Mountains – Less Beaten Paths of America Travel Blog

July 5, 2019July 5, 2019

June 2019: The Great Southwest Trek

On June 5 I departed home on a 10 day adventure to the southwest U.S. I had made plans with my sister Sherry to accompany her and her family to Tucson and Albuquerque to visit our brothers Aaron and Gary, both of whom neither of us had seen on over 20 years.

I love my road trips. But I really looked forward to this one as much of it would take me to many of my old stomping grounds. Plans were to visit Aaron in Tucson, then go up to Flagstaff, via Sedona, for a couple of days of touring around there and then off to Albuquerque to visit Gary.

San Francisco Peaks outside of Flagstaff, Arizona

I was really excited about the Flagstaff part. From 1980 to 1984 we lived in Flagstaff, where I attended Northern Arizona University and, for three years, worked as a Tour Guide/Driver for the Gray Line Tours franchise called Nava-Hopi Tours. That job was always one of my favorites as I got to take people from all over the world to see parts of the world that were fascinating. The geography and geology of the area is world-renown. The history, with the ancient American relics and the present day Native American Navajo and Hopi tribes and their life styles were also fascinating. I really was excited to visit many of the places I had not visited since the 1990s, when I took a return trip up there after getting back from Japan.

This ten day adventure took me over 6000 miles of highway and through nine states. During the trip we got to visit two National Parks (including Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest) and four National Monuments (White Sands, Sunset Crater, Wupatki, Montezuma Castle). We visited mountain tops and deserts and saw a lot of great scenery.

It has taken a while to compile much of the road trip fun. Hopefully, over the next couple of weeks I will be able to get a few fun posts out about what will likely be my big road trip for 2019.

Watch for detailed posts on the road trip and the many places. ENJOY THE RIDE!

Like what you see? Well, there is lots more! I currently have two books about offbeat and quirky places to take on your road trips. You can see both of my books at http://amzn.to/2ks6fQZ. Working on Book 3, coming in the Summer 2019!! (I hope anyway…working on it)

February 25, 2019

My Travels in 2018

Life gets so busy. The first two months of 2019 have been exceptionally busy and so I am just now getting to my annual review posts for 2018.

At the beginning of 2018 I didn’t have very high hopes for many travel opportunities. I had begun a new job in early October of the previous year and I didn’t have any definitive travel plans. But, I had also learned to roll with things and, as good fortune would have it, 2018 actually became a really good travel year.

Over the course of the year I was able to travel through 26 different states and drove nearly 12,000 miles. I was able to add a plethora of photos (I took over 15,000 travel photos in 2018) and content for use in future blogs and books. Though many of my travels were alone (which I love), I also was able to travel with family on some of the trips (which I also love!).

Morning sky taken between Bend, OR and Brothers, OR (near Millican, OR) on US Hwy 20 heading east.

A sunset scene taken from the Edmonds to Kingston Ferry in Washington

Lovely sunset after a windy day. Taken on a side road of Interstate 70 just east of Abilene, Kansas

Mt. Aetna as seen from US 50 near Monarch Pass, Colorado.

My major trips included:

A trip to Nashville in January to visit with my new employer ComicBook.com. On this trip I also visited the cool and “off-beat” Paradise PointMarketplace
Welcome to Paradise Point
In late January I made a trip down to Barren River Lake State Park in southern Kentucky to view the sandhill cranes which had migrated down there.
Sandhill Cranes take flight
In February I was asked by son Seth to come down to Cypress, Texas to watch his two sons for a couple of weeks while he and his wife were off on a cruise. The trip south took me through Calvert City, KY where I visited the Apple Valley Toy Land and Hillbilly Gardens. I also found my way to Kenton, Arkansas, home of the white squirrels, then to historic Walnut Ridge, Arkansas to see some fun Beatle’s things. I then meandered my way into Louisiana and visited a few fun places. While in Cypress with the boys I also visited Austin and then took the boys venturing out on some of the back roads around the Houston area where we discovered some fun places. My return trip took me up to Keller, Texas to visit my sister and while there I found a few more fascinating places. I then made my way home through Oklahoma and Arkansas, traveling back roads all the way and discovering some fun places. I finally returned to Lexington at the end of February.
Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden – Calvert City, Kentucky

Sumoflam with the Beatles in Walnut Ridge, AR

The Beatles in Houston, statues by Houston artist David Adickes
March saw me again on the road for a quick trip up to Cleveland, Ohio. On this trip, with my wife, we visited sites in Cleveland and then on the way home stopped in Columbus to see the famed Topiary Garden Park. It was a quick, yet fun and interesting trip.
Topiary Garden Park of Columbus
On April 2 I set off on one of the biggest road trips I have had in a couple of years. We had a family event taking place in Port Orchard, Washington. I drove while my wife flew (she had a tighter schedule and needed to take some PTO time). I set out heading west through Indiana, Illinois and Iowa. I had hoped to go up through Minnesota, but a major snowstorm diverted much of my initial plan. Nonetheless, I always find something. This trip allowed me to visit seven different Peter Toth “Whispering Giants” , which also took me to other unique places along the way. I ultimately made my way through Iowa Falls, Cedar Rapids, northern South Dakota and overnight in Belle Fourche. I then headed northwest into snowy southeastern Montana and crossed the state from there through Bozeman, Butte, Missoula and overnight in scenic and touristy Wallace, Idaho. From Wallace I made my way to Spokane and then east on US 2, to complete my travels on the western portion of that highway (other parts I had driven on in previous road trips. This took me through Washington’s high desert and then into the Cascades and back down into apple orchard country. I ultimately made my way into the Seattle area. The return trip went down through Olympia and then into Oregon on US 101 and then across Oregon’s high desert, through Winnemucca, Nevada and then into my old stomping grounds in Murray, Utah, near Salt Lake City. I then ventured to Colorado Springs to see my son Solomon and then across Colorado’s high deserts into western Kansas, and finally back home through St. Louis and Louisville. It was an amazing two week adventure!
Visiting the Whispering Giant at Starving Rock State Park in Illinois

One of over 200 sculptures from around Raymond, Washington

A stretch of Oregon Highway 205 south of Burns, Oregon

Leavenworth, Washington

Snow walls taller than me on both sides of the road at Stevens Pass in Washington

Helper, Utah

Dignity: Of Earth and Sky – 50 foot tall statue by Dale Lamphere near Chamberlain, South Dakota

Men’s Room Door at a gas station in Ashland, Montana

US Hwy 101 in southern Washington

Garden of the Gods in Manitou Springs, Colorado

On the road somewhere in NW Nevada
I didn’t really venture out on a road trip again until mid-June when my wife and I took a day long trip up to Cincinnati to see some things we hadn’t done before. It was a nice sightseeing adventure.
A day trip to Cincinnati with my wife

The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge as seen from Carew Tower in Cincinnati. When opened on December 1, 1866, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world at 1,057 feet main span.
In late July I was joined by my oldest grandchild Autumn for a fun adventure to Cypress, Texas. I was again asked to babysit my two granddsons for about ten days. Autumn and I meandered our way down there through Tennessee and Alabama down to the gulf coast and into Biloxi, Mississippi. We traveled along the Gulf Coast into Louisiana and eventually into Texas. While in Texas, the four of us made a few trips as well, including a day-long adventure to the weird city of Austin. Autumn and I then returned home through central Texas and up to Keller to stay with my sister and allow Autumn to hang with her cousin, who is the same age. After a couple of days in Keller, Autumn and I returned home through Oklahoma, Kansas and into Missouri, where we visited the unique touristy place called Uranus and then finally home. It was an amazing fun trip.
Sharkhead in Biloxi, Mississippi

Decatur, Texas

Welcome to Uranus Missouri

Getting stabbed in Bowie, Texas

One of hundreds of frog statues in Rayne, Louisiana

Peach Water Tower in Clanton, Alabama

One of a number of murals in a section of Houston

Vulcan Statue, one of America’s tallest, in Birmingham, Alabama

Woody Guthrie Water Towers in Okemah, Oklahoma

Over the next few posts, I will try to catch up with content about different themes…road scenes, wood art, murals, roadside attractions and more.

I hope you will enjoy the ride with me as I revisit these adventures.

Have you seen my most recent book yet? “Less Beaten Paths of America: Quirky and Offbeat Roadside Attractions” is available on Amazon!

The book is 130 pages of FULL COLOR whimsy and kitsch as I tell stories of my visits to these places all over the U.S. and Canada. Definitely was fun taking these back roads trips to quirkville and I am excited to share them with you in words and photos. I hope you will be able to check out the book or even get it on Kindle.

You can order the book here: See Offbeat and Quirky Roadside Attractions

June 12, 2018

April 2018 Cross-Country Road Trip: The Landscape in Photos

This is the final post from my April 2018 cross-country road trip from Lexington to Port Orchard, Washington and back. As a reminder, I covered 6000 miles and ventured through 16 states. Along the way I not only stopped to visit attractions and see the sites in towns small and large, but I also tried to capture the grandeur of the landscapes and scenery I passed by along the way. Following are a number of scenic photos from that trip. Enjoy the ride! I have randomized these, so they are not in any particular order. Captions tell the story.

Sunset in Colorado, taken on US 24 near Hartsel, Colorado

This is a sunset scene taken from the Edmonds to Kingston Ferry in Washington. The mountains in the distance are Olympic National Park. Water is Puget Sound.

This is US Route 2 heading west towards Waterville, WA

A huge dust storm as seen from Nevada Hwy 140 west of Winnemucca, NV

Lovely mountain scene from US Route 2 near Skykomish, WA

Mt. Rainier as seen from the Edmonds to Kingston Ferry crossing the Puget Sound.

US 101 near South Bend, WA. I was heading south and it was raining. Still beautiful

Another shot of Garden of the Gods in Manitou Springs, CO

This is Hole in the Mountain Peak, taken from I-80 near Deeth, NV. I was heading east and this was south of me.

Blue Mesa Reservoir in Curecanti National Recreation Area east of Gunnison, CO. This was taken from US Hwy 50.

Mt. Aetna as seen from US 50 near Monarch Pass, Colorado. heading east.

Sunbeams over Garden of the Gods in Manitou Springs, CO

One of the peaks of the Cascades near Goldbar, WA

A snowy Interstate 90 heading west towards Livingston, Montana

Seattle, Washington as seen from a ferry in Puget Sound

A scene of the high Utah desert near Crescent Junction, UT

Heading towards Pine Canyon near Waterville, WA

Sunset over Sinclair Inlet near Port Orchard, WA

Missouri River Valley near Chamberlain, South Dakota

US Route 2 just past Steven’s Pass, WA – notice how high the show walls are on the side

Skykomish River near Skykomish, WA as seen from US Hwy 2

The high deserts of central Oregon are lovely.

The view of the Cascades as seen from the Skykomish / Gold Bar area of Washington, east of Everett.

ENJOY THE RIDE! CHOOSE HAPPY!

If you like what you see, you may want to check out my book: Less Beaten Paths of America: Unique Town Names, available on Amazon. My second book, Less Beaten Paths of America: Quirky and Offbeat Roadside Attractions, is currently being worked on and I hope to make it available in late June 2018. Click on the photo below for more details or to get a copy of the book.