Giant Things – Page 5 – Less Beaten Paths of America

17Apr 2020 by David Kravetz

AtoZ Challenge 2020 – 8154: An Epic Road Trip – The O Stories #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, California, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Illinois, Junk Art, Kentucky, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Offbeat Places, Oregon, Place Names, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Texas, Town Names, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Washington, Water Towers, Welcome Signs

In early 2020 I traveled across the country with the course of three weeks. My A to Z posts this year will have the "8154" theme, which will also be the title of my forthcoming new book that will document the epic road trip. Each entry will highlight a few stories with photos based on the alphabet and not the order of the trip. I hope you will enjoy this bouncy ride across the back roads of America. Please enjoy the O Stories. (all photography by David "Sumoflam" Kravetz) Oil City, Louisiana After visiting Caddo Lake and taking a nice swamp cruise with Aaron Applebaum of Mystique Tours, we drove around the lake over to Oil City, Louisiana. Old Farm Vintage Antiques - Tulia, Texas My daughter Marissa likes to…

14Apr 2020 by David Kravetz

AtoZ Challenge 2020 – 8154: An Epic Road Trip – The L Stories #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Bucket List Trips, California, City Skylines, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Giant Things, Illinois, Landscapes, Less Beaten Paths Books, Lewis and Clark Sites, Missouri, Montana, Mountains, National Monuments, Nebraska, New Mexico, Offbeat Places, Place Names, Post Offices, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Route 66, Selfies, Texas, Town Names, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 101, US Highway 2, Vintage Neon, Washington, Welcome Signs, Wyoming

In early 2020 I traveled across the country with one of my daughters and three grandchildren. We traveled 8154 miles through 20 states over the course of three weeks. My A to Z posts this year will have the "8154" theme, which will also be the title of my forthcoming new book that will document the epic road trip. Each entry will highlight a few stories with photos based on the alphabet and not the order of the trip. I hope you will enjoy this bouncy ride across the back roads of America. Please enjoy the L Stories. (all photography by David "Sumoflam" Kravetz) Loving, Texas As we traveled we realized that we would be arriving in Loving, Texas on Valentine's Day. How cool would that be if we could…

05Apr 2020 by David Kravetz

AtoZ Challenge 2020 – 8154: An Epic Road Trip – The D Stories #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Arizona, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Bucket List Trips, Burger Joints, California, Cross Country Road Trips, Deer, Dinosaurs, Family Travel, Flowers, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Junk Art, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Offbeat Places, Oregon, Place Names, Post Offices, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Route 66, Sandhill Cranes, Selfies, Snow Geese, Street Art, Texas, Tourist Traps, Town Names, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 101, Vintage Neon, Washington, Welcome Signs, Yard Art

In early 2020 I traveled across the country with one of my daughters and three grandchildren. We traveled 8154 miles through 20 states over the course of three weeks. My A to Z posts this year will have the "8154" theme, which will also be the title of my forthcoming new book that will document the epic road trip. Each entry will highlight a few stories with photos based on the alphabet, and not the order of the trip I hope you will enjoy this bouncy ride across the back roads of America. Please enjoy the D Stories. (all photography by David "Sumoflam" Kravetz) Dinosaurs Seems like whenever you get near a trading post a fun place, there always seems to be a dinosaur or two hanging around. I have…

16Mar 2020 by David Kravetz

AtoZ Challenge Theme Reveal: 8154 – An Epic Road Trip in 2020 #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, California, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Giant Things, Kentucky, Less Beaten Paths Books, Nebraska, New Mexico, Place Names, Post Offices, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places

Every year for the past 5 years I have participated in the AtoZ Bloggers Challenge and April 2020 is no different. But, unlike other years, I will be taking a different twist than I have in the past. From late January to mid-February 2020, I took an epic road trip with my daughter and three of my grandchildren. We went through 20 different states as we drive up to Washington State, down the Pacific Coast to California and then east through Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, then back to Kentucky. This trip, which I now call "8154" because of the total mileage of the road trip, offered many unique adventures, since most of it was taken on the back roads of America. I am currently writing my fourth book,…

11Sep 2019 by David Kravetz

Red River Gorge – Slade, KY: A Different Look

Adventure, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Family Travel, Geologic Formations, Giant Things, Goats, Junk Art, Kentucky, Landscapes, Less Beaten Paths Books, Mountains, Mythical Creatures, Offbeat Places, Quirky Things, Restroom Signs, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Tourist Traps, Turtles, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Wanderlust, Zoos

Ofttimes when we visit a place, we have a destination in mind. The Red River Gorge area of Kentucky is one of those places. Visitors typically are focused on visiting beautiful and expansive views of the gorge, hiking some of the well known trails, taking a hike up to the Natural Bridge or something else. This past weekend (August 31, 2019) I took my wife to the area fora hiking meetup. This left me with a three hour window to do other things. I am not able to hike some of these trails right now because my knee has been causing problems. So, after dropping my wife off, I headed back to Slade to do my "offbeat travel" thing and find some of the unique and quirky of the area. …

23Aug 2019 by David Kravetz

Special About Peter Wolf Toth – Whispering Giants Artist

Adventure, Arizona, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Cross Country Road Trips, Giant Things, Illinois, Interviews, Less Beaten Paths Books, New Mexico, Peter Wolf Toth, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Utah, Whispering Giants

On August 20 I had a wonderful opportunity to spend a couple of hours on the phone with American artist Peter Wolf Toth who took time to speak with me from his Florida Studio. I had contacted Peter to get more details about this interesting man with the intent on adding a chapter about him and his Trail of the Whispering Giants into my new book, which will be available in August 2019. (Actually, the Kindle version is now available...see the link at the end of this post) If you are not familiar with the Trail of the Whispering Giants, it is a cross country collection of huge wooden sculptures created by Toth. Each is a tribute to the indigenous peoples of North America and each was done by Peter…

08Jul 2019 by David Kravetz

June 2019 Road Trip: Fun, Quirky and Offbeat Things

Adventure, Arizona, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, BBQ Places, Cross Country Road Trips, Dinosaurs, Eateries, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Junk Art, Kentucky, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Muffler Man, New Mexico, Offbeat Places, Place Names, Quirky Things, Restroom Signs, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Route 66, Selfies, Tennessee, Texas, Tourist Traps, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places

With any road trip I take, I look for a lot of different things. I can find the offbeat and quirky, the beautiful, the unique, the magical, the historical, the fun and more...all in one trip. I am focused...on the big picture. My June 2019 road trip took me over the road for nearly 6000 miles and through nine states. I tried to stick to back roads wherever possible because that is where the greatest discoveries can be found. In this post, I present to you some of the more unique, fun and, in some cases quirky things that I discovered along the way. There is always something out there. Here are few fun things... Place Names I am always looking for fun names. How about Delight, Turkey, Jolly, Greasy…

30Apr 2019 by David Kravetz

Everywhere a Sign – Some Y Signs From 2018 #AtoZChallenge

A to Z Challenge, Arkansas, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Burger Joints, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Giant Things, Less Beaten Paths Books, Offbeat Places, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Selfies, Tourist Traps, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 270, US Highway 30, US Highway 71

For the month of April I have yearned to get back on the road, be youthful and young-at-heart. I have desired some of the yummy things that can be discovered along the way. Sadly, life goes on. But I'll be on the road again soon like the days of yore driving yonder to bring all sorts of yeasty adventures! And here are the few Y signs I could garner during 2018. Enjoy the Read. Enjoy the Ride. Y City, Arkansas Y City, Arkansas sits at the junction of U.S. Routes 71 and 270 in the southern in Scott County, Arkansas. This is another of this places I just happened upon in my travels in 2018. Yummy Palace, Irwin, Pennsylvania I didn't eat at the Yummy Palace in Irwin, Pennsylvania. Supposedly…

25Apr 2019 by David Kravetz

Everywhere a Sign – Some V Signs From 2018 #AtoZChallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Alabama, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Bakeries, Books, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Giant Things, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Offbeat Places, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Selfies, Texas, Unique Eatery, Unique Places

Its a very exciting time when I can visualize a future trip on the back roads of America. I tackle all of my trips with Vim and Vigor. I feel validated after even the most vexing of trips. As I wind down the month of April and the 2019 blogging challenge, I can see the finish line and can tast victory. Maybe I will celebrate with Voodoo Doughnuts!! I hope you enjoy some of the V Signs I discovered in my 2018 travels. Enjoy the Read. Enjoy the Ride. Voodoo Doughnut, Austin, Texas There are not many unique doughnut places. But, in my opinion, of all of the unique ones, Voodoo Doughnut rides the Top of the list. My first experience with Voodoo was in 2011 in Portland, Oregon. I…

05Apr 2019 by David Kravetz

Everywhere a Sign – Some E Signs From 2018 #AtoZChallenge

A to Z Challenge, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Giant Things, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Missouri, Montana, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Oklahoma, Place Names, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Route 66, Texas, Tourist Traps, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Vintage Neon

(Editor's Note: For my 2019 posts, I will be posting photos from my travels in 2018. I visited 26 states and drive over 13,000 miles in 2018. These posts will feature of few of the road signs and business signs I came across, as well as some stories behind them. Enjoy the Read and Enjoy the Ride!) Every road is an adventure. Every detour offers new entertainment. In this post I am providing some of the E signs I came across during my travels across the country in 2018. E means ENJOY! Eighter From Decatur, Decatur, Texas Decatur, Texas is a fun little town. Home of the famed Petrified Wood Gas Station (and a few other vintage gas stations), it is also home to the "Eighter from Decatur." "Eighter from…

Category: Giant Things