Many miles between stops — bucolic farm land that has gotten pretty damned boring by this point in the trip.  And it’s just a reminder of what’s to come this weekend.  I remember when I was growing up they said freeways of the future would be something where you’d hook up your car or just get in a lane — and you’d be carried along automatically somehow.  What ever happened to that?

Let’s start with this building in St. Joseph.  Built in 1917 so it pre-dates Art Deco – but much in the same vein:

 

For you fiberglass fans out there — a giant fish in Rockville.  At Rockville Gas & Bait:

 

From Sauk Centre — stained glass and glass checkerboard:

Also Sauk Centre:

From the same building:

From Osakis — a cowboy at Osakis Meats & Deli.  I’ve seen a lot of cowboy statues in my time but this is a new one on me.  Similar to the bucking bronco type but obviously always a seated type.  I thought for a moment about doing a group shot of the dogs, me & this guy — but there was nobody around to take the photo.  More cowboy statues if you want ’em here:
http://agilitynut.com/giants/cowboys.html

 

Off to Alexandria.  I drove the three blocks to see what other kind of sign the Viking Motel might have — bummer, plastic.

 

Still Alexandria.  Fans of my Flickr stream can identify this one in a heartbeat.  A futzed-with Sinclair gas station.  You know from the little roof tiles, the peak above the sign, the little Art Deco caps on the columns.  The canopy portion was filled in — as many of them have been.  A little Texas collection — still adding (interrupted by this trip) — for compare/contrast purposes:
http://www.agilitynut.com/gas/txsinclair.html

 

And, last one for the day (keeping it short so I can get a bit of extra zzzs for the highway hell to come) — from DeToy’s Family Restaurant in Madison:

That’s a broaster chicken — looks like this sign had neon.  Same top-hatted company chicken / advertising symbol as these statues:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/4867349843/

Way more than I want to know as a vegetarian — but maybe you’re interested in the company’s concept:
http://www.broaster.com/about.htm

 

So — no “real” post with photos tomorrow.  Probably just a quick texty “hi” this weekend to let you know I’m alive. I don’t know if Hurricane Irene will be waiting for us.  At the moment, they’re saying direct hit with NYC on Sunday.  But, most likely, I’ll post Friday’s photo batch on Monday or Tuesday.