Say, for instance, that you’re driving on the 101 freeway from Disneyland to Universal Studios.

If you look at just the right time, and you’re not the driver who has to pay attention to traffic or the kid who’s in the backseat on the driver’s side of the vehicle, you might just get a good look at it like this:

Now, for some people, that would be good enough.  But for others who actually wanted more than a glimpse, or who want to prove that they can find a better vantage point, or maybe have their photo taken in front of the real thing (as opposed to the fake photo op background at Universal Studios) as proof that they were actually along on the family vacation, it is possible to get closer to the sign.

In my somewhat-extensive Hollywood-sign research before we left home, I had read that you could see the Hollywood sign from Griffith Park.  We, however, did not go to Griffith Park.

I also talked to someone from my hometown whose family had attempted to get up-close and personal with the Hollywood sign and had become hopelessly intertwined in the Hollywood hills, and never did successfully complete their quest to see the sign.  I wanted to do better than that.

So I searched Google Maps.  (Do you use Google Maps for as many things as I do?)  And I looked for that sign and found it right here.

Do you see it?  It’s that faint white line just below Mt. Lee Drive on the map.  Yup, that’s the Hollywood sign from way up in space.

Then, I looked at the terrain.  Obviously, any vantage point for the sign was going to be south of this location.

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And yes, those are some twisting, winding roads.

Next, I used street view to see exactly where the sign was visible from a public roadway.

This view? Not exactly the right spot.

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Then I got smart and turned on the photos layer. And voila! I could instantly see all of the spots where people had taken photos of the Hollywood sign with their fancy GPS-enabled cameras or cell phones.

Now, I realize it’s hard to see, but all of those pictures with blue sky and brown-green bottoms and a little bit of white in the middle?  They’re pictures of the Hollywood sign.

Next, we had the issue of finding a place to park and safely take a picture without being chased off someone’s private property or being run down by people who actually knew how to quickly and accurately navigate these streets.

What’s that?  A public park?  With what looks to be cars parked safely and legally on both sides of the street?  I think that’s our spot.

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And so it was that upon leaving Universal Studios, we made our way to see the Hollywood sign. Cahuenga Blvd W to Barham Blvd to Lake Hollywood Dr to Tahoe Dr to Canyon Lake Dr to Lake Hollywood Park doesn’t seem too tricky, but I’d advise having a map or smartphone navigation app to get you there. (It was comforting to see one small “Hollywood Sign” arrow along the way, but it alone wasn’t enough to get us there without getting lost.)

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At the southern tip of the park, we found a place to park along the street, and spotted the sign.

To the naked eye it looked like this:

Zoomed in it looked like this:

And proof that I was in California looked like this:

If you know of a better/faster/easier place to see the Hollywood sign, please share in the comments.

Wall Drug.  It’s part of the travel experience of most every family who’s approached South Dakota’s Black Hills from the east on I-90 after traveling mile after miles on the Interstate with not much for stops or scenery.  After all, how could you miss it?  With nearly 100 billboards along the Interstate from Sioux Falls to Wall, and others scattered around the country, Wall Drug is certainly hard to miss.

But what exactly IS Wall Drug?

Long before it was a tourist trap, Wall Drug was a struggling pharmacy in the small town of Wall on the South Dakota prairie.  During the dust bowl years, its owners offered free water in the hopes of drawing people into the store.  The idea was a success, and soon people were stopping in for free ice water and buying treats from the soda fountain as well.  Over time, Wall Drug grew and expanded and grew and expanded some more, so that today it is a massive complex that takes up nearly one entire side of Wall’s Main Street.

The attraction itself is free to visit, though you’ll be tempted to buy souvenirs and trinkets from the various shops inside the complex, or maybe to have something to eat from the cafe area.  (Hint: Skip to the end of the cafeteria line and pick up some of tasty doughnuts; they may be the best bargain in the store besides the free ice water, which is still offered at Wall Drug.)

Outside in the “backyard,” let your kids play around the water spurts, maybe let them pan for some jewels, and be sure to take their photo on the famed jackalope, which is big enough for four kids to prove that they’ve been to Wall Drug and have the same family vacation photo as most of their friends and neighbors.

Whether or not the quirky Wall Drug is your best idea of vacation fun, it’s one of those places that you really should stop at if you’re passing through South Dakota.  Grab a cup of ice water, have a doughnut, snap a few photos, and be on your way to your next destination, having experienced the one-of-a-kind American icon that is Wall Drug.

Have you dug Wall Drug?

Fifteen years later, the Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitors Bureau has embraced its Fargo-ness, and on the lawn of its visitor center, has installed its own tribute to the movie.

That’s right, there’s a chipper on the front lawn of the visitor’s center.  If you’ve seen the movie, you’re probably chuckling right now.  If you haven’t, well, sorry, I’m not going to explain the chipper here.

What do you think? Has Fargo done the right thing by embracing the film that made fun of it?  Or is having a chipper on your front lawn just a bit strange?  Would you stop to see the chipper?

Personally, if I’m in the Red River Valley of North Dakota, the kind of chipper I’d prefer comes from Widman’s candy shop.  It’s much more appetizing.

Want to see more (slightly less strange) travel photos?  Visit Photo Friday at DeliciousBaby.

When we visited the Children’s Museum of South Dakota in Brookings, we needed to find a route home.  The most direct route took us on some gravel roads (I’ve never seen a minimum-maintenance county road before!) and past some quiet giants on the prairie of western Minnesota.

It also took us through tiny Arco, Minnesota.  When I looked at the map and saw Arco, something nagged at me that Arco had something we’d want to see.  My first thought was that it had something to do with a water tower, but that was in Chandler.  Due to modern technological luxuries, I did a quick online search for Arco and found what I was looking for:  the stone gas station and scenic rock garden.

Neither was hard to find; the former gas station is just west of downtown, and the rock garden statues have been moved to the city park just east of town along the lake.  They were good for a quick stop for photos.

To my surprise, as we passed the gas station, my eight-year-old son said, “Hey, I’ve seen that before!”  He likes guidebooks as much as I do, so when I got home I did a quick search of my collection to see where we’d first heard of the Arco gas station.  There it is on page 5 of a book appropriately titled Minnesota Curiosities:  Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, & Other Offbeat Stuff.  It’s exactly the kind of book I turn to when planning a road trip, and it gave me just enough of a memory jog that we didn’t miss these roadside attractions as we passed through Arco.

Today, six covered bridges remain in Madison County, and they are easy to find using maps available from the Madison County Chamber of Commerce or by following road signs.  Madison County’s bridges have all been renovated, and some relocated, so that they are beautiful places to visit.  One is in Winterset’s city park, where a twisting, winding, narrow road leads up a hill to an old stone lookout tower that provides views of the valley below.  (John Wayne’s birthplace is also in Winterset, making this Iowa town a worthwhile stopping point when traveling near Des Moines.)

The Madison County bridges are well-kept, but they’re not the only concentration of covered bridges in the country.  Several years ago, my husband and I explored bridges in Parke County, Indiana, which calls itself the Covered Bridge Capital of the World.  With 31 bridges in the area, we didn’t have time to see them all, but we enjoyed traveling the back roads through farmland and tiny villages to see several of the bridges with the picturesque backdrop of fall colors.  Like Madison County, Parke County offers a map of its bridges, and both places have festivals celebrating these local landmarks.

Do you enjoy hunting down covered bridges?  There’s a good list of covered bridges, organized by state and province, at the Ohio Barns website.  (This site also includes information about Ohio’s centennial barns, Mail Pouch barns, old gas stations, and more, and is definitely worth browsing if you like these old things.)  If you like covered bridges, you’ll also want to visit Midwest Guest’s posts about covered bridges in Michigan and Ohio.

Are there any covered bridges near where you live or travel? Which is your favorite?

Once in a while, though, I find that I’ve waited too long.

Take, for instance, Stonehenge II near Hunt, Texas.  We visited this roadside attraction in December of 2009, and I was finally going to write about it today.

Imagine my dismay, then, when I learned that it’s no longer there!

My first thought was, “I’m glad we went while it was still there.”  Like the lonely grain elevators I photographed in North Dakota, I’m sad when I learn that someplace we’ve visited has since been demolished.

The good news, however, is that Stonehenge II is finding a new home down the road in Ingram, Texas.  I found severa news reports about its pending move for fall of 2010, and some photos of its new home being readied in November, with information that it was still being rebuilt at that time, but nothing that says when it will reopen.

If any Texas readers know more about the Stonehenge move, I’d appreciate your comments.  This sign explains the original site’s origin.  I wonder how they’ll explain the move?

For now, I’ll just share photos of our visit, and relive the memories of a 70-degree winter day while playing hide-and-seek at Stonehenge.

If we ever get to Carhenge, I promise I’ll write about it before it’s gone.

That’s when I remembered.  Casinos often have cheap buffets.  And, as Lady Luck would have it, she was along our route, just off Highway 20 in Marquette, Iowa.

We parked and went in and paid for our breakfast buffet (around $24 for the six of us; our youngest was free) and let the eating begin.  The kids were delighted to have hot chocolate to drink on a cool summer morning, and even more delighted to see that the ice cream machine was turned on.  (Yes, we did let them have ice cream for breakfast, after they ate something a little more breakfast-y first.)

Eggs made to order, meats, pastries, you name it–if it could be eaten for breakfast, it was on the buffet.  My son loved the chicken strips, and the fresh fruit was excellent.

The real treat, however, was the excellent service we received.  When I inquired as to the peanut-free status of a pastry item, one of the kitchen staff offered to make up a fresh one for my son, and personally delivered it to our table–with sprinkles.  She then told me that the nut topping for the ice cream was also peanut-free, and brought out the bag to prove it.  She was a former school lunch worker, and had experience with food allergies.  It was so nice to see someone who really understood and helped us navigate the food lines.

With our tummies full, we headed outside, and there, what should we find, but a huge pink elephant.  You know we like our really-big things, so this was a find that we really enjoyed.

Pink Elephant, Lady Luck Casino, Marquette, Iowa

Little did we know, this elephant has some history to it.  How many pink elephants do you know who have water-skiied for presidents?

Pinky the Pink Elephant History

I wished we’d had more time to explore the nearby communities of Marquette and McGregor, with their historic buildings and unique shops.  We’ll go back someday to see more.

But for now, we have memories of a good meal and photos of Pinky.  Who can complain about that?

Medicine Wheel Park was constructed, beginning in 1992, by a university professor and his students.  The park is named after the Medicine Wheel they built, which is a calendar made out of rocks, similar to those made by Native Americans years ago.

Indian burial mounds are also located in the park.

Another type of calendar found in Medicine Wheel Park is the Meridian Calendar.  It looks like a simple utility pole, but its shadow cast on a line of rocks can indicate the time of day and the season.  We visited just past noon, about 3 weeks before the beginning of summer, and this is where the shadow was cast.

My kids’ favorite, however, was the series of rocks depicting the planets.

Seemingly scattered throughout the park, the rocks’ sizes are relative to the sizes of the planets, and their position is based on the sun (the center of the medicine wheel).  Following a path to a scenic overlook, we found most of the planets, but poor little Pluto (which has lost its status as planet anyway) is located down the hill and across a parking lot.

Hikers may already know that the North Country National Scenic Trail runs through Medicine Wheel Park.  The park’s parking lot is large, offering ample space for cars and recreational vehicles.  Picnic tables are also available.

Medicine Wheel Park is nearly across the street from the Valley City Winter Shows building (Ah, that brings back memories!) and is a quick stop off North Dakota‘s I-94 if you’re looking for a glimpse into ancient cultures or just a scenic walk.

You probably know this already, but I’m participating in a contest at Best Kids Apps, a blog about iPhone apps for kids, for a chance to win an iPad.

More about Valley City, North Dakota, at Uptake.

When speeding down an interstate highway at 70 mph, I’m usually too slow to snap a photo of something interesting that I see out the car window, but once in a while I’m successful at capturing the shot.

It may not be the best in quality, due to the speed of the moving vehicle (my husband was driving) and the rain coming down, but because of my little GPS tracker, if I desire, I can go back to the exact spot someday and get a better picture.

And so, with all of that explanation, I present the pumpkin silo, as seen from Interstate 39/51 between Madison and Janesville, Wisconsin.

Pumpkin Silo in Wisconsin

To see more travel photos, visit Photo Fridays at DeliciousBaby.

Classic Walgreens Sign, San Antonio, TX

It’s a treat for me to find traces of the old among modern things.

The Walgreens sign (and store) are located at the corner of Houston and Navarro in downtown San Antonio, across the street from the San Antonio Children’s Museum and just a few doors down from the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum.

To see more travel photos, visit Photo Fridays at DeliciousBaby.

Although this may not be a typical travel post, I think it is important nonetheless.  After all, one person’s journey is another’s home.  I invite you to travel to my home through the eye of the camera.

I spent many hours painting this barn.

We learned to drive a stick-shift in this pickup, in the middle of a field. Drivers license at age 14.

The water truck is a '46 and still runs.

Old equipment in the barn, which was used when it was filled with animals.

The grain cleaner. The label of "new" is quite ironic.

Collection of pitchforks.

The pulley has a rustic beauty now, but once saw a lot of use.

This hinge has seen better days.

How many gallons of milk were carried in this bucket?

This is still a working farm, but it’s seen better days, as much of North Dakota has.  The website Ghosts of North Dakota is attempting to document towns in the state that have seen their demise and is worth a look if you enjoy photos like these.

For more travel photos, visit Photo Fridays at Delicious Baby.

The lift portion of the bridge was tested once, but its completion coincided with the discontinuation of steamboat traffic on the river the lift was never actually used.

It affords beautiful views of the Yellowstone River, just miles from its confluence with the Missouri River, and close to the state line near Fairview, Montana.

The new car bridge is not far away. (The foundations of the middle-generation automobile bridge are just beyond.)

The first thing that scared me about the bridge was its height, and the view of the rushing water beneath my feet. My five-year-old tried to keep me calm, but we didn’t make it out on top of the water very far before turning back. I don’t like heights.

The second thing that scared me was the sign saying to stay on the path, because there are rattlesnakes in the area. I don’t like snakes.

The third thing that scared me was the sign saying to take your own flashlight for walking through the tunnel. Tunnel?

Yes, at the east end of the bridge is a tunnel. Can you see it in the photo? (This is as close as we got to it.)

Perhaps the scariest thing about this bridge, however, is that for many years, it was used for both rail and automobile traffic. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t feel very comfortable driving over a long bridge knowing that a train could be coming through the tunnel at the other end. Even if there were a watchman on duty. But that’s exactly what happened from 1926 to 1955.

Does this bridge scare you? Or are you the adventurous type who would walk across the 1320-foot-long bridge and then have flashlight in hand to explore the 1456-foot-long tunnel, knowing there were snakes in the area?

I don’t know that I’ll ever be that brave.

My first entry is something we drove out of our way to see:  the Eiffel Tower (with cowboy hat) in Paris, Texas.

Although the kids were disappointed that we couldn’t actually go up in the tower, they still thought it was pretty cool.  Especially the cowboy hat.  What else would you expect in Texas?

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, Texas, is located on Jefferson, right next to the civic/convention center.  There are signs for the civic center, but not the tower, as far as we could tell.  Maybe they’re trying to keep it under their hat?

The Land of Evermor, however, is downright tiny compared to another series of metal sculptures.  The Enchanted Highway runs from Regent to Gladstone, North Dakota.  A 30-mile drive from I-94 south to Regent will allow you to see all of the sculptures, one every few miles.  They’re big.  They’re beautiful.  And they’ve served their creator’s purpose, of getting people off the Interstate and traveling through the small towns.

The Enchanted Highway is known far and wide.  One of my friends was a presenter at a conference in Florida, and asked if anyone knew anything about North Dakota.  The Enchanted Highway was one of the first things mentioned.

All it takes to enjoy the Enchanted Highway is a car and an extra hour or so to drive the entire road.  If you want to stop and take pictures, or have a picnic at one of the roadside parks located at each sculpture, it will take a little longer.  At the end of the road, you can stop for a cup of coffee or ice cream cone at one of the shops in Regent.  (Proceeds from the Enchanted Highway Gift Shop and donations are the sole source of funding for future works.)

The Enchanted Highway sculptures encompass various themes, styles, and colors.  Which one is your favorite?

Deer Crossing:

Teddy Rides Again:

Pheasants on the Prairie:

World’s Largest Tin Family:

Fisherman’s Dream:

Grasshopper’s Delight:

Geese in Flight:

To see more travel photos, visit Photo Fridays at DeliciousBaby.

Once in awhile, however, a farmsite that’s unique will appear on the horizon, entirely different from its neighbors.

This one caught my eye as I drove through Iowa, just past a Lutheran church that could very well have had the same architect as my home church had.  Lutheran churches tend to vary in architecture about as much as farmsites do, I suppose.

At first I saw a section of green and wondered if green steel siding was all that was available for a quick-and-necessary repair.

Then I got closer, and saw, along with the green, a section of purple.

By then I was intrigued.  I pulled to the side of the road when I saw the house, waiting until a turning feed truck passed before snapping a shot.

That’s not your typical Iowa farmhouse, is it?

It makes me wonder who lives there.  What’s the story?  Is it someone who fled a big city and purchased a farm site in Iowa, but missed the uniqueness of the urban area?  Is it a farm family, native to the area, who just liked to shake things up a little?  Was it a construction project that started out by accident, and then became artful?

I may never know the story behind this farm, and that’s probably better, for it leaves to my imagination all the possibilities of someone who would have a barn that’s part purple and part green in a land of red and white.

I wonder.

Land of Evermor is located south of Baraboo, Wisconsin.  For exact location, enter forevertron, baraboo, wi at Google Maps and you’ll be shown precisely where the Forevertron sculpture in the Land of Evermor is located.  Admission is free.

Take, for instance, this collection, located off a gravel road northwest of the tiny town of Tolna, North Dakota.

Old tires, neatly stacked into a fenceline.

A LOT of old tires.

Do you see those black lines throughout the photo? Yes, those are all stacks of tires.  And there are more on the other side of the nearby farmstead.  All in all, the tires surround and divide about 80 acres of land.

When I see things like this, I always wonder: Where did all the tires come from? How long did it take to stack them? Was it one person’s passion, or a group effort? Was there a specific reason for it?

When traveling, we have the opportunity to see so many things–beautiful and breathtaking as well as eccentric. No matter what we find, or what we think of it, it’s all part of the journey.

What are some unusual things you’ve encountered while traveling?

To see more travel photos, visit Photo Friday at Deliciousbaby.

When we got close to my parents’ house, this is what we saw along the side of the road.  Can you guess what it is?

This is a little closer.  Can you tell now?

Here’s the final hint.

That’s right, this is a sunflower field covered with about 4″ of October snow.  Usually the sunflowers have been harvested before much snow flies, but this year is proving to be a unique challenge for a lot of farmers in the upper Midwest.

When in the Dells, there’s plenty to do, and a lot of it has to do with water.  The Original Wisconsin Ducks fit the bill for seeing the nature and geography of the Wisconsin Dells area from both land and water.

These 1940′s-era Army vehicles drive up and down the hills, through the woods on private roads, and then splash into the water as your tour continues on the Wisconsin River and into Lake Delton.  During the tour, you’ll be introduced to formations such as “Piano Rock” as well as phenomena such as the washout that emptied Lake Delton in three hours a few years ago.

Throughout the tour, the guide/driver will tell admittedly “cheesy” jokes.   (Yes, you’re in Wisconsin, and that’s the type of humor throughout the ride.)  My kids didn’t get the puns, so while the adults were chuckling or groaning, they had blank faces, wondering what was so funny.  Otherwise, they enjoyed the ride.

Whle the Ducks take you through the natural formations of the Wisconsin Dells area, the tour doesn’t include the other tourist attractions in the area.  You’ll have to explore those on your own, or check out the shuttle that runs downtown from the Ducks parking lot.

The Original Wisconsin Ducks aren’t cheap, so be on the lookout for coupons or discounts.  This past summer, there was a discount card available that offered free children’s admission with the purchase of an adult’s at several area venues.

We had a beautiful evening for our Ducks tour, and it was fun to ride these old vehicles and see the Dells area.  If you’d like a little peek at our Original Wisconsin Ducks tour, watch this video clip.

Related Posts:

Atlantis Waterpark Hotel in Wisconsin Dells

Knuckleheads Family Entertainment Center

And so we did.

On our way to Philadelphia, we ran out of daylight and didn’t have time to stop at Gravity Hill.  I was disappointed (and, yes, curious), so I made sure we worked a stop at New Paris into our return trip.

We followed the directions to Gravity Hill (a necessity, since you won’t just happen upon this place), put the car in neutral . . . and sure enough, we started rolling backward up the hill.

It was strange.  It was exciting.  It sure looked like we were rolling uphill.

I pulled out our GPS with its altitude feature to see what was really happening.  And, no, I won’t tell you what I found out, because if you’re curious about Gravity Hill, you just need to go there and experience it yourself.

Even if you don’t care what Gravity Hill is all about, following the directions to see it will take you on some beautiful back roads to see the Pennsylvania countryside.

If you want to temper the offbeat with the serious, the Flight 93 crash site isn’t far away.  It was a sobering end to our fun time at Gravity Hill.

To see more travel photos, visit Photo Friday at DeliciousBaby.

North Dakota is known for a few other big things, however:  The World’s Largest Sandhill Crane, World’s Largest Holstein Cow (coming soon), and of course the World’s Largest Buffalo.

The World’s Largest Buffalo has been a fixture in Jamestown, ND, since 1959. Many adults (myself included) will remember being photographed there as children. I had forgotten how big the buffalo really is.

As it approached 50 years of age, the buffalo was beginning to show its age, and was restored in 2007 with help from the Hampton Inns Save a Landmark program.

If you stop to see the World’s Largest Buffalo (and you should!), make some time to walk through the Pioneer Village and National Buffalo Museum as well.

Then add the buffalo to the list of really big things you’ve visited.

For more travel photos, see Photo Friday at DeliciousBaby.

Well, the plot thickens.

This morning, I took the toilet route again, mostly to amuse the kids. You wouldn’t believe how excited they were. “Boys, we just have to go around this curve, and then we’ll see the toilets!” I guess it’s a big deal when you’re five.

So we rounded the bend, and here’s what we saw:

My five-year-old had a logical explanation: there’s only one tree monster, so he only needs one toilet.

Before we got to North Dakota, I’d never even heard of a sandhill crane.  I knew that the World’s Largest Buffalo (in Jamestown) and the World’s Largest Holstein (in New Salem) were along I-94, but the World’s Largest Sandhill Crane, in Steele, must be a newer phenomenon.

We needed gas in Steele as well, and somehow I concerned enough about the gas situation as we pulled off the interstate that I missed the Sandhill Crane.  We ended up driving most of the way through Steele before stopping to ask a pedestrian how to find the crane.  (That’s one thing you can count on in North Dakota–people know their hometowns, and they’re friendly if you need help.)  She pointed us right back to the Interstate, where the Sandhill Crane was–you guessed it–right across the road from the gas station, in front of the Lone Steer restaurant.

The sandhill crane is, according to Stan Tekiela’s field guide, one of the tallest birds in the world.  We also saw several of them in the vicinity of Steele, so it made sense that if you’re going to build a really large bird, you should build one that’s local and is actually big in real life.

In fact, the area around Steele is one of the nations top birding areas, and “Sandy” the sandhill crane was built to draw attention to that fact.

The speed limit on North Dakota interstate highways is 75 mph.  While you’re flying by, be sure to take notice of the Really Big Things along the way.  Better yet, stop, take a picture, support a local business, talk to the residents, and look for some real birds.  It’s a lot more interesting that way.

For more travel photos, visit Photo Friday at DeliciousBaby.

And so it was that as we were driving through Plainview, Minnesota, the kids and I all gasped at once as we saw this:

My poor husband, who was driving, didn’t know what we were getting at until we specifically told him we had to turn around so I could take a picture of it.  And being the sweet husband that he is, he did it.

The Hereford is located behind the grocery store.  I’m not sure of the significance of the creature or of its location, but we’re glad to add it to our collection of Really Big Things.

To see more travel photos, head over to Photo Friday at DeliciousBaby.