Summer is officially here and it is time for us to load up our cars and hit the road. While you may have a destination in mind you might also want to stop someplace strange and different. If this is what you are looking for here are five strange tourist attractions.
James T. Kirk Birthplace Marker (Riverside, Iowa): Space is still the final frontier and for many of us Captain James Tiberius Kirk, is still the bravest adventurer to ever explore the stars. Having established that Starfleet's greatest captain was a product of the Hawkeye State, the town of Riverside saw a chance to claim themselves as the future birthplace of Captain Kirk. Establishing his future birthdate as March 22, 2228 (March 22 being William Shatner's actual birthday) this stone marker has become a popular gathering place for Trekkies. In the years which followed Riverside has embraced their most famous tourist attraction by changing the name of their annual summer festival from River Fest to Trek Fest. They even changed their town's motto from "Where the best begins" to "Where the Trek begins". The love for Star Trek Riverside has shown has not gone unnoticed as JJ Abrams made it official that Riverside was Kirk's hometown in the Kelvin timeline of his 2006 film.
Georgia Guidestones (Elberton, Georgia): Have you ever thought about how humanity would survive going forward and developed a plan to keep life on earth sustainable? You probably have not, luckily a man calling himself Robert C. Christian did. A group of devoted followers he claimed were "loyal Americans" decided to help him share his vision with in the town of Elberton, Georgia. With seemingly an endless amount of funds, Christian and his followers erected a massive granite structure etched with his ideas of, limiting the human population and ruling with moderation. His philosophy is engraved in: English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian on this strange monument and he had the plans for everything destroyed so they could not be duplicated. The positioning of the stones in relation to the celestial bodies seemed to suggest the Georgia Guidestones were designed to be an astrological calendar of some kind. Rumor even holds that beneath the stones, RC Christian placed a time capsule though there is no way to be sure.
Evermore Park (Pleasant Grove, Utah): All of us enjoy stories of fantastical realms of magic, monsters, and adventure and even wanted to visit such places. Thanks to Utah's newest themed attraction, visitors can finally venture into the world of fantasy themselves. Conceived by Ken Brettschneider, and built by talented craftspeople who poured in countless hours to ensure Evermore Park was as authentic as humanly possible. From movie accurate costuming and fx to actually venturing to Europe in order to get plants and building material which fit their vision. The level of immersion Evermore Park gives promises to be a game changer in the world of themed entertainment giving guests a new storyline with each season to follow. This summer will see the debut of Mythos, which promises to put guests face-to-face with creatures from myth and lore. The level of immersion promised by the creative people at Evermore Park promises to be unlike anything visitors have experienced before.
International UFO Museum and Research Center (Roswell, NM): In the summer of 1947 something from the skies crashed in the small town of Roswell, New Mexico and the rest is history. Given that the government continues to obscure the facts about the incident and the fact that those who witnessed it firsthand are slowly but surely fading away, the International UFO Museum has made it their mission to collect and make available the information concerning the Roswell crash. The museum opened it's doors in the early 90's courtesy of Walter Haut who incidentally was the public information officer at the Roswell Army Air Base at the time of the incident. Contrary to what you may believe the exhibits of the International UFO Mus eum does not go out of it's way to convince you one way or the other of the subject, but rather presents the facts and urges you to ask your own questions. That being said the exhibits are truly fascinating including a staging of an alien autopsy, a diorama of greys landing, and a life sized Gort and Klaatu from the science fiction masterpiece the Day the Earth Stood Still.
The Devil's Crossroads (Clarksdale, Mississippi): According to music lore, groundbreaking guitarist Robert Johnson was willing to sell his soul to become a great musician. One night about an hour and a half south of Memphis where US 49 & US 61 intersect; Johnson met with the Devil himself and made this barter. Something seemed to happen because before this the blues man was regarded as a mediocre at best player, but after taking some time away he reemerged with a fierce new talent which caught everyone's attention. Though his new fame was short lived, as Johnson passed away and became one of the first members of the infamous 27 Club. Today the man behind songs like "Hell Hound on my Trail" and "Cross Roads Blues" is revered as one of the most influential musicians ever, and his alleged meeting at the crossroads with Satan still fascinates people. To commemorate this infamous encounter, a sculpture has been erected right on the "Blues Highway" featuring three guitars. While in Clarksdale you should also take time to check out the Delta Blues Museum as well as the famed Ground Zero Blues Club. Who knows maybe you will have your own encounter with a tall dark phantom at the crossroads.
