The
very best road trips are those times you find unexpected treasures along the
way. Sure, there are a whole lot of “The World’s Largest”…whatever. There are
even towns that have very creatively turned themselves into a travel/tourist
stop. One such place is Casey, Illinois, where throughout the town you will
find the world’s largest golf tee, the world’s largest wind chimes, the world’s
largest knitting needles (which actually work!), and the world’s largest rocking
chair – all in one place!
Yet
the very best “finds” are sometimes “hidden in plain view”. Have you ever seen
barn quilts while driving through the Midwest? What about a long, long row of
fence with old cowboy boots upside-down on each of the fence posts? When we
were kids traveling to grandma’s house in the summer, there were no interstates
and we could find all sorts of things as we drove two lane highways. (Remember
travel bingo?) Finding Burma Shave signs was always a great treat.
One
of the most intriguing finds recently was during a drive from Niagara Falls,
Canada to Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The highway was cut through rocky hills and
suddenly we began seeing rock statues high along the tops of rock outcroppings.
These weren’t carved out of rock, but were rather what looked like statues of
people made out of rocks. We were seeing them from the ground and they
were anywhere from a foot to more than eighteen inches tall. Further research
when we had the time and we discovered they were “Inukshuk”, used by the Inuit in the north as
directional markers. They are in the shape of a person to signify safety,
hope and friendship. These stone sculptures were important for navigation, as a
marker for hunting grounds, or possibly to denote a food cache. And we found
them totally by accident!
I’ve posted covers
from two books this month – “Love in Disguise” and “Hold on to the Past”
because both of these are about traveling. The first takes place along and
aboard the first transcontinental railroad, and the second is about a trip on
the Missouri River aboard the Steamboat Arabia. Both are great “road trip”
stories of a different sort, full of mystery and romance and can easily be
ordered at Amazon where you can also find my other books.
Taking a road trip is something we can begin to do
as we emerge from the pandemic because it doesn’t involve large groups of
people in very public places. Fill up the car with gas, pack a lunch and head
out along the back roads. Perhaps you’ll come across the fire-breathing dragon
we did.
Whatever you do, don't just read the billboard about the Drive-Through Safari. Take that exit!
Barb Baldwin
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