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North America, USA, Yellowstone

Observations on Americana

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I’m not inspired to write this entry. I’ve moved on to thinking about the next trip, and these last little bits are just so random that it makes any remotely coherent writing nearly impossible. But, this could be the last Yellowstone entry, which is great because I already have so many other things to include. Here are the last observations from our half-way across the country road trip.

Buffalo crossing signI was so happy to find the Buffalo Crossing sign to add to the photo collection! In all of Yellowstone, there is only ONE that we saw. The irony is that there wasn’t a buffalo for miles around the sign; they most certainly were everywhere else. We found the sign as we were leaving the park on the last day. Road signs included, there are quite a few differences between Canada and the US that are easily noticed when driving through the United States. None of these differences is a bad thing (well except for one which we’ll get to!)

M sign Overt Patriotism abounds in the US. Not to say that Canadians aren’t patriotic, we just don’t generally plaster the Canadian flag anywhere and everywhere (well, except in Falkland. Maybe they’re a little nutty?). In addition to flags everywhere, each little town along the way had a huge letter on a hillside somewhere on the edge of town, like a teeny tiny Hollywood sign to celebrate the town, but with only the first letter. I can’t remember where the photo of the M is from, but you get the point.

Wade Magers and Jesse Allen Another difference–elected law enforcement. In BC, Sheriffs serve primarily with the court system. They’re involved with jury selection and with transporting prisoners to court cases etc. Whereas, in the US, the Sheriff is seen as the highest member of law enforcement, and is elected by the county he/she serves. As you can see, Wade Magers and Jesse Allen were running for Lincoln County Sheriff** (Kudos to you Wade Magers for winning by over 1000 votes.) Which also brings about the use of the word “County”. Seriously, I bet less than 1 in 10 Canadians could tell you which county they live in. We never use that term. Ever.

The one sick difference–white gravy at breakfast. Biscuits and gravy=wrong! You would be hard pressed to find that in any breakfast/brunch buffet in BC. Vile! And non-sweetened Iced Tea–why would anyone want plain, tasting-like-newspaper-ink actual cold brewed tea?

testy festyWe did see another food item that was particularly interesting. Anyone up for attending the Testicle Festival event next year? Their slogan “You’ll have a ball! If you miss it, you’re nuts.” Klassy with a capital K.
And there were plenty of “interesting” attractions in the small towns we drove through. How about the Jackalope Exhibit?

adopt a highwayThere were literally thousands of Adopt a Highway signs. Every 2 miles for thousands and thousands of miles. I felt like I was being brain washed. Somehow they aren’t as noticeable here. The other uber-depressing marker that there were thousands of–little white crosses along the interstate that mark where someone has died.

And my all time favourite=Smokey Bear. I’ve never seen Smokey used on any fire prevention signs here. That would be awesome, and much more entertaining.
Smokey Bear

Happy Travels,
~j

**The campaign signs were everywhere. Jesse Allen Lincoln County Sheriff became quite the conversation topic. Imagine a made for TV movie staring Tom Selleck as Jesse Allen and some washed up wrestler (like the dude who was a Governor) as Wade Magers. They would have rival moustaches. Ooh, that would be good TV for the ancient demographic.

North America, USA

Montana: The Heathen State

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i90logoMontana has some weird stuff going on. If you drive through Montana on the I-90 you’ll notice that there are a bunch of liquor stores, gun stores, pawn shops, porn shops, and casinos. The road-side billboards are all advertising those same things.  Apparently the license plate slogan should be “The Heathen State” not “The Treasure State.”  Who knew?

In Butte, the billboards aren’t any better than the establishments because they’re all about Meth. I suppose this is all fairly typical of a mining community, or any other small town that is highly independent on one industry (oil, lumber, coal, etc). Apparently the anti-meth campaign has been extremely successful though. The billboards definitely have an impact; I’m a few thousand km away and still thinking about them. My favourite one we saw: “Before Meth I had a daughter, now I have a prostitute.” Billboards and Montanan pass times aside, there were some great finds…

Evel Knievel DaysLike Evel Knievel Days! Who knew that Evel Knievel was from Butte, Montana?!? I’m only sad we weren’t there in July when all the stunts were going down. That would have been classic. There were helium stars and stripes balloons lining the street along with placards hanging from lamp posts to honour this home town hero. At some point in his career Evel Knievel wanted to jump his motorbike across the Grand Canyon, but never did. He did jump 13 Pepsi Trucks though. FYI: His bike is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. Don’t think I’ll be making a special trip there to see it, but if I happen to be in the neighbourhood you never know.

Our Lady of the RockiesThe other find, not much of a symbol of Americana, but also in Butte–Our Lady of the Rockies. (ps: I don’t know how we manage to find so much Catholic iconography on our travels, but we do.) The statue caught our eye from when we were checking out the historic district. Now, thanks to google, I know what it is all about. Here’s a little recap: Our Lady of the Rockies is almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty. Bill O’Bob built the statue for his wife after he promised the Virgin Mary he would build a statue if his wife recovered from her battle with cancer. When she recovered, and the statue was built to honour women everywhere. Another interesting fact–Our Lady of the Rockies sits atop the Continental Divide which we crossed several times during the trip. Stay tuned for the next entry of our exciting I-90 adventure.

Happy Travels,
~j