​I created this cover a few years ago, but I chose it for this year’s road trip for a couple of reasons. First, the image I shot ​shows two converging tracks heading for an uncertain destination. For me this pictured exactly how I felt about coming out of a crazy 2020 and looking tentatively ahead to an unknown 2021. Secondly, since all my travel books have song titles, I thought Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way” (featuring Arizona singer, Stevie Nicks) was the perfect anthem. For it  captured my goal to just go where the road took me rather than meticulously plan every route and destination.
 
My motto for my 2021 road trip is “Les(s) Is More”. :-) It means that I will write fewer words and let the photos of the Amazing Places in our extraordinary country speak volumes. It is my hope that in doing so, you will experience some of the same joy, wonder and humor I did when I chose to go my own way. 

Les Maness www.StoriesFromTheRoadLesTraveled.com 

Table Of Contents
01. Go Your Own Way. 
02. Amazing Place: Tourist Home, Flagstaff, AZ.
03. Amazing Places: Zion National Park, UT.
04. Amazing Places: Duck Creek, UT. 
05. Amazing Places: Scenic Byway 12, UT. 
06. Amazing Places: Bryce Canyon, UT. 
07. Amazing Places: Carbondale, CO. 
08. Amazing Places: Carbondale, CO.  
09. Amazing Places: Carbondale, CO.  
10. Amazing Places: Independence Pass, CO.  
11. Amazing Places: Independence Pass, CO.
12. Amazing Places: Twin Lakes, CO.
13. Nikola Tesla’s Lab, Colorado Springs, CO.
14. Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial, Colorado Springs, CO.
15. Highway 50: The Loneliest Road In America.
16. Amazing Places: Dodge City, KS.
17. A Fishing Hole, Hutchinson, KS.
18. Kansas: Where Tornadoes Are Right Up Your Alley.
19. I’ll Take Manhattan (Kansas).
20. We’re Off To See The Wizard.
21. Yep. I Followed It. :-)
22. Everything’s Coming Up Roses.
23. Found Him!
24. Amazing Places: Ortonville, MI.
25. Amazing Places: Ortonville, MI.
26. Amazing Places: Ortonville, MI.
27. Like A Rolling Stone. 
​28. Amazing Places: Raven Cafe, Port Huron, MI. 
​29. Amazing Places: Caseville, MI. 
30. Michigan Vietnam Vets Memorial Island Park. 
31. What's Zappenin'?
32. Amazing Places: Frankenmuth, MI. 
33. Amazing Places: Frankenmuth, MI.
​34. Amazing Places: Beatles & Beans Coffee Emporium.  
35. This Place Is The Real Dill. :-) 
36. Amazing Places: Presque Isle, MI. 
37. Amazing Places: Old Presque Isle Lighthouse.
38. Amazing Places: Ocqueoc Falls, MI. 
39. Amazing Places: Cheboygan, MI. 
40. Amazing Places: Alice's Restaurant.  
41. Amazing Places: Mackinac Bridge.  
42. Interstate 75: Michigan's Driveway. 
43. Lost In The Wilderness. 
​44. Amazing Places: The Cross In The Woods. 
45. Amazing Places: Frankfurt, MI. 
46. The Badger. 
47. Amazing Places: Lake Michigan. 
48. Amazing Places: The Sand Dunes. 
49. Amazing Places: Muskegon, MI. 
50. Amazing Places: Holland, MI. 
51. Amazing Places: The Swinging Bridge. 
52. We're Off To See The Wizard (Again). 
53. The Oldest Business In Michigan. 
54. Hard Core Bikers In Sturgis (Michigan). 
55. Michigan: Woods And Water. 
​56. Keep On Truckin'. 
57. Strawberry Fields, Penne Lane & Octopus' Garden. 
58. Amazing Places: Detroit, MI.  
59. Amazing Places: Detroit, MI.  
60. Amazing Places: Detroit, MI.  
61. Amazing Places: Detroit, MI  
62. Amazing Places: Detroit, MI  
​63. Amazing Places: Detroit, MI  
64. Amazing Places: Wyandotte, MI. 
65. Amazing Places: Wyandotte, MI. 
​66. Amazing Places: Wyandotte, MI. 
67. Amazing Places: Holly, MI. 
​68. Amazing Places: Battle Alley Coffee, Holly, MI. 
69. Amazing Places: Fenton, MI. 
70. Amazing Places: Lansing, MI.
71. Amazing Places: Michigan State University. 
​72. The Portrait Of A Dreamer.  
73. Amazing Places: Brighton, MI. 
​74. Amazing Places: Island Grill, Fair Haven, MI.  
75. Amazing Places: Woodward Avenue.  
​76. Amazing Places: Ferndale, MI.  
77. Amazing Places: Ferndale, MI.
​78. Amazing Places: Royal Oak, MI. 
79. Amazing Places: Detroit Guitar, Birmingham, MI.  
80. Amazing Places: Ann Arbor, MI.  
81. Amazing Places: Ann Arbor, MI.  
82. Amazing Places: Ann Arbor, MI.  
83. Amazing Places: University Of Michigan. 
84. Amazing Places: Clarkston, MI. ​
85. Amazing Places: Clarkston, MI. 
86. Amazing Places: Clarkston, MI (Area).  
87. Amazing Places: Clarkston Conservatory.  
88. "He Leads Me Beside Still Waters."  
89. Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head. :-)
​​
More Chapters Coming Soon! :-) 

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On May 30, 2021, a lifelong friend emailed me to ask if I could come pet sit for her in Michigan. So I packed my car and left Phoenix, AZ just in time to avoid the blistering heat. Since I wanted to do more tourist-like things on my trip, I thought it was only fitting to stop at the Tourist Home in Flagstaff, AZ for breakfast. In the 1920s it was "a boarding house of sorts, where the sheepherders would congregate." Today it has great food and a chill modern day vibe, so there was no need for me to feel sheepish :-) about stopping there. 
 
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No picture could ever truly capture the majesty and jaw-dropping beauty of Zion National Park, so I guess this one will have to do. To drive though the park is to drive through a time itself. Each twist of the winding road reveals a stunning peak or valley that evolved over eons. And thanks to the generosity of a wonderful friend who drove through the park so I could sightsee, I was able to take it all in. 
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Like my website name implies, I love taking the road les(s) traveled. Because it is there that I find some of the beautiful hidden treasures that America offers only to the adventurous. Such is the case of Duck Creek, Utah. The pristine waters amidst the mountain forest seems like something out of a dream. And each step along the shore of the still water is a step closer to restoring the soul. 
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I discovered Scenic Byway12 many years ago and I come back to drive it as often as I can. And apparently, I am not the only one blown away by its splendor and diversity because it was just recently designated an All-American Road. That distinction means it possesses at least two of the intrinsic characteristics of Scenic, Archaeologic, Cultural, Historic, Natural or Recreational Qualities. Note to my fellow road trippers wanting to experience this route, see it on my Google Map from Phoenix, AZ to Grand Junction, CO here.
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There are several roads that will get you from Aspen to Colorado Springs, but none more thrilling than Independence Pass. It is the highest paved road in Colorado and it is only open a few months a year because the rest of time the snow makes the Pass…well, impassible. As for the white knuckle, no guardrail, nearer my God to thee, hair pin turns, let’s just say it has caused me to nickname it “In Depends Pants Pass”. 

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