Only in Your State | New Mexico | By Juliet White

There are loads of things to do in New Mexico, including plenty of weird places to visit. Next time you want a break from our state’s more mainstream attractions, check out these weirdly interesting places to visit.

Giant Roadrunner Statue

What’s 20 foot tall, 40 foot long, and has Volkswagen headlights for eyes? If you answered the roadrunner sculpture in Las Cruces, you’d be correct. The artwork was originally created in 1993, by Olin Calk, as a way to promote recycling. You can find this giant bird at the rest stop off I-10, just west of Las Cruces.

McGinn’s Pistachio Tree Ranch

We know you’ve been desperate to pose by the world’s largest pistachio! Break out the selfie stick because this thing’s huge. This pistachio is perched at 7320 U.S. Hwy. 54/70 North in Alamogordo.

Before the jokes about nuts begin, it’s worth noting that the story behind this sculpture is sweet. It’s actually a memorial to Tom McGinn, who started the attached pistachio and grape farm, from his son as a way to honor and remember his father. What started as a memorial, has turned into a measure of celebrity, and quite possibly, a destination in its own right.

The Staircase in the Loretto Chapel

There’s a fine line between mysterious and weird. Let’s just say that it’s extremely unusual for a staircase with two 360 degree turns to function without any observable methods of support. The story behind the staircase is what is particularly interesting, and dare we say, miraculous. The carpenter who built it arrived at the end of a 9-day prayer, and disappeared before he could be thanked or paid. It was handmade with only a carpenter’s square and a hammer. It’s worth visiting for sure!

American International Rattlesnake Museum

It’s safe to say that this museum, which is devoted entirely to snakes, is unique. It’s located at 202 San Felipe NW Suite A, in Albuquerque.

At its core, this unique museum, is an animal conservation museum that was established to explore myths about the feared creepy, crawlies and to share information about how they are beneficial in nature. It is home to more snake species (34) than most popular zoos combined!

Tinkertown Museum

Pretty much everything on the inside and outside of this museum is weird – in the best possible way. This is folk art at its finest. Walls of bottles, collections, and wacky western memorabilia is just a small portion of what makes up Ross Ward’s tinkertown. It took him 40 years to gather and build the things you can see and experience when visiting.

Tinketown Museum is located in Sandia Park, at 121 Sandia Crest Rd. It opens for the season on March 24, so it’s the perfect little destination for a weird, but promisingly interesting spring break trip!

The Town of Hatch

Parts of Hatch, like the area around Sparky’s, are massively kitschy. It’s surreal to be greeted by these larger than life figures.

The Classical Gas Museum

This is another large scale collection, but this time it’s gas pumps and gasoline memorabilia. It’s located on NM-68 in Embudo, NM.

The Classical Gas Museum is the singular passion of a man named Johnnie Meier, who stuck around northern New Mexico after retiring from a career at nearby Los Alamos National Laboratory. The love of the open road and the unsung beauty of its commercial art has always been under Johnnie’s skin, so about 25 years ago he started hard core collecting all kinds of travel and gas station paraphernalia: neon signs, maps, soda machines, toys, motor oil cans, a few cars and trucks, a whole lot of old gas pumps, and even a little vintage diner. Needing a place to put it all, he settled on a spot in Embudo and created the Classical Gas Museum.