Roadside Americana

Distelfink Drive-In Neon Sign – Gettysburg, Pa

2024 A Distelfink is a folk art motif commonly found in Pennsylvania Dutch (German) culture. It's a stylized representation of a goldfinch, often depicted with colorful feathers and floral elements and is considered a symbol of good fortune. The remains of this neon sign stand outside the old Distelfink Drive-in ...

Pennsylvania’s Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor – Murals

While road tripping is made up in part of sheer serendipity; discovering things while you float free and unfettered in the world, the other part of that equation is seeing something which you'd previously learned about with your own eyes. If you've read this blog before, you may have seen ...

Battle Ax Plug Tobacco Ghost Sign – Steubenville, Ohio

Steubenville, Ohio, a city on the Ohio River and birthplace of Rat Pack legend Dean Martin, is known as the City of Murals. There are over 25 of them scattered about town. But what isn't commonly highlighted when talking about wall art there is this fantastic Battle Ax Plug tobacco ...

Muffler Man – Jersey City, NJ

The last time that I visited the Jersey City, NJ muffler man was way back in the summer of 2008. Since that time Wilson's Carpet has closed and the building is now home to a dispensary. Though Wilson's is gone, the muffler man is still steadfastly holding his green carpet ...

Winter Wandering: Two Mail Pouch Ghost Signs – Lisbon, Ohio

This winter I've made it a point to not languish at home and to get out and do some roadtripping. Even though everything here on the east coast is freezing cold, salty, and snowy, there are still plenty of things to get out and see in the car. Plus, I ...

Big John the Muffler Man Cowboy – Prescott, Arizona

Arizona is home to a handful of muffler men. This one, called Big John, is found in the town of Prescott. When I visited him in the fall of '23 he was in really great shape. I don't know when he was last painted but he's doing great out there ...

Day of the Dead Mural – Belleville, New Jersey

The best part of road tripping or day tripping is the unexpected treasures that you find along your route. Recently while on my way to lunch, I saw this excellent Day of the Dead mural in Belleville, New Jersey. The image and colors are so vibrant and arresting - just ...

Snapshot: Trainer’s Midway Diner Neon Sign

It would be difficult to count the number of times that I've zipped passed the Trainer's Midway Diner neon sign just off of Route 78 in Bethel, Pennsylvania. Let's just say a few and call it a day. On my most recent drive out to western Pa., I decided that ...

Hank the Ankylosaurus on Route 66, Vega, Texas

After a long day of riding I pulled in to the little town of Vega, Texas. It was a sleepy place with a steady blowing wind and not a whole lot going on within walking distance of my motel. After decompressing and cleaning up, I ate chicken nuggets from a ...

Mail Pouch Tobacco Barn: My White Whale a Decade Later

2009 Last summer, I posted about finally relocating where I'd seen this white Mail Pouch barn. While I was out near Pittsburgh last weekend, I stopped to see it again. It'd been over a decade since I snapped that first photo.of the white barn in Jeanette. Comparing the two images, ...

Ghost Sign: Day & Night Tobacco – Lancaster, Pa.

A pin for this location on Seymour Street in Lancaster, Pa. has been on my Google map for a few years now. I'm not sure how I became aware of this ghost sign. Day & Night Tobacco is not a brand or name I am familiar with. I tried to ...

General Green Mural in Greensburg, Pennsylvania

It's funny how your mind can play tricks on you. How many times in your life have you hear someone say something to the effect of "we see what we want to see"? Standing in this snowy parking lot I snapped a photo of this mural, which reads: I said ...

The Big Banana Split – Latrobe, Pennsylvania

If your town is going to be famous for being "the home of" something, I suppose the banana split is a pretty good something. Even on a cold winters day, this giant, sweet treat will put a smile on your face. This big ice cream is found on Ligonier St ...

Red Mail Pouch Tobacco Barn – Boswell, Pennsylvania

Over the long January weekend, I spent some time wandering the backroads in western Pennsylvania. I seem to have good luck with finding interesting sights out towards Pittsburgh. One of my favorite sights was this Mail Pouch Tobacco barn on PA 985 / Somerset Pike in the town of Boswell ...

Muffler Man – The Greensburg, Pennsylvania Glow Up!

The first time I visited the Greensburg, Pennsylvania muffler man, it was a cold winters day in 2009. Objectively, he was looking a bit worse for wear. The most noticeable flaw being, that he was, well, headless. At the time, he was sporting black and yellow Pittsburgh Steelers colors and ...

Whispering Giant of Winslow, Arizona

Carved out of ponderosa pine, the 40' tall Whispering Giant stands in Winslow, Arizona. When I visited him in October 2023, I was the only person around the park. Just a few blocks away, a line formed in front of the "Standing on a Corner" tourist attraction and the intersection ...

The Giant Spider of St. George, Utah

Now, I know that spiders aren't everyone's favorite critter, but you have to admit that this 17-foot metal beast is pretty awesome. There are lights lining it's eight spindly legs. Utah license plates cover the black window's underbelly and head. Even when they aren't real, spiders have a special ability ...

Sometimes Your Day Ends with Unexpected Dinosaurs – Clayton, New Mexico

While standing in a gas station, I picked the town of Clayton as a place to stop for the night while looking at my phone. My town choice criteria mostly centered around: what was within an hour or so from where I was standing and big enough to have a ...

Route 66: Leaning Water Tower – Groom, Texas

It wasn't until I pulled up to the leaning water tower in Groom, Texas that I really understood that the lean is really pronounced from certain angles. Depending on how you approach it, your reaction might range from, "ok, sure, it's tipped a little" to "damn, somebody is getting fired." ...

Farmington, New Mexico: Large Letter Postcard Mural

Not unlike Sunny the Muffler Man, I spotted this large letter postcard style mural in Farmington, New Mexico out of the corner of my eye while riding down main street. It's in an alleyway on S. Locke Ave ...

Giganticus Headicus – Route 66 Arizona

There were many times when road tripping through the southwest that I tried to find the balance between knowing too much and knowing too little about a place I'd be passing through. On one hand, if you research an area too much, some of the delight experienced through serendipity is ...

Diving Lady Vintage Neon Starlite Motel Sign – Mesa, Arizona

If you grew up in the 70's and 80's you are probably part of the last generation to remember first hand what it was like to commonly see chasing bulb signs, rotating Kentucky Fried Chicken buckets and gas station signs with any regularity. We had a rotating chicken bucket near ...

Route 66: Welcome to Shamrock Texas Mural

When you think about Route 66 and Shamrock, Texas, the first thing that springs to mind is likely the gorgeous vintage Tower Conoco Station and the U Drop Inn Cafe. It is an incredible restored time capsule that deserves all of the adoration and praise it receives. BUT... did you ...

Giant Chicken Army: Red Rooster Bar – Moapa Valley, Nevada

The American Southwest is home to many a giant fiberglass rooster. It’s not entirely unexpected when as I’ve posited before that these feathered beasts are clearly amassing a Giant Chicken Army. This handsome gent who is in very fine nick roosts atop the aptly named Red Rooster Bar in Moapa ...

Muffler Man: Sunny the Big Man – Farmington, New Mexico

My personal experience with Muffler Men over the last decade+ has been largely intentional. When I am passing through or close by a town where there is a big guy, I'll make it a point to swing by and see what's doing. That means I need to be armed with ...