One thing I enjoy about traveling is seeing the roadside oddities that have sprung up.  As a child, it was  exciting to see the giant buffalo in Jamestown, ND, or the cow, Salem Sue, in New Salem, ND, or even the prairie chicken in Rothsay, MN.  I’ve seen the twine ball in Darwin, MN, the snowmobiling turtle in Bottineau, ND, the Jolly Green Giant in Blue Earth, MN, and of course, Paul Bunyan and Babe in Bemidji, MN.  Quirky as these roadside giants may be, there’s something endearing about them.  As a kids, it’s exciting just to see things literally larger than life.  And as an adult, it makes me wonder, “Who thought of this, and saw it through to completion? And how many people have come to see it?”

So it was that we were in Eveleth, Minnesota, on the “Iron Range.”  I had done my homework, and had a list of museums and attractions, complete with their hours of operation and admission prices, just in case we had a little free time.

And we did.

We turned off the main road and headed toward downtown Eveleth.  We had the GPS turned on, but we didn’t need it because there were signs pointing the way, the way to . . . the world’s largest hockey stick!

Yes, it was big.  A real-life, honest-to-goodness, Christian Brothers hockey stick, mounted on a stand on a street corner in downtown Eveleth.

I got out of the car to take a picture, standing across the street to get the whole thing in my camera window.  The kids, inside the car, ooohed and ahhhed about it, and then came their question.  (Kids are always thinking, aren’t they?)  IS THAT THE WORLD’S LARGEST PUCK TOO?

Do you have a favorite roadside attraction? Do you think big concrete (and wood) things are fun, or just plain strange?

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