Planning a long road trip this summer? Miles of driving on the interstate might lull you into thinking that every town seems the same. But look closer: There are plenty of unusual attractions that can spice a long, dreary car trip. Here are 15 of our favorites.
Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox (Bemidji, Minn.): The folks in Bemidji have long claimed their town is the real birthplace of the mythical, oversized lumberjack known as Paul Bunyan, though tall tales about his exploits and giant statues in his honor stretch from California to Maine. To stake their claim, Bemidji townsfolk built an 18-foot tall, 2.5-ton Bunyan statue in 1937 on what they say is his actual birth site. And because Bunyan was rarely seen without his assistant, a 5-ton statue of Babe the Blue Ox was soon added. These are not the country’s biggest Bunyan and Babe statues, but they’ve been around so long and photographed so often that in 1988 they gained a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.
If you go: The statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox stand next to Lake Bemidji in Bemidji, Minn. For more information, visit http://visitbemidji.com.
Slide show text by Harriet Baskas; photo editing by Connie Ricca.
Harriet Baskas writes regularly about airports, air travel and other adventures for MSNBC.com and USAToday.com and on her “Stuck at the Airport” blog, http://www.stuckattheairport.com.
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