There’s so much to see and do in the US! You can find something of interest for everyone, and really do just about anything.
We all know about the stuff everyone visits when they go to a certain state. Here in NYC, visitors hit the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Central Park, and maybe a Broadway show. Yeah, it’s cool, but everyone does that stuff when they come here.
We’re going to shed light on some offbeat and often weird sightseeing spots for you to brag about on social media. We’ll give you three places. You get to look up more on your own.
So, here is your official Jammany Hall guide to offbeat travel destinations in all 50 states. The series has been organized by region, so you can visit a bunch of these during the same road trip:
- Northeast: (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont)
- Mid-Atlantic: (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, and West Virginia)
- Southeast: (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee)
- Midwest: (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin)
- Southwest: (Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas)
- Western: (California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah)
- Northwest: (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming)
Arizona
Caverns Grotto, Peach Springs, Arizona
(www.gccaverns.com/caverns-grotto-underground-dining-area)
If you visit NYC, you’ll be able to dine high above the streets of Manhattan at any number of restaurants. Sitting by a floor to ceiling window, you’ll marvel at the lights and people-watch as they make their way along the sidewalk.
Now how about the opposite experience?
Dining at 200 feet below ground doesn’t offer the same visual experience as you’ll get 200 feet in the air, but it’s pretty cool, nonetheless.
The Caverns Grotto restaurant is a tiny joint that serves hungry visitors to the Grand Canyon Caverns attraction.
The cave was discovered in 1927 by Walter Peck. Peck didn’t have his minerology knowledge down very well, as he thought he had come across an unclaimed gold and diamond mother lode.
Unfortunately for him, the gold and diamonds turned out to be fairly worthless iron oxide and selenium. Fortunately for you and me, it makes for a badass place to jam a restaurant.
The restaurant is a platform that is raised some 25 feet above the floor of the cave. Food is cooked at the surface and is lowered to the restaurant.
You eat in nearly total silence, without the sounds of a typical restaurant. Because the restaurant has only four tables, noise from your fellow diners is limited.
If you’ve ever been in a sensory deprivation tank, it’s a similar feeling.
It’s an experience of a lifetime unless you’re a bear and eat most of your meals in a cave!
Standin’ On the Corner Park, Winslow, Arizona
(Address: Corner of Kinsley and E 2nd Street)
Major US interstate highways sometimes play the role of Angel of Death to small town America.
Winslow was one such victim when the new Interstate 40 sucked up tourist traffic from good ‘ol Route 66.
If you remember your US highway history, Route 66 was one of the country’s first major highways in the national highway system. Route 66 stretches from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California for nearly 2,500 miles.
After Route 66 was completed in the 1920s, many towns sprang up along the route and became prosperous. Tourists and the new industry of long-haul trucking gave the towns plenty of traffic, and of course, kept them economically robust.
Enter the new Interstate highway system.
In numerous cases, the new highways bypassed the small towns that depended on Route 66’s traffic.
For nearly 20 years, Winslow foundered until they came up with the idea to capitalize on that great Eagle’s song, “Take it Easy.”
To that end, they picked out a corner that was located along Route 66. A bronze statue of Don Frey, one of the Eagles who co-wrote the song with Jackson Browne, stands on the corner with is guitar.
It’s a great selfie location, and there are plenty of things to see in the area around the park.
Head on down in your flatbed Ford and check it out!
Titan Missile Museum, Green Valley, Arizona
There was a time when the threat of nuclear war was a thing. I mean, really a thing.
In the 1960s, school children drilled to practice procedures in case of a nuclear strike.
The Titan missile program was one of America’s major nuclear attack platforms.
The missiles were placed in underground silos, usually in remote areas away from large populations, and manned 24 hours per day by Air Force personnel who stood prepared to launch on command from higher headquarters.
The Titan Missile Museum gives you the chance to see how these systems operated, and also gives you a glimpse into the lives of the service members who had the task of pressing the button in the event that the unthinkable might have happened.
The museum offers a tour of the underground facility and shows the missile (replica), launch station, living quarters, and other areas.
There is a simulated launch so that you can experience (kinda) the firing of a missile.
The museum and tour are reminders that it’s better to get along with our fellow humans.
New Mexico
White Sands National Park, Alamogordo, New Mexico
(www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm)
Wanna go sleigh riding in the middle of the Chihuahua Desert? You can do it here!
White Sands National Park is the world’s largest gypsum deposit. You could be forgiven for thinking you had wandered into a fresh field of snow, as the gypsum is very white and bright.
The gypsum arrives at the park via wind blowing the mineral from a nearby lake. As the water in the lake evaporates, it exposes the minerals which are eventually blown to the region of the park.
Over time, the blowing gypsum has formed dunes. These dunes look like any old sand dunes you might see in a movie or on TV, except they are almost blindingly white. The dunes can shift up to 30 feet a year, depending on the wind.
The park is spectacular and offers hiking trails, and an animal preserve that contains some endangered species.
And you can rent sleds to zoom down a white hill in the middle of the desert. Face it, if you have young kids on this trip, they’ll need to do something other than look at the scenery.
For a great day in the desert, White Sands is a treat you should enjoy if you’re in the area.
International UFO Museum and Research Center, Roswell, New Mexico
I don’t know if there is life on other planets in this vast Universe of ours (I think there could be) but there are those who swear they’ve seen or encountered ‘em.
In 1992, the museum opened as an educational facility to help the public understand more about what might be going on with this whole UFO thing.
I mean, really, who knows what the heck is going on with these sightings?
The museum emphasizes that it isn’t trying to change your mind one way or the other, but merely hoping that exposure to the materials will cause people to ponder the existence of intelligent life beyond Earth.
UFO enthusiasts from around the country and world visit the museum. Why don’t you join them? Set your coordinates to pass through Roswell!
Glepa de bop hisk glufo! (Martian for, “Get yo’ butt down here!”)
Tiwa Kitchen, Taos, New Mexico
They say there’s no better way to learn about a culture than experiencing their food.
Tiwa Kitchen is the place to go to explore the Southwestern Taos people’s food firsthand.
The kitchen serves traditional Taos food prepared with homegrown meats and vegetables using authentic modes of cooking.
And its all done at the historic Taos Pueblo.
The Taos Pueblo has been around for over 1,000 years, and there are about 150 Taos Native Americans still living there.
The owners of the Tiwa Kitchen source the raw ingredients of their delicious food from the surrounding Pueblo land.
If you’re looking to experience Southwest Native American food that is authentic, you need to make a trip out here to the Tiwa Kitchen.
Oklahoma
99s Museum of Women Pilots, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
We sometimes forget that women weren’t allowed to do things that we might consider trivial.
Back in the day (1920s), flying was a rare enough activity for men, let alone women.
How dare those uppity women fly!
Anyway, a group of women pilots including Amelia Earhart entered the Cleveland Air Race had the audacity to dare enter this renowned race.
It was an outrage! The public reeled from the scandal of a woman piloting a plane in such a race.
The women pilots weren’t having it. So, they flipped the dudes the middle joystick and started their own race in 1929. The Air Race Classic was a 2,700 mile course from Santa Monica, California to Cleveland, Ohio. Of the 20 women who started, 14 completed the race.
Not too shabby, considering the state of aviation technology in 1929.
The “99” in the museum’s name comes from the number of women pilots who accepted the invitation to join the newly formed “Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots.”
The museum is packed with artifacts and personal items form many of the most famous female pilots. There are displays featuring items owned by and related to Amelia Earhart, Bessie Coleman (first African American pilot), Space Shuttle astronaut Sallie Ride, and other pioneers of flight.
Hop in your biplane, put on your leather flying helmet and goggles and buzz on over to the 99s Museum of Women Pilots!
National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
(www.nationalcowboymuseum.org)
Most American kids have dreamt of being a cowboy or cowgirl. There’s something that seems free in that life, although working cowboys are hardly a leisurely group.
Perhaps, as in the way pirates have been portrayed by Hollywood, cowboy living has been romanticized in popular fiction to be something a bit different than reality.
There’s an awful lot of work to do when you’re a real cowboy.
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum holds more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts.
The facility also has the world’s most extensive collection of American rodeo photographs, barbed wire, saddlery, and early rodeo trophies. Museum collections focus on preserving and interpreting the heritage of the American West.
The museum is composed of several galleries which showcase different aspects of cowboy and Native American life in the old West.
The American Cowboy Gallery gives you a peek into the everyday lives and activities of cowboys and how they really lived.
The American Rodeo Gallery shows how rodeo, a sport founded and developed in the US, came to be and how it works.
What would any museum devoted to the cowboy and Western life be without representing the art and life of our Native Americans? The Native American Gallery focuses on the art of tribes living in the West, and embellishments that Western tribes made to their everyday objects to reflect their beliefs and histories.
And of course, we’ve all been taught that the tool owned by any self-respecting cowpoke was his trusty pistol. The Weitzenhoffer Gallery of Fine American Firearms houses over 100 examples of firearms by Colt, Remington, Smith & Wesson, Sharps, Winchester, Marlin, and Parker Brothers.
A very cool feature of the museum is Prosperity Junction, a 14,000-square-foot authentic turn-of-the-century Western prairie town. Visitors can stroll the streets, peek in some of the store windows, listen to antique player pianos, and walk into some of the fully furnished buildings.
Hitch the horses to your buckboard and mosey on down to the museum!
Fort Sill US Army Base, Lawton, Oklahoma
(www.history.army.mil/museums/TRADOC/fort-sill-museum/index.html)
Fort Sill is a major US Army base that has been in continuous operation since its founding during the Indian Wars of the 1800s.
Today, Fort Sill is also home to a museum and some gravesites of two Native American leaders you’ve probably heard of in the past.
Geronimo was brought to Fort Sill as a prisoner back in 1894. Geronimo led a group of Apaches who refused the US government’s order to live on the reservation. He and his band were finally captured and imprisoned at the Fort.
Geronimo’s grave is in a section of the cemetery reserved for Native Americans who didn’t come peacefully.
Quanah Parker, the “Last Chief of the Comanches,” is also buried in the Fort’s cemetery. If you are interested in learning more about the Plains Indians, pick up a copy of “Empire of the Summer Moon.” The book is about the life of Quanah Parker and the struggle of Native Americans against each other and the US government.
It’s the story of Quanah Parker, who was one of the last Comanche leaders to give up and join the reservation. The story is fascinating and eye-opening.
While you’re here, check out “Atomic Annie,” the US’ atomic artillery piece that could hurl a small nuclear projectile nearly 10 miles. “Atomic Annie” was the world’s first artillery piece to have fired a nuclear projectile in training.
Fort Sill is interesting on many fronts, so definitely check it out!
Texas
National Museum of Funeral History, Houston, Texas
Most people don’t like to think about what happens at the end of their lives. However, there’s a group of folks who are all about it.
They are members of the funerary industry.
And they have a museum to show it off!
The National Museum of Funeral History in Dallas is over 35,000 square feet of information about the art and science funerals.
Are you interested in ancient Egypt and how mummies got that way? Check!
How about checking out cool hearses from back in the day to today’s models? Check!
Are you curious about the tools they use to get you ready to be viewed? Check!
Want to see caskets
There is even a 5,000 square foot exhibit dedicated to the funerals of the Popes. The museum and Vatican teamed up on the exhibit, so you know it’s accurate.
The US Presidents are also represented here, with the actual bill from George Washington’s funeral and the hearse used to transport the bodies of both Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.
There’s quite a bit to see, and while it might sound weird, it’s fascinating.
Fire up your sweet chariot and swing low to the museum!
Newman’s Castle, Bellville, Texas
Texas is known for a lot of things, but castles, not so much.
Newman’s Castle is the brainchild of Mike Newman, owner of Newman’s Bakery. Newman fell in love with the idea of castles during a trip to Europe in his 20s.
As soon as he was able, he went for it.
He broke ground in 1998 and completed the castle 10 years later.
You can imagine the dropped jaws when people in the area found about his plans. Newman explained it to local media as something he had always wanted to do, and it makes people happy.
That’s good enough for me!
The castle is built to resemble the castles we grew up seeing in movies. There’s an alligator filled moat, a 3,000 pound drawbridge, a portcullis (look it up), a chapel, five round corner turrets, a courtyard, and a central keep with a dramatic view of the surrounding lands.
You can rent it for weddings and other events, but you can also simply visit by calling (979) 865-9804 to schedule.
The castle is about 5 miles out of town, so on the date of your visit, you’ll go to the bakery first and receive directions to the castle. You’ll be met at the castle and given a tour and lunch.
They recommend that you come back to the bakery after the tour to load up on some darn good baked goods. I could go for a Boston Crème jelly donut right about now!
Man, I wish I had a castle…
The Grave of Bonnie Parker, Crown Memorial Park, Dallas, Texas
(Address: 9718 Webb Chapel Rd, Dallas, Texas, 75220)
Bonnie and Clyde are iconic figures in American folklore. You may have seen the 1967 movie that starred Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, or you might have read about them.
If you’d like to learn about the hunt for Bonnie and Clyde, check out the movie, “The Highwaymen” on Netflix. It stars Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson as the Texas Rangers who were brought in to capture the couple.
During the early 1930s, the couple roamed the America Midwest and South on a murderous robbery spree that captured international attention and left at least 19 dead.
Historians are still split on whether Bonnie committed any of the murders. It’s anyone’s guess because several eyewitness reports of the events were later found to be embellishments. The media of the day was hungry to print whatever sold papers (sound familiar?), so they went with whatever seemed more sensational.
In any case, the couple was romanticized for years until their gang ended up killing two highway patrolmen in cold blood.
At that point, the public was done with Bonnie and Clyde.
The couple finally met their maker in 1934 in an ambush set up by Frank Hamer (see “The Highwaymen”), a retired Texas Ranger who had been hired by the State of Texas to hunt them down. Oh, and with the help of the father of one of the gang members who decided to sell them out to seek clemency for his son.
The posse set up in bushes alongside a rural road in Louisiana near the turncoat father’s home and used the father as a decoy. They had the father pretend that his truck had broken down, and the lawmen hoped Clyde would stop the car and offer aid.
It worked perfectly. The posse ended up firing 130 rounds of ammunition, and according to the coroner’s report, Clyde was hit by 17 bullets (he was killed instantly by the first shot to be fired), and Bonnie took 26 bullets.
There were so many bullet holes in Bonnie and Clyde’s corpses that the undertaker had difficulty with the embalming process. There are photos online that show Bonnie’s body leaking embalming fluid into the sheet covering her recently embalmed corpse.
You can see the car at Whiskey Pete’s casino in Primm, Nevada. It’s open to the public. Back in the day, during the car’s travels as an exhibit, one could sit in the driver’s seat for the low, low price of $1.00. I think I would have passed on that.
So, after death and all the sensationalism surrounding the event, it was time to bury the couple. Bonnie had wanted to be buried net to Clyde, but her family wasn’t having it. Bonnie was buried away from Clyde, but still in Dallas, where they were both from.
In 1945, Bonnie was moved to Crown Hill Memorial Park where she remains today.
As you enter the cemetery from Webb Chapel Road, make an immediate left. Bonnie’s grave is next to the fourth spruce tree on the right, along the hedge line. There is an upright headstone with “Tyner” on it directly beside her grave.
The Takeaway
So, there you have it.
As promised, we’ve given you food for thought for some cool and funky sites around the Southwest. Naturally, this list isn’t exhaustive, but we wanted to toss you some bones and maybe get you out of the house and exploring.
Everyone visits the spots that are well known. It’s so much fun to go out and see these places that are out of the way and out of the view of your typical tourist.
Jammany Hall exists to help you spread your wings. Travel is a good way to do just that.
And it often seems that the offbeat places are the most flavorful. Do you get what I’m saying? I guess you can compare it to eating a chicken breast or a thigh. There’s more flavor in the less popular thigh!
Make sure you read the other parts of this US travel series. Once you’re done checking out the entire series, you’ll have a handy guide to some goofy places to visit.
You’ll have the best stories at any party you attend!
Feel free to let us know about some of the places you’ve visited that are somewhat offbeat.