Category: Roadside Attractions
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A Welcoming Coffee Pot and the Métis Fiddler in Davidson, SK
We were headed to see a very large Coffee Pot, but when we arrived we found that at this roadside rest stop has a bonus sculpture. But first, the coffee pot… Located on highway 11 halfway between Regina and Saskatoon is a 24 foot tall sculpture of a coffee pot. The pot is intended to…
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Otto, the World’s Largest Otter in Fergus Falls, MN
Otto- all 40 feet of him- stands along the banks of Grotto Lake in Adams Park. He was build in 1972 in honor of the centennial of Otter County where Fergus Falls is the county seat. A local High School shop teacher and his students made the initial attempt to create Otto. Unfortunately, and I…
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Worlds Largest Pelican in Pelican Rapids, MN
We are still in Otter Tail County, home to Otto the Otter. This time, we are visiting the World’s Largest Pelican, Pete. Located on the bank of the Pelican Rapids, which is also the name of the city, this sculpture was constructed in 1957. That makes Pete a year older than Joe. At 15.5 feet…
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Nyberg Sculpture Park in Vining, Minnesota
We were heading northwest from Darwin, MN on our way to a small community campground in Barnesville, near the North Dakota border, when we happened upon this outdoor sculpture park. Ken Nyberg (1938-), a retired construction worker, started creating sculptures out of scrap metal in the late 1980’s and soon after, he began to incorporate…
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Big Ole in Alexandria, MN
This 28 foot tall viking statue was created in 1965 to accompany a Celtic Rune Stone that was found in nearby Kensington by Olof Ohman, a Swedish farmer, in 1898. Engravings on the stone suggest that Viking explorers reached Minnesota in 1362, well before Columbus’ discovery of the new world. While there is doubt about…
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One Big Twine ball in Darwin, Minnesota
We were passing close to Darwin, MN and detoured to see “The Largest Ball of Twine Made by One Man.” There is a reason for those quotation marks that we address below. The twine ball was created by Francis A. Johnson (1904-1989). He lived his entire life in Meeker county and worked as a self-employed…
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Another Bore in Moncton
We returned to Moncton, NB to see the tidal bore for a second time. We wrote about this in a post last year recapping our trip prior to contracting Covid on PEI. You may recall that we had to cut our visit to Canada short in order to spend 3 weeks quarantining and recovering in…
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The World’s Largest Cedar Bucket
It is mid-October and we are passing through Tennessee on our way home to Pennsylvania. On our route is what is advertised as “The World’s Largest Cedar Bucket.” It’s a no-brainer for us to stop and check it out, especially when there is a local brewery located just a few miles away where we can…
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Dignity of Earth and Sky
Having lived in Pennsylvania for most of my life (Joe) has defined my expectations of what a rest area on the interstate should offer: A bathroom, and if it’s clean, that’s a plus; Vending machines dispensing salty snacks, and if they take contactless payment, that’s a plus; A picnic area with tables, and if they…
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Hartman Rock Garden
Imagine being laid off from work. Now imagine it’s 1932, during the Great Depression, and you’ve been laid off by your employer. What would you do? In 1932, Ben Hartman faced that scenario and he began creating art in his back yard. He continued to do so until his death from occupational exposure to silica…