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.

Elk Bar and Good Food – Chinook, Montana

I love old neon signs!!

End of Trail Motel – Broken Bow, OK

More good old neon

End of Trail Motel Neon sign in Broken Bow, OK

End of The Trail – Dawkins Rail Trail – Hager Hill, KY

End of Dawkins Line Rail Trail near Hager Hill, KY

Elvis Statue – Memphis, Tennessee

Earth, Texas

Eagles – The Living Kind – Lexington, Kentucky; Cave Run Lake, Kentucky; Lewistown, Montana

Eagle at Jacobson Park, Lexington, Kentucky

Eagle I saw when driving by Lewistown, Montana

Eagle taken at Minor E. Clark Fish Hatchery near Cave Run Lake, Kentucky

Eclipesville USA – Hopkinsville, Kentucky & Cadiz, Kentucky

Three of my grandchildren at the Eclipseville Photo Board (courtesy of Marissa Noe)

The “diamond ring” effect begins as seen from Cadiz, KY

Ehlenbach Cheese Chalet – DeForest, Wisconsin

One of the two murals that decorate the outside of Ehlenbach’s Cheese Chalet

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Echo Lake – Mount Evans, Colorado

Sitting on top of the world at Echo Lake near the base of the summit of Mt. Evans near Denver, Colorado

Elephant Buttes – Tuba City, Arizona

Elephant Buttes east of Tuba City on US 180

Eskimo Pie – Onawa, Iowa

Elbe, Washington

El Kapp Motel – Raton, New Mexico

More great neon

Eiheiji Temple – Fukui, Japan

Main gate to Eiheiji. Note the monk walking across. He was barefoot. (ca 1976).

Easy Street – Port Orchard, Washington

Eiffel Towers of Paris, Texas and Paris, Tennessee

These two compete for the tallest – Paris, Texas added a cowboy hat to make theirs tallest.

Eiffel Tower in Paris, Tennessee is 60 feet tall

The Paris, Texas Eiffel Tower with a Cowboy Hat on top

Erie Canal – Medina, New York

Egg Harbor, Wisconsin

Lake Eufala, Oklahoma

Egrets – Lexington, Kentucky; Cave Run Lake, Kentucky; Uncertain, Texas

Egret flies off at Jacobson Park in Lexington, KY

A Great Egret relaxes in the swamp near Uncertain, Texas

Egret taking a walk along a pond at the Minor E. Clark Fish Hatchery near Cave Run Lake, KY

Empire State Building – New York City

Empire State Building – as seen from Hoboken, New Jersey

Enchanted Highway – Regent, North Dakota

Sumoflam on the Enchanted Highway near Regent, ND

Everglades National Park – Florida

Sumoflam at the Everglades in Florida in July 1990

Enjoy the Ride

My Travel Theme!

Eagle Art from All Over: Kingston, Washington; Cut Bank, Montana; Joseph, Oregon; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Oglesby, Illinois;

Found this eagle in Kingston, Washington

Large eagle sculpture in Idaho Falls, Idaho

Wooden carved eagle at Starved Rock State Park in Oglesby, Illinois

Embro, Ontario

Eighty Four, Pennsylvania

Welcome to 84 Country – Eighty Four , PA

Elk Photos – Elkton, Oregon; Yellowstone National Park; Sugar City, Idaho

A solitary elk bull relaxes in the meadow at Yellowstone

Euclid, Ohio

Elliston Place Diner – Nashville, Tennessee

At Nashville’s oldest eatery – Elliston Place Diner – Featured in Antsy McClain’s video

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.

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During the month of April I am participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge has each blogger select a theme and then do a post thematically from A to Z during each day of April , except Sundays. My blog is number 1337 out of 1670 participating blogs. This year my A to Z posts will take you across the back roads of America to many unique what other bloggers will be posting about, check out the link: A to Z Theme Reveal List for 2016

The O Towns

Only, Tennessee

I took a trip back in 2010 which took from Bugtussle, KY to Bugtussle, TX and mainly down backroads. Along the way in Tennessee I came across a small community called Only. The community is located on Tennessee State Route 229 near Tennessee State Route 50 and Interstate 40. I got a real kick out of the Baptist Church….the Only Baptist Church. I believe this is the only place named Only in the U.S. See original post HERE.

Old Orchard Beach, Maine

View of Old Orchard Beach and the Atlantic Ocean from the Normandie Motor Inn

Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean as seen from Old Orchard Beach, ME

Watching grandkidz play on Atlantic coast at Old Orchard Beach in Maine

Outside of the Bell Buoy Restaurant in Old Orchard Beach for the required Selfie

Travel up US Highway 1 north of Boston into Maine and you will drive through the town of Old Orchard Beach, which sits on the Atlantic Coast in southern Maine. Definitely a resort town, it has just about 10,000 residents, lots of hotels and restaurants and a long beach for walks. We stayed in the Normandie Motor Inn which is literally on the beach and it was fabulous! As it was later in the evening when we arrived there, we also had to find a kid friendly place to eat and the Bell Buoy Restaurant did the trick! See my post about our 2015 trip there HERE.

Okay, Oklahoma

Sumoflam - An Okay Parent — Sumoflam in an Okay Place

Okay…so you’re thinking there is really a town called Okay and it is in Oklahoma? That’s right! Okay, OK it is and I visited there in 2013 on a return trip home from Texas. They have an Okay Police Department, an Okay Fire Department, an Okay City Hall and even a couple of Okay churches. It is an Okay place. The town only has about 600 residents, but that’s ok. The town is a few miles north of Muskogee on Oklahoma Hwy 16.

Oil Springs, Ontario

On one of my many trips home from Ontario in 2008, I made my way through the town of Oil Springs as part of the route to Michigan and south. Oil Springs’ claim to fame is their first commercial Oil Well that was established in 1858. It is also home to the Oil Museum of Canada and a number of scrap metal sculptures depicting the oil well work from the 1800s. The artwork was by a local metal worker named Murray Watson, who owns Watson’s Machine Shop in Oil Springs. You can see a much deeper history and more photos in my 2008 post HERE.

Oak Creek, Colorado

Train coming out of Peabody Coal Mine near Oak Creek, CO

Impressive Dragon mural on a Chinese Restaurant in Oak Creek, Colorado

On a 2013 road trip from Rexburg, Idaho to Dallas, Texas, I ventured through the back roads of Colorado into Oak Creek, a rustic little town of about 1000 people in the Yampa Valley on Colorado Highway 131, south of Steamboat Springs. It is in a lovely setting and seemed to be a place I would have liked to have lingered longer. See more about my trip HERE.

Oacoma, South Dakota

Al's Oasis in Oacoma, SD — Al’s Oasis in Oacoma, SD

On a different trip home in 2013, we drove through South Dakota and spent the night in Oacoma. Though not a huge place, it does have some history, especially in relation to the Lakota tribe and also as a stop for Lewis and Clark. And it has Al’s Oasis, a uniquely South Dakota style touristy traveler’s rest area. You can read more about our trip HERE.

Odd, West Virginia

Odd School Road takes you into the town of Odd, WV

So, take a trip into West Virginia and you come across a road sign that says “Odd School Road.” You gotta go down that road to see what an “Odd School” looks like and you also find a community named Odd and even and Odd Post Office. Odd huh?

Onawa, Iowa (Honorable Mention)

Onawa1 — Onawa – Home of the Widest Main Street in the United States

On my return trip from Montana in 2013, we made our way through Iowa Along the way I saw a sign for Onawa, Iowa noting it as the home of the Eskimo Pie. I had to drive through the town of about 3000 and see if we could find where it was invented. Research shows me that someone named Christian Nelson invented it in 1920. Interestingly enough, he originally called it an I-Scream Bar. He later partnered with candy maker Russell Stover to patent the product. (See History here) They also claim to have the widest Main Street in the U.S.A. Though I drove around a bit, I couldn’t find a museum or anything…but, there were the hanging banners!! I wish I could have found an Eskimo Pie!!