ITS MOST famous daughter tottered before the judges in a swimsuit, heels and sash. But if there were beauty contests for small towns, Wasilla would really need to shine in the talent section.

The home town of Republican pitbull Sarah Palin looks like a giant strip mall, although one blessed with snow-licked peaks and nearby glaciers. People move here for the beauty of the surroundings, not the town.

As I drive along the main drag 45 miles from Anchorage, I wonder: did this commuter town of 7,000 really forge America's most controversial politician and launch the country's hottest hairstyle?

Bars and fast-food joints rub shoulders with big-box stores such as Home Depot. And, perhaps not surprising in Caribou Barbie country, Wasilla has multiple taxidermy shops and the outdoor megastore Sportsman's Warehouse. This is more like it.

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I'm engulfed by an endless row of guns and “only-in-Alaska” DVD hits such as the genre classic Advanced Wild Game Processing, Vol. 2: Jerky. But I'm nervous about pervy-sounding Whitetail Freaks 1 and Burly Bucks 2. Can I get these in a plain brown wrapper?

Across the highway there is the International House of Pancakes. It's not just carb heaven, it's comedy gold. This, the joke goes, is where Palin gained her foreign affairs experience - from the French toast.

Wasilla is proud of Palin - everyone tells me so - but there is little outward enthusiasm beyond a rickety- looking “Good Luck” on the town's only cinema, which doubles as a church on Sundays.

The immaculate city museum is hedging its bets. Inside I spot a raincoat made from waterproof walrus intestines - an edgy look that still hasn't appeared on the campaign trail - but there's no Palin memorabilia. “If we put a Palin exhibit up, it might be viewed as political,” the curator, Bethany Buckingham, says. So it's neutrality everywhere, except for Palin's biography in the gift shop.

Across town at the headquarters of the Iditarod, Alaska's legendary dog- sled race, the town's other famous resident Togo - a husky whose 1929 trek to Nome inspired the event - has been stuffed and mounted in a glass case. Win or lose next week, Governor Palin deserves better than a one-way ticket to the taxidermist.

I check out Palin's Wasilla Bible Church and the bright yellow city library, where she is reputed to have tried to ban books such as Pastor, I Am Gay. But there is scant evidence of a burgeoning Palin tourist industry.

For that it's a road trip to Anchorage's Fourth Avenue. This tourist strip offers “Alaska girls kick ass” key chains or moose-dropping earrings. At the Polar Bear Gift Shop the “hockey moms and lipstick” bumper sticker sold out weeks ago, but a Wonder Woman-inspired “Super Sarah” shirt is available in sizes up to 5XL.

For a more twisted piece of Palinphernalia, there's the fur bikini in the Fur Factory window. Now that's the swimsuit that would have clinched the Miss Alaska title. “You put it on, have a little show, then take it off for another time,” says furrier Jorge Hernandez. “They aren't washable.” Just try explaining this little number to the dry-cleaners back home.

Perhaps the most overt tourist trap is Anchorage's Blues Central bar, where a weekly Sarah and Todd Palin lookalike contest packs the house. The opening band, Sarah and the Pitbulls, is bad. “I've had food poisoning,” mutters a kid at the bar, “and this band is a lot worse.” Tonight's faux-Sarahs wink behind their smart-girl specs, but frankly they lack flair. “One gal recently came in with a pregnant friend to play Palin's daughter, Bristol,” says the manager, Bob Wynn. “Now that was cool.”

The Todd competition is much more fun. The guys on stage wearing goatees, gaudy snow machine jackets and too much hair gel look like the Alaskan dudes in the audience. The fake Todds face off in an interview to win a moose-hunting trip and rifle: What are the names of your kids? What's easier to ride: a snow machine or your wife? It's not tasteful. It's not high culture. But would Alaska's homegrown, elite-bashing potential VP approve? You betcha.

Hair and bobby pins on campaign trail

Sarah Palin's updo, glam enough for the campaign trail but practical enough to inspire hockey moms, is the hairstyle talked about around the world. But is it realistic for travellers?

Jessica Steele, the Alaska stylist who launched a million updos from her Beehive salon, insists that the style is tough enough to handle flight delays, overhead bins, and a full schedule of swing states. If you're travelling with the updo, follow these tips to keep your hair looking more like Palin and less like Winehouse.

Pile it high Want to avoid that awkward hairdo indentation made by the aircraft seat? Pin your hair higher on your head. It will look more formal - and presidential enough to convert another state - but won't rub against the seat.

Lock the bobby pins in place

Be sure they snap together in X-shaped pairs. The Palin updo requires only six pins - two on top of the head and four on the sides - so relax: you won't set off the metal detector.

Get out the granny bonnet

Just kidding. This style has only one enemy: rain. “Rain will leave you looking deflated” Steele says. “So treat yourself to an umbrella.”

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