Just returned from a road trip

 I just got back from a seven-day bike trip down into the states. Our route took us through a number of small towns in Montana / Idaho / Oregon and Washington. It seemed each town had its own character, mostly due to the architecture and of course, the signs. There were so many different styles and types of signs in these towns, that you could only imagine how many generations of local sign painters had plied their trade to the walls, windows and such over the years. Because I was riding with a group, it was hard to stop and take pictures without falling behind the pack. I think I'll plan a ride by myself, or with someone who also shares my interests, so I can explore and document all the visual eye-candy these little gems of towns have to offer. A lot of the towns seemed to have been founded in the late 1800 or early 1900, so you can imagine the sign work that had been done over the years. I was also surprised to see how many of these small towns seemed to be turning into ghost towns, so many vacant or boarded up shops on their main streets. I'm sure they were bustling little centers in their day, but with the closing of a factory or plant, or the Interstate that was built with no exit to the town, had fallen into despair, and would eventual die. Riding though cottage country and the tourist areas around the many lakes, I couldn't help to notice that a lot of the road side signs were still hand painted, your can tell them by their layouts and flair. I'm sorry I didn't have more time to take pictures, but at least I managed to get a few. If your interested in checking out the bike trip I was on, you can follow the link to: http://pcacanada.blogspot.ca/ to see the trip blog and photos. Thanks for dropping in.