Looking for weird, wacky, unusual short stops for following itinerary

[ArrrV]

Well we are doing it again, taking our grands (15,15,13) on a 3-4 week camping trip out West. They helped picked some of the spots (as part of something Old something New) and I have thrown in some surprises.

I am looking for your collective input for short side trips or stops along the way that are fun, weird, wacky. If you have been to the nuclear plant outside Arco, ID you will understand what I am seeking (or Roswell, or the worlds largest pistachio or buffalo or...)

So here is the itinerary:
drive solo from S Florida to Las Vegas where we pick up the kids from the airport then
Grand Canyon to Page (Antelope Canyon) to Zion (drive around to avoid the tunnel) to Yellowstone(can't believe Fishing Creek is closed all summer AGAIN) to Sapphire mining in Phillipsburg, MT, to dinosaur bone hunting in Glendive, MT to Teddy Roosevelt National Park to Memphis and high tea at the Peabody, then back to South Florida.

Was hoping to visit the Kennecott Copper mine pit in Utah on the way from Zion to Yellowstone but visitors center opening has been delayed. I could really use some help with this leg.

In case you are wondering why Bryce, all the parks at Moab, Canyonlands, Capital Reef, Badlands & Rushmore are missing, those were done in other trips (as was Yellowstone but they wanted to go back).

So, I'm counting on the collective you for some great ideas for short stop and play diversions along the route, and then back on the road.

[Pete'sMH]

Why do you want to avoid the tunnel at Zion? If you are looking for a fun and unusual thing that surely fits the bill! I enjoyed Zion more even than the Grand Canyon. You might give Los Alamos a visit. We were on a schedule so could not afford to stop but now I wish we’d made the time.

[JamieGeek]

Two good places to find roadside oddities:
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/
https://www.atlasobscura.com/

(Although Atlas Obscura tends to be more world wide than US focused there still is some good US spots in there.)

If you're going down Route 66 in New Mexico you can have to road sing to them (this would be fun to surprise them with):
https://www.popularmechanics.com/tec...sical-highway/

In AZ: Standing on the Corner in Winslow, AZ, Meteor Crater, and the Wigwam motel

[airforceret]

We've done the tunnel at Zion. You must pay a $15 fee for the tunnel but they allow one way traffic at a time so you can drive down the middle and not worry about banging the sides.

[ArrrV]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

Why do you want to avoid the tunnel at Zion? If you are looking for a fun and unusual thing that surely fits the bill! I enjoyed Zion more even than the Grand Canyon. You might give Los Alamos a visit. We were on a schedule so could not afford to stop but now I wish we’d made the time.

Many years ago we went through the curvey sometimes steep at places road and thru the tunnel We had a pop-up then. We will be marginally close to the top end of the tunnel height requirement--13 ft (we replaced our OEM A/C with a heat pump version). Worried that in early summer there will be long lines and a very tight fit. Beautiful sights, but going around in consideration of my DH who is going to be driving close to 7,000 miles on this trip.
Los Alamos looks neat, just our type of "thing" but it is not on this year's route, which really starts in Vegas. We have our route mapped, and will consider alternate roads that generally follow our planned route. Our our way to Las Vegas DH is unlikely to make many stops as he is focused on getting to Vegas in plenty of time to pick up the kids who are flying to meet us.
Thanks for thinking of us! I will keep Los Alamos on a list for future trips.