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.
Talent, Oregon
Welcome to Talent, OregonTalent MuralTalent Police
Tee Pee Motel – Wharton, Texas
Tee Pee Motel in Wharton, TXSumoflam at the Tee Pee Motel in Wharton, TX
Thoroughbred Park – Lexington, Kentucky
Thoroughbred Park, Lexington, KYHorse and jockey racing down the track. Perhaps my favorite photo of all from Thoroughbred Park
Tightwad, Missouri
Tightwad, MOTightwad Bank – no longer in business, but was fun to see while there
Tornado, West Virginia
Tornado, WVTornado Church
Top of the World Store – Beartooth Pass – near Cody, Wyoming
Welcome to Top of the World Store on Beartooth Pass Highway north of Cody, Wyoming.Sumoflam at Top of the World on the Beartooth Highway in Wyoming
Tulum, Mexico
Enjoying a visit to the Tulum Ruins on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico
Tews Falls – Hamilton, Ontario
Tews Falls in Hamilton, OntarioTews Falls, Hamilton, Ontario
Trailer Park Eatery – Austin, Texas
Trailer Park Eatery in Austin — a hybrid “food truck” type of place comprised of trailers that are actually like food trucksTrailer Park Eatery. Check out the Airstreams!
Teddy Rides Again – Enchanted Highway – Regent, North Dakota
Enchanted Highway Stop #6 – Teddy Rides AgainSumoflam at Teddy Rides Again
Turkey Vultures guard their meal near McKee, KYA Turkey Vulture, also called a buzzard, flying way overhead in Versailles, KYTurkey vulture gathering on a road in central Kentucky
Thermopolis, Wyoming
Welcome to Thermopolis, WYA sign about the Hot Springs of Thermopolis
Trail Town USA – Damascus, Virginia
Damascus calls itself Trail Town USA for a reason. The Appalachian Trail, the Virginia Creeper Trail and others come to a crossroads here.At the Cross Roads of the Virginia Creeper and Appalachian Trails
Ten Sleep, Wyoming
Crazy Woman Cafe in Ten Sleep, WyomingTen Sleep Canyon on US 16 near Ten Sleep, WY
Thronehenge – Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden – Calvert City, Kentucky
Thronehenge in the Hillbilly Garden
Tomahawk, Wisconsin
Tomahawk, WIBig Bull Moose in Tomahawk, WI
Texan Motel – Raton, New Mexico
Texan Motel neon in Raton, New Mexico
Teton Drive In – Rexburg, Idaho
The old Teton Drive-In – Rexburg, Idaho
This Way and That Way – Lake Jackson, Texas
Corner of This Way and That Way in Lake Jackson, TXThis Way U TurnPlaque describing the naming of the roads This Way and That Way in Lake Jackson, TX
Taughannock Falls – Ulysses, New York
Taughannock Falls in New York
Turtle Twist Ice Cream – Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
Turtle Twist Ice Cream in Canonsburg, PA
Theodore Roosevelt National Park – Medora, South Dakota
Some of the scenic and colorful hills of Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Teepee Cafe – Bonesteel, South Dakota
TeePee Cafe – Bonesteel, South Dakota
Taisekiji – Fujinomiya, Japan
One of the huge buildings of Taisekiji in Fuji-no-miya (ca. 1978)Towering pillars of Taisekiji. Notice the little dots at the bottom…those are people. (ca. 1978)
Tower Rock State Park – Cascade, Montana
Missouri River in Tower Rock State ParkHardy Bridge in Tower Rock State Park
Tioga, Texas
Tioga, Texas – Birthplace of Gene AutryTioga Heritage MuseumRustic shopping area of Tioga, Texas
Tallman Hotel – Upper Lake, California
The Tallman HotelTallman Hotel in Upper Lake, CA
Tersier (Actually called a Tarsius) – Bohol, Philippines
A Tersier on Bohol
Tunica, Mississippi
Gateway to the Blues, Tunica, MississippiThe Tate Log House in Tunica, MS
Thorncrown Chapel – Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Tom Sawyer’s Fence – Hannibal, Missouri
My two sons, Seth and Solomon, at Tom Sawyer’s Fence in Hannibal, Missouri., Summer 2001
Threadgill’s – Austin, Texas
Threadgills in AustinJanis Joplin painting at Threadgill’s
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
Truth or Consequences, NMNM 152 near Truth or Consequences, NM
Two-Tailed Walleye – Shell Lake, Wisconsin
Two Tailed Walleye Statue in Shell LakeSumoflam with the Shell Lake Two-Tailed Walleye
Train Mural in Gauley Bridge painted by Nancy Lane to commemorate the rich rail heritage of the town.A large mural of a train welcomes visitors to Ravenna, KYTrain mural in Glasgow Montana on the side of a building
Texas Pipe Supply – Houston, Texas
Giant Armadillo – Texas Pipe Company – Houston, TexasBig Scrap Metal Stegosaurus – Texas Pipe Company – Houston, Texas
Twin Buttes – Atomic City, Idaho
Twin Buttes near Atomic City as seen heading west to Arco, ID
Three-Legged Willie – Georgetown, Texas
Statue of Three-Legged Willie in Georgetown, TX
Totem Poles – Neah Bay, Washington; Blueberry, Wisconsin; Ketchikan, Alaska; Superior, Wisconsin
A totem pole in Neah Bay, WAScrap Metal totem pole outside of Blueberry, WI Antique storeSumoflam with a Totem Pole in KetchikanWooden Bear Totem Pole – Gronk’s in Superior, Wisconsin
Troll City – Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin
Welcome to Mt. Horeb, WIAhhh..trollsAnother Mt. Horeb Troll (or two?)One of dozens of HUGE trolls in Mt. Horeb, WisconsinGrumpy Troll Brew Pub and Restaurant, Mt. Horeb, WIAnother Mt. Horeb Troll – for good measure
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.
For me there is a difference between “Offbeat” and “Quirky.” I like to look at things that are offbeat as being similar to something conventional or recognizable, but just somewhat off. On the other hand, quirky is closer to non-conventional and sometimes even absurd (my Q post will focus on Quirky).
Oddville, Kentucky
When I am traveling I love looking at the beauty and nature around me, but I also seek out the offbeat and quirky. One source I always use to help me find these locations is the Roadside America app. This app covers all 50 states and most of Canada and includes almost anything offbeat, odd, quirky and even downright outlandish and ridiculous. There are literally 1000s of sites and things to find and this makes for something fun on a roadtrip.
Sumoflam at the Mushroom House in CincinnatiMushroom House front side
So, what do I mean by offbeat? Let’s take houses for instance. The normal home is brick and mortar, or a trailer home. But how about a flying saucer or a house that looks like mushrooms? A trip to the Cincinnati area offers up both of these.
First, there is a house in Cincinnati literally referred to as the “Mushroom House.” It is built almost completely out of either natural materials or recycled materials.
It is like a house…it is a house. But it certainly looks different than the “normal” human abode.
A view of Cincinnati’s Mushroom HouseBeam Me Up Scotty at the Front Door of Futuro House
Then there are the homes that look like flying saucers. Called “Futuro” homes, there were many built in the 1960s by a company in Finland.
Across the river from Cincinnati, on a hill in Covington, KY overlooking the Ohio River and US Interstate 75, sits a Futuro House. It is in a regular neighborhood and stands out like a sore thumb. If you look carefully off to your right from the Interstate driving south out of Cincinnati right after crossing the Ohio River, you will see it.
The Futuro House in Covington, KYBeer Can House, Houston, TX
Finally, take a tripdown to Houston for another Offbeat house…the house built totally out of Beer Cans!
Basically done as an art project, this house is also lived in and is built out of 1000s of aluminum beer cans.
I think the owner’s name must be Bud Weiser??
Beer Can House FrontBeer Can HouseVoodoo Doughnut – Portland, Oregon
But houses aren’t the only offbeat places. If one looks hard the discovery of offbeat eateries can also come to the fore. Like the houses, these are normal in most respects, but there is just something a tad different.
For instance, there is a great place in Portland, Oregon called Voodoo Doughnut. The main shop (yes, there are now a few of them) is located downtown and there are lines there 24/7. They make a great variety of doughnuts and even a few offbeat ones, such as the actual Voodoo Doughnut, which is a person shaped doughnut, covered with chocolate and filled with raspberry filling. It is stabbed with a pretzel stick…yes, like a Voodoo Doll!
The Voodoo Doll – Raised yeast doughnut filled with raspberry jelly topped with chocolate frosting and a pretzel stick!It is no wonder there are always lines at Voodoo Doughnut – 24/7
Then there is the other offbeat thing…the original shop also has a chapel and some of the bakers are ALSO ordained ministers. You can be married at Voodoo Doughnut legally and be surrounded by chapel-esque stained glass and everything!
Voodoo Doughnut Stained GlassVoodoo Doughnut in Portland — lost my selfieSumoflam and wife at Lambert’s Cafe – Home of Throwed Rolls
Head on over to Missouri for another unique treat. There is a restaurant in Ozark, Missouri (and another near Branson) called Lambert’s Cafe. These huge facilities cater to tourists and buses. They offer a variety of yummy meals and have a few things served “home style” – wheeled in on carts and served out of pots at the table (including black-eyed peas, potatoes, tomato stew and more).
But what really makes them famous are their “Throwed Rolls.” And this is where they fit into the Offbeat category. Literally, they come to the middle of an area in the restaurant, ask who wants rolls and then throw them across the room to you. You miss them, too bad…
Throwing Rolls at Lambert’sLambert’s Cafe – Sikeston, Missouri – big placeThe Throwed Rolls with Sorghum – yummy!
Then there is the offbeat looking restaurant in Mississippi with amazing lunch offerings…
Sumoflam at Mammy’s Cupboard in Natchez, MSMammy’s Cupboard Dining Room – Much bigger than it looks on the outsideSumoflam and MSR Pyramid in Nekoma, ND
Convention gets thrown out the door when visiting a facility just outside of Nekoma, ND. There is a huge cement pyramid in the middle of nowhere. Seemingly deserted (but fenced off), this used to be an old military facility.
The Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex was the United States’ first operational ABM (anti-ballistic missile) defense system. The pyramid included radar and other defense systems. Now unused, it sits in the middle of nowhere in North Dakota and is an imposing offbeat site.
The Pyramid in Nekoma, NDThe Pyramid Shaped MSR of the Mickelson facilityThe famed North Dakota pyramid, a vestige of the cold war, as seen from ND Hwy 1 south of Nekoma, ND
And a bank is a bank is a bank…right? What about one for tightwads?
Then there is place called Tightwad in MO and they even have a bank!National Mustard Museum Sign, Middleton, WI
Next are museums. There are hundreds of museums in the United States, but some are more offbeat and unique than others. Take the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, WI. Chock full of mustards from around the world, one can buy a lifetime supply of mustards and never have the same flavor twice.
The original Mustard Museum was located in Mt. Horeb, WI, but later moved to Middleton, to be in a much larger facility. A condiment lover’s dream.
Mustard Display – Plastic Bottles – Mustard Museum in WisconsinMBA Degree (Master of Bad Attitude) from the Mustard Museum’s Poupon University (Poupon U)
There are also other fun museums out there. How about these?
Jell-o Museum in LeRoy, New YorkSpoon Ceiling at JELL-O MuseumSumoflam at Spam Museum in Austin, MNSpam Museum Billboard – Austin, MNSpam Museum – Austin, MNAt the Idaho Potato Museum in 2013 – Blackfoot, IDWorld’s Largest Potato Chip – 23″ x 14.5″ at the Idaho Potato Museum
And then there is the actual Oddity Place of all Oddity Places… a museum of Oddities in Seattle, WA called “Ye Olde Curiosity Shop.”
Visiting Ye Olde Curiosity Shop on the waterfront in SeattleThis guy greets you at the door at Ye Olde Curiosity ShopYe Olde Curiosity Shop in SeattleA two headed sheep in Ye Olde Curiosity Shop in Seattle, WA
Finally, what’s in a town? There are some offbeat towns out there. Many towns have unique names, but some of these are really offbeat and odd.
Odd, West Virginia Post OfficeOddville United Methodist Church, Oddville, KYPeculiar, MissouriA Peculiar Church
Some are totally Uncertain….
Finding Uncertainty in Uncertain, TXYes, there is a Church of Uncertain!!
And lastly, a town that actually changed its name to a major sponsor…also in Texas.
DISH Town Hall, DISH, TexasDISH, Texas
Indeed, there is much offbeat in America and this is just a small sampling of the savory and unsavory offbeat oddities of our wonderful country. Is there anything Normal?
Every April, bloggers from all over the world participate in the April A to Z blog challenge, and you can too. It’s a lot of fun and it’s a great way to meet other bloggers. To play along, all you do is make a blog post for each letter of the alphabet during April, then visit as many other bloggers as you can.
Road trips would never be the same without the opportunity to stop at local diners, dives and drive-ins (OK…I gotta give credit to Guy Fieri). Food is such an important part of a road trip. Obviously, no matter where one drives they always come across the chain shops like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, KFC, etc. With those places, the food you get is always the same.
At Nashville’s oldest eatery – Elliston Place Diner – Featured in Antsy McClain’s videoMidway Diner sign on a barn
But, for me, the real joy is stopping at a local Mom and Pop shop or local Drive-In and trying out the fare. Someplace well known in that little town or region, but maybe not known anywhere else.
My good friend, singer/songwriter/storyteller/artist Antsy McClain did a song a few years ago called “Mom and Pop Don’t Work Here No More” in respect for these places that are quickly becoming a dying breed. (see the video)
Goody Goody Diner – St. Louis
“There used to be more flavor in this country that I roam I feel like I’m a stranger, no place to call my home I can eat the same cheeseburger from New Mexico to Main The same darn cup of coffee, just to link in someone’s chain No, mom-and-pop don’t work here no more”
Antsy McClain
You Are What you Eat Cafe – Boring, Oregon
So, when I am on the road I really make an effort to find the local places to eat and I have found many of them across this wonderful country of ours. For example, there is “Cozy Drive-In” in Springfield, IL which supposedly is famous because of its creation of the corndog.
Cozy Drive In – Home of the famous Hot Dog on a StickCozy Dogs and Homemade Fries – Cozy Dog – Springfield, ILLambert’s Cafe – The Home of Throwed Rolls – in Ozark, MissouriThrowing Rolls at Lambert’s
Then there’s the place in Missouri called Lambert’s Cafe that is famous for its “Throwed Rolls.” Or how about the diner outside of Natchez, Mississippi that looks like an old 1930s black woman servant on the outside and service homemade sandwiches on homemade bread with deserts of homemade pie and cake? And how can I forget “Hillbilly Hotdog” in West Virginia or the unique burger joint called Fat Smitty’s that is plastered with dollar bills in Washington. And what about The Shack Burger Resort in Cypress, Texas?
Hillbilly Hot Dogs – Lesage, West VirginiaHillbilly Hot Dogs, home of the HomewreckerFat Smitty’s, a burger joint near Port Townsend, WA.Fat Smitty’s ceiling covered with money.The Shack Burger Resort storefront – Texas style fun in Cypress, TXOutdoor eating area at The ShackMammy’s Cupboard south of Natchez, MS on US 61Waylan’s Hamburgers – Home of the Ku-Ku – Commerce, Oklahoma
Along the road there are always the burger joints, the ice cream places, and the roadside cafés. One never knows what they will get in some of these places. But, chances are the food will be much better than what one will get at a fast food chain place.
And each of these local places has their “speciality,” such as the Ku-Ku burger at Waylan’s in Commerce, OK on Route 66.
Scotty’s Hamburgers – Idaho Falls, IdahoWimpy’s Burgers – Keller, TexasBig Jud’s Gourmet Burgers, Rexburg, IDTotal indulgence in a Big Jud’s “small” burgerTightwad Cafe – Tightwad, MissouriCarrie Fields, owner – Tightwad Cafe
I recall visiting the “Tightwad Café” in Tightwad, MO. Amazing breakfast made for a king and not a miserly tightwad. The only indication that it was a “tightwad” type of place was that they only took cash — no credit cards.
But check out the food. This giant breakfast was very affordable and kept me filled up for a good part of the day.
Breakfast at Tightwad CafeBryant’s Barbecue – Kansas City, Missouri
Of course, there are the barbecue places. Oh yes, the myriad barbecue places across this country. I have had barbecue in North Carolina, Texas, Kansas City, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama. In fact, one of my favorites was in Paris, Ontario in Canada!! And they’re all different and wonderful.
Camp 31 Bar-B-Que – Paris, OntarioOklahoma Joe’s Neon in Kansas City, KS
One such great barbecue place is Oklahoma Joe’s in Kansas City, Kansas. The café is inside a gas station and people are always waiting in line out the door to get their famous barbecue. And when I finished, my friend Brad Sweeten, and athletic director at one of the high schools in Kansas City, Missouri, took me to a local ice cream place that makes ice cream cones as tall is the Empire State building.
Stopping in KC to enjoy lunch with my good friend Brad Sweeten at Oklahoma Joe’sGiant Ice Cream Cone at Paul’s Drive In – Kansas CitySumoflam gnoshing on pig tails at Olde Heidelberg in Heidelberg, ON
Honestly, I could write about the dozens and dozens of places I’ve visited over the years. Every single place has its own personality and tasty cuisine.
Following are a few of the photos of the diners, dives and drive-ins that I visited over the years. I have dozens that you can read about in my blog. I only have room to include a few. One piece of advice though… don’t go looking for a sandwich in Sandwich, NH. Been there…failed that. No sandwiches in Sandwich.
Olde Heidelberg Restaurant – Heidelberg, OntarioTrailer Park Eatery in Austin — a hybrid “food truck” type of place comprised of trailers that are actually like food trucksIn the Country Bakery and Eatery on the outskirts of Damascus, VAA Pal’s Sudden Service building. Lots of fun and it looks like the food is great too. Bristol, TNHutch’s on the Beach – Hamilton, OntarioStory Inn, Story, IndianaStoneville Saloon – Alzada, Montana (Cheap Drinks and Lousy Food)Sumoflam at Mel’s Drive-in in San FranciscoSumoflam at the Wigwam Drive-In in Ravenna, KY