My husband is always a good sport. For our honeymoon, we opted to take a road trip–clearly a beloved past time of mine–and we headed to Northern Michigan with the intention of stopping at every ridiculous spot we could find that was still open late in the season. Next stop: St. Ignace’s Deer Ranch. It’s a petting zoo! It’s a gift shop! It’s got a lot of deer. I know we have photos of the deer but I can’t seem to find them. Oh, well. For your enjoyment

There is nothing better than photo-op sign!

My husband–with no facial hair! weird!– is the best sport ever!

This probably falls outside a typical roadside oddity but I love mid-century modern furniture and architecture and, in my mind, the style is closely related to roadside Americana.

At the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit is the only place to find the “Home of the Future” today! The Dymaxion House was created to be an efficient home of tomorrow. It’s a domed building with little privacy but maximum space! I really love it. Check out the wiki entry about it here.

Check out this photo to understand the exterior!

Here’s a sampling of my photos of the interior of the Dymaxion House:

The core:

The kitchen:

Two views of the dining/living room:

Sadly, I don’t have any pictures of the bedroom! The closets were so cool! You can find more images here!

Even among the Northern-most residents of Michigan’s lower peninsula, there is talk about “da yoopers”–those folks that live in Michigan’s upper peninsula. The U.P. is another world filled with self-referential humor and unabashed love of hunting, the outdoors, and drinking. It’s rural America with a weird sense of humor.

And it’s got TONS of Roadside Attractions! One of my favorites is Da Yoopers Tourist Trap and Museum–free admission and free bathrooms. And those bathrooms flush, I tell ya, unlike many of the rest stop restrooms that litter da U.P!

Sadly, I don’t have a photo of Gus, the world’s largest chainsaw, but I do have a pic of the world’s largest working rifle! It’s quite a machine!

What was I doing at Da Yooper Tourist Trap? Just my honeymoon! I love a good roadtrip and my husband loves to drive aimlessly. We’re a good match.

Anyway, you can check out Da Yoopers Tourist Trap with plenty of pictures here.

Included in the free museum is a series of bizarre yooper scenarios, my favorite involving the two deer turning the tables on a hunter. It’s so beyond weird. I love it. And my uncle is a taxidermist so I respect the craftsmanship, too!

There’s plenty of other photos on their site. It’s right on US-41 West in Ishpeming. It was a late fall day when I visited and took these photos in 2002.

Only three days old and I have a guest submission!

My friend Cindy offered up this photo of her friend Will fondling a well-endowed wooden lady! She looks like she can’t decide if she likes it or if she’s going to bitch slap him. Having been in that position before (though not with Will here) I can relate!

This lovely lady is situated in the Northern outskirts of Sault Ste. Marie, Canada (our first international find).

Cindy couldn’t remeber the exact place but she said she always called it “that tourist trap”! Sounds like my kind of place! In honor of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (known affectionately in these parts as “da U.P.”) my next post will highligt a special spot along da U.P. landscape: Da Yooper Tourist Trap–giftstop with FREE restrooms!!