Carhenge

I've never been to England, but I have this feeling that the ancient monoliths at Stonehenge don't quite measure up in the entertainment department with their lesser-known counterparts on this side of the Atlantic.

Then again, the Druids had the distinct historical disadvantage of not being able to work with used cars.

For my money, few places match the allure of Carhenge, an awe-inspiring collection of-- ironically enough-- used cars that rises inexplicably from the cornfields of Nebraska's northern panhandle a few miles outside of Alliance on U.S. 385.

It may not enjoy the scenic or historical backdrop of its more famous predecessor, but this monument to America ingenuity and the human spirit evokes a sense of mystery and wonder all its own. And if it's true that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I can't imagine a better tribute to the stone circles over in the U.K.

I first saw Carhenge on a family road trip to Mt. Rushmore back in 1993. I was a very young and impressionable college student at the time; little in my life had prepared me for the raw emotion and sweeping power inspired by those Nebraska cars.

While I had been to Wall Drug and Oakley's irrepressible Prairie Dog, this was to be an experience unlike any other; a trip into a surreal commingling of history, ancient mystery and kitsch art, all in the unlikely setting of a small midwestern town.

When the first gates of Carhenge appeared through the windows of the family car, we knew we had to stop and take a look.

Besides, it was free, and the crowd was small.

A page of history: Carhenge was conceived and built by one man, Jim Reinders, during a family reunion in 1987.

Reinders' attention to detail was extraordinary: the cars (painted a uniform gray and welded into place) are arranged in a circle in direct relation to the original boulders at Stonehenge. The number of cars exactly matches the number of boulders found in the English version.

Indeed, Reinders' creation is aligned along the same compass points as Stonehenge. Only a difference in latitude between the two sites keeps Carhenge from being a true astrological calendar: the sun shines through its main gate along the principal axis 23 days after the June 21 summer solstice.

This minor technical discrepancy, however, does not detract from the monument's overall brilliance. And while it is doubtful that Carhenge will ever be used for, say, ritual sacrifice, it nicely captures the spirit of the original in a quintessentially American style.

All of the cars, incidentally, are American made.

It's a telling statistic that over 80,000 people visit this place every year. As the site's literature points out, Carhenge has been featured on "Good Morning America" and, in what may be the highest cultural honor attainable, has been pictured on the cover of Steely Dan's Greatest Hits. The cars have even inspired their own microbrew (Carhenge Wheat), a few bottle of which greatly helps in appreciating the importance of Reinders' colossal achievement.

Carhenge's history is not without controversy, though. In 1989 the Alliance City Council determined that Carhenge violated existing land use restrictions (the cornfield where it was built was zoned for agricultural use), and wanted to tear it down. Even the Nebraska Department of Highways wanted to designate the site a junkyard and put up a fence around the perimeter. After an outpouring of protest from every corner of the globe, including, presumably, England, the city changed its tune and granted Carhenge a zoning variance as a "tourist attraction."

As a result, it still stands today in all its glory in the same cornfield two and a half miles outside of town, an imposing figure in an otherwise simple landscape of rolling hills and prairie.

There are many places in this world which remain a mystery to us in the twentieth century: Easter Island, the Pyramids at Giza, Canada. Like these mysterious places, Carhenge inspires more questions than it answers.

But if you ever find yourself in northwestern Nebraska, don't pass up a chance to visit one of the strangest roadside attractions you'll ever see this side of Cadillac Ranch.

And don't forget to try the beer.