Strangest Roadside Attraction in Every State

Luggage that never gets picked up from the airport carousel doesn’t stay there forever. It ends up in the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Alabama. Visitors can comb through the contents of the bags. Customers sometimes get to open a bag and see what’s inside. Previously discovered items include a suit of armor, a 5.8-carat diamond, and a live rattlesnake.

Half-way between Fairbanks and Anchorage, this concrete igloo-shaped hotel is a popular tourist stop, though it never actually opened because it didn’t meet building code requirements. Built in the ’70’s, the building has gone through many owners, none of whom were able to complete up-to-code renovations.

Arizona is known for its petrified wood, and Stewart’s rock shop is where many tourists buy it (even though it’s scattered all over the state and in the Petrified Forest National Park). Don’t worry if you think you won’t be able to find the store — the huge, hand-made dinosaurs are quite noticeable from Interstate 40.

Arkansas may be known for its thermal baths, which attract many tourists every year, but if visitors want something else to experience, they can turn to an alligator museum. That something else is often an alligator museum. This is where you not only get to visit adult and baby alligators, but also you can see mountain lions, monkeys, and racoons.

You’ll find this roadside attraction along the old Route 66. Elmer Long welded together a forest of metal so-called trees and hung dozens of colorful glass bottles from each one. Atop each tree there is an object such as a sewing machine, guitar, rifle, and various signs.