Strangest attractions along the TransAmerica Trail?

[RussellB]

I'm interested in making a list of things to see/experience along the TransAmerica Trail which might not be listed on the official maps, but which are unusual enough to make interesting blog posts or stories once I get home.  The following is the list I've come up with so far, and I was hoping other forum readers who have ridden the TransAmerica Trail could reply to this message with their own suggestions:

• A major portion of the route Robert M. Pirsig rode for his novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is duplicated by the TransAmerica Trail from Prineville OR to Missoula MT: I thought I could take pictures of things which match up to what was described in the book.
• In Florence CO, the TransAmerica Trail route passed by the ADX Florence supermax prison. I read the http://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/flm/index.jsp document on visiting procedures and didn't find anything which restricts visits from "friends," or any restriction on who is considered a "friend." So, I could pick some random prisoner who isn't anywhere close to their maximum of five visits a month and schedule a visit.
• Marshfield MO is the hometown of astronomer Edwin Hubble (of the Hubble Telescope). They have a 1/4 size replica of the Hubble Telescope.
• The geodesic dome where R. Buckminster Fuller lived in Carbondale IL is apparently open for visits and photos.
• The Gathering of the Juggalos (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gathering_of_the_Juggalos) in Cave-in-Rock IL will take place over Aug 12-15 this year. I consider the chance to attend a festival in honor of what has been voted to be the worst rock band in the world to be quite an opportunity.
• The Old Talbott Tavern in Bardstown KY has apparently been open since the revolutionary war, and was patronized by Daniel Boone, the exiled Louis-Philippe of France, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Henry Clay, John Fitch, John Audubon, Jesse James, and George Patton
• Getting a tour of Virginia Military Institute in Lexington VA (noon at 415 Letcher Ave).

Can any more experienced riders top any of those suggestions?

[indyfabz]

• In Florence CO, the TransAmerica Trail route passed by the ADX Florence supermax prison. I read the http://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/flm/index.jsp document on visiting procedures and didn't find anything which restricts visits from "friends," or any restriction on who is considered a "friend." So, I could pick some random prisoner who isn't anywhere close to their maximum of five visits a month and schedule a visit.

In addition to asking yourself whether something like that might be seem insulting or patronizing, you should read Section 16.  You must be on the inmate's approved visiting list.  Also note that Section 17(C) provides that visiting privileges will ordinarily be extended to "friends and associates" having a pre-confinement relationships with the inmate, and none of the exceptions would appear to apply to what you have in mind.

Sorry, but I believe this is one experience you should not pursue.

[RussellB]

Thank you for pointing out 17(C) - I knew that I'd need to get on the approved visiting list, which is what I meant by "scheduling," but I'm embarassed to say I missed the provision restricting "friends" to pre-confinement relationships. These prisoners spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, and the one remaining hour isn't spent in communal activity (i.e. it's solitary exercise), so my guess is that it wouldn't be too difficult to find someone willing to accept an unknown visitor sight unseen: so, it's the 17(C) restriction, and not the 16 restriction, that's probably the deal-breaker here.

I do need to say, however, that not insulting these particular prisoners isn't exactly my first priority in life: the people confined in this institution are genuinely the worst of the worst (mass murderers, terrorists, one gentleman who was credibly accused of over a thousand counts of child molestation, and even the CFO of Enron), and I personally do not see a single reason why I should feel guilty about entertaining myself at their expense.

[indyfabz]

I do need to say, however, that not insulting these particular prisoners isn't exactly my first priority in life: the people confined in this institution are genuinely the worst of the worst (mass murderers, terrorists, one gentleman who was credibly accused of over a thousand counts of child molestation, and even the CFO of Enron), and I personally do not see a single reason why I should feel guilty about entertaining myself at their expense.

I guess everyone has their own turn ons.

[John Nelson]

Foamhenge

[dubovsmj]

In Kansas I saw a piece of trash alongside the road.

It was captivating.

I plan to go back in twenty years to see if it's still there.

[Turk]

Maybe you could find something on this site:

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/

The world's largest ball of twine is in Darwin, Mn, not too far from the Northern Tier.