Less Beaten Paths of America

26May 2013 by David Kravetz

FOOD FOOD FOOD – Part 2: Barbecue Places and Diners on Less Beaten Paths

BBQ Places, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, West Virginia, Wisconsin

[caption id="attachment_3350" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Arthur Bryant's - Kansas City[/caption] As I travel across these great United States (and Canada too) perhaps the most common sight along the way is Barbecue (BBQ) places and diners, big and small. Following are a few of the places I have visited (or at least passed and wished I had time to stop in for a visit....). Hillbilly Hot Dogs - Lesage, WV [caption id="attachment_3361" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Hillbilly Hot Dogs - Lesage, WV[/caption] Ever eaten at a junk yard? Ever had enough guts to do so? Well, if you head north of Huntington, WV along the Ohio River to the small little village of Lesage you can do just that at Hillbilly Hot Dogs. A junk collector's dream and a neatnik's nightmare! [caption id="attachment_3364" align="aligncenter"…

22May 2013 by David Kravetz

FOOD FOOD FOOD – Part 1: Restaurants and Cafes on the Less Beaten Paths

Alberta, Arkansas, Bakeries, BBQ Places, Eateries, Family Travel, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ontario, Oregon, Texas, Unique Eatery, Wisconsin

Maid Rite - Lexington, MO[/caption] One of the important facets of traveling the less beaten paths of America (and Canada) is the food. As I travel the country, I look for good food at local places. This post covers some of the restaurants, steak houses, cafes and fine (or semi-fine) dining places. Subsequent FOOD posts will include Diners/Drive-Ins, Barbecue Joints, Burger Places and Bakeries/Donut Shops. [caption id="attachment_3217" align="aligncenter" width="448"] Food - Cozy Dog, Springfield, Illinois[/caption] Ric's Grill - Lethbridge, Alberta Ric's Grill - Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada [caption id="attachment_3227" align="aligncenter" width="324"] Ric's Grill - Dinner in a Water Tower[/caption] Ric's Grill is one of those REALLY unique places to eat. I visited Lethbridge on a cross-country trip from Kentucky to Washington in 2005. I have friends in Lethbridge who took us…

18May 2013 by David Kravetz

Road Trip Home from Idaho – Day 5: Des Moines, IA to Springfield, IL – Dutch, American Pickers and Cozy Dogs

Backroads Discoveries, Bakeries, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Ghost Signs, Illinois, Iowa, Place Names, Post Offices, Roadside Attractions, Route 66, Selfies, States and Provinces, Street Art, Television Shows, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Yard Art

Antique Archaeology[/caption] April 3, 2013: Yet another day on the road home as Julianne and I take our time to see a few of the sites on the way. This day we drove from Des Moines to a couple places in Iowa and eventually into Illinois. Here is our route: View Larger Map - Des Moines, IA to Springfield, MO First thing we did was head to Pella, Iowa, which is not too far from Des Moines. Pella prides itself as being a "Touch of Holland" and indeed is very Dutch. Home of the largest working Dutch windmill in the United States. Pella was originally settled in 1847 by about 800 Dutch immigrants. They named the town Pella, which in Dutch means City of Refuge, due to the fact that…

15May 2013 by David Kravetz

Road Trip Home from Idaho – Day 4: Oacoma, SD to Des Moines, IA

Birds, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, Covered Bridges, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Iowa, Landscapes, Large Statues, Museums, Mythical Creatures, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, South Dakota, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Houses, Unique Places, Yard Art

Covered Bridges of Madison County in Iowa[/caption] April 2, 2013: After a good night's rest in Oacoma, we were back on the road heading east with our first planned stop being an early morning visit to the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. View Larger Map - Oacoma, SD to Des Moines, IA Originally built in 1892 as the "Corn Belt Exposition," it became an iconic landmark and attraction in Mitchell after 1921. Every year the exterior decorations are stripped and a new theme is created. The work is done by local artists. The 2013 theme is "We Celebrate" and each mural is a depiction of an American holiday. The artists use 13 different colors or shades of corn to decorate with. Typically there are over 275,000 ears of corn…

07May 2013 by David Kravetz

Road Trip Home from Idaho – Day 3: Glendive, MT thru Enchanted Highway, Mt. Rushmore to Oacoma, SD

Backroads Discoveries, BBQ Places, Big John, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Eateries, Enchanted Highway, Found Metal Sculptures, Geologic Formations, Giant Things, Landscapes, Large Statues, Montana, Mountains, Muffler Man, Murals, Museums, National Monuments, National Parks, North Dakota, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, South Dakota, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Yard Art

South Dakota Badlands in northern South Dakota as seen from SD Hwy 79[/caption] April 1, 2013: We started the month of April off with a non-foolish bang as we got up fairly early to hit the road towards home, with a detour through North and South Dakota. This is the route we took on this leg of the trip: View Larger Map - Glendive, MT to Oacoma, SD We first took a brief zip around Glendive to catch some of the sights... [caption id="attachment_3033" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Giant Dinosaur Sign in Glendive, Montana next to the museum[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3032" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Mural at the Glendive Museum[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3008" align="aligncenter" width="199"] There were signs like these in various parts of Glendive[/caption] Glendive, Montana is surrounded by badlands and there have been many finds…

06May 2013 by David Kravetz

Road Trip Home from Idaho – Day 2: Along the Montana Hi-Line from Shelby to Glendive

Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Montana, US Highway 2

Abandoned Schoolhouse - Fresno, Montana (east of Kremlin)[/caption] March 31, 2013: After spending a few wonderful days in Shelby, Montana with family (see my previous post on Shelby), it was time to head back to Kentucky. This segment of the trip we would take US Route 2 along what is called the Montana Hi-Line. Basically, the highway parallels the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF). The full Hi-Line in Montana stretches from North Dakota to Idaho border, for a distance of more than 650 miles. However, it seems that to many of the residents in the area, the Hi-Line is really the stretch of US Route 2 from about Cut Bank, MT all the way east to the North Dakota border. US Route 2 is the northernmost east-west route…

03May 2013 by David Kravetz

A Few Days in Shelby, Montana and surrounding area

Backroads Discoveries, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, City Skylines, North Dakota, South Dakota

Shelby, Montana[/caption] March 28, 2013: On our way back to Kentucky from Rexburg, Idaho we made a three day detour to Shelby, Montana to visit our daughter and her husband and their 4 children. Thanks to our new best trailer tires we were able to go on rough roads quite smoothly, and I have to say till date they have been my best investment on the RV. During our three days here, we were very busy with a trip to the base of Glacier National Park, a drive around town capturing the "Neon Essence" of Shelby, and a trip north to Sweetgrass, just south of the Canadian border, where we also visited a Hutterite colony and learned of their amazing communal ways. This post will cover these activities through photos…

28Apr 2013 by David Kravetz

Road Trip Home from Idaho – Day 1: Rexburg, ID to Shelby, MT

Bridges, Bucket List Trips, City Skylines, North Dakota, South Dakota

Gold Butte in Northern Montana as seen from Frontier Bar near Shelby, Montana[/caption] Mar. 27, 2013: After almost two weeks in Rexburg working with my new employer DSN America, it was time to return back to Kentucky and home sweet home. They had flown Julianne out to Idaho, so I was blessed to have my very best friend and sweetheart with me for the long drive home, with a brief stopover in Shelby, Montana to see our daughter and their kids. It was an easy first day. Rexburg, ID to Shelby, MT We left Rexburg in the afternoon and eventually zipped up I-15. We crossed over Monida Pass, which serve as the border between Idaho and Montana. The mountains were still snow covered and beautiful, especially as we came close to the…

25Apr 2013 by David Kravetz

Sumoflam is Everywhere – A Photo Gallery

Arizona, Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, City Skylines, Colorado, Horses, Missouri, North Dakota, Place Names, Route 66, South Carolina, South Dakota, Squirrels, States and Provinces, Trinity Music Productions, Wildflowers, Yard Art

Sumoflam and Thunderbirds in Bismarck, ND[/caption] Over the years I have taken nearly 30,000 photos of my travels and in most cases I have not been in the photos. Over the coming months I will add new galleries that are thematic. this is the first one. Enjoy!! [nggallery id=2] ]]>

18Apr 2013 by David Kravetz

Traveling the Enchanted Highway in North Dakota

Backroads Discoveries, Bridges, City Skylines, North Dakota, South Dakota

If you are at all interested in the whimsical, unique and humongous roadside attractions of this great country, then a drive down the amazing Enchanted Highway in North Dakota is a MUST!! On April 2, 2013, I finally had the opportunity to drive one of the "Bucket List" trips for me in all of my travels across the country. The 32 mile drive features a number of pieces of the amazing artwork of retired Regent, ND school teacher Gary Greff who has taken on this effort in order to keep the small dying town from becoming a ghost town. I hope to have a pretty comprehensive overview of the entire route, including the map below and detailed directions, mileage, photos and even some details about each stop along the way.…