As I travel the backroads of America and Canada I always run across all sorts of what some call “Yard Art”. Others call it folk art, offbeat art, quirky things, etc. Well, there is the whimsical and fun, there is the unique and then the downright strange. Some of the sites, like Cadillac Ranch above, are world famous. Others are in the middle of nowhere and are happenstance and unexpected. Following is a menagerie of quirky and offbeat whimsy and creativity that I have seen. Enjoy the ride and see if you have been to any of these places…
SCRAP METAL DINOSAURS AND DRAGONS
Guitar Playing Scrap Metal Dragon – Harrietsville, Ontario
Perhaps one of the most common types of yard art I see is scrap metal work. And it seems that dinosaurs and dragons are the most popular. Here are a few.
(UPDATE II – May 2015: On a recent trip to California, I discovered this great piece called “Horn Dragon” by Upper Lake, CA artist Diego Harris. It certainly fits into this post!)
“Horn Dragon” by Diego Harris. Currently on display at Real Goods Store in Hopland, CA
(UPDATE – October 2013: I have found another great scrap metal artist besides those noted below. Visit my post on Larry Vennard from Centralia, Missouri)
Scrap Metal Dinosaur chasing a ram – Glasgow, MontanaBig White Dino made of old car parts – Bertram, TexasGiant Scrap Metal Triceratops – near Rudyard, MontanaScrap Metal Dinosaur – work done by Wally Keller – near Mt. Horeb, WisconsinBig Dragon – Jurustic Park – Marshfield, WisconsinSmall triceratops in someone’s yard in Kelly, Wyoming, near Grand Tetons National ParkBig Scrap Metal Stegosaurus – Texas Pipe Company – Houston, TexasGrazing Dinosaur – Harrietsville, OntarioHungry Dinosaur – Wally Keller collection near Mt. Horeb, WisconsinSkeleton Walking Dinosaur near Murdo, South DakotaDragon Biting my head off – Jurustic Park – Marshfield, WisconsinScary Dragon – Mt. Horeb, WisconsinMetal Dragon Head – Salida, ColoradoMetal Dragon on a Building – Clayton, New Mexico
SCRAP METAL CRITTERS
Barbed Wire Buffalo Head – Sod House Museum – Gothenburg, Nebraska
Of course, dinosaurs and dragons are not the only creatures (critters) that can be seen out on the road. Here are a few more scrap metal (found metal) critters from all over…
Big Parrot – Jurustic Park – Marshfield, WisconsinScrap metal buck made from car parts – Kadoka, South DakotaScrap Metal Horses by Doug Owen – Durant, OklahomaScrap Metal Alligator – Harrietsville, OntarioGiant Armadillo – Texas Pipe Company – Houston, TexasGigantic Scrap Metal Bull – Montrose, South DakotaGiant Scrap Metal Fish – by Gary Greff, on Enchanted Highway in North DakotaHuge Pheasant Family – by Gary Greff on Enchanted Highway in North Dakota
Metal Bird – Idaho Falls, IdahoScrap Metal Horse – Oil Springs, OntarioScrap Metal Ostrich – Salida, ColoradoScrap Metal Anteater – Walla Walla, WashingtonScrap Metal Turtle – near Mt. Horeb, WisconsinBig Horse – Clayton, New MexicoScrap Metal Pink Flamingo at Melody Muffler in Walla Walla, WashingtonScrap Metal Flamingo – Harrietsville, Ontario
SCRAP METAL FOLK
The Tin Family – Enchanted Highway
Of course, dinos and critters are not the only things made out of scrap metal. People are too. Perhaps the biggest and most impressive scrap metal people I have ever seen are the three that comprise the “Tin Family” at the end of the Enchanted Highway in North Dakota (if driving from I-94 or first one if driving from Regent, ND). The Dad is 45 feet tall, Mom is 44 feet tall and the Tin Kid is 23 feet tall. But, there are many more that are unique. Here are a few scrap metal folk found on the road…
Greedy Attorney – Jurustic Park – Marshfield, WisconsinBarbed Wire Indian Chief and Horse – Sod House Museum – Gothenburg, NebraskaScrap Metal Mariachi Band – Hico, TexasScrap Metal and wire Man and Dog at entrance to Gates of the Mountains in MontanaScrap Metal Farmer – Oil City, OntarioFlute Player made from mufflers at Melody Muffler in Walla Walla, WashingtonBig Scrap Metal Soldier – near Mt. Horeb, WisconsinScrap Metal Blackfeet Warriors – Cut Bank, MontanaBlackfeet Warrior 1 – Cut Bank, MontanaBlackfeet Warrior 2 – Cut Bank, MontanaScrap Metal Lady Liberty – Hamtamck, Michigan15 foot Tall Mariachi Trumpet Player – Bertram, Texas
Then there is the most magnificent of all scrap metal art pieces, the World’s Largest (according to the Guinness Book of World Recrod’s). This is at the entry of the amazing Enchanted Highway in North Dakota:
Geese in Flight – World’s Largest Scrap Metal Sculpture – Enchanted Highway off of I-94 in North Dakota
CHAIN SAW ART
Chainsaw Guy – Alpena, Arkansas
Obviously, scrap metal is not the only medium used in the creation of yard art. There is a ton of work don with chain saws and wood. I have seen hundreds of pieces dot the country. Here are a few from all over…
Wooden Bear Totem Pole – Gronk’s in Superior, WisconsinCrusty Old Man – Pauly’s Backwoods Gifts and Chainsaw Carvings – Gateway, ArkansasWooden Eagle – Red Cliff, ColoradoWooden Piano Playing Crow – Winter Wheat – Sparta, OntarioRelaxing Bears – Sawtooth City, IdahoClimbing Bears – Robbins Amazing Art – Ridgetown, OntarioBig Indian – Blackwater, MissouriBig Moose – Shelby, NebraskaOne of dozens of HUGE trolls in Mt. Horeb, WisconsinAnother Mt. Horeb Troll – for good measureGigantic Peter Toth carved Indian in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He has more than 55 of these around the US, all different. I have only seen two.Wooden Mermaid – Robbins Art – OntarioLady – Sharon, Pennsylvania
The epitome of Chain Saw Art is the Chain Saw Totem Pole forest in Medford, Wisconsin. Chainsaw Gordy has gone to a whole new cut above…. 21 poles with nearly 400 chainsaws in them, all done by Gordy Lekies.
Chainsaw Gordy – near Medford, WisconsinChainsaw Totem Pole – Medford, WisconsinChainsaw Forest
MAILBOXES AS PART OF THE ARTWORK
Milk Can Mailbox – near Burke, South Dakota
Though not nearly as prevalent as Chain Saw art and metal art, there are the occasional unique mailboxes to be seen on the back roads of America. I have passed dozens of plastic John Deere mailboxes, fish and cow mailboxes, etc., but then there are the really unique ones….
Tin Man Mailbox near Mt. Horeb, WisconsinMailbox for Jurustic Park in Marshfield, WisconsinChainsaw Carved Bear Mailbox, Ontario, CanadaKnot Normal Mailbox – Peebles, OhioAntler Mailbox – Thornton, IdahoChainsaw Mailbox – Medford, WisconsinScrap Metal Guy Mailbox – Dunkirk, Montana
TOTALLY JUNKED OUT PLACES
Hamtramck Disneyland – Detroit, Michigan
Folk art abounds in this country, but there are some who have taken it to excess with knick-knacks, whirly-gigs, old toys, old stuff and more…and all in one place. Some in the name of art and some just to, well, have a place for their stuff. Though I have seen many across the country, here are some of the more outlandish examples (with two or three shots from each place)
Windmills and Whirlygigs at Hamtramck Disneyland in DetroitWooden Soldiers at Hamtramck DisneylandToys on the Roof at Hamtramck Disneyland – Detroit, MIEven a rocking horse on the roof at Hamtramck Disneyland
Moving on to Woodstock, Ontario and Cliff Bruce’s Windmill Hill, another menagerie of the unusual….(see my writeup here)
Bruce Windmill Hill Main Gate – Woodstock, OntarioToys, Statues and Whirlygigs at Windmill HillMore Stuff at Windmill HillFront Porch Collection at Windmill Hill
Meander to Lesage, West Virginia and you can enjoy huge hot dogs while perusing the “collection” of things at Hillbilly Hot Dogs (see a slide show I did a few years ago)
Hillbilly Hot Dogs – Lesage, West VirginiaHillbilly Hot Dogs, LeSage, West VirginiaHub Cap Collection at Hillbilly Hot DogsLicense Plate Tree at Hillbilly Hot Dogs
Then there is the Flower Man House in Houston, Texas. Built by a man who had been a homeless alcoholic for years, he decided to turn his life around and began putting together his interestingly eccentric colorful house, which sits in an otherwise bland neighborhood.
Flower Man House – Houston, TexasFlower Man House – Houston, TexasFlower Man House – Houston, TexasCheer for the Flower Man!! – Houston, Texas
And just around the corner from the Flower Man’s House is another quirky place – the Law Offices of Tim Hootman. His office is in a brightly colored boxcar and has some unique art sitting outside the place. Really funky…
Tim Hootman Law Office – Houston, TexasOffice is in a Bright Green Train Car – Jim HootmanThis babe greets you at Hootman’s Law OfficeUnique metal work AND paint job at Tm Hootman’s law office in Houston, Texas
If these are not quirky enough, how about this place in Lima, Montana…is it a shop, a restaurant, a hotel or just someone’s knick-knack collection? It was closed, so I couldn’t really find out….
“Not the Hotel California” in Lima, MontanaSign is a Saw BladeStuff in front of the “shop” in Lima, MontanaNo Steaks and Burgers at this place in Lima, Montana
If you liked the place in Lima, how about the Junk Store in Buena Vista, Colorado? This place seems to everything (you may not want or need)!!
Darndest Store in Town – Buena Vista, ColoradoLots of Stuff at this storeNeed some dolls? Shop in Buena Vista, ColoradoGet Some goodies in Buena Vista, Colorado
I came across this fence in Parker, Idaho… completely made of roadsigns
Sign fence – Parker, Idaho
In the small town of What Cheer, Iowa, a lady has gussied up her yard with old wheels, implements and even has a real “flower bed”!
Wagon Wheel Fence at a house in What Cheer, IowaA “Flower Bed” in What Cheer, Iowa
Came across this little “health food store” in Gardner, Colorado, called H Food Store – Huajatollas Foods (see YouTube Video):
H. Food Store – Gardner, ColoradoColorful Huajatolla’s Foods in Gardner, Colorado
And finally, we discovered a couple of places on a back road in central Kentucky. We took Highway 77 (Nada Tunnel Road) and first came across a barn with a hubcap collection:
Hubcap Barn – Central KentuckyCloseup of hubcap barn in Central Kentucky
And we also came across this house near Orlando, Kentucky
House near Orlando, KentuckyUnique mobile at home in Orlando, KentuckyWater Garden at home in Orlando, Kentucky
Finally, this unique house in Talent, Oregon along with their Shoe Tree:
Spooky House in Talent, OregonShoe Tree in Talent, Oregon
