America is great to drive across and you definitely won’t want to miss out on these unique roadside attractions dotting our Western Coast.

The Spruce Goose at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, OR
It was the height of World War II, and Howard Hughes decided to build the most ambitious soldier-transporting airplane in existence, one capable of carrying up to 750 troops and all their gear across the Atlantic Ocean. Due to wartime rations on aluminum and other lightweight metals, Hughes decided to build the plane entirely out of wood—birch to be exact. Hughes’ avian monstrosity became the largest flying boat in existence and the plane with the largest wingspan of all time. Nevertheless, production fell behind and missed the war, so only one prototype was made. Dubbed, “the Spruce Goose” by the media, it only flew once before Hughes hid it away for 30 years, perfectly maintained in the belief it would one day be needed. Now it’s housed in the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum along with a number of unique attractions. Definitely worth the visit.

Seattle Gum Wall, WA
This is truly a weird one. The Market Theater has an alleyway in downtown Seattle that is entirely covered with gum. We’re talking fifteen by fifty feet, several inches thick. It apparently all began in the early nineties as patrons walked out of the theater’s shows by the improv comedy group, Unexpected Productions, and began sticking their chewed gum to the wall. The theater tried cleaning it a couple times but they were no match for the whims of the mob. The gum wall has since become a local landmark (made famous by a scene with Jennifer Aniston in Love Happens) and was declared as one of the “germiest” landmarks in the world. The gum was removed by the city in order to clean the underlying brick (which was falling apart due to sugar-erosion), but it’s since back up and running.

Salvation Mountain, CA
Leonard Knight originally started building his famous 3 story tall and 100 foot wide concrete mountain in 1984, although the first one collapsed and the one that became famous is actually his second attempt. Inspired by a desire to share love, Knight covered the mountain in psychedelic painting and bible verses, most notably the phrase, “God is Love.” While Knight passed away in 2014, you can see him in the movie Into The Wild playing himself as he reenacts an encounter he had with the actual Christopher McCandless. Feel free to bring your own paint to the site and enjoy climbing all over it.

Oregon Vortex, OR
Legend has it that Native American tribes believed the land now known as the Oregon Vortex was forbidden, due to the fact that horses apparently refused to enter its domain. Today the area has been hyped in myth and lore for its purported paranormal activity. The proprietors claim that, “Trees really do grow in corkscrews here, brooms stand on end, tennis balls roll uphill, people seem to grow or shrink depending on where they stand.” A ball seeming to roll uphill is some sort of optical illusion due to the bizarre angles of the terrain that really does take place, but the rest is open for debate. The site also contains the world’s first “House of Mystery,”  built by the Old Grey Eagle Mining Company in 1904, which rose to prominence by the gumption of its owner John Lister who performed experiments in the area and recorded his supposed supernatural findings.

Randy’s Donuts, Inglewood, California
Californians LOVE their donuts and Randy was no exception. This 22 foot diameter donut statue sits atop a 24 hour doughnut shop just a few miles north of LAX Airport. Randy first started his drive-in chain in 1953 and his Big Donut statue has never ceased to be a huge tourist draw. You may recognize from its endless cameos in famous movies and TV shows like Entourage, Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles, Dope, Get Shorty, Californication, Iron Man 2, and 2012.