Explore the Ely family’s rich tapestry of travel stories, tips, and adventures in the world of RVing.
Quirky and Creepy Carved Sandstone Faces
Roadside Attractions and Curiosities Nelson, Nebraska Located in Nelson, Nebraska along US Highway 14/Main Street and W. 4th Street is the WM Stansbury Building. The building is in the Southwest corner of the intersection. Look for “Al’s Hardware” painted on the north side of the Stansbury Building. There are 12 faces carved into in sandstone,…
Keep reading
Roadside Attractions & Curiosities — May 25, 2025 — Casey, Illinois
We were planning on driving from the St. Louis area to the Erie, Pennsylvania area today. We had RV reservations for the night at Presque Isle Passage RV Park. It was going to be a long day of driving, and we wanted to break it up a little bit, so we decided to look at…
Keep reading
Roadside Attractions & Curiosities — May 24, 2025 — Topeka, Kansas — The Fire Hydrant House
I’ve long been interested in photographing fire hydrants. I can blame my friend Greg for that. We were walking around New York City over 15 years ago and I noticed he was checking out fire hydrants. I asked him what the hell he was doing, and he told me that he was reasonably certain that…
Keep reading
Roadside Attractions & Curiosities — Abilene, KS — May 24, 2025
Ro, Sanni, and I left Superior, Nebraska around 10AM on Saturday, May 24. Our destination tonight was Granite City, Illinois. On the way we wanted to stop in Abilene, KS to see a couple of Roadside Attractions. Namely, the World’s Largest Spur and the World’s Largest Belt Buckle. Abilene, Kansas was the boyhood home of…
Keep reading
Roadside Attractions & Curiosities — Norton, Kansas — May 2025
I found myself traveling east through Kansas again in early May. As with most trips through eastern Colorado and continuing through northern Kansas, it was quite windy. I’ve stopped expecting it to be anything but windy on this route. I was returning to Superior, Nebraska for family business, but I wasn’t under time pressure, so…
Keep readingRoadside Attractions & Curiosities — Station 15, Norton, Kansas — January 2025
I’ve driven on Highway 36 through Norton, KS probably upward of a hundred times. I’ve started stopping here more frequently to fuel up both myself and my vehicle as I journey between home, in Broomfield, Colorado, and where I grew up in Superior, Nebraska. I’ve known for a couple of years that there is a…
Keep readingLeg 4: Southwest US Trip–Carlsbad Caverns
Carlsbad Caverns are jaw-droppingly spectacular. We’d seen pictures of course and knew that it was a big hole in the ground but I was still shocked by the scope of the Big Room and the otherworldly rock formations. I couldn’t stop shaking my head in amazement. It was also amazing that there is…
Keep reading
Leg 3: Southwest US Trip: Roswell, NM
11-25-2023 It was not a fun day of driving. We left Dodge City in the dark and snow at 6AM. It was not snowing at 4:45AM, but there was an inch or so on the ground by 6AM. The temperature was about 22F and it never got above freezing until we were west of Hereford,…
Keep reading
Leg 2: Thanksgiving & SW US Tour (Superior, NE to Dodge City, KS) November 2023
It was overcast all day, but an uneventful drive mostly. There was no precipitation yet, though it was eminent across most of western KS, western OK, and the Texas panhandle. We were driving right into the core of the winter storm and by the time we were planning on being awake on Saturday, there could…
Keep readingMoral of the Story: Do you have a “Before You Leave” checklist?
Leg 1: Thanksgiving & SW US Tour (Broomfield, CO to Superior, NE) November 2023 Night 1: Before you set out on the road, especially in the winter months, you really should execute an RV checklist before you depart. It is easier to make sure your propane heater and Wi-Fi are working when it is…
Keep readingSomething went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.