Backroad Curiosities

Backroad Curiosities

by Gary Wright

“Always remember that you are absolutely unique.

Just like everyone else.”—Margaret Mead

Travel the back roads; visit the uncharted; lose yourself in the hinterland, and there, you’ll find the real America. Away from the asphalt, far from the madding crowd, just over the next hill, it awaits. What, exactly? Rural, often uncharted America, which contains the best and the worst; the pretty and the unsightly; the awkward and the coordinated. Southern Americana includes some of the most ostentatious, the most beautiful, the spookiest, and sometimes downright wackiest places and people on the planet.

The Unclaimed Baggage Center of the World, also known as the “Land of Lost Luggage,” abides in Scottsboro, Alabama, receiving about one million visitors from around the world every year. At the center that covers more than a city block, visitors can purchase literally any item that has been packed in a suitcase that was never claimed by its owner or left on an airplane. Even the bags themselves can be bought! After undergoing a 90-day process where airlines try to reunite baggage with its lost customers, the baggage is sent to the only lost luggage store in the United States. After sorting through such mundanities as dirty handkerchiefs, used razor blades, and soiled underpants, treasure hunters are sometimes rewarded. Happy hunting?

Near Eureka Springs, Arkansas, stands a 70-foot minimalist statue of Christ with outstretched arms, called Christ of the Ozarks. Based loosely on the statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this statue is said to resemble a milk carton. Each year from February to October, some 80 performances of the ‘Passion of Christ’ play are performed in front of the colossal statue before a live audience.

The Prada Store, Marfa, Texas, is actually located in the nearby town of Valentine.  The Prada Store, Marfa, is a minimalist architectural land art project using the copyrighted Prada logo with permission. It is a criticism of capitalism personified by the expensive, luxurious items sold by the Prada chain of stores. On the night that it opened in October 2005, it was vandalized, and faux expensive ladies handbags and leather shoes on exhibit were stolen. The displays were replaced with bottomless bags and only right-footed shoes, discouraging further vandals or thieves. So far, it appears to be working.

Dinosaur World, Kentucky is home to over 150 life-sized dinosaurs from T. Rex to Brontosaurus and everything in between, displayed in natural settings. Nearby Mammoth Gardens presents woolly mammoths as they appeared during their time. Stop at the Prehistoric Museum to see a variety of cast (of plaster) and real fossils. Cool off in the Movie Cave while viewing educational movies about dinosaurs. There’s the Dino-playground for children and picnicking at Dine with the Dinos. Open every day of the year except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, It’s located near Cave City, Kentucky.

The remains of the golden age of Cadillacs from 1949 through 1963 can be found at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. Ten of the high-end Cadillacs are buried nose down with most of the vehicles extending out of the earth. For reasons no longer known, they’re buried at the same angle as The Great Pyramid of Giza. May the gods of the Detroit assembly line bless them and may their rusty fenders find eternal peace.

On a scale with the ‘seven wonders of the ancient world,’ Coral Castle in Homestead, Florida, is a monumental accomplishment. The entire ‘castle’ contains an estimated 1,000 tons of coral rock. Everything, even the towers, and furniture are made of coral. During the period from 1920–1940, it was all constructed by a 5 foot tall, 110-pound man, and no one ever saw him do it. No one ever saw any large machines, and he insisted that he perform the work only at night, alone. In 1936, when he had to move it ten miles to its present location in Homestead; he moved it by himself at night in a rented truck — all of it. Guarding the eastern wall and worth the price of admission alone is the finely balanced 9-ton swinging gate that is so well-balanced it moves at the touch of a finger.

The Duck Walk at the Peabody Hotel, Memphis, Tennessee, is a delight even for non-guests of the famous hotel. In the 1930s, Frank Schutt, General Manager of the Peabody returned from a weekend duck hunting trip in Arkansas. As the story goes, he had a little too much Tennessee sippin’ whiskey and thought it would be funny to place some live duck decoys in the beautiful Peabody fountain. The three small English call ducks swimming in the fountain were an instant hit, and a tradition was born. Bellman Edward Pembroke, a former circus animal trainer, offered to help deliver the ducks to the fountain each day and taught them the now-famous Peabody Duck March. Mr. Pembroke became The Peabody Duckmeister, serving in that capacity for 50 years until his retirement in 1991. Nearly 90 years later, the ducks still march to the lobby fountain at 11 am and retire to their suites on the hotel roof at 5 pm every day.

Unclaimed Luggage Center image: Alabama News Center

The Prada Store, Marfa, Texas: Wikipedia

Coral Castle Image: coralcastle.com

Peabody Ducks: peabodymemphis.com