Before I left on my road trip with my sister, I set out a short list of goals and plans for what I wanted to share with you from the trip. Included in those goals was to share “photos of me with every ‘welcome to’ state sign” along the way.
Well, I realize it didn’t quite happen like that — mostly because many of the signs were either nonexistent, or simply impossible to stop near on the highway to snap a photo.
So, instead, I’ll share all of them we did manage to find here:
The sign welcoming us to Santa Claus, Indiana — a Christmas-themed town with tons of huge Santa statues everywhere.
The sign welcoming us to Utah. This was actually the most exciting one for us, and the first one that offered a little pull-off space so we could stop and strike a pose.
The sign welcoming us to Arizona.
The sign welcoming us to Nevada, near the Hoover Dam.
The sign welcoming us to Las Vegas! This one has a whole parking lot to itself, and it was full when we stopped.
Okay, so this one isn’t really a “welcome” sign, but I still was pretty excited about it!
The sign welcoming us to Colorado. Along I-70, there were pull-off areas in front of this sign, as well as the one on the opposite side of the highway that welcomed you into Utah.
The sign welcoming us to Nebraska. … This one is perhaps the strangest.
The sign announcing the Iowa 80 truck stop, which bills itself as being the largest truck stop in the world.
I’m bummed we didn’t get photos with signs in the rest of the states we visited (like Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico), but I’m glad I was able to at least partially fulfill my goal!
Do you take funny photos with “welcome” signs when you travel?
Nice sign photos. I wonder if anyone has an album with all 50 states.
Charles McCool recently posted..Travel Tip: Anchor Trips in Big Cities
Thanks, Charles! And that would be awesome if you had photos from all 50 states… maybe I should add that to my bucket list!
Love the pictures. I do the same thing when I can and traveling between states or countries.
Jaime recently posted..A friend (from home) visits me in Munich!
It’s totally touristy, but at the same time so much fun! I’m glad I’m not the only one who does this.
I haven’t but I so want to do this on my next big road trip!
Love them all!
Val recently posted..Ah la la statues in Paris, France
You should!! It was fun keeping our eyes peeled for all the signs. Other than Santa Claus, Utah was really the first one we saw, and we got ridiculously excited about it. Lol.
Enjoyed this! I love taking photos of street signs.
Was it really the world’s largest truck stop? Did it live up to the hype?
Cam @ Traveling Canucks recently posted..Tribute to WWII Heroes on the Banks of Russia’s Volga River
Thanks, Cam! Street signs can be really fun, too. My favorite I have ever seen was “Ragged Ass Road” in Skagway, Alaska. Can anything possibly top that??
And the Iowa 80 truck stop was certainly the biggest I have ever been to. But it was weird. Such an odd collection of things inside! They did have a whole store dedicated to trucks though, where you could basically “pimp your truck.” I found that amusing. Haha.
Great sign photos. Stopping off for sign photos and at large/silly/strange roadside attractions is the best part of a road trip.
Alouise recently posted..The Amazing Moving Forest
It’s definitely one of the best parts, yes! We stopped at a lot of the roadside attractions, too.
Awesome pics – we love our signs too and have plenty in front of the Los Angeles ones! We were disappointed we missed out on the Las Vegas sign (again!) but chose to have a big night out on our last night instead of finding a way down there… true Vegas style I guess.
Kieron recently posted..Road Trip Day 7: Santa Monica
I’ve seen some of your LA finds (like the Beverly Hills sign — nice!). And I suppose sacrificing the Vegas sign for a big night out is worth it!
Awesome idea! I really REALLY want to do this haha.
Lauren recently posted..Lake Balaton: The strangest place in Central Europe
Thanks, Lauren! I only wish we could have found more… Next time I guess! I’d love to try and “collect” all 50 if that’s even possible!
i absolutely love this collection you took! and the poses are great too hehe!
i’m a film graphic designer and i do movie signage all the time – these are so much fun and really inspirational for my project library. i shared your post on my facebook wall too… thanks for capturing such wonderful americana
Thanks, Carrie! Your job sounds really interesting! I’m glad my silly photos might be able to help you out with your project library! That’s awesome.
This is a great fun post! I love all the excitement you show at each welcome sign.
Debbie Beardsley recently posted..European Soccer Fans in Budapest
Thanks, Debbie! What can I say — I’m a pretty excitable kind of girl!
Really cool series of pic! Now you have to take pictures of those around the world
Alex recently posted..Eating like the locals in Singapore
Glad you liked them, Alex! It would be fun to collect these from all around the world. I’m going to have to try now!
Looks like you’re are planning to visit all states in america huh? lol Now you already have one mission for every trip that you’ll have… That is to get some welcome signs pics! Hoping to see more!
Maria Pavel recently posted..How to Retake the CNA Test
It would be great to visit all 50 states, for sure! I think I’m maybe about halfway there now… still a long way to go!
Nice to know that you’ve already visited lots of places now. I guess you really need to plan your schedule in having trips from time to time especially now that you’re back to school.
Maria Pavel recently posted..Lost Your CNA License? How to Get it Back
We wanted to do the same thing on our road trip through the South East, but we came across the same problem – many of the ‘Welcome’ signs are posted where it is impossible to stop! We tried to snap as many as we could while we drove by but that’s not the same. We tried to get pictures of license plates from all 50 States instead
Globetrottergirls recently posted..Great American Road Trip: NYC2NOLA **Extended** (Is there ever really a final destination for nomads?)
It’s a shame you can’t get up close to some of the signs, isn’t it? Cool idea trying to get photos of all 50 license plates, though! How many did you manage to “collect”?