For one token the dragon will even breathe fire for you!

Roadside Attractions

There's something uniquely American about a road trip.  And sometimes the goal isn't even the destination, but the actual road trip itself.  You'll often see some roadside attractions along the road, but what exactly is a roadside attraction? According to the Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, a roadside attraction is anything that takes your attention away from your end goal of reaching your destination.

What most people mean by "roadside attraction" is a site that has in some way been "framed" and consciously presented to a public audience for visitation and viewing. It is a "roadside" phenomenon both in the obvious sense that it exists in some proximity to regular routes of public movement and in the sense that it has the particular capacity to draw, at least briefly, a traveler's attention away from the goal of reaching an intended destination.

In short, a roadside attraction is a short distraction from your road trip.

Illinois' Weirdest Roadside Attraction?

While I'm not sure this is the weirdest roadside attraction there are certainly many odd ones.  Just check Roadside America and there is a wild list! But this one breathes fire, which is pretty cool! So what's the story, how did a fire-breathing dragon end up in Illinois?

The Kaskaskia Fire-Breathing Dragon

Located in the small city of Vandalia, Illinois sits a massive metal dragon on the side of the road, and for one token you can make it breathe fire.  According to Roadside America, the Kaskaskia Dragon is named after the local hardware store down the road.  The dragon was originally built during a slow winter for the hardware store in 1995 to be a float in the local Halloween Parade, eventually in 2008 it became a permanent fixture.

It's free to come by and view the dragon, but if you want it to breathe fire you'll need to stop in and get a token.  You can get a token from the liquor store across the street, or the Kaskaskia Hardware Store for $1 per token.  One token makes the dragon breathe fire for about 10 seconds.

Roadside America has the following directions to the dragon:

I-70 exit 61 and drive south toward the Wal-mart. Make a left at the light onto US Hwy 40/Veterans Ave. Dragon will be on your right in about a mile, at the corner of Rock Island Ave. Tokens at the liquor store across the street, or behind the dragon at Kaskaskia Supply. If the dragon is out of breath, let Kaskaskia know!