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 I Stories. (all photography by David “Sumoflam” Kravetz)
Iowa – Welcome to Iowa
On our trip we hit a small corner of Iowa as we drove north on Interstate 29 from Missouri to Nebraska.
Indian City Trading Post – Houck, AZ
Drive down Interstate 40 in Arizona and you will see a load of signs like this below for the numerous trading posts.
Iron Mountain Road – Custer, South Dakota
Admittedly, this was one of the highlights of our entire trip. This drive has been on my bucket list for a number of years. However, as we got into Custer State Park in late January, we had no assurance that the road would be open because of the possibility of snow and/or ice on the road. But, as we got into Custer State Park, we were informed that Iron Mountain Road (US 16A) had been opened just a couple of hours earlier.
This 17 mile road is such a unique drive. As the sign photo below shows, there are 314 curves, 14 switchbacks, 3 pigtails (a road bridge which loops over its own road), 3 unique tunnels and 4 presidents (referring to Mount Rushmore, which can actually be seen through two of the tunnels.) At its highest point, the summit of Iron Mountain, the windy road hits an altitude of 5,446 feet. There are amazing views, as you can see from the photos below.
Itty Bitty Inn – North Bend, Oregon
Sadly, we didn’t stay in this old (established in 1950) motel in North Bend, Oregon, just north of Coos Bay. The Itty Bitty Inn name is now one of my favorite unique motel names. I did a little research on this motel that is located on Oregon’s very scenic US Hwy 101. This place even has a Star Trek-themed room (click on the link above to check it out.)
I Love this Town mural – Quitaque, Texas
As we drove through Quitaque, Texas on Valentine’s Day, I saw this lovely mural. Always love a good mural.
Interstate Highway Scenes
On my long road trips I really strive to avoid the Interstate highways. I love the back roads and U.S. highways. However, sometimes the interstates are unavoidable. I took a few shots of our drives on the Interstates. On this trip we did hit Interstates 10, 20, 30, 40 and a number of others. Enjoy the ride!
Illinois
Welcome to Illinois
Interesting and timely church sign – Equality, Illinois
When we were on the road trip, we, like all Americans, had no idea that the COVID-19 crisis would engulf the world. This photo was taken on January 25, 2020 in Equality, Illinois. As I write this on April 9, the United States has hit the 80 day mark since the first case (January 21, 2020 in Seattle, Washington)
WATCH FOR MY NEW BOOK “8154” — COMING SOON TO AMAZON
I am currently working on my FOURTH book, titled “8154” to represent the mileage of my epic road trip with family. You can visit my Amazon Author Page to see my other books at https://amzn.to/3azY36l
