8154: Unique Discoveries and Unplanned Adventures

8154: Unique Discoveries and Unplanned Adventures

Adventure, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, California, Cross Country Road Trips, Dinosaurs, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Illinois, Junk Art, Junk-art Sculptures, Landscapes, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Louisiana, Montana, Murals, Museums, National Parks, Nebraska, Nevada, Offbeat Places, Oregon, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Selfies, South Dakota, Texas, Tourist Traps, Travel Blogging, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, US Highway 101, US Highway 180, US Highway 385, Wall Art, Wanderlust, Washington, Water Towers, Welcome Signs, Wyoming, Yard Art
In early 2020 I traveled across the country over the course of three weeks with my daughter and three grandchildren.    During this trip we traveled 8154 miles across 20 states and visited over 100 destinations, saw all sorts of animals, all sorts of geography, 10 National Parks and Monuments, various state parks, oceans, deserts, mountains, beaches, grasslands, canyons and more. This is the third of a few posts about some of the fun from this EPIC Road Trip.  In this post I'll introduce you to some of the unique places we happened upon on our back roads travels. Enjoy the Read! Enjoy the Ride! (all photography by David "Sumoflam" Kravetz and, when noted, Marissa Noe) THE JOY OF BACK ROAD TRAVEL One of the reasons I like traveling on…
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AtoZ Challenge 2020 – 8154: An Epic Road Trip – The X Stories #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Family Travel, Farmland, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Landscapes, Less Beaten Paths Books, Missouri, Montana, Mountains, National Monuments, National Parks, Nebraska, Place Names, Roadsigns, South Dakota, Town Names, Travel with grandchildren, Unique Places, US Highway 14, US Highway 16, US Highway 16A, US Highway 18, US Highway 2, US Highway 54, US Highway 65, Wyoming
In early 2020 I traveled across the country with  the course of three weeks.  My A to Z posts this year will have the "8154" theme, which will also be the title of my forthcoming new book that will document the epic road trip.  Each entry will highlight a few stories with photos based on the alphabet and not the order of the trip.  I hope you will enjoy this bouncy ride across the back roads of America.  Please enjoy the X Stories. (all photography by David "Sumoflam" Kravetz) Traveling the X-Roads (Crossroads) of America - Part One Throughout the course of our 8154 Road Trip, there was not anything with an X in it.  So, I thought I would take readers on a Virtual Road Trip along the highways…
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2019 April Blogging From A to Z Challenge: Theme Reveal #AtoZChallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Back Roads, Books, Cross Country Road Trips, Offbeat Places, Oklahoma, Place Names, Post Offices, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Selfies, Texas, Town Names, Unique Places
Its that time of the year again.  Yes,  the A to Z challenge! Today is the day to reveal my 2019 Theme. During 2018 I traveled through 26 states and over 12,000 miles.  Along the way I passed through many towns and, of course, each town has their signs. So, my Theme for 2019 is "Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign."  I will be including road signs and others that may fit the theme this year.  It will be a fun ride for all of you!  Enjoy the Read and Enjoy the Ride! [caption id="attachment_21354" align="aligncenter" width="525"] IXL Oklahoma[/caption] [caption id="attachment_21279" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Telephone, Texas[/caption] Looking for a unique and fun gift for yourself or  your traveler friends? How about a book about offbeat and quirky places to take on your…
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2018 April Blogging From A to Z Challenge: Theme Reveal

A to Z Challenge, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Kentucky, Less Beaten Paths Books, Murals, New Mexico, Offbeat Places, Place Names, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Texas, Travel Blogging, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Wall Art
Friends out there in interweb...its that time of year again!  April is the "Blogging from A to Z Challenge" and for the third year in a row I will be participating and posting daily for the month of April, each day featuring the letter of the day. Today I have chosen to reveal my theme for the 2018 version of the challenge and hopefully it will be fun! During a good part of April I will be traveling across the United States and so my posting time will be limited.  Therefore, this year 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…
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Beatles in the South – Arkansas/Texas: February 2018

Adventure, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Large Statues, Murals, Offbeat Places, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Selfies, Street Art, Texas, The Beatles, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 67, Wall Art, Wanderlust, Yard Art
[caption id="attachment_19162" align="alignleft" width="300"] Sumoflam with the Beatles in Walnut Ridge, AR[/caption] It is not every day that one takes a road trip and comes across not one, but two memorials to the famed Beatles. The first of these is a fascinating little story about a small little town in Arkansas named Walnut Ridge (population abt 5000). It was in 1964 and the Beatles were in the midst of their first tour of the United States. On September 18 of that year they had just finished performing in Dallas, TX and were in for a well-deserved break. A rich rancher from Missouri named Reed Pigman had a nice little dude ranch in Alton, Missouri (see the Pigman story here). Pigman also had a charter plane and flew the Beatles into…
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