Less Beaten Paths of America

12Mar 2025 by David Kravetz No Comments

2024 in Review: A Few More Murals

Adventure, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Cross Country Road Trips, Graffiti Walls, Indiana, Kentucky, Less Beaten Paths Books, Murals, Offbeat Places, Oklahoma, Roadside Attractions, Route 66, Selfies, Tennessee, Texas, Wall Art

One final post about murals. There were a couple of places with a large number of mural walls and I wanted to touch on these because they provided a great perspective on the history of the specific locations. MISSISSIPPI RIVER TALES MURAL - CAPE GIRARDEAU, MISSOURI [caption id="attachment_40098" align="alignnone" width="640"] Mississippi River Tales in Cape Girardeau, MO[/caption] This 1,100-foot-long mural wall comprises 24 panels of murals covering nearly 18,000 square feet on the 15-foot high floodwall near downtown Gape Girardeau. Though all seem similar, each panel represents a specific period in the history of the area, beginning with the Native Americans who inhabited the area in the early 900s to 1200s and then continuing on to the 1900s. It thus provides a wonderful pictorial narrative of the history. The majority…

06Mar 2025 by David Kravetz

2024 in Review: Town Name Murals – My 500th Post

Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Family Travel, Graffiti Walls, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Less Beaten Paths Books, Missouri, Murals, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Route 66, Selfies, Tennessee, Texas, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Wall Art, Wanderlust, West Virginia

[caption id="attachment_40088" align="alignnone" width="640"] Sumoflam in Fate, TX[/caption] First of all, this is my 500th blog post since beginning my blogging in 2008!! When I am traveling I am always going through the small towns and big ones on the lookout for large murals that welcome visitors to their towns and cities. This continued to be one of my objectives in travel in 2024. There is always a great variety of these from large to small. Unlike my regular mural posts, I don't spend any time looking for the artists of these signs. Just want to share the photos and the locations. Have a lot from Oklahoma and Texas since I took a couple of trips there. Let's go!! Enjoy the Ride. [caption id="attachment_40163" align="alignnone" width="640"] Welcome to Hillsboro, TX[/caption]…

03Mar 2025 by David Kravetz

2024 in Review: Favorite Murals and Street Art

Arkansas, Big Cities, Books, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Deer, Eagles, Graffiti Walls, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Less Beaten Paths Books, Missouri, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Oklahoma, Roadside Attractions, Route 66, Selfies, Street Art, Texas, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Wall Art, West Virginia

[caption id="attachment_40078" align="alignnone" width="640"] Having fun with Groucho in Richmond, Indiana[/caption] As many of you already know, I am a big mural and street art enthusiast. In 2024 I took well over 500 photos of murals on my various road trips through about 15 states. This will be my first post of three or four mural posts, with this one focused on my most favorite finds in the year. I am always amazed at the creativity of mural and street artists. There is so much out there and such a variety of art to be found. From unique graffiti to massive portraits of famous people to representing history in art. There is seemingly no end to what can be found in even the smallest of towns to the corners of…

18Feb 2025 by David Kravetz

2024 in Review: Roadside Attractions – Part 3 – Whimsical and Unique Roadside Attractions

Adventure, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Big Cities, Books, Car Art, Cross Country Road Trips, Dinosaurs, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Horse Art, Horses, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Junk Art, Junk-art Sculptures, Kansas, Kentucky, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Missouri, Museums, Mythical Creatures, National Monuments, National Parks, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Oklahoma, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Route 66, Sculpture Parks, Selfies, Tennessee, Texas, Tourist Traps, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Unique Shops, West Virginia, Wood Carved Bears

MORE WHIMSY FOUND ON THE ROAD This is the final post for unique roadside attractions from 2024. This one is a hodge-podge of interesting attractions and even a few "seasonal" things that were whimsical and fun that I found along the roads of America. [caption id="attachment_39633" align="alignnone" width="452"] Goofing around with the Welcome Bear at Brizendine Brothers Nature Park in Greenville, Kentucky[/caption] Slack Plaza Sculptures - Charleston, West Virginia Two 16-foot-tall whimsical musicians (plus a smaller dog) were installed in Charleston's Slack Plaza in December 2021. Sculpted by Pittsburgh artist James Simon, they were created to show off West Virginia's Appalachian music history. [caption id="attachment_39370" align="alignnone" width="422"] Charleston Slack Plaza Banjo player and dog[/caption] [caption id="attachment_39362" align="alignnone" width="437"] Charleston Slack Plaza fiddle player[/caption] Brother Morgan - Giant Warhammer Figure -…

05Feb 2025 by David Kravetz

2024 in Review: Roadside Attractions – Part 2 – Sculptures and Roadside Art

Adventure, Airlines, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Blue Heron, Books, Bucket List Trips, Eagles, Family Travel, Giant Things, Indiana, Kentucky, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Ohio, Oklahoma, Peacock, Pigs, Place Names, Quirky Things, Roadside America Books, Roadside Attractions, States and Provinces, Street Art, Texas, Travel Blogging, Unique Places

Not every roadside attraction is quirky or strange. Sometimes we can learn from them or gain some perspective in life. Sculptures are always an interesting subject and I saw plenty of them in 2024, from larger than life historical monuments to themed art in small towns. Also want to give a big shoutout to Roadside America for guidance on some of these locations. OKLAHOMA CENTENNIAL LAND RUN MONUMENT - OKLAHOMA CITY [caption id="attachment_39428" align="alignnone" width="640"] Centennial Land Run Monument - Oklahoma City[/caption] This monument has special significance to me as I had two great-grandfathers and a great-great-grandfather that participated in one of the four historic land runs in Oklahoma in the late 1800s. On September 16, 1893 my great-grandfather Pascal Hanks, his father Joseph W. Hanks (a first cousin to…

29Jan 2025 by David Kravetz

2024 in Review: Roadside Attractions – Part 1 – The Big Stuff

Adventure, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Cross Country Road Trips, Dinosaurs, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Garth Brooks, Giant Things, Illinois, Indiana, Junk Art, Junk-art Sculptures, Kansas, Kentucky, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Missouri, Muffler Man, Murals, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Oklahoma, Quirky Things, Roadside America Books, Roadside Attractions, Sasquatch Art, Selfies, Street Art, Tennessee, Texas, Tourist Traps, Travel Blogging, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, West Virginia, Yard Art

At the beginning of 2024 I had hopes of traveling across the country to Washington State, but sadly, that didn't work out. Sickness, job losses and other challenges seriously reduced my travels. Despite all of that, I still was able to get some travel in. I had the opportunity to travel to or through eleven different states as I visited my sister in Texas and in Oklahoma. She also traveled with me on a couple of occasions. I also made trips to Ohio for family, a small trip to West Virginia and trips to Indiana and Missouri for my late 2024 job with Uranus Fudge Factory while it lasted. Along the way, as is my travel routine, I hit up numerous road side attractions and oddities. I had a few…

23Jan 2025 by David Kravetz

2024 in Review: Street Signs and Cemeteries

Adventure, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Kentucky, Less Beaten Paths Books, Missouri, Offbeat Places, Oklahoma, Place Names, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Signs and Billboards, Stop Signs, Tennessee, Texas, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places

This post is kind of a follow up to yesterday’s post on town names. There were so many town names that the post was longer than anticipated. Its always fun running across unique street and road names. And then there are the interesting cemetery names as well. Here are a few from my 2024 road trips: Okay Road - Pink, Oklahoma Okay Road in Pink, Oklahoma Garth Brooks Road - Yukon, Oklahoma Garth Brooks Road in Yukon, Oklahoma Mickey Mantle Dr. - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Mickey Mantle Dr. - Oklahoma City. Mickey Mantle was from nearby Commerce, Oklahoma Happy Valley Rd. - Happy Valley, Tennessee Happy Valley Road - Blount County, Tennessee Johnny Bench St. - Binger, Oklahoma Johnny Bench was from Binger, Oklahoma Easy St., Rogers, Arkansas There is…

22Jan 2025 by David Kravetz

2024 In Review: Unique Town Names

Adventure, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Bike Trails, Black Bear, Books, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, Buildings, Barns and Houses, Church Signs, Cross Country Road Trips, Deer, Distilleries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Ghost Signs, Ghost Towns, Graffiti Walls, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Landscapes, Less Beaten Paths Books, Missouri, Murals, National and State Parks, Historic Sites and More, National Parks, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Oklahoma, Place Names, Post Offices, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Selfies, Signs and Billboards, Street Art, Tennessee, Texas, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Volunteer Fire Departments, Wall Art, Wanderlust, Water Towers, Welcome Signs, West Virginia

As many of my followers know, in my travels, among all the things I see, I am always on the lookout for unique town/place names and fun street signs. Last year was no different. In fact, I was even fortunate enough to get to two of my Bucket List locations while traveling. Following are the places I visited in 2024 along with photos and, in some cases, the histories behind the names. NOWHERE, OKLAHOMA [caption id="attachment_39134" align="alignnone" width="640"] Nowhere Bait Shop - Nowhere, Oklahoma[/caption] A long time resident of my Unique Town Names bucket list has been Nowhere, Oklahoma. Who doesn’t want to take a selfie in the middle of Nowhere? [caption id="attachment_39139" align="alignnone" width="640"] Welcome to the Middle of Nowhere[/caption] I had a trip to Oklahoma in late November…

13Jan 2025 by David Kravetz

Year in Review: 2024 – What a Roller Coaster Ride!!

Black Bear, Limpkin, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Uncategorized

I have had such a 2024 that I never really got all of my 2023 updates done. Oh well. My 2024 was, for lack of a better word, one helluva roller coaster ride of a year. In January I had high hopes for a cross country trip to Washington State to see my grandson Kade graduate from high school. Didn't happen. Though I did have some great travel later in the year, it wasn't what I had hoped for. But sometimes we cannot foresee things. That said, in 2024 I still was able to travel to 12 states and a good 5000 miles of travel. January seemed to tell me that it was going to be a good year. January 1 started off with a good Bald Eagle sighting. And…

18Nov 2024 by David Kravetz

2023: Year in Travel and Other Stories – Part 4 – North Central Tennessee – August 2023

Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Bike Trails, Books, Car Art, Eateries, Family Travel, Ice Cream Places, Junk Art, Junk-art Sculptures, Less Beaten Paths Books, Murals, Offbeat Places, People Shots, Place Names, Post Offices, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Sasquatch Art, Selfies, Tennessee, Town Names, Travel Blogging, Unique Places, US Highway 127, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Wanderlust, Welcome Signs, Yard Art

[caption id="attachment_38779" align="alignnone" width="640"] Cookeville, Tennessee[/caption] In August 2023 we made another kayak/hiking trip to North Central Tennessee. While my wife kayaked, I visited an old high school friend in Cookeville, Tennessee. It also happened to be the weekend of the famed US 127 "World's Longest Yard Sale" which covers 690 miles through six states. I took advantage of grabbing a few shots. Sadly, my favorite motel, The Jordan Motel in Jamestown was both booked solid for that weekend and was also consumed by dozens of folks selling their wares in the yard sale. Cookeville is a fun little town. A few murals, some cool railroad stuff and a few other things that make it a cool place. [caption id="attachment_38780" align="alignnone" width="474"] Cookeville Proud Mural[/caption] [caption id="attachment_38773" align="alignnone" width="471"] Another Cookeville,…