US Highway 212 and the Beartooth Highway

29Jul 2014 by David Kravetz

Dream Highway: US Highway 212 and the Beartooth Highway

Animals, Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Bison, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Deer, Dream Highways, Elk, Geologic Formations, Horses, Landscapes, Montana, National Parks, Pronghorn Antelope, Roadside Attractions, Rocky Mountains, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, US Highway 212, US Highway 89, Vintage Neon, Wyoming, Yard Art

Like so many other people, I have a bucket list of places I want to visit in my lifetime. On my trip in May 2014 I was able to scratch off TWO of them! The first was a trip across US Route 2 from Michigan to Montana, with a stop in Bemidji, MN to see the giant Paul Bunyan and Ox statues (so it was kind of a three for the price of two really). You can read about that portion of the trip HERE. The second, and perhaps more thrilling and fulfilling to me, was being able to travel US Highway 212 across Yellowstone and then over the Beartooth Highway, one of America's greatest Scenic Byways. This 68 mile trip makes its way through Yellowstone and then from the…

24Jul 2014 by David Kravetz

Montana Trip: US Highway 89 thru Montana – South 89

Animals, Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Deer, Dream Highways, Eateries, Family Travel, Farmland, Found Metal Sculptures, Geologic Formations, Ghost Signs, Giant Things, Horses, Landscapes, Large Statues, Montana, Murals, National Monuments, National Parks, Place Names, Pronghorn Antelope, Roadside Attractions, Rocky Mountains, Street Art, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 2, US Highway 212, US Highway 89, Vintage Neon, Wall Art

After spending a nice day with my children and grandchildren along US Highway 89 north of Great Falls, it was time to begin the long trip back to Kentucky the next day. I would begin the return trip with a quick jaunt south on I-15 to Great Falls and then south on US 87/89 towards Kings Hill Pass on the Kings Hill Scenic Byway, which runs along US 89 from the US 87 junction to the US 12 junction just north of White Sulphur Springs, Montana. Before moving on, I should mention that on the previous day we made a quick stop in Conrad, Montana to see if there is anything interesting there. Conrad is south of Shelby and just off of I-15, so it is easy off and easy…

23Jul 2014 by David Kravetz

Montana Trip: The Other Rock City

Backroads Discoveries, Geologic Formations, Landscapes, Montana, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, US Highway 89

While on a trip to Montana in late May 2014, I had the opportunity to visit a place called Rock City, just north of Valier, Montana. (see my recent post on that trip) In and of itself, Valier is not too exciting of small town but it is scenic as it borders Lake Frances, a great bird estuary. With my daughter, her husband and my grandchildren in tow, we ventured to Valier on our way to Choteau, Montana in order to take a ride out to "Rock City." It is about a seven mile drive due north of town. This is not the same Rock City that is located near Chattanooga, Tennessee and has advertisements on barns all over the southeast as shown below. Instead, this Rock City is a…

23Jul 2014 by David Kravetz

Montana Trip: US Highway 89 thru Montana – North 89

Animals, Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Family Travel, Farmland, Found Metal Sculptures, Geologic Formations, Ghost Signs, Giant Things, Graffiti Walls, Horses, Landscapes, Large Statues, Montana, Murals, Museums, National Monuments, National Parks, Place Names, prairie dogs, Roadside Attractions, Rocky Mountains, States and Provinces, Train Bridges, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, US Highway 2, US Highway 212, US Highway 287, US Highway 89, US Highways, Vintage Neon

As I continued my trip in Montana, I spent some time with my daughter and her children in Shelby. From there I proceeded to head back to Kentucky the "back roads" way over a number of US Highways and State Highways. My goal was to travel the majority of Montana's US 89 during this trip. I did not hit the portion north of Browning to Alberta on this trip, though I have traveled it in the past. In fact, over the years I have traveled US 89 from the Canadian border all the way to Mexico (back when US 89 went that far). This post will cover the section of US 89 north of Great Falls and I will follow with a second post covering the portion of US 89…

17Jul 2014 by David Kravetz

Montana Roadtrip: Taking the Hi-Line Across Northern Montana

Backroads Discoveries, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Montana, Museums, National Parks, Place Names, prairie dogs, Roadside Attractions, States and Provinces, Train Bridges, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Yard Art

My trip along Route 2 continued from Glasgow, Montana westward along what is known as the Montana Hi-Line (See my May 2013 post about a previous drive on a portion of the Hi-Line). Back in May last year I drove through to Glasgow and then south. On this trip I tried to spend a little more time in some of the smaller towns on the road and capture the essence of what I feel is a dieing breed hanging on. In fact, to proclaim their existence, many of the towns have a big sign on the highway to proclaim "Hey, we're here!" Ultimately, I would drive Route 2 to where it intersects with US Route 89 on the eastern edge of Glacier National Park. That would be the end of…

04Jul 2014 by David Kravetz

Montana Road Trip: Zipping across North Dakota on US Highway 2

Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Horse Art, Large Statues, Montana, North Dakota, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, States and Provinces, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Vintage Neon

I continue my series on my Montana road trip and my drive along US Route two across the northern border from Michigan to Montana. As one progresses further west after leaving Minnesota, you soon discover that the land is flatter, full of prairies and grasslands and not as many lakes and streams as one would see in Minnesota. I spent the night in Grand Forks, North Dakota and then proceeded to head west early in the morning. The first thing I did was look for the famed Smiley Water Tower in Grand Forks. Unlike others with a similar smiley on them, this one has a smiley face on the one side and a winking smiley face on the other. It is always wonderful to start the day off with a…

29Jun 2014 by David Kravetz

A Grizzly Experience: Grizz Works in Maple, WI

Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Giant Things, Large Statues, People Shots, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Wisconsin, Yard Art

During my trip on US Route 2 across Wisconsin, I came across a unique place called Grizz Works in the small town of Maple, Wisconsin. It amounted to a roadside stop with a whole bunch of big, realistic looking chainsaw carved wooden animals and other statues. I have seen many of these along the roads in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ontario, Arkansas and Kentucky, but the work that they had there was absolutely astounding! What caught my eye from the road was a 10 foot tall giant wooden grizzly that looked alive! Since I passed it, I found the next place to turn around and I went back and stop by for a visit. This is one of those classic reasons why I take back road adventures because you never know what…

27Jun 2014 by David Kravetz

It’s All in the Trip

Antsy McClain, Arkansas, Backroads Discoveries, Car Art, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Eateries, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Large Statues, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Route 66, States and Provinces, Tennessee, Texas, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Houses, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Wildflowers, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yard Art

I started off today on the last leg of a 9 Day Road trip. This was my second 9 day road trip in one month. Both road trips were mainly for family affairs of one type or another. So, that being said, I did have destinations for both trips. My first trip took me to Montana for my grandson's baptism. I've already posted some content about that, but that trip took me almost 4600 miles in nine days and thru 12 states. I still have a few post to go to finish my blogs on that trip. This current trip's purpose was chiefly to attend a family reunion for my father's side of the family. It was in Galveston, Texas. It is always wonderful to see family and it was…

13Jun 2014 by David Kravetz

Dreams Come True in Bemidji, MN

Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Horse Art, Large Statues, Minnesota, Muffler Man, Mythical Creatures, Roadside Attractions, States and Provinces, Street Art, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Wall Art, Yard Art

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Bemidji, Minnesota while on a road trip to Montana. I wrote a little blurb about it on my blog post about driving US Route 2 across the state of Minnesota. Bemidji, Minnesota is one of the ultimate "quirky places" to visit in Minnesota and for me it is a dream come true place to visit. Here is why: My whole fascination with travel and the birth of my wanderlust can be traced back to about 1963 when I was a young 7 year old in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Even now I can recall flipping through a book about the U.S. that was published by LIFE Magazine. Almost all of the photos were black and white in the book, but my imagination took me…

12Jun 2014 by David Kravetz

Montana Road Trip: US Route 2 across Minnesota – Offbeat Paradise

Animals, Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Large Statues, Minnesota, Muffler Man, Mythical Creatures, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, States and Provinces, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Yard Art

Traveling US Route 2 across Wisconsin was beautiful and had its share of offbeat and quirky places, but Minnesota's section of US Route 2 is one to be reckoned with when it comes to quirky and fun destinations on the same road. Entering from Superior, Wisconsin, Route 2 starts south of Duluth and proceeds through Proctor, MN. From there the road heads northwest into the beautiful lake and birch country that gives Minnesota its name "Land of 10,000 Lakes." Before I go any further, I do need to give a SHOUT OUT to fellow travel blogger Seth Hardmeyer, who does the Highway Highlights blog (also see @HHighlights on Twitter and highway_highlights on Instagram). He provided me loads of information on spots to visit along US Route 2 in Minnesota (though…

Author: David Kravetz