Byways

Lambert’s in Sikeston specializes in “throwed rolls”
There’s nothing better than an RC and Moon Pie
Devil Tower National Monument is a towering landmark

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.

Rolling in Dough

Lambert’s Café in Sikeston, Mo., is the home of “throwed rolls.”

Say what?

As the tale goes, on May 26, 1976, owner Norman Lambert was passing around hot rolls at dinnertime, and he couldn’t get to a customer in the back of the restaurant. So, the customer yelled, “Just throw it!” And that’s exactly what he did.

Today, the wait staff at Lambert’s still tosses rolls to patrons (an average of 520 dozen every day, as a matter of fact).

The Sikeston location, at 2515 E. Malone Ave., bakes more than 2 million rolls a year, and even more are made at the Lambert’s restaurants in Foley, Ala., and Ozark, Mo.

Diners come to enjoy the throwed rolls and great food at Lambert’s Café from all 50 states and many foreign countries.

A Food-lover’s Festival

It’s not easy to cut and serve the world’s largest Moon Pie, but folks in Bell Buckle, Tenn., have mastered the task.

The 4-foot-diameter, 14-inch-thick Moon Pie is one of the main attractions at Bell Buckle’s annual RC and Moon Pie Festival, held the third Saturday in June. The giant Moon Pie, layered with marshmallow, graham cracker crumbs and chocolate, is served to hundreds of festival-goers – though serving it isn’t easy to do.

Other festival attractions include a watermelon seed-spitting contest, a 10-mile run, Moon Pie Hoops (contestants must drink an RC Cola and eat a Moon Pie while hula-hooping) and the RC Dash, which requires participants to place open cans of RC Cola on the palms of their hands and run from one point to another.

A craft show, music, cloggers and the crowning of the RC and Moon Pie King and Queen are also part of the fun. And, of course, there’s plenty of food, from barbecue to deep-fried Moon Pies.

Quite an Encounter

If you want to have a close encounter, go to Devils Tower National Monument, an awesome, 1,267-foot
rock monolith in northeastern Wyoming, just 60 miles from Gillette, Wyo.

President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed this massive structure the nation’s first national monument on Sept. 24, 1906. A sacred site of worship for many American Indians, Devils Tower is also a popular destination for tourists, wildlife enthusiasts and rock climbers.

The towering landmark has even caught the eye of the movie industry. What’s the Hollywood connection? Rent the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind and check out where the spaceship lands.

A Seedy Story

Clark County, Wash., had its first apple harvest in 1830. One tree, one apple. The Old Apple Tree was planted in 1826 near Fort Vancouver, and today it is known as the oldest apple tree in the Northwest and the matriarch of Washington state’s apple industry.

The annual Old Apple Tree Festival is held each year at Old Apple Tree Park, located on Columbia Way in Vancouver. Activities include a Heritage Tree bike ride, kids’ activities, a fruit tree-pruning workshop and information from local environmental groups and arborists. Festival-goers also receive Washington-grown apples and cuttings from the Old Apple Tree, courtesy of the Urban Forestry Commission.

Butter Cow is a life-size animal made of unsalted butter

A Moooving Monument

She stands in the dairy building, all 500 pounds of her, sculpted from – you’ll never guess – pure butter.

One of the highlights of the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, the Butter Cow is a life-size animal made of unsalted butter, which is applied to a wire and wood frame by an amateur sculptor wielding an oversized palette knife.

The Butter Cow has been an unofficial icon of the August fair since the 1920s. In 2007, the Butter Cow sported a new design and a new display case. Instead
of sitting stationary against a white wall, the cow is now placed in the middle of the room, rotating on a large, wooden octagon. How slick is that?

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