Piling into the car with snacks of all variety in the back seat, a couple of packed bags, and the GPS set (or a map crinkled in the back cause no one can refold it properly). It’s the best way for a road trip to start. Also considering the snack look like an unsupervised 5 year old with a credit card went and bought the snack helps the image as well.

Roadtrips are something that I’ve been going on most of my life. During summer vacation, my siblings and I packed ourselves into a car and traveled with my parents across the country. Our destination sometimes depended on where my dad was needed for work, but he took time off so we had time to enjoy traveling to and from the destination. There were times it was just for fun, like the week after Christmas when we visited one of our grandmas who live in Las Vegas, NV. During the times we traveled further east across the country, we always came back through Iowa to visit my mom’s side of the family in a small little back roads town. The one where the main street was walking distance from the houses. We timed it to be during the 4th of July because we the parade of tractors that went through town in the morning and all the fireworks at night that the farmer’s let off in their field..

It appears we aren’t the only ones who enjoy taking road trips. Since the first car was made available to more people, they began to expand out and travel, though before this they took covered wagons and horses or simply walked on foot. However, what we know as the modern day road trip didn’t really become popular until 1950s. Before that there was an auto camper craze through the 1920s and ‘30s, but tapered off when World War II began.

As road trips became more popular, little road side attractions began popping up all over the country. Route 66 is the most famous example of this with places like The Jack Rabbit Trading Post, the Grand Canyon, Cadillac Ranch, and the St. Louis Arch. Okay, so two of those are famous landmarks and not quite roadside attractions. However, you don’t have to look far to find one across the country. The best way to find them, is to get off the interstate and take the local roads through towns.

By venturing off the beaten path, you’ll find great little attractions like the Blue Whale of Catoosa (Oklahoma), Mystery spot in Santa Cruz (California), or even the world’s largest anything. While it may seem like these are relics of a bygone travel era, there are people out here today still making the trip with their friends and family to share those memories. In return, it helps keep these little places alive and around for the next generation to see.

The American culture people have been obsessed with encompasses the roadside attractions as well. On Route 66, you’ll see tourists from all over the world making to trek to see America’s Mother Road for themselves. It feels important to keep these places open. The families and people who have built them and continue to run them are an example of being able to live their dream. I view it as an inspiration that your dream doesn’t need to be building a multi-million dollar business. It can be as simple as building a roadside attraction that brings people so much joy they want to share with others to keep it alive.

While road trips feel like they might not be as popular as they once were 75 years ago, it turns out that it is still a popular thing to do. People are out there exploring and visiting little places to make their journey more fun rather than driving straight through to their destinations. The best road trips are the destination.

Until next week, safe exploring everyone!