Five of the best roadside attractions in Texas:
CADILLAC CARNIVAL: In a cotton field west of Amarillo is one of the grand monuments to folk art in the nation. Cadillac Ranch, 10 Caddys stuck nose-down in the dirt along I-40/Route 66, was the idea of the San Francisco-based Ant Farm and executed by the late Stanley Marsh 3. Damage caused by a Sept. 8 arson will soon be covered with several coats of spray paint. This is the place to make your mark on an American landmark.
HEROES REMEMBERED: The Iwo Jima Memorial outside the main gate of the Valley International Airport in Harlingen also includes the grave of Harlon Block, one of the soldiers depicted in the memorial. The monument of the flag raising is the original model of the bronze statue in Washington, D.C.
FASHION ON THE DESERT: The lonely Prada Marfa is actually closer to Valentine and about 26 miles from Marfa on Highway 90. The faux fashion store reached landmark status nearly as soon as it arrived in 2005. Target Marathon, a white cinder-block shack adorned with the bulls-eye logo about 15 miles west of Marathon on Highway 90, has joined in on the joke.
METAL MENAGERIE: On the southbound frontage road of Highway 288 at Bellfort Road is Eclectic Menagerie Park. Don’t touch the collection of oversized art that includes animals, insects, and a fishing pole reeling in a pickup truck. Welder Ron Lee did his part to keep Houston weird.
SPECIAL PEE: The park at the county courthouse in Sulphur Springs has two public restrooms made of glass. The one-way mirror walls let you do your business while watching the water features gushing from the sidewalk.
1,472nd in a series. Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.
This article appears in November 8 • 2019.