John Travolta made roadside tourist attractions cool when he played the archangel, Michael.

In the movie by the same name, Travolta and his traveling companions, a pair of tabloid reporters, take a roadtrip to Chicago. Along the way, they stop at every quirky and oddball attraction they come upon – you know, the ones that make most of us roll our eyes?  See, Michael has this fascination with the biggest, the smallest, the most unique of things – “the world’s biggest ball of string” kind of thing.  It’s a marvelous movie that didn’t get enough credit, and yes, there’s a purebred dog in it, a Jack Russell Terrier named, “Sparky.” Spoiler alert. There is a tough scene to watch that involves Sparky, but it ends well.

If we’re being honest, we probably liked the movie so much because Travolta dances in it, perhaps one of the last times he did so in a film. The angel wreaks havoc at a country bar when he replaces the song playing on a jukebox with Aretha Franklin, and every woman is irresistibly drawn to dance with him. The scene was filmed at Gruene Hall in Gruene, Texas, the state’s oldest continually operating dance hall that still stands today.

But we digress….

We mention the movie because of Michael’s interest in tourist attractions: He would have loved “the World’s Biggest Beagle.”  It’s the Beagle house at Dog Bark Park in Cottonwood, Idaho.

Dennis and Frances, the husband and wife team working at Dog Bark Park since 1997, are also chainsaw artists who carve dogs of every breed. Their work,  found all over the house, is also available for purchase in the gift shop, as well as here.  If you might be interested in spending some time at the two-bedroom Beagle House (if only to say you did) time is running out! The 2023 season ends on August 7, 2023.

For more information on how to book a stay, click here, and yes, dogs are welcome.

And by the way…..if, like Michael, you have an interest in tourist attractions, there’s an app for that!  Check this out to find over 15,000 such stops the next time you’re on the road and have some time.