Candy for the Journey?
Mind candy, that is! Here are some tips to keep your road trips interesting:
As summer is winding down, there is still plenty of time to get in a few road trips before the ice and snow of winter sets in. Late summer and Fall are good times for weekend getaways to a nearby lake, a drive to a nearby metropolis, a visit to our national parks (sans the swollen numbers of summer visitors), enjoying the changing of the leaves in the Northeast or the aspens in Colorado (aspens change sooner and very quickly than the oaks and maples of the Northeast).
When planning your road trip, consider avoiding most interstate highways. My uncle used to travel from Scottsdale to Chicago annually only using two-lane roads. He once told me about some of the unusual sights he saw along the way. Now, there is a website, http://www.roadsideamerica.com/, that makes the journey a bit sweeter. Here are some places you might want to visit:
Lucas, Kansas: home to Howard Dinsmoor's concrete Garden of Eden - I've actually been to this unusual place and still remember its bizarre statues and the embalmed remains of Mr. Dinsmoor.Quartzsite, Arizona: Hi Jolly's Tomb - a tribute to a Syrian caretaker of 70 camels, who was brought to Arizona by Jefferson Davis. Davis was Secretary of War before the Civil War intervened. He thought camels could carry passengers across the desert.Bridgeville, Delaware: Punkin' Chunkin' - an annual festival celebrating the splat of pumpkins being flung from homemade launchers.North Salem, New Hampshire: home to America's Stonehenge - created by Druids or a farmer? You decide while you enjoy a walk through nature.Ridgefield, Washington: Birthplace of U-Haul - Portland, Oregon claims it has the first Retail home of U-Haul, but Ridgefield was where the first U-Haul was built. Depending on how many souvenirs you've purchased on your road trip, you may need a U-Haul to carry your goodies home!
