American Road Magazine Volume 8 No. 4 Zurück Ausgabe

From Santa Claus, Indiana, to Mistletoe, Kentucky, Tannenbaum, Arkansas, and Silverbell, Arizona, holiday-themed towns and attractions turn winter into a wonderland. American Road® magazine's Winter 2010 issue unwraps that colorful package.

The magazine's nod to noel begins with "The Road to North Pole," a 264-mile trip from Valdez to Fairbanks along Alaska’s Richardson Highway. Ace photographer Amy C. Elliott captures the icy landscape with an exquisite eye, focusing on the people, horizons, and free-roaming wildlife that cause so many to claim Alaska as one of this world's last unspoiled gifts. Editors Thomas Arthur Repp and Robert Klara provide the literary ribbons and bows.

When—and how—did the first Santa-inspired roadside attraction come to be? The answer lies in 1915 San Francisco and Jillian Gurney's feature "Toyland: How Santa Arrived on the American Road." That story of Christmas Past serves as prelude to "American Road's Holiday Compendium"—an extensive ensemble piece in which American Road® magazine's staff of stocking stuffers showcase twenty-five tinseled attractions across North America—from the California resort used to film Bing Crosby's 1942 musical Holiday Inn to the candy cane mecca that is Ohio's Spangler Store & Museum. One will find the World's Tallest Santa Claus, the bridge that inspired Frank Capra's classic "It's a Wonderful Life," and a Dickensian dark ride built in tribute to Scrooge's "Humbugs."