Welcome to Roadside Wonderland

Just off old Route 66 is the perfect picnic spot for a serene respite from your busy day hunting out plaster dinosaurs and giant muffler men (or is that just us … hello .. is this thing on .. ?) This historic covered bridge crosses Sugar Creek, just outside of Chatham Illinois. It is so picturesque I thought either Laura Ingles from "Little House on the Prairie", or Gordy and Chris from "Stand by Me” might come strolling out of there at any minute. The bridge is 110 feet

We know many Americans who consider the corn dog to be their national dish. I mean, who ever thought of wrapping a weenie in cornbread!? and then French frying it? .. and then poking a stick up its bottom?? Well, according to Illinois folklore Ed Waldmire did, that’s who! The cozy dog drive in is allegedly the birthplace of the first hot dog on a stick. Ed’s wife Virginia christened their invention The Cozy Dog. Then she designed the cutest logo in the history of weenies

Vintage signs lovers, midcentury kitsch aficionados, classic car and vintage gas station enthusiasts, route 66 explorers and hungry road trip travellers .. get your smelling salts out, because Motorheads celebrates all those things in a massive, enormous, extreme and wonderful way. Like, holy wow! The enormous restaurant and bar is a great pit stop in a burger, pretzel, pub cheese, cheeky beer way, but the star of the show is the fabulous sprawling museum with its classic

Springfield Illinois is an incredible treasure trove of roadside Americana - vintage signs, neon, gas stations, diners, and of course, muffler men! The Lauterbach Giant is a Paul Bunyon style muffler man. Today he is missing his axe, but on special occasions he holds an American flag instead. The Lauterbach Giant has been on a few road trips of his own. In 1961 he made his first stop at Midtown Tires in Springfield. That business only lasted a year, so in 1962 the muffler m

Honestly, I thought my eyes might explode from all the vintage neon joy they were soaking in. If you’re a vintage sign lover, a fan of neon, or just a bit of a sticky beak into how this small yet fabulous sign business operates, the Route 66 Sign Museum is for you. You can book tickets online, but we just showed up, and for $10 each we were shown throughout the entire factory, including its collection of almost 100 historic and beautifully restored signs. The museum is ho

What happens when a giant Carpet Viking has a mid-life crisis, finds the business he has guarded for decades is no longer selling Viking carpets, and needs to find a new lease of life?? Well, apparently, he sheds the horns from his helmet, trades his burgundy and brown color palette for blue and gold, and gets a new job as mascot for Springfield Southeast High School. (Go Spartans) In 1967 the Barker-Lubin Homebuilders store stopped selling Viking Carpet products, which was

Abraham Lincoln lived in this charming twelve room, two story home for seventeen years, and only left when he got a new job and had to re-locate … to The White House … to become President of the United States. Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln, who was born in this house, donated it to the State of Illinois under the condition that it would forever be maintained, and open to the public at no charge. The National Park Service, who maintain the home, did better than that, an

We turned a corner in Springfield Illinois, and there it was! The State Capitol Building! It wasn’t even on our radar, so we didn't have too much time to stop and explore but next time we will for sure because the interior is just as glorious as the exterior! The first legislative session was held here in 1877, and today, if the legislature is in session, you can still watch the action from balcony level seating. There are lots of things to do here, besides gasp at the be

Springfield Illinois is a treasure trove of Route 66 roadside wonders, big and small. It’s little glimpses of road trip life in a different era that make travelling Route 66 so fun and interesting, and Mahan’s Filling Station in Springfield, is one of those lovely little vintage glimpses. The tiny filling station was built in 1917. Throughout its long life it has been a Texaco station, a Marathon station, and a Philips 66 Station, and relics of all it’s past lives remain

The Legends Neon Sign Park sits in the Illinois State Fairgrounds within the Route 66 Experience. It’s a neon lovers fever dream, with a mix of recreated and restored vintage neon signs screaming the names of long defunct businesses and motels, as well as their amenities. The epic Chain of Rocks motel sign boasts about its PHONES in white neon, its TVs in green neon, and its VACANCIES in red neon. Other signs include the A Lincoln Motel, the Coliseum Ballroom and the Bel-

The Route 66 Experience inside the Illinois State Fairgrounds is a must see, especially for Route 66 travelers and vintage sign and neon lovers. It’s open every day of the year, just inside Gate 2 of the fairgrounds, so we suggest visiting outside of fair time when you might get the whole place to yourselves, like we did. (if you visit outside of fair time, enter via the fairgrounds main gate - we were able to drive in and park inside the fairgrounds) The Route 66 Experienc

Look at this fabulous mural on the side of the men’s Rest Room at the Illinois State Fair!! Just be sure nobody is coming out of there when you aim your camera at it or you will seem creepy! Sometimes you find roadside wonders in unexpected places…. and who, on a road trip, does not enjoy finding a bonus restroom. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mid-West USA no. 19 -last visited October 2024

In the mid 1800’s, when a young Abraham Lincoln was working chopping and splitting logs for the Frontier Fencing Company, would he have ever thought, in his wildest dreams that this moment would one day be immortalized in a giant 30-foot-tall fiberglass sculpture at The Illinois State Fairgrounds …. oh, and that one day he would grow a beard … and become president. Lincoln's youthful employment with an axe earned him the nickname “the Rail Splitter”, and this nickname was W

On 9 acres, on the outskirts of Carthage Missouri, on Route 66, sits the 66 Drive In Theatre. There are probably less than 300 drive in movie theatres that still remain across America, and this is one of the greatest. It opened in 1949, four years before this area had television, and originally had loudspeakers dotted throughout the parking area to provide sound. At the entrance gate the glorious streamline moderne style illuminated neon sign still stands in all its glo

Atlanta Illinois must be the Muffler Man capitol of the world, with Muffler Men on just about every corner. and home to the American Giants Muffler Man museum. One of our favorites is the giant hot dog man - yes, it’s a Muffler Man holding a giant hot dog! Happy days. Before moving to Atlanta giant hot dog man lived at Bunyon's Drive Through hot dog stand in Cicero Illinois. He was erected there in the mid-sixties and lived there for 40 years until Bunyons closed in 2003.