A to Z Challenge: The E Towns #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Arkansas, Backroads Discoveries, BBQ Places, Bucket List Trips, Colorado, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Giant Things, Illinois, Iowa, Lewis and Clark Sites, Lighthouses, Mountains, Mythical Creatures, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Rocky Mountains, Seagulls, Selfies, Texas, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Washington, Wisconsin
During the month of April I am participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge has each blogger select a theme and then do a post thematically from A to Z during each day of April , except Sundays. My blog is number 1337 out of 1670 participating blogs. This year my A to Z posts will take you across the back roads of America to many unique  what other bloggers will be posting about, check out the link: A to Z Theme Reveal List for 2016 The E Towns Earth, Texas [caption id="attachment_141" align="alignnone" width="300"] Welcome to Earth, Texas[/caption] [caption id="attachment_139" align="alignnone" width="300"] Yes, there is Earth Police[/caption] [caption id="attachment_137" align="alignnone" width="300"] Old Earth Welcome sign[/caption] I finally visited Earth.  All of my travels and I…
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A to Z Challenge: The D Towns #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Arizona, Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Horse Art, Illinois, Jackalope, Landscapes, Large Statues, Lewis and Clark Sites, Murals, Museums, Mythical Creatures, Ohio, Place Names, Post Offices, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, South Dakota, Texas, Town Names, Travel Blogging, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 101, Wall Art, Washington, Water Towers, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yard Art
During the month of April I am participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge has each blogger select a theme and then do a post thematically from A to Z during each day of April , except Sundays. My blog is number 1337 out of 1670 participating blogs. This year my A to Z posts will take you across the back roads of America to many unique towns, some known for their names, other for unique sites in town. To see what other bloggers will be posting about, check out the link: A to Z Theme Reveal List for 2016 The D Towns Douglas, Wyoming [caption id="attachment_560" align="alignnone" width="300"] Large Jackalope - Douglas, WY[/caption] [caption id="attachment_10135" align="alignnone" width="300"] Another Jackalope is spotted in Douglas[/caption] [caption id="attachment_9979"…
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A to Z Challenge: The C Towns #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Amish Country, Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Caves and Caverns, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Eateries, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Graffiti Walls, Illinois, Kentucky, Large Statues, Lighthouses, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Mountains, Murals, Museums, National Parks, Ohio, Ontario, Place Names, prairie dogs, Roadside Attractions, Rocky Mountains, Selfies, South Dakota, Texas, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 1, US Highway 89, Vintage Neon, Wall Art
During the month of April I am participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge has each blogger select a theme and then do a post thematically from A to Z during each day of April , except Sundays. My blog is number 1337 out of 1670 participating blogs. This year my A to Z posts will take you across the back roads of America to many unique towns, some known for their names, other for unique sites in town. To see what other bloggers will be posting about, check out the link: A to Z Theme Reveal List for 2016 The C Towns Cactus Flat, South Dakota [caption id="attachment_4015" align="alignnone" width="225"] Sumoflam with the Giant Prairie Dog - Cactus Flat, SD[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3953" align="alignnone" width="194"] Prairie…
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A to Z Challenge: The B Towns #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Arkansas, Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Giant Things, Idaho, Large Statues, Minnesota, Montana, Mountains, Murals, National Parks, Oregon, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Tennessee, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 2, US Highway 89, Wall Art
During the month of April I am participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge has each blogger select a theme and then do a post thematically from A to Z during each day of April , except Sundays. My blog is number 1337 out of 1670 participating blogs. This year my A to Z posts will take you across the back roads of America to many unique towns, some known for their names, other for unique sites in town. To see what other bloggers will be posting about, check out the link: A to Z Theme Reveal List for 2016 The B Towns Bemidji, Minnesota [caption id="attachment_8772" align="alignnone" width="300"] Paul Bunyan and Babe in Bemidji, MN[/caption] [caption id="attachment_12470" align="alignnone" width="300"] Big Indian in Bemidji, MN in…
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Traveling US Numbered Highways – Part I: An Overview and History

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Backroads Discoveries, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Cross Country Road Trips, Delaware, Dream Highways, Family Travel, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, National Monuments, National Parks, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Roadside Attractions, Route 66, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, US Highway 101, US Highway 2, US Highway 20, US Highway 212, US Highway 287, US Highway 61, US Highway 79, US Highway 89, US Highways, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
[caption id="attachment_8529" align="alignleft" width="300"] US 89 and US 2 meet up in northern Montana[/caption] When I was young and living in Albuquerque, NM in the 1960s, there were not many Interstate Highways.  Most of the country still relied on the U.S. Numbered Highway System. Even to this day I can recall our family drives along the iconic Route 66 out of Albuquerque to Gallup, NM and then, eventually, when we moved to Dallas in 1968 we took it all the way to Amarillo, TX.  Even at that young age I was already enamored by the maze of highways and the desire to see what lays along these long black roads with millions of white lines in the middle and endless telephone poles and wires along both sides.  I too remember…
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A Trip to New England: Part III – September 2015

Antsy McClain, Backroads Discoveries, Connecticut, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Maine, Massachusetts, Museums, New Hampshire, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Seagulls, Selfies, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Vermont
[caption id="attachment_15117" align="alignleft" width="300"] Catching the sunrise with Jos and Rockwell at Old Orchard Beach[/caption] After a pleasant night stay in Old Orchard, ME, I got up early in the morning with my grandchildren Joselyn and Rockwell to hopefully catch a sunrise and boy did we get a royal treat!! The skies were colorful with shades of pink, purple, blue and orange and then the ball of the sun rose up over the Atlantic Ocean.  One of the most amazing I have ever seen!! [caption id="attachment_15126" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Presunrise sky was filled with color[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15145" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean as seen from Old Orchard Beach, ME[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15137" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Someone on the beach also trying to catch the sunrise[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15152" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Jos and…
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A Trip to New England – Part II: September 2015

Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Connecticut, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Large Statues, Maine, Massachusetts, Murals, Museums, New Hampshire, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Travel Blogging, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Yard Art
This is Part II of my posts about our visit to New England, most specifically Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont (with a drive through Massachusetts).  Day 2 was a nice day of travel south to Mystic, CT and then north all the way to Maine.  Following is a map with our basic route [caption id="attachment_15083" align="aligncenter" width="670"] Map of Connecticut to Maine[/caption] We took a fairly easy morning and went over to pickup our grandson Rockwell, who would join us on this two day adventure and off we went. [caption id="attachment_14706" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Wells Dinosaur Haven in Uncasville, CT[/caption] Our first stop was at Wells Dinosaur Haven in Uncasville, CT.  This is actually a person's house with a huge backyard full of self-sculpted dinosaurs.  The brainchild and creation of…
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2015 In Review: The Year In Travel

2015 In Review: The Year In Travel

Antsy McClain, Backroads Discoveries, Bakeries, BBQ Places, Big Cities, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, California, Car Art, City Skylines, Colorado, Connecticut, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Geologic Formations, Giant Things, Graffiti Walls, Kentucky, Large Statues, Maine, Mountains, Murals, Museums, National Parks, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Seagulls, Selfies, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Utah, Wall Art, Washington, West Virginia
[caption id="attachment_15055" align="alignnone" width="474"] San Francisco, May 2015[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15062" align="alignnone" width="474"] Seattle, WA, August 2015[/caption] [caption id="attachment_14669" align="aligncenter" width="474"] New York City at night as seen from Hoboken, NJ, September 2015[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15067" align="alignleft" width="300"] Golden Gate Bridge[/caption] The year 2015 started off with plans to travel to a couple of locations, but not the extent of the travel that I enjoyed in 2014. As it turned out, I had some great experiences and more travel than had been originally planned. It was truly a good year for my travel as I have noted in my blog posts and Facebook posts throughout the year. [caption id="attachment_13584" align="alignright" width="225"] Flying in 2015[/caption] Unlike most of my travel, which I like to do by car on back roads, the year's travel…
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Christmas Time in Santa Claus, Indiana

Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Giant Things, Indiana, Large Statues, Museums, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Travel Blogging, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places
[caption id="attachment_14862" align="alignleft" width="240"] Santa Claus Post Office[/caption] Over the years, I have traveled to a number of what I call "Theme Towns." These would include places such as Vulcan, Alberta with its Star Trek theme (see post of my visit in 2007); Metropolis, IL and its Superman theme (see post of my visit); Hershey, PA and its chocolate theme (see post about recent visit in 2015); Roswell, NM with an alien theme; Douglas, WY and its Jackalope theme (see post here); and Hell, MI with its Devils and hell-fire (see post here). Another one I visited back in 2012 was Santa Claus, IN with its Santa and Christmas inspired themes. That visit was a short pass-thru visit on my way west to Kansas City. [caption id="attachment_14860" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Family…
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Washington State: Mt. Rainier National Park

BBQ Places, Birds, Bucket List Trips, Deer, Dream Highways, Eateries, Family Travel, Flowers, Geologic Formations, Landscapes, Mountains, National Parks, Roadside Attractions, Squirrels, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Wall Art, Washington, Wildflowers
Our last couple of days in Washington and we finally made it to Mt. Rainier National Park.  This was a fabulous day trip from Port Orchard and we were blessed with amazing weather. For this trip we headed south to Tacoma and then eventually made our way to WA 410 and to the small picturesque town of  Enumclaw.  We had a couple of hours to get there, so we stopped for a play break for the kids and a stretch break for the adults.  We found a nice park that afforded us all some time to get stretched and even take a few photos. [caption id="attachment_14317" align="aligncenter" width="282"] Livvy climbs the ropes to the top in a ark in Enumclaw[/caption] [caption id="attachment_14313" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Kade having fun[/caption] [caption id="attachment_14499" align="aligncenter"…
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