Roadside America – Page 2 – Less Beaten Paths of America

06Oct 2020 by David Kravetz

Check out my Interview on the SECTION 500 Podcast. Released LIVE on Oct. 6, 2020

Adventure, Antsy McClain, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Less Beaten Paths Books, Offbeat Places, Place Names, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Travel Blogging, Unique Places

I am so excited to announce my newest podcast interview. Honored to have been picked for their one year anniversary podcast too!! Please go #GRABALISTEN and Enjoy the Ride. These guys recently visited Mayor Louie Keen of Uranus in Missouri who turned them on to me. [caption id="attachment_25169" align="alignnone" width="640"] Mayor Louie Keen (L) and Sam Sprunger (R) in Uranus, MO. #MUGA[/caption] 500 Team in Uranus, MO with Louie Keen, the Mayor.

20May 2020 by David Kravetz

8154: The Whimsical Wonders of Sebastopol, California

Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, California, Cross Country Road Trips, Dinosaurs, Dragons, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Junk Art, Junk-art Sculptures, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Offbeat Places, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Street Art, Travel Blogging, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Houses, Unique Places, Yard Art

[caption id="attachment_24408" align="alignleft" width="300"] Hanging in Sebastopol with A Sumoflam Fan[/caption] In early 2020 I traveled across the country over the course of three weeks. During this trip we traveled 8154 miles across 20 states and visited over 100 destinations, saw all sorts of animals, all sorts of geography, 15 National Parks and Monuments, various state parks, oceans, deserts, mountains, beaches, grasslands, canyons and more. Over the next few weeks I will be posting about some of the fun from the EPIC Road Trip with my daughter and three grandchildren. Enjoy the Read! Enjoy the Ride! (all photography by David "Sumoflam" Kravetz) [caption id="attachment_24404" align="alignnone" width="525"] Patrick Amiot's house on Florence Street in Sebastopol, CA[/caption] [caption id="attachment_24431" align="alignnone" width="525"] There are a couple of finely painted cars in front…

26Feb 2020 by David Kravetz

Book 4 Cover Art Reveal – New Book is Titled “8154”

Antsy McClain, Arizona, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Big Cities, Books, Bucket List Trips, Burger Joints, California, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Geologic Formations, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Landscapes, Less Beaten Paths Books, Lewis and Clark Sites, Lighthouses, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Mountains, Museums, National Monuments, National Parks, Nature Events, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Oregon, Place Names, Post Offices, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Rocky Mountains, Selfies, South Dakota, Street Art, Swamps, Tennessee, Texas, Tourist Traps, Town Names, Travel Blogging, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Wanderlust, Washington, Welcome Signs, Wyoming, Yard Art

GREAT NEWS! Book 4 is now officially underway! Thanks to my friend Antsy McClain, the new cover for Book 4 has been setup and here it is. Titled "8154" after the number of miles we traveled for 23 days from late January to mid-February 2020, this book will detail my EPIC Roadtrip with my daughter Marissa and her three children. You'll finally get to take a trip as seen from our eyes. Marissa will help write the book with me. We hope to have it ready for sale by the end of March 2020. We hope you'll watch for it. Some of the sights we visited were kindly suggested by our friends at Roadside America. Visit them and get their app!! [caption id="attachment_5929" align="aligncenter" width="160"] Roadside America iPhone app[/caption]

05Mar 2019 by David Kravetz

Travel in 2018: The Best of the Roadside Attractions – Part 1

Adventure, Alabama, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Big John, Colorado, Cross Country Road Trips, Dinosaurs, Dream Highways, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Muffler Man, Nevada, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Route 66, Selfies, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Tourist Traps, Toy Collections, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 101, Utah, Washington, Water Towers, Whispering Giants, Wyoming

[caption id="attachment_20889" align="alignleft" width="225"] Sharkheads in Biloxi, MS[/caption] Obviously, one of my favorite things to do on road trips short or long is locate the fun, unique and offbeat roadside attractions. And, fortunately, 2018 provided me a plethora of these. I have already written about a few of them individually in past months, but this post will be a nice little "photo tour" of some of my favorites. Having been through 26 different states in 2018, I had plenty of sites and loads of fun. I got to share many of these with grandchildren, which made it even better. [caption id="attachment_20271" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Dignity: Of Earth and Sky - 50 foot tall statue by Dale Lamphere[/caption] [caption id="attachment_20268" align="alignright" width="225"] Sumoflam with Dignity near Chamberlain, SD[/caption] Perhaps my favorite from…

29Sep 2018 by David Kravetz

Offbeat and Quirky Roadside Attractions Now Available on Amazon!

Adventure, Antsy McClain, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Big John, Books, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Enchanted Highway, Family Travel, 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, Unique Places, Uniroyal Gal, Wanderlust, Whispering Giants, Yard Art

Yesterday my new book, "Less Beaten Paths of America: Quirky and Offbeat Roadside Attractions" made its debut on Amazon! The book is 130 pages of FULL COLOR whimsy and kitsch as I tell stories of my visits to these places all over the U.S. and Canada. Definitely was fun taking these back roads trips to quirkville and I am excited to share them with you in words and photos. Even more exciting was that after a few hours the book was already #5 on Amazon's Road Travel New Releases chart and #24 on their Travel Reference chart!! I hope you will be able to check out the book or even get it on Kindle (#14 on the Road Travel chart). You Chang the book here: SEE NEW BOOK

24Sep 2018 by David Kravetz

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

06Sep 2018 by David Kravetz

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…

01Jun 2018 by David Kravetz

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…

06Mar 2018 by David Kravetz

Beatles in the South – Arkansas/Texas: February 2018

Adventure, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Large Statues, Murals, Offbeat Places, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Selfies, Street Art, Texas, The Beatles, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 67, Wall Art, Wanderlust, Yard Art

[caption id="attachment_19162" align="alignleft" width="300"] Sumoflam with the Beatles in Walnut Ridge, AR[/caption] It is not every day that one takes a road trip and comes across not one, but two memorials to the famed Beatles. The first of these is a fascinating little story about a small little town in Arkansas named Walnut Ridge (population abt 5000). It was in 1964 and the Beatles were in the midst of their first tour of the United States. On September 18 of that year they had just finished performing in Dallas, TX and were in for a well-deserved break. A rich rancher from Missouri named Reed Pigman had a nice little dude ranch in Alton, Missouri (see the Pigman story here). Pigman also had a charter plane and flew the Beatles into…

03Mar 2018 by David Kravetz

Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden and Toyland – Calvert City, KY

Adventure, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Car Art, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Junk Art, Kentucky, Murals, Museums, Mythical Creatures, Offbeat Places, People Shots, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Street Art, Toy Collections, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Houses, Unique Places, US Highway 68, Wanderlust, Yard Art

[caption id="attachment_19043" align="alignleft" width="300"] Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden[/caption] Down in southwestern Kentucky, Calvert City (near Paducah) there’s a little back road (actually US Highway 68) that takes you to a place called Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden and Toyland. It is not necessarily what you would think of as a “garden,” but it is certainly hillbilly fun. And the toyland is amazing! I visited there in early February 2018 and had a real good time with the proprietor Keith Holt who, ironically, looks like a hillbilly! [caption id="attachment_19041" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Hanging with the fascinating Keith Holt[/caption] [caption id="attachment_18990" align="alignright" width="225"] Signs at Hillbilly Garden[/caption] I will tell you upfront, this place is not for everyone. Some people may look at it is a big junkyard. Others, like myself, look at it…

Tag: Roadside America