American Road Trip Talk

Dr. Cori Convertito, Curator of Collections for the Key West Art & Historical Society, presides over a treasure trove from her office at the Custom House, flagship of four renowned museums in town and an interpretive center of local culture brimming with “southernmost” heritage. Cori shares her insights on a wealth of displays celebrating the freewheeling character of a unique American city un...

Anyone who spends time in Key West, Florida will discover as Ernest Hemingway himself did that this four-mile long stretch of paradise gets into your soul and never leaves. Key West Rebecca, a very popular concierge with seemingly unlimited facts and figures at her fingertips, offers history and advice to travelers headed for the southernmost place in the United States. See Privacy Policy at https...

Austin, Minnesota is home to Hormel Foods and the colorfully interactive SPAM Museum that welcomes many thousands of loyal consumers each year to a veritable shrine that celebrates a product introduced to Depression Era families and American soldiers in World War II, thereafter gaining a global reputation as one of the most versatile food items ever. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy...

Veteran travel writer Amy S. Eckert introduces first-time visitors to the Motor City while helping Detroit residents explore their hometown in the full bloom of its cultural rebirth with an engaging and indispensable guide to enjoying all that Detroit has to offer. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Author, artist and photographer Tony Craig details the venerable history of country stores in North Carolina and then with equal passion guides listeners into the highly competitive (and lucrative) culture of duck decoy artistry. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Tom Cotter is a bucket-list “highway and byway” dreamer who envisions extraordinary road trips and then looks for ways to make his dreams come true. Hear his story of traveling the length of the Lincoln Highway in a classic Ford Model T speedster. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

From Troll Hunts to a massive LEGO display this spring and summer, the Morton Arboretum 25 miles from downtown Chicago offers a destination for nature lovers and day-trippers with exercise and environmental education on the brain. Lots to see, do and learn! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Inspiring Automotive Enthusiasts is the trademark and mantra of Mark Greene whose passion for classic automobiles and the adventures to be had in them can be traced back to his car-crazy boyhood and a surprise visit to the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Erika Nelson, roadside attraction warrior and consummate curator of The World’s Largest Things, returns to share her insights into the Big Tire in Michigan, The House on the Rock in Wisconsin and American Gods, a STARZ network series for the road-tripper in all of us. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Host Gary Mantz and his well-traveled guest Suzanne Mitchell reminisce about their “Great American Road Trip of 2017” from Sarasota to Seattle and back including details of amazing places they encountered. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Holly Barker and her partner Tully Garrett rescued and lovingly restored the legendary Launching Pad restaurant on Route 66 in Wilmington, IL. The massive Gemini Giant statue is the guardian of this grandly reopened treasure featured in the Spring, 2018 issue of American Road Magazine. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not...

Artist Tony Craig shares tales from his prolific career in Disney cartoon and digital animation/production, now entering a third decade; he also reveals a passionate gift for preservation of roadside Americana through his exceptional watercolor art. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Lecompton, Kansas is known as the “Birthplace of the Civil War and Where Slavery Began to Die.” The desperate, even vicious political and military saga of the free-state vs. slave-state division that led to the Civil War is explained in detail by Paul Bahnmeier, President of the Lecompton Historical Society. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://a...

A highly regarded artist and photographer, Jerry McClanahan shares his love for and vast experience of Route 66 dating back to the family treks of his childhood nearly six decades ago up to the present. The Mother Road is deep in his soul and lovingly rendered in his popular artwork, commissioned by people around the world. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Not...

This episode offers a decidedly peculiar assortment of The World’s Smallest Version of The World’s Largest Things, an incredible traveling roadside attraction. Special attention is given to what curator Erika Nelson calls “some of the best offbeat sites in Washington state.” Erika’s versatile brainchild fascinates crowds from coast to coast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Cali...

Greater Miami’s Coral Castle, rated one of the Top 35 museums across the U.S. by TripAdvisor, is featured. The unique complex built by Edward Leedskalnin (working alone!) comprises one of the most mystical and scientifically baffling wonders of the modern world. Ken the Tour Guide shares his expertise and some local history. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy No...

American Road Trip Talk on 1150 KKNW Seattle debuts with an interview of co-founders Thomas Arthur Repp and Becky Repp. Host Gary Mantz talks with the Repps about their partnership both in life and on the open road. Route 66 gets special attention in this episode. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

In the winter of 2018, American Road Magazine published a 15th Anniversary issue of the magazine to highlight the special people and places we have visited during those years. One of our favorites was Terry “Ike” Clanton, a descendant of one of the cowboy cut down in the infamous battle of the OK Corral. The story has always been seen as a paean to Old West rough justice where retribution was swif...

In the rough and tumble days of the late 1800’s, the little town of Sidney, Nebraska was an important military and commercial outpost on the railroad lines that were becoming the arteries of American expansion. It was indeed the wild west, populated by such colorful characters as Buffalo Bill and Calamity Jane and earned the moniker, Toughest Town on the Tracks. In 2017 what was once called Sinful...

One of the great American Road annual events is the Woodward Dream Cruise held each year on a stretch of Woodward Avenue in Detroit, MI that runs from Detroit city limits to the suburb of Pontiac nearly 30 miles to the north. The day features classic cars that have been lovingly cared for traversing some of the oldest paved road in the country. Hundreds of thousands of classic car enthusiasts and...

In our recent volume 15, number 1 there was a story in the Friends in the Fast Lane column about the National Scenic Byways Program 25th anniversary. The Scenic Byways 25! event was celebrated at the US Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, DC. That same month in Kansas a brand-new byway was inaugurated: The Land and Sky Byway. Our guest on this American Road Trip Talk is Roxie Yonkay, byway coor...

After a long hiatus, we are back on the American Road with the folks who are part and parcel of the stories in our magazine. In this first edition, we meet Erika Nelson, one of the authors who has given us a unique view of the American Road’s roadside attractions for over a decade. Erika is kind of a travelling evangelist for folk art both collecting it and encouraging its creation. She has chroni...

Credit the dedication of passionate volunteers like Rusty Davis for finding the links to Michigan's first highway, Hull's Trace. It was part of the road carved out of the wilderness called Michigan and Ohio that followed well worn Native American trails and figured in the failed attempt to hang on to fort Detroit during the War of 1812. Some of that road, also known as Hull's Trace, follows existi...

Our Summer 2016 issue was dedicated to the theme of Comic Strips and the American Road. Our Memory Motel column focused on the Li’l Abner Motel in eastern Kentucky. You might imagine a rustic and rugged haven of rest that matched the cornpone antics of Al Capp’s famous characters like Mammy Yokum, Daisy Mae and Lil Abner himself. But as you will hear from Billy D. Abner, the current provider, that...

The state of Illinois has long been known as the Land of Lincoln because of the wealth of tourist attractions around the 16th President throughout the state. However, Cory Jobe, Illinois’ Director of Tourism, would like you to know that there are three other first executives who call the Prairie State their home. In this edition of Trip Talk, Chris will reveal three main locations for those sites...