Rudyard MT – Less Beaten Paths of America Travel Blog

April 9, 2018April 9, 2018

A Grab Bag from America’s Back Roads – The H Things #AtoZChallenge

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.

Home on the Range, North Dakota

Hammering Man – Seattle, Washington

Ho-Hum Motel – West Yellowstone, Montana

Ho-Hum Motel in West Yellowstone, Montana

Hillybilly Hot Dogs – Lesage, West Virginia

Order Rite Cheer at Hillbilly Hot Dogs in Lesage, WV

Happy, Kentucky

Hell, Michigan

The Great Hodag – Rhinelander, Wisconsin

Himeji Castle – Himeji, Japan

Visiting the famed Himeji Castle in 1987

Harlan Sanders Cafe – Corbin, Kentucky

Sanders Cafe in Corbin, KY. Birthplace of the KFC Special Recipe

Hipp Nursery – Haubstadt, Indiana

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

Harry Truman Mural – Independence, Missouri

A mural of Harry Truman on a Law Office in Independence, MO painted by David McClain. Truman was born in Independence

Horsetail Falls – Multnomah County, Oregon

Hung Dong Supermarket – Houston, Texas

Of course, you can always come across unique shop names, like this one in Houston. I hear they have great sausages!!

Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden and Toyland – Calvert City, Kentucky

Henry’s Rabbit Ranch – Staunton, Illinois

Rich Henry and Sumoflam with their rabbit at Henry’s Ra66it Ranch in Staunton, IL

Hiawatha Statue – Ironwood, Michigan

Hiawatha Stands 50 feet tall in Ironwood, MI

Heini’s Cheese Shop – Charm, Ohio

Home of Sliced Bread – Chillicothe, Missouri

Chillicothe, Missouri – The Home of Sliced Bread

Hell’s Half-Acre – Powder River, Wyoming

Hell’s Half Acre Sign in Wyoming off of US Route 20/26

Sam Houston Statue – Huntsville, Texas

77 Foot Tall Sam Houston Statue in Huntsville, Texas

Hope, Arkansas

Horse Farm Country – Central Kentucky

Horses graze in the fall on a Woodford County farm near Versailles.

Mare and foal jaunt on a farm in Lexington, KY

Hurts Donut – Frisco, Texas

Hyak Ferry – Bremerton, Washington

Riding the Hyak from Bremerton Terminal in Washington

A flock of seagulls on the deck of the Hyak

Harvey Jackson Mural – Kemmerer, Wyoming

Harvey Jackson mural on a corner in Kemmerer, WY

Hershey, Pennsylvania

My children at Hershey Chocolate World in 1990s

Granddaughter Joselyn gives Grampz a Hershey Kiss at Hershey’s Chocolate World

Hung Far Low Chinese – Portland, Oregon

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

Hurricane, West Virginia

Horse Capital of the World – Versailles, Kentucky

A mural on a water tower in Versailles, Kentucky

Hamtramck Disneyland – Hamtramck, Michigan

Windmills and Whirlygigs at Hamtramck Disneyland in Detroit

A menagerie of oddball and offbeat things all over the roof, side of the house and the yard – Hamtramck Disneyland

Hutch’s on the Beach – Hamilton, Ontario

Hopi Indian Reservation – Walpi, Arizona

While working in Arizona I made over 100 trips to Walpi on the Hopi Indian Reservation in Northern Arizona

Hippos of Hutto, Texas

Greetings from Hutto, home of the Hippos

Hells Canyon – Oregon

Hells Canyon in northeast Oregon is actually wider and deeper than the Grand Canyon

Hippie Joe’s Gas – Upper Lake, California

History of the Niagara Peninsula – Welland, Ontario

A portion of a massive mural on the side of a shopping mall. Entitled “History of the Niagara Peninsula” by Heinz Gaugel

Hi-Line Theatre – Rudyard, Montana

Hi-Line Theatre in Rudyard, Montana – operating since 1949

Hatch, New Mexico

A fiberglass Uncle Sam in Hatch, NM with a famous Hatch Green Chile in hand

Hop Bottom, West Virginia

Hot Box Cafe – Toronto, Ontario

Hugo, Oklahoma

A building made of petrified wood in Hugo

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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May 1, 2017May 1, 2017

Y is for Yard Art – #atozchallenge

One of the more interesting things I look for on roadtrips as I pass through small communities on back roads is yard art. Funky art and decorations in people’s yards, on their fences, on their houses. People have ingenuity. Some people have junk. But, as the saying goes, “One Man’s Junk is Another Man’s Treasure.”

For me, Yard Art is anything unique and unusual. It could be chain saw art – wood carvings made with chain saws. It could be art made from scrap metal. It could be, like the photo above, a hodge podge of signs, junk or other things. Following are some selections of yard art I have taken over the years. Don’t judge…some of these people love their “collections.” I just love my collection of photos of theirs… Enjoy the virtual ride.

A Chain Saw Art Santa at Santa’s Candy Castle in Santa Claus, Indiana

Buried parts of airplanes at the Flying Tiger Museum in Toco, TX

Yet another junk collector along US Route 2 at the Blueberry Antique Store in Blueberry, WI

Scrap metal bison in someone’s front yard in Rudyard, Montana

“Not the Hotel California” in Lima, Montana

Hodge Podge Water Garden at home in Orlando, Kentucky

Scrap Metal Dinosaur – work done by Wally Keller – near Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin

Scrap Metal Horse at Woodford Reserve near Versailles, Kentucky

The Shack Playground, The Shack Burger Resort, Cypress, TX

Scrap Metal Guy Mailbox at Frontier Steakhouse – Dunkirk, Montana

Front of Henry’s Rabbit Ranch in Staunton, IL

Giant scrap metal chopper and rider at Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, SD

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

Scrap Metal Alligator – Harrietsville, Ontario

Blue Banana Espesso Bar in Lostine, Oregon

Gotta add some wood carvings – these from Nebraska City, NE

Scrap Metal and wire Man and Dog at entrance to Gates of the Mountains in Montana, south of Helena

Whimsical Sculpture at Winter Wheat in Sparta, Ontario

Wooden sculpture in a yard across from Daffin’s in Sharon, PA

A menagerie of oddball and offbeat things all over the roof, side of the house and the yard – Hamtramck Disneyland in Hamtramck, MI

“Javelin Man” by Larry Vennard in Centralia, Missouri

Scene from Cliff Bruce Windmill Hill in Woodstock, Ontario

Greedy Attorney – Jurustic Park – Marshfield, Wisconsin

Hand made dinos at Wells Dinosaur Haven in Uncasville, CT

Hillbilly Hot Dogs long view – Lesage, WV

Giant Armadillo – Texas Pipe Company – Houston, Texas

Art Car at Third Street Stuff – Lexington, Kentucky

Spider Volkswagen in someone’s backyard – Wolf Creek, Oregon

A hodge podge of scrap metal art at Porter’s Sculpture Park in Montrose, SD

Buck Samuelson sculptures on a hillside in Glasgow, Montana

Chainsaw Carved Bear Mailbox, Ontario, Canada

Sumoflam and Justin Howland at Grizz Works in Maple, WI. Giant Grizzly is amazing! He makes yard art

A view of Boudreau’s Antiques and Collectibles on US Hwy 2 east of Ashland, WI

Wood carved things in front of Fat Smitty’s in Discovery Bay, WA

The Mattress Ranch “pasture” in Port Orchard, WA

Looks like Humpty Dumpty is alive and well in Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Gasoline Pump Art Sculpture in Story, IN

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April 28, 2017

U is for Unique Monsters: Dinos, Dragons & Other Monsters – #atozchallenge

People are enthralled by dinosaurs and dragons. Maybe it is because humans have never really seen one alive. All we have are fossil evidences and legends.

A roadtrip on the back roads of America will almost always present a dinosaur or a dragon. I have seen hundreds in my travels.

Dragon Biting my head off – Jurustic Park – Marshfield, Wisconsin

In this post I hope to share some of the photos and fun of dinosaurs, dragons and other monster thingies as seen on the road.

Autumn and “Grampz” with the Hodag of Rhinelander, WI

Let’s look at a couple of strange monsters first. First there is the Hodag, a unique monster found in Rhinelander, WI. According to an 1893 newspaper article it was “the fiercest, strangest, most frightening monster ever to set razor sharp claws on the earth. It became extinct after its main food source, all white bulldogs, became scarce in the area.”

A giant monster sculpture greets you at the Mount Horeb Welcome Center. Created by Wally Keller

Wisconsin really seems to be the monster capital of the country. In Mt. Horeb, there is another cool looking monster statue in front of the visitor center. Created by Wally Keller, an artist from nearby.

20 foot tall Jurustic Park dragon in Marshfield, WI

Clyde Wynia, the creator of Jurustic Park and the artist behind all of the work

Of course, the premier “dragon” stop in Wisconsin is Jurustic Park in Marshfield, WI. Created by artist (and former attorney) Clyde Wynia, this large property has well over 1000 pieces of welded scrap metal art, including a few dragons.

Clyde has a number of stories about his “artwork fossils” and makes it a fun place to visit. Note that it really is off the beaten path, but well worth a visit!

Big Dragon – Jurustic Park – Marshfield, Wisconsin

And the afore mentioned Wally Keller, who passed away a few years ago, also had a nice menagerie in his front yard.

Hungry Dinosaur – Wally Keller collection near Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin

There is another scrap metal artist in Centralia, MO who also has created a number of similar dinosaurs.

Sumoflam and Larry Vennard at his Iron Sculpture Park in Centralia, MO

Larry Vennard’s Highway “T” Rex near Centralia, MO

Sumoflam and the Fire Breathing Dragon of Kaskaskia in Vandalia, IL

One of the most interesting dragons out there is the Kaskaskia Fire breathing dragon in Vandalia, IL

This monster was the brainchild of Kaskaskia Supply owner Walt Barenfanger. The 35 foot long beast is not only a nice piece of metal art, it is also FIRE BREATHING! Yes, go across the street to the Liquor Store or over to the Kaskaskia Hardware store and get a token for One Dollar, stick it into the self-service coin box and this guy’s eyes light up red and he breathes REAL fire for about 10 seconds!!

There are, of course, many other dragons out there.

“Horn Dragon” by Diego Harris. Currently on display at Real Goods Store in Hopland, CA

Dragon with Cowboy Boots at Big Texan Steak House in Amarillo, TX

Metal Dragon on a Building – Clayton, New Mexico

Guitar Playing Scrap Metal Dragon – Harrietsville, Ontario

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

But, its the dinosaurs that impress. Many have been built to the presumed size and shape of the various monsters. In fact, there are a number of T Rex statues out there.