I, Zeb the Duck and Soapy Smith Duck, with our moms and a friend, drove southwest about 100 miles from Denver. Visiting friends in Canon City was our purpose, but we want you to see some of what we found along the highway. This old prison was along the side of the road.
Prospect Heights Jail 1906
Rather small. Compare to what we saw a few miles down the road.
Supermax Prison, Colorado
This photo from Wikipedia is a federal prison in Colorado. Often referred to SuperMax, it is believed to have the highest security of any U.S. prison. It houses our most dangerous male prisoners. Next we saw this giant chair.
Large rocking chair
The sign said it is 21 feet tall, 14 feet wide and weighs 9,100 pounds. In 1990, when it was built, it was the world’s largest rocking chair. That record no longer belongs to this chair. The historic Apple Shed has closed, so we could not get closer to the chair.
Large rocking chair
We had to look through a fence. We then pulled off the road at Col. Leo S. Boston War Memorial Park.
Col Leo S. Boston War Memorial Park
There are Vietnam era helicopters and jets here. We stopped to see the Penny Project.
Penny Project
The big steel letters were made by students in the Canon City High School metal shop. Attached to the letters are pennies. The letters spelling “IN GOD WE TRUST” are covered with 58,272 glued on pennies, one for each American killed in the war. Most of these pennies were minted during 1965-1971, the war’s deadliest years.
Covered with 58,272 pennies
There are plans to expand this War Memorial Park. Our next, and last stop, was to see Herkimer, the World’s Largest Beetle.
Herkimer, The World’s Largest Beetle
Herkimer was built in the mid 1950’s and is a monster sized West Indian Hercules Beetle. Herkimer’s purpose is to advertise the May Museum of the Tropics.
May Museum of the Tropics
The May Museum contains many preserved unusual and rare insects. As you drive the roads of the United States watch for unusual things. We learn of most items from http://www.RoadsideAmerica.com You may find this site interesting also. Please tell us if you know of other interesting roadside art.
Colorado Traveling Ducks 
Thanks Zeb you reminded me of a picture I need to take the large dog in our neighborhood! He is the biggest dog statue I have ever seen 🙂
Don’t know a large dog statue near us. Hope you take photo and post it. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Love all the unique and fascinating things you have shared on this road trip. So much respect with this, because so often we just rush to our destination without taking in all those cool “treasures” along the way.
Too bad you were not able to get up on the chair. With the size of those dimensions you would almost need a ladder to get up on it. We also have a tiny jail where my village is. It is 2 cells, has not been used as a jail in decades and is now a historic site!
Thank you for sharing. I really enjoyed this! 🙂
We had fun stopping at all the unusual things along the way. It looked like some work was being done behind the fence near the chair. We hope something will open there and then we will be able to see the chair up close. And also see a new business. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Goodness, so many big things. I wonder if the tiny jail is indicative of the lack of crime in the area. 🙂
We would like to think there is lack of crime in the area. However just down the road is the super maximum security prison, so we never really know. But everything was peaceful and safe while we were there. Thanks for reading and commenting.
This place seems so charming. I would love to visit it soon. How long would you recommend staying there?
We live a couple hours from here, so this trip we were just driving through. There are many opportunities for outdoor activities. Hiking, Rocky Mountains nearby, rafting, restaurants and cultural activities in neighboring Colorado Springs, even Olympic Training Center. You could spend a day or a few months and have plenty to do. Hope you visit the area soon.