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If you’re searching for local color while out and about on the road, look no further than these seven towns …

If you're searching for local color while out and about on the road, look no further than these seven towns. What they lack for in population, they more than make up for in personality.

1. Webster, Massachusetts
Located not far from Interstate-395, you'll find a Massachusetts town named for prominent attorney and presidential candidate Daniel Webster. While the city's place in American history is interesting – battlefield nurse Clara Barton is from a nearby area as well – what you'll really want to check out are the water sports. Webster is home to the lake with one of the longest names in the English language. Pros might attempt to pronounce Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, while others can go with its more common name of "Webster Lake."

2. New Harmony, Indiana
You might not know it based on looks, but what is now just another stop off of Interstate-64 was once a Lutheran Shangri-la. New Harmony was originally founded by a sect of German Lutherans trying to construct the perfect Christian community in preparation for the Second Coming of Christ. When the Lutherans, led by George Rapp, decided to head back East to Pennsylvania, Rapp sold the town to the wealthy Robert Owen who had dreams of his own utopia. Owen built a city without social classes or personal wealth. Even though he attracted many scholars to the new New Harmony, Owen's experiment still failed within two years. Today, the town is a quaint tourist destination proud of its place history.

3. Wetumpka, Alabama
Few towns can claim history that dates as far back as Wetumpka, Alabama, which involves a detour off of Interstate-65. The Wetumpka Impact Crater, located on the city's edge, spans five miles across and was created by a meteor that fell to earth in the Age of Dinosaurs. If prehistoric relics aren't enough of a draw, parts of the Albert Finney and Jessica Lange feature "Big Fish" were also set in town.

4. Marfa, Texas
Nestled between Interstates 90 and 67, visitors will find stunning natural wonders and cinematic landmarks in Marfa, Texas. The city has long been known for the unexplained light phenomena that fills the sky just after sunset each evening. Spend your day sightseeing in a town that once housed Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean while they were filming the movie "Giant" on location, and pass the later hours staring in wonder as incandescent flashes shoot across the horizon.

5. Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
Initially, this New Mexico town was one of many "Hot Springs" named for the natural geysers beneath the city's surface. Everything changed when, on the 10th anniversary of the popular radio program "Truth or Consequences," host Ralph Edwards thought it would be a great idea for a town to name itself for the show. Hearing this, and thinking a name change might boost tourism, "Hot Springs" voted to become "Truth or Consequences." You'll find this town of 8,000 just off Interstate-25, and the city council wants you to know that you'll find the natural landscape just as captivating as the moniker.

6. Winslow, Arizona
It won't take long for anyone who has turned on the radio in the last three decades to recognize this name. Winslow, Arizona was once a bustling town thanks to travelers on the nearby Interstate-66. But, once construction was complete on I-40, there was no more thru traffic for Winslow. Luckily, The Eagles hit "Take it Easy" brought the city a new kind of fame. Be sure to visit the Standin' on the Corner Park while stopping over in this Northern Arizona haven.

7. Boring, Oregon
Even though this Oregon town was named for founder W.H. Boring, the city is still keenly aware of how its title sounds to outsiders. Located between Interstates 84 and 205, the slogan for Boring is "the most exciting place to live." A few hours in Boring offers an excellent example of what Pacific railroad towns were like at the turn of the nineteenth century as well as providing plenty of fodder for jokes during those long hours in the car.

If summer makes you long for the open road, check the Travel channel all season for insight from road trip experts in addition to tried and true itineraries for great road trips of your very own.