American Road Trip Talk

Cowboys, guns, oil, a big blue whale, the world’s largest totem pole, Will Rogers and the true nut house...experience Oklahoma hospitality, the legends of Claremore and Historic Route 66 and all her glory in beautiful northeast Oklahoma! Get the skinny on all the adventure waiting for you when it is time again to venture out on the open road.

The Fort Lewis Military Museum, now the Lewis Army Museum, is a revered (and haunted) stalwart of Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, WA. In 1918 it was the 'Red Shield Inn.’ An actor apparently died when filming the 1927 film 'The Patent Leather Kid' on this site. It is believed that he was murdered on the 2nd floor. Many sightings of an angry spectral actor in a cowboy outfit have been reported. The sound of soldiers marching has been heard on vacant lots. Lights and alarms go off for no apparent reason. Matt Shea reveals more spooky tales from The Evergreen State.

Erika Nelson has been called an “eccentric Kansan” but aficionados of roadside attractions and grassroots artistic endeavors love her for curating the World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things. Erika exhibits them across America and has a bounty of quirky revelations to share.

Cynthia Schreiner Smith is an actor/writer who was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota where she still lives. Since 1998, she has worked at the Wabasha Street Caves in St. Paul, researching, writing scripts and acting as a guide for their historical tours. Cynthia shares her knowledge of the town’s Gangster Era and talks about why the Twin Cities are hardly identical.

Carol Sneed shares her intimate connection with the town of Litchfield, one of the premier locations along historic Illinois Route 66, including details about its fascinating history and impact of the community on the world beyond The Mother Road.

Meet Bryan Yadon. In the spring of 2003, Bryan created Intermountain Guide Service (IGS) and that year on July 4th he began operations as a concessionaire of Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, offering Fly-Fishing, Horseback Rides, and sightseeing tours. Bryan knows a lot about taking a ride on the wild side!

What if you could morph your car into a mobile work of art, and drive it down the road for all to see? What would it look like? What would the world think of you? How would you be changed? These are questions we have for artist and documentarian Harrod Blank whose Camera Van attracts intense interest everywhere he goes.

Dena Marie is a versatile teacher and author of the book "Our Energy Matters". She is also a well-traveled facilitator of retreats to Kauai, Hawaii and now includes Whidbey and Camano Islands in beautiful Washington state to her portfolio. There is a quaint magic to Whidbey Island and Dena Marie enjoys helping visitors discover it.

Stephanie Stuckey recently became the shepherd of her family’s brand. And now, since taking over as CEO last November, she has been on a mission to visit all of Stuckey’s current locations: more than 90, mostly concentrated in the South. As she notes, people on the road still have to stop for gas, a restroom and a snack. Stephanie wants to reignite the retro feel of the ‘60s and ‘70s for which the stores were famous.

Donald R. Schmitt, among the world’s best-known researchers into the Roswell UFO Incident, shares his enthusiasm for the lively town 75 miles from the site of the alleged crash of extraterrestrial “flying saucers” during a violent New Mexico thunderstorm in July of 1947. Roswell has since become a mecca for UFO investigators and otherworldly curiosity-seekers. The desert town has more mundane attractions to offer as well.

Tom Cotter is a legend among car culture enthusiasts and his love of “barn finding” has attracted a following around the globe. He shares stories of discovering obscure collections that surprised him and made him wish these languishing beauties were already restored and back on the road.

Elvis Presley aka The King of Rock and Roll, left a great legacy of popular songs, hit movies and a beautiful home called Graceland which is still a top tourist destination in Memphis, Tennessee. From hardscrabble roots in the delta town of Tupelo, Mississippi to the heights of fame and fortune, the journey of Elvis can be traced from home to home in a single day. We discuss the pilgrimage millions have made by auto with Elvis expert, Cory Cooper.

Our last program of 2019 fondly recalls a wonderful man named Foster Braun who passed away in February: he was a warm-hearted professional whose love of broadcasting and long support of the American Road family left an inspiring Trip Talk legacy. Some honorable mentions of stories from the magazine round out an appreciation of 2019 even as we look ahead to the open road and more adventures to come in 2020.

Exploring the back roads in a state like North Carolina reveals an endless treasure trove of inspiration for artists and photographers like Tony Craig and his buddy on the road, Cotton Ketchie. For them, the next great discovery is just up the road or around the bend.

100 Dream Cars: The Best of "My Ride" is the latest book by car culture aficionado, New York Times best-selling author and Wall Street Journal "My Ride" columnist, A.J. Baime. It was hard to choose but A.J. selected one hundred cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles to fill the dream garage.

Road trips offer an endless array of amazing encounters. Write them down! Book publicist and Road Warrior Julia Brown maintains a journal of all the places she and her husband visit in North America. More than a keepsake, her copious notes prevent memories of great times and great places from fading. (San Antonio Riverwalk scene at aarp.org)

A landmark that takes visitors back to Early California days, Rancho Buena Vista Adobe is a beautiful legacy of the Mission-to-Rancho transition period in what is now the Golden State. Nicole Strickland guides tours of the historic (and reportedly haunted) locale in the city of Vista, 30 minutes north of San Diego.

Stephen Fagin, curator of The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, shares his scholarly insights into the history and lore of the November 22, 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy and describes what visitors can explore at the site today.

Erika Nelson is a Department Editor at American Road Magazine and the founding curator of The World’s Largest Collection of the World’s Smallest Versions of the World’s Largest Things. In this episode, Erika brings her latest stories from the road.

Edward McClelland, author of Folktales and Legends of the Middle West, details the tragic story of Resurrection Mary, celebrated for more than 80 years as Chicago’s most famous ghost. Her identity and untimely death in a car accident are the subject of extensive research and much speculation.