NPR Road Trips: Roadside Attractions

Get your group together for some armchair adventures!

Get out and see fun and quirky American roadside attractions without leaving your facility. This fascinating audio CD will bring you to some of the strangest constructions in these fifty states and you won't have to drive for miles to experience them.

Prairie Dog Town in western Kansas. The Elvis Is Alive Museum in Wright City, Missouri. The Velvet Museum (“Velveteria”) in Portland, Oregon. A 13-foot Styrofoam scale model of Stonehenge. The Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, Kansas . . . or is it in Darwin, Minnesota?

Roadside attractions are the staples of the American road trip. Many are slowly disappearing from our highways and byways. Are they culture or kitsch? Are their creators artists or innovators? Listeners are invited along for the ride to decide for themselves.

Track Listing:

Introduction by Noah Adams

Destination: Time Capsule

Unraveling the Story Behind a Big Ball of Twine

Roadside Attractions Fading from Landscape

Riding Seattle’s Space Needle

Missile Museum Sparks Cold War Memories

Present at the Creation: Burma Shave Signs

Backyard Folk Art Thrives in Michigan

Is There an Age Limit on Road Trips?

Cypress Gardens, Essence of Florida

Preacher Selling Elvis Museum on eBay

At Velvet Museum, Get in Touch with Kitsch

Finding Faith Along America's Highways

Blue Chevrolet


Running Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes