AtoZ Challenge 2020 – 8154: An Epic Road Trip – The D Stories #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Arizona, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Bucket List Trips, Burger Joints, California, Cross Country Road Trips, Deer, Dinosaurs, Family Travel, Flowers, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Junk Art, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Offbeat Places, Oregon, Place Names, Post Offices, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Route 66, Sandhill Cranes, Selfies, Snow Geese, Street Art, Texas, Tourist Traps, Town Names, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 101, Vintage Neon, Washington, Welcome Signs, Yard Art
In early 2020 I traveled across the country with one of my daughters and three grandchildren.  We traveled 8154 miles through 20 states over 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 D Stories. (all photography by David "Sumoflam" Kravetz) Dinosaurs Seems like whenever you get near a trading post a fun place, there always seems to be a dinosaur or two hanging around.  I have…
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A to Z Challenge: The M Towns #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Arizona, Backroads Discoveries, Big John, Bucket List Trips, Connecticut, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Illinois, Large Statues, Murals, Museums, New York, North Dakota, Ontario, Pennsylvania, People Shots, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Saskatchewan, Selfies, South Dakota, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 160, US Highway 19, US Highway 2, US Highway 89, Wall Art, Wisconsin
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 M Towns Mount Horeb, Wisconsin [caption id="attachment_779" align="alignnone" width="280"] Welcome to Mt. Horeb, WI[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15564" align="alignnone" width="300"] A giant troll sculpture greets you at the Mount Horeb Welcome Center. Created by Wally Keller[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15563" align="alignnone" width="225"] Ahhh..trolls[/caption]…
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A to Z Challenge: The C Towns #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Amish Country, Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Caves and Caverns, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Eateries, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Graffiti Walls, Illinois, Kentucky, Large Statues, Lighthouses, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Mountains, Murals, Museums, National Parks, Ohio, Ontario, Place Names, prairie dogs, Roadside Attractions, Rocky Mountains, Selfies, South Dakota, Texas, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 1, US Highway 89, Vintage Neon, Wall Art
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 towns, some known for their names, other for unique sites in town. To see what other bloggers will be posting about, check out the link: A to Z Theme Reveal List for 2016 The C Towns Cactus Flat, South Dakota [caption id="attachment_4015" align="alignnone" width="225"] Sumoflam with the Giant Prairie Dog - Cactus Flat, SD[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3953" align="alignnone" width="194"] Prairie…
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Larry Vennard’s Iron Sculpture Park in Centralia, Missouri

Backroads Discoveries, Cross Country Road Trips, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Missouri, Mythical Creatures, Roadside Attractions, Route 66, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Yard Art
[caption id="attachment_6414" align="aligncenter" width="199"] Larry Vennard - Scrap Metal Artist, Centralia, Missouri[/caption] In September I was traveling back home and on the way had the opportunity to stop at a small farm north of Centralia, Missouri on Highway T to visit scrap metal artist Larry Vennard, see his "Original Highway 'T' Rex" and a number of other pieces of his "Outside Art Sculpture Park."  I mentioned him in my blog post about my trip back from Omaha, Nebraska.  But, he deserves his own blog entry much like my blog post about "Jurustic Park" in Wisconsin.  In the tradition of other "Outside Art", he has dinosaurs, animals and mythical creatures all made from scrap metal (see one of my most popular posts entitled Yard Art: Creativity with Scrap Metal, Chain Saw…
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