Unique Houses – Less Beaten Paths of America Travel Blog

Heading north out of Keller, Texas on US 287 you can enjoy a scenic ride and make your way into the town of Decatur, Texas. Named after naval hero Stephen Decatur, the town was originally set up in 1856 and eventually was a stopover for ranchers and herders on the Chisholm Trail.

By 1882, the railway came into Decatur from Fort Worth. It was apparently at that time a gambling railway worker was talking about a female from Decatur and coined the phrase an “Eighter from Decatur,” which has stuck around ever since.

Today, the peaceful little town still draws traffic from ranchers and railway folk, but also from tourists trying to relive the olden days…like me.

The old Decatur Petrified Wood Gas Station with the Texas Cafe in the background

One of the really nostalgic points is the old Petrified Wood Gas Station as you come into town. In 1927 a keen businessman named E.F. Boydston purchased a former feed lot in order to build a wooden shed and a gas station. Boydston allowed people to stopover and camp there and eventually even built some cabins. As the highway was widened in the mid-1930s, Boydston added more cabins, a garage and other buildings and then made them sturdier by adding petrified wood as a facing on the buildings. Auto News Center offers upgrade and makeover ideas to help you create a clean and well-functioning garage. The entire complex was eventually named Texas Plaza.

He also built a one-room frame building next door in 1929 and called it the Texas Lunchroom. In 1935 they renamed it the Texas Cafe and faced it with the same petrified wood to match the other buildings. It is now called the Whistle Stop Cafe.

Whistle Stop Cafe in Decatur, Texas. Formerly the Texas Cafe

Texaco Gas Pumps at Petrified Wood Station

Here’s a sign you don’t see anymore in the U.S.

Another view of the Petrified Wood Station

Today the complex is a unique example of the early days of automobile tourism. I recall the 1960s and going to gas stations similar to this. I really enjoyed the nostalgia. And Decatur has taken advantage of that as there are two other nostalgic gas stations in town.

Have you seen my new book yet? “Less Beaten Paths of America: Quirky and Offbeat Roadside Attractions” is now 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:

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In 2018 I will feature a random (yet alphabetical) selection of photos I have taken from my nearly 20 years of back roads travel in the United States and Canada. I may even throw in a few random shots from other trips to Japan, Mexico and the Philippines. My theme is called America’s Back Roads: A Grab Bag of Places in Pictures.

Peculiar, Missouri

Possum Trot Supper Club – Oakwood, Illinois

Pierre Part, Louisiana

Visiting Troy Landry of Swamp People fame in Pierre Part, LA in 2014

Swamp People Truck at Duffy’s Bait Shop in Pierre Part

Pound Gap, Virginia

Pound Gap Historical Sign on the Virginia/Kentucky Border

Prairie Dogs – Browning, Montana; Cactus Flat, South Dakota

A prairie dog scampers near the Camp Disappointment Monument in Montana

Prairie Dog — standing watch in Cactus Flat

Pal’s Sudden Service – Bristol, Tennessee

After eating Pal’s food make sure to Exercise Daily. Couldn’t help but chuckle

Perryville Battlefield – Perryville, Kentucky

Pink Elephants Everywhere! – DeForest, Wisconsin; Haubstadt, Indiana; Barboursville, West Virginia; Russellville, Kentucky

Martini bearing pink and white elephant pair at Hipp Nursery in Haubstadt, IN

This pink elephant is in the Huntington, WV suburb of Barboursville on US 60

Big pink elephant in Russellville, KY, just around the corner from the big cow with pink sunglasses

Need a Pink Elephant T-Shirt? I know where you can get one!

And then there is the Pink Elephant Car Wash – Seattle, Washington

Pink Elephant Car Wash in Seattle, Washington

Poutine – A Canadian Favorite – Paris, Ontario

Poutine – Fries, Brown Gravy and Cheese Curds -Pure yummiferousness

Portsmouth Murals – Portsmouth, Ohio

Chillicothe Street 1940s by Robert Dafford in Portsmouth, OH

Portland Head Light – Portland, Maine

Visiting the beautiful lighthouse on the rocky shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Portland, Maine in 2015

Just down the road from Hell – Pinckney, Michigan

Planet Damon Water Tower – Damon, Texas

There is Planet Hollywood and then there is Planet Damon…

Presti’s Bakery – Little Italy – Cleveland, Ohio

Prestis Bakery….the best cannoli in the world!! And some other good Italian goodies

Italian Yumminess in the case at Presti’s

Prosperity, Pennsylvania

Pain Reliever Bar – Nekoma, North Dakota

International Pain Reliever Bar in Nekoma, ND (notice they used a New Mexico flag??)

PRHBTN Murals (there are more than 20 – here are a couple) – Lexington, Kentucky

Sumoflam at MrDHEO’s wall painting in Lexington, one of a few new PRHBTN murals

The enormous “I Am MO” mural in the Lexington Distillery District

Louis Armstrong Mural by Sergio Odeith from Portugal, for PRHBTN 2015

Papa Joe’s – Crescent Junction, Utah

Sumoflam at Papa Joe’s in Crescent Junction

The Scooby Doo Mystery Machine at Papa Joe’s

P’Maws Bait Shack – Pierre Part, Louisiana

P’MAWS Bait Shack in Pierre Part, LA (Notice it is SWAMP spelled backwards)

Cuddling with a White Gator at P’MAWS in Pierre Part, LA

Pat’s King of Steaks – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Puget Sound – Seattle, Washington

Seattle as seen from a boat in the Puget Sound

Perry Como Statues – Canonsburg, Pennsylvania

Singing Perry Como statue in downtown Canonsburg, PA

Perry Como Statue in the Canonsburg McDonald’s

Fun Stuff in Portland, Oregon

Hung Far Low – Famous Chop Suey and Famous name – Portland, Oregon

Pheasant Bar – Winner, South Dakota

Petrified Forest National Park – Holbrook, Arizona

Sumoflam and tourists at Petrified Forest in 1983

Pinto McBean – Bow Island, Alberta, Canada

Pinto McBean statue in Bow Island, Alberta

A few Paul Bunyan guys here and there – Bemidji, Minnesota; Nitro, West Virginia; Minocqua, Wisconsin; Wentzville, Missouri

a Big Paul Bunyan in Minocqua, Wisconsin

Big Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox in Nitro, WV

Paul Bunyan Muffler Man just off of the interstate in Wentzville, MO

Price Less Foods – Irvine, Kentucky

Popeye Statue – Alma, Arkansas

At the Popeye Statue in Alma, AR in 2009

Port Gibson First Presbyterian Church – Port Gibson, Mississippi

Unique Steeple of the First Presbyterian Church in Port Gibson, MS

Powder River, Wyoming

An old neon relic of the past, the Tumble Inn Lounge/Cafe, with a vintage neon look in Powder River, WY

Paradise Point – Scottsville, Kentucky

Scenes from Paris – or four or five of them – Paris, Ontario; Paris, Kentucky; Paris, Texas; Paris, Tennessee

Homes and businesses along the river in Paris, Ontario

Welcome to Paris Catfish – they too claim to be the Catfish Capital

Point Defiance Zoo – Tacoma, Washington

Paul’s Hamburgers – Kansas City, Kansas

Giant Ice Cream Cone at Paul’s Hamburgers – Kansas City, KS

Peaks to Craters Scenic Highway – Idaho

Peaks to Craters scenic byway through the mountains of central Idaho

Grandview Canyon on US 93 – northern section of the Peaks to Craters Scenic Byway

Pelicans – Lake Andes, South Dakota; Galveston, Texas; Lexington, Kentucky

White Pelicans at Lake Andes in South Dakota

Pelicans in formation over the Gulf of Mexico in Galveston, TX

A rare sighting of a White Pelican flying over Lexington in late April 2018

Plaza Theatres – Glasgow, Kentucky & Wharton, Texas

Playhouse Square – Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland’s Playhouse Square Giant Chandelier

Pea Meal Breakfast Anyone? – Woodstock, Ontario

PPG Glass Castle – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Professor Market – Tremont District – Cleveland, Ohio

Professor Market wall advertisement…located in the Tremont District of Cleveland

Pochahontas, Illinois

Pochahontas, IL – “Pokey” – Home of Country Singer Gretchen Wilson (Gimme a Hell Ya!)

Plaquemine, Louisiana

Pike Place Market – Seattle, Washington

Seattle’s famed Pike Place Market – what a place!

Penn’s Store – Gravel Switch, Kentucky

Pella, Iowa

Vermeer Dutch Windmill in Pella, IA – the largest working windmill in the United States

Penguins – Omaha, Nebraska; Tacoma, Washington

The small penguins stand majestically at feeding time at Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, WA

Pheasants on the Prairie – Enchanted Highway – Regent, North Dakota

Enchanted Highway Stop #5 – Pheasants on the Prairie

Pickle’s Place – Arco, Idaho

Pickle’s Place – Home of the “Atomic Burger”

Pete the Curler – Bemidji, Minnesota

Pete the Curler by Dale Lewis – one of 25 pieces in the 2014 Bemidji Sculpture Walk

Pork Chop Sandwiches (as seen on Andy Griffith) – Mt. Airy, North Carolina

Snappy Lunch – home of the Pork Chop Sandwich

Cooking up the pork chops at Snappy Lunch

Old Prairie School House – Frisno, Montana

Old Prairie School House on Smith-Frisno Road west of Havre, MT. I wanted this one in black and white…

Giant Prairie Dog Statue – Cactus Flat, South Dakota

Sumoflam with the Giant Prairie Dog – Cactus Flat

Pelo’s Sundries – LeClaire, Iowa

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, will be available in late April or early May 2018. Click on the photo below for more details or to get a copy of the book.