Throughout my travels in 2018, I did not come across a single X sign. In the past, I have been able to use Xenia, Ohio, but we didn’t go there last year.
So, I am Xcited to Xplain how I will post a number of fun XTRAs that I didn’t use in previous posts. There were some Xceptionally funny ones and a few Xtremely interesting ones. I hope you’ll enjoy my special edition of Xtra Signs from my travels over the years. Enjoy the Read. Enjoy the Ride.
XTRA Fun For ALL — We are open
If We Are Here — Decatur, TexasLove the “Sorry, We’re Open” sign!! At Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden Calvert City, Kentucky
At the X-Roads – Corssroads signs from 2018
Business Crossroads sign, Wallace, IdahoSign post in Broadus, MontanaI always love coming across direction markers that also give a mileage – Raymond, WashingtonRoute 66 Crossroads Sign in Bushyhead, OklahomaGo This Way — I need one of these!! Paradise Point, Scottsville, Kentucky
A Few Xceptionally Interesting Xtra Signs From 2018
Eat Me neon sign from Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken in Lexington, KentuckyHowdy Sign from Doolittle, Missouri on Route 66Wiener World, Home of the Cheese Dog – Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaWhatever Sign in West, Texas
A Few Real Oinkers!
Flying Pigs Cafe, Thomas, West VirginiaTaken in the Pigtown District of Baltimore, MarylandWhen Pigs Fly sign at a shop called Uniques in Stratford, OklahomaPig on car at Slap Ya Momma’s Barbeque in Biloxi, Mississippi
Now Back to More Xcellent Xtras
Signs at Hillbilly Garden in Calvert City, KentuckyWelcome to Flatwoods, West Virginia. Home of the Green MonsterIs there such a thing as a Sanitary Sewer? Seen in Lexington, KentuckySocial Vegan sign found in Austin, TexasWalgreen’s Temperature sign in Cypress, TexasRoute 66 Gateway sign in Miami, OklahomaHipHop Fish and Chicken – a chain of at least 24 shops in Baltimore, MarylandPeace Love & Little Donuts in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – feed your inner hippie. Like other doughnut shops (Voodoo and Hurt’s, among others), they make unusual combinations, except these are smaller.Stayed at the Silver Saddle Motel in Manitou Springs, Colorado – best view of Pikes Peak! Really!Roll On In Sushi Burritos sign in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sushi Burritos??Route 66 in Chelsea, OklahomaI Got VD in Austin – Voodoo Doughnut, Austin, TexasBucky’s in Stratford, Oklahoma. Fresh and tasty Fried PiesNot to be confused with Bucky’s above, Buc-ee’s in Waller, TexasBuc-ee’s is one of the largest convenience store gas stations anywhere. Over 100 gas pumps!! HUGE storeBe Nice or Leave sign at Paradise Point in Scottsville, KentuckyMissing Balls… Uranus, MissouriOne of Delta, Colorado’s many murals. They call themselves the City of MuralsThe Skuller’s Clock with eyes in downtown Lexington, KentuckyComfort Station this way – West Side Market, Cleveland, OhioCookin’ from Scratch chicken place in Doolittle, MissouriComplaint Department sign at K’s Cafe in Clarkson, KentuckyOlympia Film Society mural in Olympia, WashingtonOld Orange Crush sign – Helper, UtahWall Drug Sign on I-90 in South Dakota Do Lunch or Be LunchWonder if they take Running Backs? Or Forwards? Or Goalies? Or do they require certain types of positions? How about just a plain old sitting position? Certainly don’t want to be a stander. Taken in Ferdinand, IndianaWelcome to Raymond, WashingtonLots of cool stuff at the DFW Elite Toy Museum in Haltom City, TexasSign on the back of an old school bus at Paradise Point in Kentucky
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 late Spring 2019!!
On a long road trip like the one I did in April, there are so many places visited, but some didn’t fit into a post for one reason or another. Here are some odds and ends leftovers from my 6000 mile cross country trek through 14 states. There is really no rhyme or reason, but the opportunity to address these places in a little more depth.
Papa Joe’s Stop & Go – Crescent Junction, Utah
Papa Joe’s in Crescent Junction – fun “tourist trap”
Out in the middle of nowhere in Utah is the small place called Crescent Junction at the junction of I-70 and US 191. There is really not much there and it is basically a tourist-trappy stopover point for folks heading to and from the lovely canyons of Moab. At the center of it all is Papa Joe’s Stop & Go. Called a C-Store (short for Convenience Store), Papa Joe has a number of unique “attractions” in store.
Welcome to Papa Joe’sMystery Machine replica (from Scooby-Doo) — flat tire and allAnother funky van at Papa Joe’sThe usual Tourist Trap fare — I have seen this around the countryGotta get a cup… maybe?Skullduggery – lots of skeletonesque souvenirsA Gnasty Gnome…Crop Circle Popcorn – Strawberry LemonadeCaramel Crop Circle PopcornSumoflam and alien in Bad Ass Joe’s
The main store has all of the amenities… a restroom (if you are a paying customer of course — but face it, water is in short supply out here), drinks and food and quirky and kitschy knick-knacks and then there is the “gourmet” crop-circle popcorn. Recently he has opened a second building next door that he is calling “Bad Ass Joe’s Jerky” and it has a UFO-esque theme complete with life size cutouts of Star Wars characters and aliens.
Inside the Jerky StoreSouvenirsPapa Joe’s “Lightning McQueen”
If you get online, you will see many nasty reviews of the place. And, honestly, Joe and his gal are really not the friendliest sorts. But, I am always the optimist and try to find the good out there. The place offers some fun photo ops, the “gourmet” popcorn is OK. Prices are quite high, but then, I have been to dozens of places like this across the country.
He has a replica Mystery Mobile from Scooby-Doo, a South Park themed car, a Lightning McQueen “replica (actually an old Toyota Camry) and some other odds and ends. They are all in poor repair. Mystery Mobile has a flat tire (or two). But heck…its quirky. Just make sure you are filled up with gas BEFORE you get there.
Belle Inn – Belle Fourche, South Dakota
Belle Inn – Belle Fourche, SD
You know you have found THE PLACE to eat when the sign in the door tells Cowboys to “scrape shit from boots before entering.” When I stayed the night in Belle Fourche I sought after a locally owned place that would perhaps have some comfort food. I found that place in Belle’s Inn. Not just burgers, but other things like chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, etc.
Sign at Belle Inn front doorA scene from inside the Belle Inn – Be Nice or You’ll Get the BootBelle Inn – Comfort Food
There were only four staff members when I got there. The chef looked like a renegade biker (and turns out that indeed he was!! From Lead, SD — but he didn’t like his Harley. Preferred his Kawasaki!). The food was good…freshly made chicken fried steak, onion rings, mashed potatoes. And it was indeed a comfortable price.
Kreative Korners Krazy Kreatures – Kingston, Washington
Kreative Korners Krazy Kreatures
I am a sucker for wood carving. And this little collection is a trip!
After we had gotten off of the Ferry in Kingston and were driving to Port Orchard, WA, this place just suddenly showed up on a corner. I had to turn around and do my thing.
Some fun stuff here. Most of the carvings are pretty well life size — five or six feet tall.
Some of the KreaturesFound her! – She’s a mermaidA bearded guy and a burger bearing bearGotta have an eagle!!A Fish in Jeans…. whaddya call this guy?Mmmm….. Ice Cream (well, not really)
Murals and Metal Art – Ottawa, Illinois
Detail of “Day of the Great Debate” by Don Gray in Ottawa, Illinois
Yet another town with lots of murals, this is Abraham Lincoln country and Ottawa was where the great debate between Lincoln and Douglas took place. Murals and park statues depict the scene and the history.
Ottawa calls their mural art projects “A Brush With History,” a program which began in 2002. There are now eight or nine murals in town including the massive “Day of the Great Debate” mural by artist Don Gray.
Day of the Great Debate mural by Don Gray in Ottawa, Illinois
Some of the other murals I found in my quick drive through town include the following:
Peltier Glass Factory mural by E. Colin Williams and Murals by Jericho.A Section Ottawa as a Canal Town mural by Gregory AckersMore detail of Ottawa as a Canal TownA section of the mural Ottawa’s Earliest Residents by Roger Cooke Fine ArtsThe head detail from “Bending”
But murals aren’t all that is in the town. Over in Allen Park, along the Illinois River, I found one of the Whispering Giants. While there, I also discovered two big metal sculptures, which I didn’t know anything about. Created by native artist, Mary Meinz-Fanning, these historical art structures were fashioned from parts of Ottawa’s old Hilliard Bridge, originally built in 1933. Ms. Meinz-Fanning built these two to commemorate the bridge: the yellow sculpture is named “Reclining” and the red one is known as “Bending”.
Reclining Sculpture by Mary Mary-Meinz Fanning – Allen Park in Ottawa, IllinoisBending by Mary Meinz-Fanning in Ottawa, Illinois
Cheyenne Murals in a Sinclair Convenience Store – Ashland, Montana
Men’s Room Door at the gas station
I had to stop for drinks and gas while on US Highway 212. I was driving over the pass and stopped in Ashland, Montana, which sits in the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Went into this little Sinclair gas station in the small town and was stunned by the fabulous art. Turns out the guys working the registers and managing the store were also the artists.
Happy Chief art in the Gas Station in Ashland, MTAn eagle on the all and the women’s restroomA Sumoflam Staredown!!
Bear in a Box Wood Carvers – Allyn, Washington
Sumoflam and Justin Howland at Grizz Works in Maple, WI. (2014)
A few years ago I was driving on US Route 2 through Maple, Wisconsin when I ran into a place called Grizz Works. It was filled amazing chainsaw wood carvings of bears and other unique characters. I had to feature it on its own post.
On my trip in April, driving down Washington Highway 3 into Allyn, Washington I ran into Bear in a Box, another “must stop and get photos” wood carving place. Their work was a tad more whimsical than was Grizz Works, but amazing nonetheless. I loved it.
Bear in a Box – Allyn, WASumoflam at Bear in a Box, Allyn, WAOne of the whimsical Sasquatch carvings at Bear in a BoxBear in a Box Bear, Allyn, WAUnique horse carving at Bear in a BoxAnother Bear in the Box Horse (and an eagle in the background)Bear in the Box OwlStaring down the SasquatchTotem Poles at Bear in a BoxOld Smiley the Sasquatch….I love this one.Bear in a Log at Bear in a Box
Orval’s Used Cars – Delta, Colorado
Orval’s Used Cars – Delta, CO
On my drive down US Route 50 in central Colorado, I came across a most unexpected scene in Delta, Colorado. I found a “Used Car” lot that carried a couple dozen or more REALLY used cars. I am talking about antique classics.
In my travels I have come across these kinds of old cars dotting the scenery here and there, and usually only one or two, and sometimes three. But, in this unique lot in Delta, an out of the way little town in out of the way Colorado, I would have never imagined I would see the collection like this guy had. In fact, I was so amazed by the collection that I forgot to get a photo of the place’s sign. But, the place does have a name — Orval’s Used Cars. And it is like a walk back in time.
Some of the cars in Orval’sOld Trucks in Orval’sSome really old fixer uppers in Orval’sMore cars from Orval’s
Murals and Wall Art – Delta, Colorado
Old Egyptian Theater in Delta, Colorado. Originally built in 1928
While on the subject of Delta, Colorado, a nice little town that came about originally to be a trading post for the Ute Nation and later was the home of Fort Uncompahgre, I should add some of the great murals that can be found here. I was not able to get all of them, but here are a few.
I am also adding a photo of the lovely Egyptian Theater of Delta, which was built in 1928 and remodeled in the 1990s. Unusual to find something like this in a small town in the middle of Colorado.
Delta City of Murals mural – “Train’s Arrival” by Seth Weber and Phil Wassell (16′ x 32′)
Delta, like other cities with a number of murals, calls itself the City of Murals as the town boasts at least 15 murals that dot the small city of about 8000.
One of Delta’s many murals – West Elk Wilderness by Ginny AllenAnna-Dora Opera House Mural by W. Richard DohertyMural in Delta, Colorado – Greetings from Delta by Lee BowermanOld Advertisement mural in Delta, Colorado
Starved Rock State Park – Oglesby, Illinois
Starved Rock State Park near Oglesby, IL
On my first day of my 6000 mile long road trip across America, I had hoped to hit the three Peter Toth “Whispering Giants” carvings in Central Illinois since they were relatively close to each other. One of these was located in Starved Rock State Park near Oglesby and Utica, Illinois and not too far from Ottawa (see above).
A Starved Rock CarvingVisiting the Whispering Giant at Starved Rock State Park in Illinois
I had never heard of the park, but some tout it as the #1 Attraction in the State of Illinois (at least, that is what the park says on its website). I drove around on the main road to find the Peter Toth giant and discovered a number of other wood carvings along the road, a nice lodge and more. Sadly, this is one of those parks that deserves an all day visit and I couldn’t do that. The park is apparently full of trails to waterfalls and gorges and more. All I got to see was a few of the wood carvings and the main lodge. This is certainly a “visit again” place in the future.
A Boy Scout Carving at Starved RockFoxridge Carving at Starved RockOne of the unique signs at the park. Make sure you know to stay away from the riverA Raccoon Home Sculpture at Starved Rock
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.