| It the 1950s, when car travel was pretty much | | | | plan a cross country car safari for nothing more |
| the norm, a real mystic developed about taking | | | | than the sheer joy of being "on the road again", |
| car trips for vacation. It was during that time, | | | | you are exactly right! When we talk about the |
| when the interstate highway systems were being | | | | great sightseeing high spots in America, it's easy |
| developed in America, that the famous "Route | | | | to talk about the big ones such as the |
| 66" came into being. Before too long "route 66" | | | | Washington Monument or Niagara Falls. But there |
| became a metaphor for getting out and seeing | | | | are hundreds of tucked away sights that are a |
| America. That is really when the idea of sight | | | | sheer delight to "discover" when you just come |
| seeing and trying to take in the really great things | | | | across them in your cross country car trip. |
| this country has to offer became possible. | | | | Small towns and out of the way highways and |
| That popular mythology of getting out there and | | | | byways have some unique and unforgettable |
| discovering the world of America surfaced in a lot | | | | sights of their own. Think of how you will wow |
| of popular ways. The book "On the Road" by | | | | your friends when you come back from your |
| Jack Kerouac, while about more than just travel | | | | road trip adventure with pictures of... |
| and sightseeing, spoke to an exploding need and | | | | * The strange but oddly beautiful Cadillac Ranch |
| desire in all Americans to know their country | | | | of song fame. As you drive along the badlands of |
| better face to face. A little later that urge to | | | | Texas, don't drive off the road when you look |
| travel that was bubbling to the surface in all kinds | | | | out and see a field full of Cadillacs buried upside |
| of ways became more popularized by a TV show | | | | down in the Texas soil back ends sticking up like |
| "Route 66". | | | | some bizarre experiment in farming. |
| That part of being American which comes out as | | | | * An off the road spot where you can actually |
| the urge to travel and see everything there is to | | | | mine for gold in the black hills of South Dakota. |
| see is part of our patriotism. But it is also a big | | | | * A desert in the middle of Oklahoma with sand |
| part of the American spirit of adventure that is | | | | dunes suitable for dune buggy rides. |
| what brought our ancestors over here from the | | | | * A massive replica of the pyramids of Egypt. |
| home country. The courage and desire to explore | | | | And you don't need a turban to see it. Just take a |
| is just part of what makes Americans tick and it | | | | few minutes off from the Grand Ol' Opry and |
| is one of the many reasons we love to get out | | | | visit this sight in the heart of Nashville Tennessee. |
| there and see everything we can see. | | | | The fun sights you can see on the road in a car |
| That desire to get out there "on the road" is just | | | | trip across the majestic expanse of America will |
| as much part of how you and I as Americans tick | | | | be sights that will stand out in your mind as much |
| today as it was when travel was new. Even | | | | as the great and very well known sights that |
| though we have ample travel options especially by | | | | everybody enjoys. And don't be surprised if you |
| air, there is something irreplaceable about driving | | | | see a look of envy in your friend's eyes when |
| across the country, discovering its amazing sights | | | | they realize you were the one who had the guts |
| from the front seat of an automobile. | | | | to get out there and put your tires to the road |
| So if you think we are suggesting you actually | | | | and discover America all over again. |