystone, SD, close by Mount Rushmore.
Next summer I plan to tour the entire length of Route 66 towing a small teardrop camper and I cannot wait to see the sights along the way!
We also had a THING billboard between Las Vegas and California. I don’t remember ever stopping at it but we definitely talked about it as we approached it in our 55 olds Super 88. No air conditioning back then.
As an adult I lived in San Louis Obispo and have stayed in the Madonna Inn. I think it’s still in operation.
Our son is act school in SLO and the Madonna is very much still in operation!
My family drove all around the US in the late 1970's and 1980's. So many roadside memories!
The family visited "The Thing" after seeing the road signs advertising it, it was a little disappointing once you saw what it was. We also visited the "Trees of Mystery" which I remember enjoying. I've also been to the Cabazon Dinosaurs and ventured up to the head of Mr. Rex to see the view from his mouth. Gatorland in Florida is another place I visited, I enjoyed the "Jumparoo Show" where one of the employees would attach a chicken (dead) to a clothesline device that was strung out over one of the gator pits, the gators would launch themselves up to grab the chickens, we were told that the gators were able to do this by using their tails on the bottom of the shallow pond.
One last thing that I just remembered, I spent the night at the Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino, Ca. It was built in 1949 on the historic Route 66!
lol, yeah, I've seen "The Thing" when I was a kid traveling with my family. It was great back then, but no way would I stop there again.... damn it, I'm in a hurry to get to where I need to be.
I spent many a night where "The Thing" is. I was told by countless other truck drivers that I need to stop and see "The Thing" but they would NEVER tell me what it is and it seems that no one one here is saying what it could be! Lol!
I've been to the Cabazon Dinosaurs several times also to spend the night before going to LA in the morning and first, it is soooo quiet out there you can just hear the wind blowing. The Dinosaurs were just in a huge unpaved area back then and I'd crawl under the claw nail of Rex and get pics taken like he was stepping or should I say squishing me to death,lol! The restaurant was good too but unfortunately it closed the last time I was by it and now has a paved parking lot along with a fast food place I believe.
I will always have fond memories of both and a few other places I've been as a OTR truck driver. 🚚
Great topic for one of your most interesting stories. It brought back so many memories of my childhood traveling across the country with my family. A more quiet, nice, gentler time. thank you.
Who can forget the countless signs that details the number of miles to Pioneer Village off of I-80 in Nebraska?
Been there! It's on the way to Ohiowa where my father-in-law is from!
As a frequent traveler on the highways & byways of the central United States I quite often detour just to visit these “tourist traps” wherever I go. Thank you so much for making this video!
I drive past Randy’s Donuts every morning on my way to work!