The great state of Tennessee is home to some of the country’s best (and strangest) attractions. Home to everything Elvis, Tennessee is also prone to “big” attractions along with a lot of cultural highlights that only the locals seem to “get”.
So come along on a Jurnii as we travel into the South and uncover some of the strangest attractions that can be found on the great American roadside.
1. Museum of Appalachia: Clinton, Tennessee
The terms weird and wacky take on a whole new meaning once you have visited the Museum of Appalachia; home to seemingly endless oddities and strange attractions.
Boasting over a quarter of a million artifacts, highlights of the museum include the perpetual motion machine, the American axe and the tribute to the history of the nail.
2. Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers: Gatlinburg, Tennessee
If you like your food seasoned (and seasoned well) you are going to love the Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers.
Walk the halls of this crazy museum and come across almost 20,000 salt and pepper shakers, each placed into their own unique category, in a manner that is pleasing to the eye and quirky enough to make you stop and take a look.
From feet and crab claws, to every vegetable imaginable, this museum covers it all!
3. Elvis Museum: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
No museum encompasses the true extent of the Elvis phenomenon quite like the Elvis Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Die-hard fans are likely to swoon over his old sweaty clothes, the underwear that was hurled at him onstage and the two sets of his x-rays. Add to this collectables of the last personal hygiene products he used and you have yourself a shrine that could easily compete with (and even surpass) the bedroom of any completely obsessed fan.
4. Dinosaur Walk Museum: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Americans seem to love all things big so it seemed an obvious move to combine this notion of big with the ancient creatures of terror; the dinosaurs.
Walk among creatures that existed over 65 million years ago, being careful to avoid a run-in with the 42-foot long T-Rex and the 70-foot long Apatosaurus.
The Dinosaur Walk Museum is a huge novelty but definitely not one to miss!
5. International Towing and Recovery Museum: Chattanooga, Tennessee
The town of Chattanooga has a rich towing history; in fact some may liken it to Detroit’s strong connection to the auto industry.
The International Towing and Recovery Museum pays tribute to all things towing, housing an impressive collection of odd-looking tow trucks that each tell their own unique story. The aim of the museum is to lift the dark shadow that usually follows tow-truck drivers around, and achieves this through the colorful displays and exhibits.
- Chrissy
Been to Tennessee lately and think we’ve left anything off the list? Let us know about them in the comments below!
