Roadside Oddities

Sometimes you come upon a statue, signage embellishment, or other remarkable item along the road. Here are some oddities worthy of remembrance.

Martini-Drinking Elephant: This giant fiberglass pink elephant stands in front of Elite Beverages in Fortville, Indiana. It's been enjoying a martini since at least the early 1980s and has made appearances in parades.

The giant Coke bottle originated from a Coca Cola plant in Indianapolis in 1949. It ended up in the hands of a Bruceville, Indiana resident who has other fun oddities in his yard.

Rounding out the trio of Indiana oddities is the "Minion Silo," an Ossian resident's homage to a character from the Despicable Me movie franchise. 

The "Jimmy Carter Peanut" was built in 1976 in Indiana for a Democratic Dinner, then eventually moved to the former President's hometown of Plains, Georgia.

This large hot dog statue sits alongside the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, just outside of Dairyland, Wisconsin.

The Beaver Bridge, a.k.a., the "Little Golden Gate Bridge," (built 1949) is a one-lane wooden suspension bridge in northern Arkansas, just south of the Missouri border. A sign welcomes you to the community of Beaver. The "Jack" rabbit statue sat in front of the Hillbilly Restaurant in Gateway, AR. When the restaurant closed in 2005, a local couple from nearby Garfield bought it, repainted it, and placed it in their yard.

This artwork of a fork stuck in a block of cheese resides in New Albany, Indiana.

Giant woman welcomes guests to Martha's Cafe in Blackfoot, Idaho.

The Britten Leaning Water Tower is located in Groom, Texas, along I-40 (formerly Route 66). A local businessman purchased it for water storage for his restaurant and truck stop, but made it into an attention-getting device after finding a better solution for that need.

Homemade Rest Stop just outside of Alliance, Nebraska, invites weary travelers to take a seat in more ways than one. It is no longer there, sadly. The giant radio is located near Butte, Montana, while the Calistoga sits near Prairie City, Oregon, containing information about the Malheur National Forest.

Decorative tank near Estancia, New Mexico; frog outside the old train depot in Prosperity, South Carolina (the town used to be called "Frog Level" and as such references are found throughout).

Ox outside the IGA in Brookville, Indiana; one of the surviving Sinclair Dinosaurs; giant James Dean at Blackwells Corner, California, not far from the crash site where he died.

Cactus mailbox in northern Utah

Car part and license plate sculpture in or near Lyman, Mississippi

Tree mailbox (location unknown); giant chair in Sebastopol, California

Visited: 2015 -2023