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Five crowd-powered picks. One gloriously weird bracket. We asked our patrons to nominate America’s best roadside attractions and then argued our way to a final five, weighing what truly makes a highway stop irresistible: surprise, visibility, story, and a dash of “did I really just see that?”

We start by sharpening the definition of a roadside attraction—quirky, often free, and ideally something you can spot or stumble on while cruising—then put it to the test across a spectrum of submissions. Hell, Michigan brings playful immersion with singed postcards, a mini-golf gag reel, and the chance to be mayor for a day. Dignity of Earth and Sky elevates the genre with stainless steel and glass honoring Indigenous heritage, looming beautifully over the Missouri. Solomon’s Castle in Florida delivers pure maker magic, a tin-clad dream built by a single artist that turns oddity into awe.

Along the way, we explore the charm of Hattiesburg’s Pocket Museum Alley, packed with tiny installations, perspective murals, and geocaches—proof that small spaces can deliver big delight. We unpack the Thomas Dambo “Big Rusty” troll and how recycled art can spark a national scavenger hunt. And yes, we wade into Florida weird with Gatorland, tip our caps to the country’s smallest post office, and debate whether the Hollywood sign and dinosaur parks count as true roadside stops or full-on destinations. For dessert: a lonely Big Boy marooned in a Wyoming field, a world’s largest bobblehead, and the Peachoid—an unforgettable peach-shaped water tower with pop-culture cred.

By the end, we tally scores and call in our AI tiebreaker to lock the bracket. If you love geocaching, road trips, and the thrill of pulling over for something delightfully odd, you’ll leave with a punch list of must-see stops and a clear sense of what makes roadside culture so addictive. Join our Patreon to nominate future picks, vote in the bracket, and help steer the show. If this made you smile, follow, share with a road-trip friend, and drop a review—what’s your favorite roadside attraction we should feature next?

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A century on the odometer and still full of surprises—Route 66 turns 100, and we’re hitting the Mother Road with a guide who knows every neon sign, diner counter, and roadside oddity by heart. We welcome back Val Broman of Silly America to share her audacious project: a new Route 66 video every single day this year. From Illinois to California, she’s surfacing icons and deep cuts, proving there’s far more than 365 stories hidden along 2,400 miles of asphalt.

We trade favorites and discover fresh stops that deserve a pin on your map. Think a boom in muffler men across the route, a throwback breakfast at College Street Cafe in Springfield, a retro-chic stay at Motel Safari in Tucumcari, the folk-art wonderland of OK County 66, and the serene glow of Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch in California. We also talk about the dance between nostalgia and new energy—restored service stations, fresh selfie landmarks, and neon parks reviving Main Street after dark.

For travelers who want to plan smarter, Val built Route66Roadmap.com, a free tool that organizes attractions by state and type: roadside attractions, diners, motels, museums, and shopping. You can bookmark stops, shape an itinerary, and prioritize the experiences that matter to you. Geocachers will love how neatly it pairs with Adventure Lab routes and virtuals at famous corners and whales. Whether you’re eyeing a weekend segment or the full Chicago-to-Santa Monica run, you’ll leave with a strategy that mixes history, quirky wonders, and perfect photo ops.

Join us for a centennial celebration that doubles as a practical playbook. Subscribe, share this with your favorite road tripper, and leave a review so more travelers can find these hidden gems. Which Route 66 stop would you choose first?

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What if you could walk into a movie and stay the night? We head to Woodstock, Illinois—the real-world stand-in for Punxsutawney—and sit down with Lori, the innkeeper behind the Cherry Tree Inn Bed and Breakfast, the house fans know as Phil Connors’ wake-up spot. She tells us how she tore down the no trespassing signs, opened the door to anyone peeking through the windows, and built a year-round tradition where hundreds stream through on Groundhog Day weekend to relive the magic.

Lori breaks down the on-screen illusions: why the film’s staircase sits differently, how stained glass and a corner fireplace were recreated on set, and what it feels like to live “inside” a celebrity house. We get the wild story of the 2020 Super Bowl Jeep commercial, from a snow-drenched shoot to Bill Murray and Stephen Tobolowsky rewatching scenes under a tarp to improvise lines. Along the way, we hear about celebrity breakfasts, a waitlist that stretches a decade, and visitors from nine countries who arrive with personal connections to a film that quietly teaches us to do today a little better than yesterday.

The town itself shines. Independent shops circle the square, the opera house draws touring acts, and holiday movies now film on the same streets where Phil’s loop unfolded. For geocachers, an acclaimed Adventure Lab threads the filming locations and ends at Lori’s door with a top-rated bonus cache. Whether you come for road trip nostalgia, small-town travel, or the perfect log on your stats grid, Woodstock rewards curiosity with detail, warmth, and repeat-worthy charm.

Subscribe, share this episode with a movie lover or geocacher, and leave a review to help more travelers find hidden gems like Woodstock.

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Florida didn’t just thaw us out—it rewired how we explore. We landed in Fort Myers with a loose plan and a lot of curiosity, then let geolocation games, local tips, and a few bold choices turn a winter weekend into a highlight reel of hidden gems. We chased the oldest geocache in Florida through a recently burned Everglades trail, watched smoke curl above the path, and laughed about the gators we didn’t see. A quick prompt led us to the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, where the free grounds—lined with giant banyan trees and quiet labs—outshone the ticketed tour. And downtown delivered: Ford’s Garage set the tone with gas pump door handles, tire sinks, and food that was way more than a gimmick.

The Munzee community made the trip sing. We walked pristine park loops, mirrored sunsets on still water, and witnessed a crowning moment as Colecracker7 became the world’s new number one. The hosts nailed the details: creative name tags, a “how did you get your handle” roll call, and a bingo card that turned strangers into fast friends. We put the new VACs feature to work and felt the difference—safer in cars, easier during walks, and perfect for travelers stacking caps across the city. By Sunday, the totals told the story: 5.1 million points in four days and a leaderboard bump that felt earned.

Play followed us everywhere. Nice Guys Pizza glowed with blacklight art and a wall of pinball machines where a surprise upset changed our arcade pecking order. Millennial Brewing’s mural tour jumped from DeLorean to Millennium Falcon, and for the first time, we all ordered the same sour. Then came Jungle Bird Tiki, a bamboo-wrapped oasis with generous pours in tall ceramic mugs, LED vines overhead, and food that kept us talking. It was the perfect landing spot to trade notes, plan the next event, and appreciate how Fort Myers and Cape Coral reward people who explore by foot, by app, and by appetite.

If this journey gives you ideas, hit play and take notes. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend who loves hidden gems, and leave a quick review so more travelers can find their way to the good stuff. Where should we hunt for treasures next?

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In this episode of the Treasures of Our Town podcast, hosts Joshua and Craig reflect on their experiences over the past year, sharing personal stories, family updates, and insights into their podcasting journey. They discuss the unique towns and quirky attractions they've explored, engage with their listeners through patron submissions, and celebrate the growth and achievements of their podcast. The conversation highlights the importance of community, family, and the joy of discovering hidden treasures across America. In this engaging conversation, Craig and JJ explore a variety of themes related to travel, geocaching, and unique roadside attractions. They discuss the excitement of March Madness, memorable experiences from the Texas Challenge, and the underrated charm of St. Louis. The duo also delves into quirky topics like the Boring Town Challenge and the whimsical Uranus, Missouri. They reflect on the largest geocaching event in Morgantown, the unique Porcelain Pilgrimage, and the fun of navigating block parties. The conversation wraps up with insights on full-time travel, discovering small towns, and a spooky exploration of the most haunted webcam in America, along with behind-the-scenes details of their GIFF film.

Texas Challenge Video

Haunted Library Video

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What if the life you’ve been chasing is waiting in a town you’ve never heard of? We sit down with journalist and filmmaker Corey Hepola, the creator of My Town, a high-quality docuseries that spotlights the people, jobs, and everyday magic inside America’s small communities. Forget the stereotypes—Corey shares why the data, the stories, and the views from the ground all point to a different truth: rural places are growing, evolving, and attracting families who rank quality of life above everything else.

Corey takes us from his broadcast career to the conversation that changed his path, then opens the curtain on how My Town comes together: months of research, a local leadership team, and three interwoven storylines featuring stayers, boomerangs, and newcomers. We hear how Watford City turned an oil boom into a welcoming culture with top-tier schools and healthcare, why Fairmont’s bacon economy and chain of lakes create surprising momentum, and how St. Joseph’s award-winning restaurant and bakery make a compelling case for destination dining far from the metro glare. He also shares Joy Ranch’s moving mission and a peek at season three adventures, including a hot air balloon championship.

If you love road trips, geocaching, or simply finding what’s real beyond the freeway, this conversation delivers a map of places worth your time—and maybe your future. Watch the My Town series on YouTube, then come back and tell us which town stole your heart. Subscribe to the show, share this episode with a friend who needs a weekend escape idea, and leave a review to help more curious travelers find us.

My Town LINK

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A simple plan to tackle Nevada’s ET Highway turns into a cross-state quest for awe. We kick things off in Phoenix and climb toward Flagstaff, chasing a crisp horizon and a stop at a veterans memorial built to catch the sun at 11:11 on 11/11. The Grand Canyon delivers that familiar shock of scale from new South Rim overlooks, and then Route 66 starts pulling us back in time. Seligman feels like a living postcard, Kingman frames your car under an iconic sign, and Oatman steals the show with wooden storefronts, a daily shootout, and wild burros who wander the street like they own it.

We veer into California for Joshua Tree National Park and watch the landscape morph into Dr. Seuss silhouettes and boulder gardens. Earthcaches push us off the road to touch geology, and the golden-hour light makes even the cholla glow. On the way back, a roadside cache under a giant Coke bottle and a plane casually landing for supplies remind us that desert highways never run out of surprises. Then it’s Vegas for a quick reset, where budget-friendly beds come with steep fees and the food is pricey but memorable. We meet friends, pull the slot lever once, and wake up early for the main event.

Nine cars. Thousands of caches. A system that replaces every container and turns a blank desert shoulder into a well-oiled route. The ET Highway demands patience, spare tires, and teamwork, but the payoff is huge: a full sweep logged and a convoy full of stories. Tonopah adds color with dinner at the Mizpah Hotel—said to be the most haunted in America—and a stroll past the Clown Motel and its neighboring historic cemetery, where hand-stamped plaques record how lives ended in stark detail. It’s a raw counterpoint to the neon a few hours south.

The finale is pure future: The Sphere and The Wizard of Oz in 16K. The tornado brings wind and cold across the seats. Snow drifts from the ceiling. Apples drop. And flying monkeys become drones circling overhead. It’s the classic film, intact, surrounded by AI-extended worldbuilding that turns watching into inhabiting. If the Grand Canyon is a natural wonder that humbles, this is a man-made wonder that lifts your jaw and won’t let go. Hit play for the full route, the geocaching tactics, the small-town gems, and a cinematic experience you’ll be talking about for weeks. If you enjoy the journey, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review to help others find these hidden treasures.

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Wizard of Oz the making at the Sphere.

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A tiny town with no stoplight. A maker who keeps a notebook by his bed. And a film that asks a simple question: if you hide it, will they come? We pull back the curtain on our Geocaching International Film Festival finalist and the real story that inspired it—how Chad (aka Tricassius) turns dreams into intricate gadget caches that draw people from around the world to Gilby, North Dakota.

We walk through the entire creative journey, from the Field of Dreams spark to the choice to keep dialogue sparse and the emotions loud. You’ll hear how we staged early-morning “wake-up” shots, filmed build montages without spoiling secrets, and used shelter belts as our stand-in for the iconic cornfield. Then we dig into the edit: rotoscoping dozens of “ghost cachers,” layering subtle sound design, and crafting a score that rises from crickets to a full-on swell as the town fills with arrivals. There’s even a behind-the-scenes confession about an alternate HQ cameo we loved but cut to keep the focus on Gilby.

It wasn’t all smooth—our theater premiere nearly fell apart when the DCP failed, and a single HDMI cable saved the day. Along the way, we celebrate the broader GIF reel, call out standout entries, and share why we chose heart over easy laughs. If you love geocaching road trips, gadget caches, and small towns with big stories, this one hits all the search-worthy notes: geocaching film festival, Gilby North Dakota, travel hidden gems, and the craft behind cinematic cache hunts.

Subscribe to the show, share this episode with a cacher who needs a new destination, and leave a review to help more travelers find their way to the “Disneyland of geocaching.” What moment gave you chills—Chad’s trembling pen, the first ghost, or the final cars rolling into Gilby?

Josh OG Video (Grandmother)

Alternate Ending

GIFF Film

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