Byways

The world's largest steer ever recorded
Travelers sleep in hotels, motels, B&Bs, cabins, tents, RVs – but tepees?
A place to relive root-beer memories

Offbeat America

Hop on any byway or backroad in this great country of ours, and you’re bound to find treasures. Whether it be an unusual local dish or diner, a wacky attraction or a far-out bit of local lore, there’s no shortage of trivial treasures to be found on the road less traveled. For the curiously adventurous, the detour has always been the best part of the trip.

That’s a Lot of Bull

The world’s largest steer ever recorded, Old Ben, lived in Miami County, Ind., from 1902-1910 and weighed 4,720 pounds at its death. The animal was even big at birth – declared the world’s largest calf – weighing in at 135 pounds.

Old Ben’s father was a Hereford bull, and his mother was a Shorthorn cow. The reason for Ben’s amazing growth could never be explained. At the peak of his massiveness, the animal stood 6 feet 4 inches tall, was 13 feet 8 inches wide and 16 feet 2 inches long.

Owners John and Mike Murphy exhibited their prized steer at county fairs and the Indiana State Fair until 1910.

At the age of 8, Old Ben slipped on some ice, broke his leg and was killed in order to be put out of his misery. A team of taxidermists stuffed the huge beast, and today he stands on public display within a glass enclosure at Highland Park in Kokomo, Ind.

Snared in a Trap

For a crash course in Yooper (residents of the Upper Peninsula in Michigan) culture, you must visit Da Yoopers Tourist Trap on U.S. 41, just west of Ishpeming.

The store is described as “one of the seven wonders of Yooperland” (we dare not ask about the other six).

Touting such technological marvels as “two flushing bathrooms,” Da Tourist Trap sells locally crafted gifts, toys, collectibles and jewelry, and is one of the premier rock shops in the Midwest.

But outside is where it really gets Yooperish. Among the attractions are the world’s largest chain saw, the world’s largest working rifle and Camp Go-For-Beer, with the motto, “Never Get a Deer, Never Run Out of Beer.”

Atypical Accommodations

Travelers sleep in hotels, motels, B&Bs, cabins, tents, RVs – but tepees?

Wigwam Village No. 2 is a tepee community in Cave City, Ky., that is available for overnight stays year-round. The motel opened in 1937 and offers a unique experience for guests.

The complex in Cave City was the second in a group of seven Wigwam Villages built by Frank Redford, who patented the concept in 1936. The first Wigwam Village was built in nearby Horse Cave, and the other five were in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida and Louisiana. Only the Cave City and Holbrook, Ariz., locations remain open today.

Each of the 15 concrete tepees in Cave City has a bedroom, bathroom, cable TV, air conditioning and heating. There’s also a playground in the center of the tepees, as well as a covered picnic shelter, grills and souvenir shop.

Devoted to the Dead

The Museum of Funeral Customs in Springfield, Ill., has one focus. Death.

Sponsored by the Illinois Funeral Directors Association, this museum was built to educate visitors on the historical background of burials, embalming and funeral customs.

Some artifacts include a reproduction of Abraham Lincoln’s coffin and a re-created 1920s embalming room. There’s even an exhibit on the history of grief and mourning.

Hall of Foam

Visiting Dr. Rootbeer’s Hall of Foam in Sneads Ferry, N.C., is a little like revisiting your childhood.

And that’s just what Jerome Gundrum (a.k.a. Dr. Rootbeer) had in mind when he opened the museum/restaurant in 2004.

The “doctor” has about 4,000 objects in his collection, including everything from signs and mugs to bottles and barrels.

He serves his own personal recipe root beer, as well as lime rickey, white birch beer, cream soda and sarsaparilla.

“For our neighbors and out-of-town people, we are an attraction – a fun place to eat and drink,” Gundrum says. “We’re a place to relive root-beer memories or make new ones with the kids.”

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