Embassy of the United States of America

Road Trip USA

Vintage Cadillac cars decorated with spray paint and buried in the ground form Cadillac Ranch, a colorful roadside attraction in Amarillo, . © lumierefl/Flickr

he lure of the open road oddities: quirky local attractions as the largest such object ever is a favorite theme in that offer a glimpse at America’s constructed by a single person. U.S. popular culture. lighter side. Every state boasts its Francis A. Johnson began wrap- Immortalized in lit- own prized peculiarities. Here ping twine into a ball in the Terature, music and film, the so- are descriptions of just a few. early 1950s and continued until called Great American Road Trip his death in 1989. Measuring is a rite of passage for youth seek- Great Balls of Twine 12 meters in circumference ing adventure and is also a popu- No fewer than four contenders and weighing 7,900 kilograms, lar vacation choice for families. vie for the title of the “World’s Johnson’s ball of twine has Largest Ball of Twine,” an object become a source of civic pride. Traversing the United States by that delights visitors with its Townspeople celebrate “Twine car is an invitation to enhance utter pointlessness. Ball Day” every August. − or ditch − the standard tour- ist agenda and seek out some of The oldest contender − located Frank Stoeber, of Cawker City, the country’s most treasured in Darwin, Minnesota − is billed Kansas, regarded Johnson’s ball Road Trip USA as a challenge and decided to start his own. He died Not to be outdone, the town of Branson, Missouri, in 1974 before surpassing Johnson’s record. But the boasts its own ball of twine, allegedly certified by townspeople of Cawker City have adopted Stoeber’s the Guinness Book of World Records as the “world’s challenge as their own: Every August they hold largest” (although this distinction might be fleet- a “Twine-a-thon” in which all are invited to add ing, since the Kansas and Wisconsin balls are still more twine to the ball. It now ranks as the world’s works in progress). Owned by the Ripley’s Believe largest and heaviest ball of sisal twine, currently It or Not museum, the Missouri ball measures 12.6 weighing almost 8,165 kilograms and measuring 12 meters in circumference. meters in circumference. The third contender − in Lake Nebagamon, Car Culture Wisconsin − is the project of James Frank Kotera, Americans’ love of the open road and automobiles is who started wrapping his twine ball in 1979. He expressed in a number of car-themed attractions. Two continues to work on it, and by his estimation, the of the best known are Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, ball weighs 8,700 kilograms, making it the heavi- Texas, and Carhenge near Alliance, Nebraska. est ball of twine ever built. Kotera’s ball sits in an open-air enclosure on its creator’s front lawn; it has Cadillac Ranch — conceived in 1974 as a tribute to a smaller companion, “Junior,” made of string. America’s most famous luxury automobile — is a

Thirty-eight vintage cars make up Nebraska’s Carhenge, a sly replica of England’s Stonehenge. © Gaynoir/Flickr Road Trip USA tongue-in-cheek art installation of vintage Cadillacs along the drive. Billed as the world’s largest col- in a row with their front ends buried in the ground. lection of scrap-metal sculptures, the Enchanted The cars’ back ends, with tail fins pointing to the Highway includes eight giant sculptures – from The sky, form a permanent salute to America’s automo- Tin Family to Spider Webs – stretched across more tive heritage. Visitors are encouraged to bring cans of than 50 kilometers of open road. spray paint to decorate the “sculptures.” Curious Critters and More Carhenge (ca. 1987) is a sly replica of England’s Popular landmarks across the United States often Stonehenge (ca. 2400 – 2200 BCE), but in place of the include giant statues representing real or imaginary stones that define the English prototype, its modern- figures. In Seattle, the ugly but much-loved Fremont day twin is constructed of 38 vintage American Troll lurks beneath the Aurora Bridge, gripping a cars arranged in a circle. The cars have been spray- real Volkswagen Beetle car in one enormous hand. painted a uniform gray, mimicking the color of natu- In Klamath, California, the Trees of Mystery site ral stone, and the entire structure sits in the middle features unusual tree formations, and its entrance of a grassy plain. is guarded by statues of the mythical American For tourists who prefer to stay in their cars, Dickinson, lumberjack Paul Bunyan, who stands nearly 15 North Dakota’s Enchanted Highway offers artwork meters high, and Bunyan’s sidekick, Babe the Blue

Geese in Flight represents one of eight giant scrap-metal sculptures along North Dakota’s Enchanted Highway. © minnemom/Flickr Road Trip USA

Seattle’s beloved Fremont Troll lurks beneath the Aurora Bridge with a Volkswagen Beetle in his hand. © terratrekking/Flickr

Ox. Bunyan’s mechanical right a shark and a model of Hollywood features stained-glass windows hand offers a sluggish wave star King Kong are part of the mix. with a shoe motif. Haines ini- and his “voice” (courtesy of a The park’s loopy “dawn of time” tially used the house as guest loudspeaker in his breast pocket) effect is heightened by a caveman quarters for the elderly couples cheerfully greets visitors and diorama, located indoors. and newlyweds whom he invited answers their questions. for weekend visits; as part of An architectural folly known as this promotional stunt, he gave Dinosaur theme parks can be the Haines Shoe House, located free pairs of shoes to his guests. found coast to coast, but Dinosaur in Hellam, Pennsylvania, is a Today, the Haines Shoe House is Land in White Post, Virginia, is classic of roadside Americana. A a museum; a shoe-shaped dog- a particular favorite of children. 7.6-meter edifice that looks like house sits in the back yard. Huge fiberglass replicas of prehis- a gigantic work boot, the house toric beasts, some locked in mor- was built in 1948 as an adver- These roadside attractions offer tal combat, populate the forested tising gimmick by Mahlon N. great photo opportunities and grounds. Not all the creatures are Haines, who owned shoe stores serve as a reminder to plan for some dinosaurs, however; a towering in Maryland and Pennsylvania. wonderfully weird detours when cobra, an outsized praying mantis, The three-bedroom Shoe House embarking on Road Trip USA.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE Published May 2013 BUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION PROGRAMS