A to Z Challenge: The J Towns #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Alaska, Backroads Discoveries, BBQ Places, Bison, Bucket List Trips, City Skylines, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Geologic Formations, Giant Things, Indiana, Landscapes, Large Statues, Lewis and Clark Sites, Mountains, Murals, National Parks, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pelicans, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Rocky Mountains, Selfies, Television Shows, Texas, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 2, US Highway 89, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, 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 what other bloggers will be posting about, check out the link: A to Z Theme Reveal List for 2016 The J Towns Jamestown, North Dakota One of my fun places to stop in North Dakota is Jamestown. It is known as the “Buffalo City” and one can find all kinds of Buffalo things, including “the World’s Largest Buffalo” statue…
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A to Z Challenge: The I Towns #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Antelope, Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Eateries, Family Travel, Farmland, Found Metal Sculptures, Geologic Formations, Giant Things, Idaho, Landscapes, Large Statues, LDS Temples, Lewis and Clark Sites, Michigan, Montana, Murals, Museums, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Saskatchewan, Selfies, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 2, US Highway 20, US Highway 26, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Wisconsin, 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 what other bloggers will be posting about, check out the link: A to Z Theme Reveal List for 2016 The I Towns Indian Head, Saskatchewan It is interesting that three of my I Towns in this post have something to do with Indians (American Indians) and so I am starting off in Canada at Indian Head, Saskatchewan. Indian Head is…
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A to Z Challenge: The H Towns #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Antsy McClain, Backroads Discoveries, Bakeries, BBQ Places, Big John, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Ghost Signs, Giant Things, Iowa, Landscapes, Large Statues, Michigan, Muffler Man, Murals, Museums, National Parks, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Ontario, Place Names, Post Offices, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Television Shows, Texas, Town Names, Travel Blogging, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Waterfalls, 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 what other bloggers will be posting about, check out the link: A to Z Theme Reveal List for 2016 The H Towns Hell, Michigan I can't in good conscience include a post about towns that begin with H without starting with Hell, Michigan. Located near Pinckney on a beautiful forest drive, Hell is a great tourist spot.  There are…
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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 As I travel across the US and Canada, I am always on the lookout for quirky things and big statues.  Well,…
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Washington State: Adventures in Port Orchard, WA

Bucket List Trips, Family Travel, Giant Things, Landscapes, Large Statues, Murals, Roadside Attractions, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Wall Art, Washington, Yard Art
As I may have noted in my earlier Washington posts, my daughter and her family live in Port Orchard, WA.  The city is located 13 miles due west of West Seattle and connected to Seattle and Vashon Island via the Washington State Ferries run to Southworth. The Port Orchard area was first settled in 1854 by Wiliam Renton and Daniel Howard, who set up a saw mill there. The town that was to become Port Orchard was originally platted in 1886 by Frederick Stevens, who named the new location after his father, Sidney. The town of Sidney was incorporated September 15, 1890, and was the first in Kitsap County to be both platted and incorporated. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Navy sought a suitable location for another installation on the west…
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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. From Enumclaw we continued west on 410, also called the "Chinook Byway," along the White River to Greenwater, WA.  The historic Naches Trail brought ox and…
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Finally Made It! All 50 US States – Sept. 2015

Alabama, Alaska, Antsy McClain, Arizona, Arkansas, Backroads Discoveries, Bakeries, BBQ Places, Big Cities, Bucket List Trips, California, Caves and Caverns, City Skylines, Colorado, Connecticut, Cross Country Road Trips, Delaware, Dream Highways, Eateries, Enchanted Highway, Family Travel, Farmland, Florida, Found Metal Sculptures, Geologic Formations, Georgia, Giant Things, Giant Twine Balls, Graffiti Walls, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indian Ruins, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Landscapes, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Murals, Museums, Mythical Creatures, National Monuments, National Parks, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Rhode Island, Roadside Attractions, Rocky Mountains, Route 66, Selfies, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Travel Blogging, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, US Highway 101, US Highway 2, US Highway 212, US Highway 61, US Highway 89, Utah, Vermont, Vintage Neon, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yard Art
WARNING-This is a long post. It took me nearly 59 years to get to all 50 states! On September 8, 2015, I set foot on the side of the road just north of Brattleboro, VT after we crossed over the Connecticut River from New Hampshire on Hwy 9. I got out and took a selfie of myself under a Welcome to Vermont sign.  I had finally set foot in my 50th US state...a nearly 59 year journey. Stay 3 or more nights & save up to 25% now! At participating hotels Following is a state by state chronicle of my nearly 59 year journey in order of states visited. My 50 State Adventure 1- Ohio (1956): I was born in Cleveland in the Little Italy section of town to Joe…
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Washington State: A Day in Seattle

Airlines, Birds, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, City Skylines, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Geologic Formations, Giant Things, Landscapes, Large Statues, People Shots, Roadside Attractions, Seagulls, Selfies, Street Art, Street Musicians, Street People, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Washington
After a long day of travel to Washington via Delta Airlines, first to Salt Lake City and then into Seattle-Tacoma Airport, and then a good nights rest, we had the opportunity to spend a day in Seattle with the family. Bremerton Ferry Since my daughter Amaree and her family live in Port Orchard, we had to take ferries across the Puget Sound to get to Seattle. We started with the Port Orchard Foot Ferry Service that took us from Port Orchard into Bremerton. Then we got on the Bremerton Ferry which is a much larger ferry that also carries automobile traffic and enjoyed the one hour boat ride to Seattle.  We rode on the M/V Hyak, which can carry up to 2000 passengers and as many as 144 cars. It…
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Flying High To Utah: Home Sweet Home

Airlines, Geologic Formations, Landscapes, People Shots, Roadside Attractions, Rocky Mountains, Selfies, Texas, Unique Places, Utah, Wildflowers
In mid-July I had an unexpected opportunity to go to Utah for a website-related photo job with former Navy SEAL and author Rob Roy, who recently published the Navy SEAL Art of War (see my review). Rob is also the owner of SOT-G (which stands for Special Operations Training Group) where he does Leadership Training sessions called "LUF Redux."  My trip was to both experience and photograph one of these training sessions that SOT-G was carrying out for a client of theirs. For me this was going to be a unique experience as I watched former Navy SEALS and other former military staff members work a group of business leaders through a rigorous and grueling leadership and team building experience.  At the same time, I was "going home" from where…
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