National and State Parks, Historic Sites and More – Page 19

23Apr 2015 by David Kravetz

#TBT – Going Through Hell to Get to Grand Rapids, MI

#TBT, Backroads Discoveries, Bridges, Canada, Covered Bridges, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Farmland, Found Metal Sculptures, Michigan, Museums, Ontario, People Shots, Roadside Attractions, States and Provinces, Throwback Thursday, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Wildflowers, Yard Art

(Note: This is a Throwback Thursday post of a trip I made to Michigan from Woodstock, Ontario in May 2008. Main reason for the trip was to see an Arena Football game, but I made a grad tour road trip of it, including a visit to Hell (MI)!) [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="432"] by David "Sumoflam" Kravetz (on the "Blaze Bench")[/caption] May 31, 2008: This weekend was yet another opportunity for me to go see my friend Aaron Boone play football. The Utah Blaze will play in Grand Rapids, MI tomorrow and I decided I would drive there to see the game. It is actually the closest of the three games that I will be able to attend this season. (The others were Cleveland and Philadelphia). In looking at the map…

08Apr 2015 by David Kravetz

#TBT – Wigwam Village Motel in Cave City, KY

#TBT, Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Kentucky, National Parks, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Throwback Thursday, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Vintage Neon

[caption id="attachment_12656" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Wigwam Village, Cave City, KY[/caption] A few years ago I was traveling in Kentucky and made my way into Cave City, a sort of retro resort town close to Mammoth Cave National Park with lots of old 1960s style neon signs, mom-and-pop restaurants, unique tourist attractions, etc. Apparently the actual Wigwam Villages were built in the 1930s and 1940s. [caption id="attachment_12654" align="aligncenter" width="333"] Sleep in a Wigwam neon sign[/caption] On my first trip into Cave City I saw the Wigwam Village and was astounded that there was one on this side of the country. As a bus driver/tour guide in Flagstaff, AZ in the 1980s, I would see the Wigwam Village located near Interstate 40 and old US Highway 66 near Holbrook, AZ quite often. Even…

19Mar 2015 by David Kravetz

#TBT – Oh the Places I’ve Been: Some Odds and Ends

#TBT, Alaska, Alberta, Antsy McClain, Arizona, Backroads Discoveries, California, Canada, Caves and Caverns, Colorado, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Florida, Fuji City, Fukuoka, Geologic Formations, Giant Twine Balls, Himeji, Hiroshima, Hot Springs, Illinois, Indian Ruins, Japanese Castles, Japanese Shrines, Kyoto, Landscapes, Mexico, Minnesota, Museums, Nagasaki, National Monuments, National Parks, New Mexico, New York, Ogaki, Oita, Ontario, Philippines, Roadside Attractions, Rocky Mountains, Sendai, Tennessee, Tulum, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Washington DC

"You're on your own, and you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go!" - Dr. Seuss, Oh The Places You'll Go [caption id="attachment_12572" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Sumoflam at the White House - July 1990[/caption] As a Throwback Thursday menagerie, I thought I would throw in some of my odds and ends from the past...some going way back and some not so long ago. I have been blessed to travel so many places and many of my travels happened long before I began writing about them. So, here they are, a potpourri of places diverse. ENJOY THE RIDE! [caption id="attachment_12627" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Mt. Fuji, Japan as seen from my airplane seat in 1990 as I flew to Tokyo from Oita. Indeed, I soared to high…

10Feb 2015 by David Kravetz

North Texas/Oklahoma Odyssey and beyond

Antsy McClain, Arkansas, Backroads Discoveries, BBQ Places, City Skylines, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Farmland, Found Metal Sculptures, Ghost Signs, Giant Things, Landscapes, Large Statues, Murals, Museums, Oklahoma, Ontario, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Street Art, Texas, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, US Highways, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Water Towers, Yard Art

(Note: This is part 3 of my Texas road trip reports from June 2014, covering the trip from Austin to Ft. Worth and then on to Denton, Paris, Oklahoma, Arkansas and home to Kentucky.) After spending a nice day in Austin, it was time to head north to Ft. Worth and then on to Kentucky. Along the way I went from weird to spooky to strange to Friendship. Here is the map of this portion of the trip. [caption id="attachment_12336" align="aligncenter" width="664"] My route from Austin, TX (weird) to Friendship, AR. Traveled in late June 2014[/caption] On this route I visited friends but also visited some other fun and quirky places. My first stop was in Georgetown, TX. Georgetown is home to some lovely Victorian architecture and also has one…

06Feb 2015 by David Kravetz

#TBT – Yard Art, Swans and Mennonites in Southern Ontario

#TBT, Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Bucket List Trips, Canada, Farmland, Found Metal Sculptures, Landscapes, Large Statues, Mennonite Country, Museums, Ontario, People Shots, Roadside Attractions, Street Art, Swans, Throwback Thursday, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Yard Art

(Note: I was working at the Toyota Plant in Woodstock, Ontario as a Japanese interpreter at the time I wrote this post in 2008) March 26, 2008: It was a beautiful day and I got off work at 4:00 and decided to head out on a small road trip around the region. A couple of days ago I met with Cathy Bingham, Director of the Oxford County, Ontario Tourism Office in Woodstock. She had contacted me about my Jakeman's Syrup page and wanted to meet with me to give me more ideas. We had a wonderful visit and she gave me some unique ideas, told me about the history of the area and focused me in on some different places to see, both in Oxford County as well as the…

30Jan 2015 by David Kravetz

#TBT – Looking back to a day in Arkansas 2007

#TBT, Antsy McClain, Arkansas, Backroads Discoveries, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Giant Things, Large Statues, National Parks, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Television Shows, Tennessee, Texas, Throwback Thursday, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, Yard Art

For this edition of Throwback Thursday (a day late....), I look back to June 2007, when my son Solomon graduated from Lafayette High School in Lexington. He was the last of my five children to graduate. On the occasion of this event, my sister Sherry and her husband Brian, in Ft. Worth, TX, kindly and generously offered to give Sol their 1998 Toyota Camry, which they no longer needed. There was some work required, which Solomon had paid for, but the real catch was that he needed to go down there to pick it up. So, early on June 2 he and I drove down to Ft. Worth to get the car. It would be a short trip in terms of days and a long trip in terms of miles. …

20Jan 2015 by David Kravetz

Top Ten Travel Photos for 2014

Alligators, Animals, Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Car Art, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Ghost Signs, Giant Things, Graffiti Walls, Illinois, Kentucky, Large Statues, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Murals, National Monuments, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Route 66, Street Art, Tennessee, Texas, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, US Highway 2, US Highway 212, US Highway 89, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Water Towers, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yard Art

Throughout my travels I drove over 10,000 miles and took over 3000 photos in 2014. I have numerous shots from the road of quirky places, offbeat sites and some nice looking places. If you missed my "nature photos", some of which are from my travels, please check them out on my Sumoflam's Singlewide Site. Following are my ten favorite travel shots from 2014 and the stories behind them (and a number of honorable mentions). NUMBER 1 - OLD PRAIRIE SCHOOL HOUSE [caption id="attachment_9237" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Old Prairie School House on Smith-Frisno Road west of Havre, Montana. I wanted this one in black and white...more authentic feel[/caption] I once saw a photo of this old school house and knew that I had to get to this relic of the past. So,…

15Jan 2015 by David Kravetz

#TBT – Being an Arizona Tour Guide in the 1980s

#TBT, Arizona, Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Geologic Formations, Landscapes, National Monuments, National Parks, People Shots, Roadside Attractions, Throwback Thursday, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, US Highway 89, Volcanic Sites, Wildflowers

[caption id="attachment_11948" align="alignleft" width="277"] Sumoflam at Monument Valley on Utah/Arizona border[/caption] In the early 1980s my young family was living in Flagstaff, Arizona and I was going to school full time at Northern Arizona University. During this time, I had a stroke of luck in landing a job as a tour guide/bus driver for a company called Nava-Hopi Tours (The Gray Line of Flagstaff). (Note: After the 9/11 incidents, NHT had troubles as people didn't travel and they went out of business in Oct. 2001) At that time I had already changed my major to History/Geography and this job offered me the opportunity to build on that experience. It also provided me plenty of time to study as the tourists would be out looking at the sites. I would drive…

08Jan 2015 by David Kravetz

Travel #TBT: Jan. 2010 – A Weekend in KC and St. Louis

Antsy McClain, Backroads Discoveries, BBQ Places, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Farmland, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Indiana, Landscapes, Large Statues, Missouri, Murals, Museums, Roadside Attractions, Route 66, Street Art, Throwback Thursday, Travel Blogging, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Yard Art

A weekend in St. Louis/Kansas City - Jan. 14-17, 2010 January 14, 2010: ROAD TRIP!! After quite a hiatus on road trips, I finally took one. Now that I am working for iHigh.com (was until 2012) I do have occasion to take a trip or two for support. In this instance I was to travel to Kirkwood High School in St. Louis to Live Stream a basketball tournament on January 15, and then travel to Kansas City to Live Stream a large wrestling tournament at Center High School. Naturally, along the way both there and back I made some side trips, as is always my custom, but in this case I did not veer too far off the beaten path. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1145"] Lexington, KY to Santa Claus, IN…

01Jan 2015 by David Kravetz

Let the 2015 #TBT Posting Begin!

#TBT, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, National Parks, Roadside Attractions, Throwback Thursday, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places

[caption id="attachment_11730" align="aligncenter" width="432"] World's Largest Teapot, Chester, WV (2008)[/caption] Starting with Thursday, January 1, 2015, I will be retrofitting old travel journal articles from the past decade (and perhaps earlier) into my blog. As many of you know, Thursday has become "Throwback Thursday" (also known as #TBT) on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc. [caption id="attachment_11731" align="aligncenter" width="451"] Sumoflam at the USS Enterprise Monument (with Crafty Jack) in Vulcan, Alberta (2007)[/caption] So, for my #TBT weekly posts I will go back to old "Travel Journal" entries that I made before I began this blog in early 2013. I may also go back to old travel photos and write a quick story about some of the places, especially in Japan and some of our earlier family travels. [caption id="attachment_11732" align="aligncenter" width="474"] With…

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