Faded Sign, Ligonier Beach, Pennsylvania
Join BeckyB’s Square in September: In the Pink. Photos must be square, and for September, have to contain something pink. See this link for more information on how to take part in BeckyB’s quarterly square challenge..
Pink Elephant in Avignon, France
Join BeckyB’s Square in September: In the Pink. Photos must be square, and for September, have to contain something pink. See this link for more information on how to take part in BeckyB’s quarterly square challenge..
Pocahontas, Pocahontas County, Iowa
I took a detour from my destination to check out a couple places in Iowa. Just south of the town of Pocahontas, I saw a huge wind farm with hundreds of turbines planted in corn fields.
My destination was the 25 foot statue of Pocahontas which was erected in 1954 in Pocahontas.
The historical Pocahontas was from Virginia, not Iowa, but the town wanted to honor the figure after which it, and the county, was named.
Pocahontas is in Iowa corn country. You will find quilt squares painted on barns and garages.
The teepee behind the statue is based on a plains Indian dwelling. Pocahontas would not have lived in one.
Today I headed out on a road trip from Alexandria, Virginia to Minnesota. I will put about 3000 miles on the car in the next three week. I’ve done the drive before on interstate freeways. This time I am following the Lincoln Highway, a coast-to-coast road from New York City to San Francisco first planned in 1913.
The Lincoln Highway, never an official US road, was the brainchild of three men involved in the automotive industry as a marketing ploy. It made sense that people needed somewhere to drive their new cars. Today, the Lincoln Highway generally follows US Route 30.
I am currently in central Pennsylvania where you can find some quintessential roadside Americana, such as the giant coffee pot in Bedford. It is part of the Lincoln Highway 200-Mile Roadside Museum.
Or the 1930s Dunkle’s Gulf gas station, also in Bedford, which is still in business.
Painted gas pumps are found along the way. I zipped by most of them because there was no signage, the road is narrow, and there are no shoulders to pull off onto.
And murals on barns. This one is the Bison Corral Barn, across from the gas pump above.
And other oddities. This figure was part of a storyland at Schellsburg that closed years ago.
Constant rain did not make for a good picture taking day. The Flight 93 National Monument is off US 30. I will do a separate post. I did stop briefly.
My family was large and our summer vacations generally involved camping at a lake in Minnesota. Over the years, our favorite spot changed; when I was in high school, we started going to Big Man Trap Lake, in Hubbard County, Minnesota. It is part of the Paul Bunyan State Forest. No way is it glamping. It is not fancy. No electricity. No flush toilets. Water from a well. But it is a true Minnesota camp ground. Park Rapids and Itasca State Park are within easy driving distance. I haven’t been “to the lake” since 2008, when we had a sizable gathering including five of my siblings and their kids at least for part of the time. One of my sister’s and our extra sister have gone to Mantrap for a week in August for decades. After my niece’s wedding (the one with the gladiolai) at the end of July, I will spend a week at camping with a couple of my sisters, assorted nieces and nephews, and close family friends. I am looking forward to it. A few shots from trip. (P.S. No one in my family or anyone I ever grew up with called it car camping, which seems filtered into American media and blogging.
A few other favorite shots from an earlier trip in 1981.
Dad, Fishing 1981
Mom, carving loon,1981
Campsite 1981
