During the month of April I participated with nearly 2000 other bloggers worldwide in the “Blogging from A to Z Challenge” which is now in its 7th year. This was my second year to participate and this year’s theme for my series was “Wanderlust.” As a “Travelographer,” my posts tend to be photo heavy. I travel and take loads of photos. This is my way of sharing the wonders of the back roads of America.
Corner of This Way and That Way in Lake Jackson, TX
Following are links to the complete A to Z set. Just click on the banner for each and letter and enjoy the posts and the photos. I hope all readers will Enjoy the Ride as much as I have enjoyed sharing it!
I am a zealous traveler. I travel passion and with all the gusto I can. A roadtrip with me can be grueling, but it is always fun. Indeed, I travel with the intent of creating many good memories. Many call me a Road Warrior. Well, I love that term. I travel with zeal.
When on roadtrips, I like to be up with the sun and travel until the sun goes down. I stop for the night wherever I am at sundown…I can’t take many pictures at night now can I?
Taking photos along the waySumoflam and the FREE Stamp in Cleveland
In my zealous travels, I have visited all 50 states and a few Canadian Provinces. I have at least one photo of me in almost all of them…a few exceptions where I traveled to those places years ago and the photos either were lost or were never taken (Nevada, Rhode Island, Massachusetts…at least). But in recent years, I have become the “Shamelessly Self-Proclaimed Selfie King” and have tried to record my travels digitally, and include selfies along the way.
Without further adieu, following are selfies/photos of me in every state and Canadian Province I have visited (where I have photos). I have throw some “Road Warrior” and “Traveling with Zeal” pics in along the way for fun.
Sumoflam at Carlo’s Bake Shop in Hoboken, NJAm I Normal? Who knows?
ALABAMA
Visiting Alabama with some of my grandchildren in early 2017
ALASKA
On Glacier Bay in Alaska in 2004
ARIZONA
Visiting the Grand Canyon in 1983Sumoflam at Montezuma Castle National Monument in Arizona in 1983
ARKANSAS
Welcome to ArkansasFound Friendship in Arkansas
CALIFORNIA
At Golden Gate Bridge in in San Francisco, CA May 2015
COLORADO
Welcome to Colorado WY 789 and CO 13Sitting high up on Mt. Evans in Colorado in 1990 looking down at a crystal lake
CONNECTICUT
Mystic, CT Amtrak Station in Sept 2015
DELAWARE
Welcome to Delaware…first time since 1986. Visited in 2016 during Christmas Holiday
FLORIDA
Sumoflam at the Everglades in Florida in July 1990
GEORGIA
Stone Mountain, GA in 2015
HAWAII
Well…I used to have a photo of me hitting a golf ball at Mililani Golf Course in Honolulu. Can’t find it…..
IDAHO
At the Idaho Potato Museum in 2013 – Blackfoot, ID
ILLINOIS
A visit to Illinois in 2014Sumoflam with Superman in Metropolis, IL in 2014
INDIANA
Santa Claus, IN, Christmas 2015Story General Store, Story, IN
IOWA
World’s Largest truckstop is in Iowa. Been there three times
KANSAS
Little House on the Prairie in Eastern Kansas with the family in 1993
KENTUCKY – My Home Sweet Home since 1993
Visiting Cumberland Falls in Kentucky with grandchildren in 2016Visiting Kentucky’s Red River Gorge in November 2016
LOUISIANA
Entering Louisiana in 2014Visiting Troy Landry of Swamp People fame in Pierre Part, LA in 2014
MAINE
Visiting the beautiful lighthouse on the rocky shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Portland, Maine in 2015
MARYLAND
Ocean City, MD in December 2016
MASSACHUSETTS – I last visited Massachusetts in 1990 on a trip to Boston. Photos were taken, but got long lost….
MICHIGAN
On the blazing Hell Bench in Hell, MISumoflam with Hiawatha, America’s tallest Indian Statue at over 50 feet in Ironwood, MI
MINNESOTA
Sumoflam in Floodwood, MinnesotaBemidji, MN in 2014 — one of my bucket list places
MISSISSIPPI
On the Blues highway in Mississippi in 2014One of my favorite shots…Alligator, MSChunky, MS
MISSOURI
Welcome to MissouriAt the St. Louis Arch in MissouriFinding Success in Missouri
MONTANA – Lived in this wonderful state from 1970-1973
Hitting Montana on a road trip in 2014At the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park, still on US 89 in Montana
NEBRASKA
Visiting Nebraska in 2015Sumoflam at Carhenge in Alliance, NE
NEVADA – I have visited a few times but don’t think I ever got any photos. Oh well.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Welcome to New Hampshire in Sept 2015 – State #49!
NEW JERSEY
Welcome to Hoboken, NJPhoto of NYC taken from Sinatra Park in Hoboken, NJ
NEW MEXICO
Welcome to New Mexico at Raton PassHave a Coke and a Smile?? Coke machine in Roswell…
NEW YORK
In New York City in 1990 before the World Trade Center Twin Towers met their demiseStatue of Liberty, Ellis Island, NY 1990
NORTH CAROLINA
Jos with Grampz at rest area in North Carolina – April 2013
NORTH DAKOTA
Welcome to North DakotaOn the Enchanted Highway in Western North Dakota in 2013Rugby, ND in 2014
OHIO – I was born in Little Italy in Cleveland. Home sweet home.
My first home – 2072 Murray Hill Road, now home of the Murray Hill MarketSumoflam at the place of his birthI found Novelty in Ohio
OKLAHOMA
Visiting Oklahoma in 2014Okay, Oklahoma in 2012
OREGON
At Multnomah Falls in Oregon
PENNSYLVANIA
Smile…you are in Pennsylvania…so I smiled!Found Prosperity in PA
RHODE ISLAND – Only visited once way back in 1988. No photos. Actually drove through. Need to stop again!!
SOUTH CAROLINA
On the beach in Hilton Head, South Carolina in 2013
SOUTH DAKOTA
Visiting South Dakota for the 4th or 5th time in 2013Winner Winner..no chicken dinner, just the name of a town in SD
TENNESSEE
Visiting Tennessee in 2014 on my way to GalvestonWelcome to Bristol. I took this from the Tennessee side of the road.
TEXAS
Visiting Texas in 2014We visited Texas in October 2016. This was in Texarkana, TXSumoflam visits Austin, Texas
UTAH – Graduated High School in Murray, UT in 1974
Graduated from Murray High School in 1974At Monument Valley in Utah in 1982Welcome to Salt Lake
VERMONT – My 50th state visited — made it in 2016
State Number 50 – At NH/VT border in Brattleboro, VT
VIRGINIA
Welcome to Virginia…taken in early August 2016At the Cross Roads of the Virginia Creeper and Appalachian Trails
WASHINGTON
Neah Bay, Washington – the northwestern most point in the continental USSeattle’s famed Pike Place Market – what a place!
WEST VIRGINIA
Welcome to West Virginia!Meeting a Friendly guy outside the Friendly, WV Post Office
WISCONSIN
Wisconsin welcomes Sumoflam on US Route 2With the famed Hodag in Rhinelander, WI
WYOMING
Wyoming’s Wildlife?Sumoflam at Top of the World on the Beartooth Highway in Wyoming
WASHINGTON DC
Sumoflam at the White House – July 1990Washington DC 2016
ONTARIO, CANADA
Sumoflam at Screaming Heads in Burk’s Falls, OntarioCustomers Needed – Toronto, Ontario
SASKATCHEWAN
Welcome to Saskatchewan
MANITOBA
Virden, ManitobaAt an oil well display in Virden, Manitoba
ALBERTA
Solomon and Sumoflam become part of the Star Trek gang in Vulcan, Alberta Sept 2007Sumoflam at the USS Enterprise Monument (with Crafty Jack) in Vulcan, Alberta (2007)
One of the more interesting things I look for on roadtrips as I pass through small communities on back roads is yard art. Funky art and decorations in people’s yards, on their fences, on their houses. People have ingenuity. Some people have junk. But, as the saying goes, “One Man’s Junk is Another Man’s Treasure.”
Unique Yard Art in Parker, Idaho
For me, Yard Art is anything unique and unusual. It could be chain saw art – wood carvings made with chain saws. It could be art made from scrap metal. It could be, like the photo above, a hodge podge of signs, junk or other things. Following are some selections of yard art I have taken over the years. Don’t judge…some of these people love their “collections.” I just love my collection of photos of theirs… Enjoy the virtual ride.
Scrap Metal Art in Oil Springs, OntarioHubcap Barn – Central KentuckyA Chain Saw Art Santa at Santa’s Candy Castle in Santa Claus, IndianaBuried parts of airplanes at the Flying Tiger Museum in Toco, TXYet another junk collector along US Route 2 at the Blueberry Antique Store in Blueberry, WIScrap metal bison in someone’s front yard in Rudyard, Montana“Not the Hotel California” in Lima, MontanaHodge Podge Water Garden at home in Orlando, KentuckyScrap Metal Dinosaur – work done by Wally Keller – near Mt. Horeb, WisconsinBethel Saloon in Port Orchard, WAScrap Metal Horse at Woodford Reserve near Versailles, KentuckyThe Shack Playground, The Shack Burger Resort, Cypress, TXScrap Metal Guy Mailbox at Frontier Steakhouse – Dunkirk, MontanaFront of Henry’s Rabbit Ranch in Staunton, ILCar Advertising in Commerce, OklahomaGiant scrap metal chopper and rider at Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, SDP’MAWS Bait Shack in Pierre Part, LA (Notice it is SWAMP spelled backwards)Scrap Metal Alligator – Harrietsville, OntarioBlue Banana Espesso Bar in Lostine, OregonGotta add some wood carvings – these from Nebraska City, NEScrap Metal and wire Man and Dog at entrance to Gates of the Mountains in Montana, south of HelenaWhimsical Sculpture at Winter Wheat in Sparta, OntarioA “Flower Bed” in What Cheer, IowaWooden sculpture in a yard across from Daffin’s in Sharon, PARoad Sign Art in Meadville, PAA menagerie of oddball and offbeat things all over the roof, side of the house and the yard – Hamtramck Disneyland in Hamtramck, MIMetal Bird – Idaho Falls, Idaho“Javelin Man” by Larry Vennard in Centralia, MissouriFlower Man House – Houston, TexasScene from Cliff Bruce Windmill Hill in Woodstock, OntarioGreedy Attorney – Jurustic Park – Marshfield, WisconsinHand made dinos at Wells Dinosaur Haven in Uncasville, CTNice carved eagle in Redcliff, ColoradoHillbilly Hot Dogs long view – Lesage, WVHillbilly Hot Dogs near Lesage, WVGiant Armadillo – Texas Pipe Company – Houston, TexasA Scrap Metal Sculpture in Bemidji, MNArt Car at Third Street Stuff – Lexington, KentuckySpider Volkswagen in someone’s backyard – Wolf Creek, OregonA hodge podge of scrap metal art at Porter’s Sculpture Park in Montrose, SDChainsaw Forest near Medford, WISmall Metal Sculpture in Gladstone, NDBuck Samuelson sculptures on a hillside in Glasgow, MontanaChainsaw Carved Bear Mailbox, Ontario, CanadaSumoflam and Justin Howland at Grizz Works in Maple, WI. Giant Grizzly is amazing! He makes yard artA view of Boudreau’s Antiques and Collectibles on US Hwy 2 east of Ashland, WIBig Indian – Blackwater, MissouriWood carved things in front of Fat Smitty’s in Discovery Bay, WAThe Mattress Ranch “pasture” in Port Orchard, WALooks like Humpty Dumpty is alive and well in Eureka Springs, ArkansasGasoline Pump Art Sculpture in Story, IN
During the month of April I participated with nearly 2000 other bloggers worldwide in the “Blogging from A to Z Challenge” which is now in its 7th year. This was my second year to participate and this year’s theme for my series was “Wanderlust.” As a “Travelographer,” my posts tend to be photo heavy. I travel and take loads of photos. This is my way of sharing the wonders of the back roads of America.
