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!!
Elk Bar and Good Food – Chinook, Montana
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
A shot with Elvis in Memphis
Earth, Texas
Welcome to Earth, TexasYes, there is Earth Police
Eagles – The Living Kind – Lexington, Kentucky; Cave Run Lake, Kentucky; Lewistown, Montana
Eagle at Jacobson Park, Lexington, KentuckyEagle I saw when driving by Lewistown, MontanaEagle 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)Catching the Solar Eclipse in Cadiz, KYThe “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
Palace Hotel – 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
Onawa, Iowa, Home of the Eskimo Pie
Elbe, Washington
Small Elbe Church in Elbe, WA
El Kapp Motel – Raton, New Mexico
More great neon
El Kapp Motel in Raton, NM
Eiheiji Temple – Fukui, Japan
Main gate to Eiheiji. Note the monk walking across. He was barefoot. (ca 1976).
Easy Street – Port Orchard, Washington
Easy Street, Port Orchard
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 tallThe Paris, Texas Eiffel Tower with a Cowboy Hat on top
Erie Canal – Medina, New York
Culvert Road Tunnel under Erie Canal
Egg Harbor, Wisconsin
Welcome to Egg Harbor, WI
Lake Eufala, Oklahoma
Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma
Egrets – Lexington, Kentucky; Cave Run Lake, Kentucky; Uncertain, Texas
Egret flies off at Jacobson Park in Lexington, KYA Great Egret relaxes in the swamp near Uncertain, TexasEgret 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
Enchanted Highway in North DakotaSumoflam 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!
Sumoflam – Enjoy the Ride
Eagle Art from All Over: Kingston, Washington; Cut Bank, Montana; Joseph, Oregon; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Oglesby, Illinois;
Found this eagle in Kingston, WashingtonBig mural in Cut Bank, MontanaEagle statue in Joseph, OregonLarge eagle sculpture in Idaho Falls, IdahoWooden carved eagle at Starved Rock State Park in Oglesby, IllinoisEagle in Utica, IllinoisMore eagles at Starved Rock State Park
Embro, Ontario
Embro, Ontario, home of the Highland Games
Eighty Four, Pennsylvania
Eighty Four, PA Post OfficeWelcome to 84 Country – Eighty Four , PA
Elk Photos – Elkton, Oregon; Yellowstone National Park; Sugar City, Idaho
An Elk Bull near Elkton, OregonA solitary elk bull relaxes in the meadow at YellowstoneElk Bull in Sugar City, Idaho
Euclid, Ohio
Welcome to Euclid
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.
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
Only, TennesseeThis way to the Only Baptist ChurchThe one and only Only Baptist Church
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 InnSunrise over the Atlantic Ocean as seen from Old Orchard Beach, MEWatching grandkidz play on Atlantic coast at Old Orchard Beach in MaineOutside 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 in an Okay PlaceThis church caters to Okay followersThis is an Okay Police DepartmentEven the Fire Department is Okay
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
Oil Springs, Ontario – The location of the First Commercial Oil Well in North AmericaReplica of Oil Well in Oil Springs, OntarioScrap Metal Art in Oil Springs, OntarioOil Springs Scrap Metal ArtOil Springs Scrap Metal Art
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
Downtown Oak Creek ColoradoTrain coming out of Peabody Coal Mine near Oak Creek, COImpressive Dragon mural on a Chinese Restaurant in Oak Creek, ColoradoA mystic mural in Oak Creek, CO
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
Welcome to OacomaBridge into Oacoma, South DakotaAl’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, West Virginia Post OfficeOdd 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)
Onawa – Home of the Widest Main Street in the United StatesOnawa, Iowa, Home of the Eskimo Pie
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!!
Oddville, Kentucky (Honorable Mention)
Oddville, KentuckyOddville United Methodist Church, Oddville, KYOddville Sunrise Road
OK….so I had a town named Odd in West Virginia. Why not include a town named Oddville in Kentucky? There is even an Oddville Church… HA!
Did You Miss My Other A to Z Challenge Posts? Click on a letter below to see the others.