Backroads Discoveries – Page 40 – Less Beaten Paths of America

21Mar 2013 by David Kravetz

Road Trip to Idaho – Day 4: Shelby, MT to Rexburg, ID

Backroads Discoveries, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, City Skylines, South Dakota

Cabin in the Snow[/caption] March 25, 2013: After a fabulous couple of days in Shelby, MT with my daughter, her husband and all the kids, it was back on the road for the last leg of the trip to Rexburg. This was basically a straight shot down I-15 thru Great Falls, Helena and Butte. Unfortunately, the day started off pretty snowy and yucky. [caption id="attachment_1998" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Gas Station in Shelby, MT[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1999" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Interstate 15 heading South towards Great Falls[/caption] By the time I had hit the Great Falls area, the weather was basically clearing up and so it was more or less smooth sailing to Helena. I was provided an excellent view of Tower Rock State Park. [caption id="attachment_1960" align="aligncenter" width="300"] South on I-15 towards Tower…

18Mar 2013 by David Kravetz

Road Trip to Idaho – Day 3: Miles City, MT to Shelby, MT

Backroads Discoveries, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, City Skylines, South Dakota

Antelope on the Run[/caption] Day 3 - March 10, 2013: A beautiful morning in Miles City, Montana. A cool 45 degrees and bright sunny skies. Should be a wonderful day to drive to Shelby, about 6 or 7 hours away. Following is the path I took to Shelby from Miles City: Miles City to Shelby, Montana [caption id="attachment_1942" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Welcome to Miles City[/caption] Miles City is a town of about 8500 people in Custer County in the far southeast of Montana. The town was founded in 1877 by settlers who had been evicted by General Nelson A. Miles from the Tongue River Cantonment for selling alcohol to the soldiers. It is a typical Western town and actually similar to some Texas towns I have been to. [caption id="attachment_1935" align="aligncenter"…

13Mar 2013 by David Kravetz

Road Trip to Idaho – Day 2: Savage, MN to Miles City, MT

Backroads Discoveries, Bison, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Enchanted Highway, Family Travel, Farmland, Found Metal Sculptures, Geese, Geologic Formations, Giant Things, Landscapes, Large Statues, Lewis and Clark Sites, Minnesota, Montana, Murals, North Dakota, Place Names, Post Offices, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, US Highway 2, Wall Art, Yard Art

Rural Scene on Enchanted Highway, South of Gladstone, ND[/caption] I embarked on Day 2 of my trip to Idaho - left Savage, MN in the midst of snow and fog. The roads were scary heading northwest to Fargo, ND. [caption id="attachment_1818" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Snowy highways in Minnesota[/caption] Today (March 9, 2013) was the second leg of my trip to Idaho. Today I drove from Savage, MN to Miles City, MT. I drove 781 miles over a 14 hour stretch. Following is the map of the trip. View Larger Map My first stop along the way was for gas. I stopped in Avon, MN.....which, I discovered, is also the home of the Lake Wobegon Trail. The trail is 46 miles long and 10 feet wide. It opened in 1998. Avon is…

10Mar 2013 by David Kravetz

Road Trip to Idaho – Day 1: Lexington, KY to Savage, MN

Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, City Skylines, Missouri, South Dakota, States and Provinces

Sunset in Northern Iowa[/caption] A couple of days ago I was informed I have an opportunity for some work in Idaho, and possibly full time employment. They want me to come out for two weeks and suggested I drive out instead of fly, especially since they know I love to do that. So, today (March 8) I drove 848 miles over a 15 1/2 hour stretch, finally arriving in Savage, MN for the night. Following is the map of the trip: Lexington, KY to Savage MN I left Lexington at about 6 AM and just drove straight through Indianapolis and eventually made my way to Advance, IN. This is a small town located in Boone County. I went there because of the name. [caption id="attachment_1780" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Advance, Indiana[/caption] Advance…

22Feb 2013 by David Kravetz

Now For Something Completely Different – My Backroads Bucket List

Backroads Discoveries

Banff, Alberta, Canada[/caption] So often on this blog I write of where I have been and what I have seen, but, I also have dreams of some huge road trips. Perhaps my biggest dream is to go to Alaska via Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon Territory. I have even gotten my free booklet from NorthtoAlaska.com entitled "The Ultimate North American Road Trip". If I were to do this trip, the following would be my mapped route: My Ultimate Dream Trip Some of the sights I would want to see (all photos taken from the North to Alaska website -- since I have not been to these places yet...) [caption id="attachment_1701" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Spirit Island, Jasper NP, Alberta[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1698" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Kinuseo Falls, Monkman BC[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1700" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Spectrum…

16Feb 2013 by David Kravetz

A dream day – Kentucky Back Roads driving and then Tommyfest in E-town

Amish Country, Antsy McClain, Backroads Discoveries, BBQ Places, Eateries, Edgar Cruz, Family Travel, Farmland, Kentucky, Landscapes, Michael Kelsey, Musicians, Place Names, Post Offices, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Tommy Emmanuel, Town Names, Trinity Music Productions, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places

Tommy Emmanuel, c.g.p. and Michael Kelsey courtesy of Marc Manning[/caption] Today (Feb. 15, 2013) was one of those delightful days when I got to enjoy most of my passions...mainly travel, photography and music. Ultimately, the main reason for the trip was to go to Elizabethtown to see Tommy Emmanuel and Michael Kelsey. But, I took the long way to do it. Following is a map with the stops I made. View Gravel Switch to E-Town in a larger map [caption id="attachment_1613" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Perryville Mural[/caption] I drove from Lexington thru Danville and then into Perryville. I made a quick drive through the old Merchant's Row area of Perryville. [caption id="attachment_1614" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Merchant's Row Plaque[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1616" align="aligncenter" width="199"] Severed Head Trading Post[/caption] After Perryville it…

13Feb 2013 by David Kravetz

I've Been Everywhere – Part IV: Just a few more fun signs

Arizona, Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Colorado, Horses, Missouri, Place Names, Route 66, South Dakota, Squirrels, States and Provinces, Trinity Music Productions, Yard Art

Welcome to Mars[/caption] Perhaps Mars, Pennsylvania is the most famous of our planet named towns in the US. No one is sure how the name "Mars" came into being. Some say it was Samuel Park's wife, who enjoyed astronomy, and others aver that it might be shortened from Samuel Marshall's name. In any case, on March 6, 1895, Mars was incorporated as a borough. Residents of Mars are often called "Martians", or "Planets" because of the high school team name, The Fighting Planets. There are a number of other places in the U.S. named after planets. SenseList.com has a nice list of the many town names and place names. Of all of those on that list, perhaps the most well known would include Jupiter, FL, and Blue Earth, MN, which…

06Feb 2013 by David Kravetz

I've Been Everywhere – Part III: More Unique Town Signs

Arizona, Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Horses, Missouri, North Dakota, Place Names, Route 66, South Dakota, Squirrels, States and Provinces, Trinity Music Productions, Wildflowers

Rabbit Hash, KY[/caption] There are literally hundreds of fun town names around the U.S. and I have barely scratched the surface with them. In my last post, I noted many names that are common adjectives or descriptive. This post will have some signs from some of the more unusual place names and hopefully, a little about how the names came to be. [caption id="attachment_802" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Rabbit Hash, KY sign[/caption] Rabbit Hash, KY - This small town of about 40 people is right on the Ohio River in Boone County. Besides its name, it is also famous for its string of mayors...all dogs. Nobody really knows for sure when the original name of Rabbit Hash came to be. According to a Wikipedia article, " The hamlet was originally known as…

02Feb 2013 by David Kravetz

I've Been Everywhere – Part II: Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign

Arizona, Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Colorado, Horses, Missouri, Place Names, Route 66, South Dakota, Squirrels, States and Provinces, Trinity Music Productions, Wildflowers

Sumoflam's Signs[/caption] One of the norms of driving the back roads of America are the town signs. Anyone that drives any roads typically sees hundreds of them. Of course, some are pretty typical town names, but, there are many that aren't typical. Here are a few "descriptive" town name signs that I have picked up along the less beaten paths of America. I have written about some of these places, but now we can "compare." I would like to say I have made it to all of the strange and wacky town places, but indeed I have not. Here is one non-definitive list from infoplease.com. Here are a couple more links to the topic - Top 10 Worst Named Cities, Bad Names for Towns, Interesting Town Names. As my photo…

26Jan 2013 by David Kravetz

People Shots from My Travels – Part II: Cebu, Philippines

Backroads Discoveries

Motorbike Quartet - near Cebu[/caption] In 2006 and 2007 I took two trips to Cebu, Philippines while I was working for Lexmark. During these trips of 2 weeks and 6 weeks, I spent the evenings and weekends either visiting places in the city or else taking road trips on the island or boat trips to nearby islands. During these trips, I took a number of candid photos of people. Following are some of my favorites, with a few descriptions. [caption id="attachment_688" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Bohol Truck - Bohol Island[/caption] [caption id="attachment_686" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Family - Bohol Island[/caption] We saw this guy tear up the outer skin of a coconut completely with his teeth. This is one of a series of shots I got of him doing it. [caption id="attachment_685" align="aligncenter" width="640"]…

Category: Backroads Discoveries