My new book is right around the corner!

Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Big John, Books, Car Art, Cross Country Road Trips, Dinosaurs, Dragons, Enchanted Highway, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Giant Twine Balls, Junk Art, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Muffler Man, Mythical Creatures, Offbeat Places, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Street Art, Tourist Traps, Unique Places, Uniroyal Gal, Wanderlust, Whispering Giants, Yard Art
Getting so close to publishing my second book! I am getting so excited! My good friend Antsy McClain completed the back cover of the book so, attached you can see the front and back cover of the book. Start getting excited because I hope that by October 1 or thereabouts my book will be ready for purchase
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Quirky and Offbeat Roadside Attractions – BOOK UPDATE

Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Car Art, Dinosaurs, Dragons, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Giant Twine Balls, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Muffler Man, Offbeat Places, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Uniroyal Gal, Whispering Giants
Hey friends - I spent most of Labor Day weekend trying to finish up my SECOND BOOK! All about Quirky and Offbeat Roadside Attractions, this book will be about 150 pages and have over 80 full color photos. It looks like the book will retail for about $25. It will be paperback with glossy paper.  I hope you can let me know via a comment or instant message on Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn if you are interested. I had to cut the book down from 320 pages due to the prohibitive cost (yes, I have a start on Book 3 already!!!).  I have inserted the cover (above) and four sample images (below) so you can see what the book will be like. (Thanks to Antsy McClain for the artwork on the cover.) As my…
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Less Beaten Paths of America: Book 2 Update

Adventure, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Big John, Books, Car Art, City Skylines, Cross Country Road Trips, Dinosaurs, Dragons, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Giant Twine Balls, Junk Art, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Offbeat Places, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Uniroyal Gal, Wanderlust, Whispering Giants, Yard Art
[caption id="attachment_18978" align="alignleft" width="194"] Less Beaten Paths of America: Book 2 Cover[/caption] Still working hard on my new book, titled Less Beaten Paths of America: Quirky and Offbeat Roadside Attractions. Writing a book is always a challenge.   It takes time to do it correctly and, unfortunately, I have had numerous other things tugging at my time over the past few months, which has put my release date later and later. Well, I want you all to know that I am working diligently on the book and have a number of chapters completed.  When finished, this book will be well over 200 pages and chock full of color photos of some of America's offbeat roadside attractions. Check out Book 1: Less Beaten Paths of America: Unique Town Names [caption id="attachment_18868" align="aligncenter"…
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April 2018 Cross-Country Road Trip: Dignity of Earth and Sky Statue in South Dakota

Adventure, Backroads Discoveries, Cross Country Road Trips, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Illinois, Kansas, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Lewis and Clark Sites, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Offbeat Places, Oklahoma, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, South Dakota, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Whispering Giants
[caption id="attachment_20268" align="alignleft" width="225"] Sumoflam with Dignity near Chamberlain, SD[/caption] I love having the opportunity to come upon new and unplanned discoveries in my roadtrips.  While traveling, I constantly check my Roadside America app (which is available for iPhone download here) which has a handy dandy location finder and will tell you the closest of their featured attractions.  While driving through South Dakota near Chamberlain, I did so and came across "Dignity: A 50 foot-tall Indian Woman" statue entry.  Turns out it is located at a rest area near Chamberlain, SD overlooking the Missouri River valley way below.  It was also a Lewis and Clark stopover. [caption id="attachment_20271" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Dignity: Of Earth and Sky - 50 foot tall statue by Dale Lamphere[/caption] [caption id="attachment_20270" align="alignright" width="225"] Dignity statue as…
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April 2018 Cross-Country Road Trip: The Overview – Kentucky to Washington

Adventure, Animals, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Big John, Birds, Books, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, Burger Joints, City Skylines, Colorado, Cross Country Road Trips, Deer, Dinosaurs, Dream Highways, Eagles, Eateries, Family Travel, Farmland, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Graffiti Walls, Horse Art, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Landscapes, Large Statues, LDS Temples, Less Beaten Paths Books, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Mountains, Muffler Man, Murals, National Monuments, National Parks, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Place Names, Post Offices, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Rocky Mountains, Seagulls, Selfies, South Dakota, Street Art, Town Names, Travel Blogging, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 101, US Highway 2, US Highway 212, US Highway 6, Utah, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Washington, Whispering Giants, Wildflowers, Wyoming
[caption id="attachment_19571" align="alignleft" width="300"] Sumoflam on the Road Again[/caption] In April 2018 I took a nice long road trip from my home in Lexington, Kentucky to my daughter's home in Port Orchard, Washington and back. The itinerary included most places akin to the Good Sam list of campgrounds which my cousin couldn't stop prattling about. Though I was gone for 15 days, I spent nine of them traveling more than 6000 miles through 14 states.  Many of my stops were in anticipation of my new book as I wanted some fresh content to add to it. [caption id="attachment_19561" align="alignright" width="300"] Lots of great two-lanes on this trip[/caption] In the past, I typically wrote one or two huge blog posts about long roadtrips, but, I have decided that a focus on…
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A Grab Bag from America’s Back Roads – The W Things #AtoZChallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Antsy McClain, Arizona, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Bike Trails, Books, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, Burger Joints, California, Canada, Cebu, City Skylines, Covered Bridges, Cross Country Road Trips, Delaware, Dinosaurs, Dream Highways, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Geologic Formations, Giant Things, Graffiti Walls, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Junk Art, Kentucky, Landscapes, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Mountains, Murals, Mythical Creatures, National Monuments, National Parks, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, People Shots, Philippines, Place Names, Post Offices, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Rocky Mountains, Selfies, South Dakota, Street Art, Street People, Texas, Town Names, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Utah, Vintage Neon, Virginia, Wall Art, Wanderlust, Washington, Washington DC, Water Buffalo, Water Towers, Waterfalls, West Virginia, Whispering Giants, Wildflowers, Wyoming, Yard Art
In 2018 I  will feature a random (yet alphabetical) selection of photos I have taken from my nearly 20 years of back roads travel in the United States and Canada.  I may even throw in a few random shots from other trips to Japan, Mexico and the Philippines. My theme is called America's Back Roads: A Grab Bag of Places in Pictures.   Let's start this off with a Whispering Bang!! Whispering Giants - art by Hungarian artist Peter Toth - Idaho Falls, Idaho; Bethany Beach, Delaware; Murray, Utah; Red Lodge, Montana; Ottawa, Illinois; Hopewell, Illinois; Paducah, Kentucky; Astoria, Oregon; Ocean City, Maryland; Iowa Falls, Iowa; Utica, Illinois Over 62 of these around the U.S.  Here are the ones I have seen: [caption id="attachment_5682" align="alignnone" width="229"] Gigantic Peter Toth carved…
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A Grab Bag from America’s Back Roads – The U Things #AtoZChallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Bucket List Trips, Burger Joints, California, Connecticut, Cross Country Road Trips, Dinosaurs, Giant Things, Idaho, Iowa, Japan, Japanese Shrines, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Missouri, Museums, Offbeat Places, Oita, Place Names, Post Offices, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Selfies, Texas, Town Names, Travel in Japan, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Uniroyal Gal
In 2018 I  will feature a random (yet alphabetical) selection of photos I have taken from my nearly 20 years of back roads travel in the United States and Canada.  I may even throw in a few random shots from other trips to Japan, Mexico and the Philippines. My theme is called America's Back Roads: A Grab Bag of Places in Pictures.   Usa Shrine - Usa, Japan [caption id="attachment_6975" align="alignnone" width="400"] Family at Usa Shrine in Oita Prefecture ca. 1990[/caption] [caption id="attachment_6982" align="alignnone" width="400"] Daughter Amaree in Usa, Japan 1987[/caption] Uncasville, Connecticut [caption id="attachment_14706" align="alignnone" width="400"] Wells Dinosaur Haven in Uncasville, CT[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15085" align="alignnone" width="400"] Sumoflam and Bronto at Wells Dinosaur Haven in Uncasville, CT[/caption] Upper Lake, California [caption id="attachment_12906" align="alignnone" width="400"] Welcome to Upper Lake, CA[/caption] [caption…
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A Grab Bag from America’s Back Roads – The T Things #AtoZChallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Alaska, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, Burger Joints, California, Canada, Colorado, Cross Country Road Trips, Dinosaurs, Dream Highways, Eateries, Enchanted Highway, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Fuji City, Geologic Formations, Giant Things, Horse Art, Hot Springs, Idaho, Indian Ruins, Japan, Japanese Shrines, Junk Art, Kentucky, Landscapes, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Mexico, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Mountains, Murals, Museums, Mythical Creatures, National Monuments, National Parks, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Philippines, Place Names, Post Offices, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Rocky Mountains, Selfies, South Dakota, Street Art, Tersier, Texas, Town Names, Travel in Japan, Tulum, Turkey Vultures, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Virginia, Volcanic Sites, Wall Art, Wanderlust, Washington, Waterfalls, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yard Art
In 2018 I  will feature a random (yet alphabetical) selection of photos I have taken from my nearly 20 years of back roads travel in the United States and Canada.  I may even throw in a few random shots from other trips to Japan, Mexico and the Philippines. My theme is called America's Back Roads: A Grab Bag of Places in Pictures.   Talent, Oregon [caption id="attachment_223" align="alignnone" width="342"] Welcome to Talent, Oregon[/caption] [caption id="attachment_224" align="alignnone" width="400"] Talent Mural[/caption] [caption id="attachment_221" align="alignnone" width="400"] Talent Police[/caption] Tee Pee Motel - Wharton, Texas [caption id="attachment_11564" align="alignnone" width="400"] Tee Pee Motel in Wharton, TX[/caption] [caption id="attachment_11565" align="alignnone" width="400"] Sumoflam at the Tee Pee Motel in Wharton, TX[/caption] Thoroughbred Park - Lexington, Kentucky [caption id="attachment_5844" align="alignnone" width="400"] Thoroughbred Park, Lexington, KY[/caption] [caption id="attachment_5864" align="alignnone"…
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A Grab Bag from America’s Back Roads – The Q Things #AtoZChallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Arizona, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Museums, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, South Dakota, Texas, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Washington, West Virginia
In 2018 I  will feature a random (yet alphabetical) selection of photos I have taken from my nearly 20 years of back roads travel in the United States and Canada.  I may even throw in a few random shots from other trips to Japan, Mexico and the Philippines. My theme is called America's Back Roads: A Grab Bag of Places in Pictures.   Not many Q items, so I may just add a few QUIRKY places & things! [caption id="attachment_18865" align="alignnone" width="400"] The Hobbit Hole - a unique and quirky shop in Fayetteville, WV[/caption] [caption id="attachment_13626" align="alignnone" width="270"] Ye Olde Curiosity Shop in Seattle is a must see stop for the lovers of the offbeat and quirky[/caption] [caption id="attachment_11829" align="alignnone" width="400"] Lovely quirky Airstream in Austin, TX[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8300" align="alignnone"…
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A Grab Bag from America’s Back Roads – The P Things #AtoZChallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Alberta, Animals, Arizona, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Bakeries, BBQ Places, Birds, Bison, Books, Bucket List Trips, Budgies, Burger Joints, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Enchanted Highway, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Hot Dog Places, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Junk Art, Kansas, Kentucky, Landscapes, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Lighthouses, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Mountains, Muffler Man, Murals, Museums, National Monuments, National Parks, Nebraska, North Dakota, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pelicans, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Post Offices, prairie dogs, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Selfies, South Dakota, Street Art, Swamps, Television Shows, Tennessee, Texas, Town Names, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, Utah, Vintage Neon, Virginia, Volcanic Sites, Wall Art, Washington, Water Towers, Waterfalls, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Zoos
In 2018 I  will feature a random (yet alphabetical) selection of photos I have taken from my nearly 20 years of back roads travel in the United States and Canada.  I may even throw in a few random shots from other trips to Japan, Mexico and the Philippines. My theme is called America's Back Roads: A Grab Bag of Places in Pictures.   Peculiar, Missouri [caption id="attachment_794" align="alignnone" width="400"] Welcome to Peculiar, MO[/caption] [caption id="attachment_36" align="alignnone" width="400"] A Peculiar Police Car[/caption] [caption id="attachment_37" align="alignnone" width="400"] A Peculiar Elementary School[/caption] Possum Trot Supper Club - Oakwood, Illinois [caption id="attachment_1784" align="alignnone" width="400"] Possum Trot Supper Club, Oakwood, IL[/caption] Pierre Part, Louisiana [caption id="attachment_10835" align="alignnone" width="400"] Sumoflam in Pierre Part, LA[/caption] [caption id="attachment_14077" align="alignnone" width="400"] Visiting Troy Landry of Swamp People fame in…
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