Forgotten Small Towns Thru Middle Of Indiana & Central Ohio - Hidden Backroad Gems In Rural America
Transcript
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welcome everyone Adam the woo here as
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the recording of this it is Saturday
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June
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22nd
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2024 I am standing here in
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rosville Indiana I believe that's the
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name of the community has the sign L
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mural right here on the side I'm going
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to be taking about a
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450 give or take mile road trip over to
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the Pennsylvania state line going
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through two states right through the
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middle of Indiana where I'm starting off
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at directly through know give or take a
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few miles the middle of both States
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Indiana and
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Ohio all back roads all small towns well
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the majority of back roads and small
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towns and just see what I can find it's
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a little warm
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today I compared to Florida probably not
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hot but definitely warmer than I
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expected to be here this time of the
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year I think there's a a a heat wave
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rolling through and of course piping hot
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caffeinated beverage
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to help that
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along oh that's hot join me good to have
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you here shall you
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Rossville see this painting here it's
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got the Old Mill to be honest I don't
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even know if they're having a heat waer
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if it's even extra hot here than it
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usually is just one of the locals when I
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was going in the store to purchase this
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coffee walked in and immediately goes
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hot hot
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outside so I just assume that this area
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is getting a little warmer conditions
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than it usually is it's a catfish place
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here this is their little downtown
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area that's all boarded up over
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here it's a place called Ares
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Aries there's the town
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hall not really any bumper-to-bumper tra
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traffic through here but there are some
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there some traffic pulling through town
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the taco place that must be the
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newspaper right there called
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headlines cute little
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town going to be seeing a lot of these
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types of towns
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today as I roll through two states here
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in the
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Midwest Fly Over States they call them
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in fact many times I've flown by them
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flown over them but also many times I've
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driven through them even though I've
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never driven through this this town
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there's going to be a lot of towns I
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haven't driven but yeah love the back
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roads didn't have to go too far up the
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road before hitting the next little area
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called sadelia I believe it's
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pronounced again I'm probably going to
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mispronounce a lot
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of names different
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pronunciations of places the farming
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Community as well this is the post
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office right
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here this little spot right there in the
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middle
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but they do have a post office most
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towns do they have nothing else they
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usually have a post office at this
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Crossroad here go a couple different
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directions I'm still going
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eastwardly just passed through an area
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known as Shanghai that's the name of the
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town really wasn't anything in it was
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just like one house
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yeah never realized there was a Shanghai
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Indiana when passing through cooko no
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The Beach Boys did not name that song
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after this
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town but when passing through cooko
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Indiana one must
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always say hello to the Coco
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mantis the Coco Mana still exist I had
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heard a rumor that this was moved and
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evidently that is not true at all it is
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still here in all its Glory it's been
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quite a while since
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I said hello to you Coco
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mantis the
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Mantis of cooko
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very iconic made famous when steo from
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Jackass was here long time ago and
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climbed to the top of
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it sat on its head I will not be doing
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that just passing through Coco mantis
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just passing through but it's definitely
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good to see you and remember that the
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Coco mantis says please don't climb on
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me he's
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ticklish Coco mantis
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is
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ticklish lots of corn springing up out
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here lots of corn let bring it up
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according to this sign this is the only
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swayy in anywhere in the
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world says the only swayy in the world
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so evidently there is not another town
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village community or area designated
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with the name suy 1964 state record
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holder nine
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basketball
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overtimes not sure exactly what that
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means nine overtimes in one
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game either
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way the only swayy in the world
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there's Garfield with a basketball
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downtown
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swayy the only one in the world which
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would mean that this is the only swayy
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water tower in the
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world you know a lot of different town
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names and a lot of states have the same
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town names in different states but
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evidently not
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CR this used to be train tracks see a
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lot of places that had former train
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tracks that end up turning it into a
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walking and biking trail and that's what
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happened
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here this is the old train depot area
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bird just flew by in fact there is
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another
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Garfield cell phone charging station
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right here
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we need to juice
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here oh this is College Bound
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Garfield Garfield traveled the rails to
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college I never realized that I never
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realized that's how you that's how you
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went to college the door is
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locked I do have the ramp up here you so
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choose well that's interesting over
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there in this yard there is a chess and
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or checkerboard
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Court full size well
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oversized right
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there the significance of this bike up
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here well there's also a bird's nest
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there on the handlebars this is bikes
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peak elevation
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864 ft above sea level
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yeah not Pikes Peak bikes Peak looks
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like there's a little diner here the
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Sweetser switch Trail enter in
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there got a bird up here frying up some
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something in the pot also got a little
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coffee pot up top here and some bacon
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and eggs and that plate right there
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this is the
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downtown they even have a little display
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over here called yesteryear farming part
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of the Historical Society Place some
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items the tools of the
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trade something I know very little or
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nothing
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about but it is fascinating to to watch
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Farmers out there
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tilling their crops and
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now water tower in the distance also
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this King Euro Place took over an old
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neon
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sign restaurant's only been open since
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1990 you can tell that sign's been there
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a lot
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longer bulbs are all gone out of the era
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also here in this town I forgot about
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this and I was right driving by I was
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like oh James Dean up
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there but it had slipped my memory that
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James Dean was born in
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Marian Now Fair Mount I recall Fair
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Mount that he grew up and lived there
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but he was
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born here on this site stood the Seven
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Gables where James Dean one of the most
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charismatic and idolized movie actors of
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all time was born
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February 8th of
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here started in only three major Motion
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Pictures what a movie star to only have
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been in three films of course he passed
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away very young East of Eden Rebel
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Without a Cause and
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giant and I've been to the spot where
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that accident took place I've done a lot
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of James Dean
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house there he is there he is and
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there's the marker born on the
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site van beIN
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bike I am just going to assume that this
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railroad track here is also not working
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you can see a lot of the broken boards
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there the grass has grown up
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of course I'm assuming that but I'm also
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not going to keep my car on the
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tracks cuz you never
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know you never know
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well
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hello hello
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donkeys hello
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donkeys
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hello know why I get excited about
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animals especially ones you don't
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normally see you see a lot of cows and
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horses but well you know what are these
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minial these might be minial horses
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or are they donkeys I think they're
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donkeys there a little baby donkey or
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baby miniature horse I think they're
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miniature horses to be honest I don't
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know what these
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are but they're very
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cute you're very
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donkeys all right over here at this
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intersection
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these cross streets local traffic can
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only go that way so no no major
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traffic but take a look at this it's
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almost like a Muffler Man except it's
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not a muffler man but it is
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similar to a Muffler
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Man except this gentleman is holding
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looks like it's an ice cream
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cone do not know what he was originally
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designed to be holding possibly an axxe
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I don't think it's a Paul bunan maybe it
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was
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bu Muffler Man both the hands would be
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out outstretched instead of him grabbing
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his collar there or his jacket
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coat it used to be an ice cream place
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doesn't look like the ice cream place is
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open the sign still over there he still
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got the ice cream
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cone and this place is just sitting here
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empty it's called Covered Bridge gallery
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and fine gifts
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look like they might be doing something
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to reopen it but as of right
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now just empty here on these cross
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streets out here on this
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Farmland pretty neat as I was driving up
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from about a half mile down I'm like oh
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is that a muffler man then I got closer
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I realized it's
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not don't think I've ever seen one quite
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like this
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before roadside Giant
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here Baldwin Park is the name of it they
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built it in 1945 according to that
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rock
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sketching yeah old swing sets up
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here very old swing sets
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need to get some gas too running low on
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fuel so going to going to fuel up in
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this town oh wow I see Another Roadside
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giant up
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here all right cool also take a look at
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the mural on the side of this
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building look at
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this corner of Main Street and State
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Road 18
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Godfree Reserve reserved by us to Chief
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franos
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Godfrey Miami Nation Indians by a treaty
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of St Mar's back in
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188 reading that sign right
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there there's a gingerbread man holding
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another gingerbread man it's kind of
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interesting
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the sculpture was given to the city back
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in 18
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1984 by Larry Godfrey Chief Miami
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Indians like little murals on on the
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wall over here some of the local stuff
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raise concrete grass Masters the motor
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speedway all right now getting some
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fuel price of gas in this area of
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Indiana
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$345 here at the package
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sack the pack and Sack
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Direction look over here there's a whole
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service station over here oversized stop
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signs you got the blinking red light and
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the oversized stop signs also huge stop
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signs just so you know you need to do a
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four-way stop here got the packet sack
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all right this is
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Trinity this must be the Trinity
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Church a little SU next to it I think
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this is the last town on this road
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before Crossing out of Indiana and into
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the Ohio State over the Ohio State Line
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Trinity I think that was it there it is
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the state line so I'm in Indiana right
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now but there is marker zero of
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Ohio the heart of it
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all and also open daily 10:00 a.m. and
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on
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is in O's Indiana and Ohio's in O's
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State Line Bar and Grill it's a clever
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name there's a
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line bird is on either side of the state
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of Indiana and Ohio
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hello bird W bash this is W bash Street
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in W bash now there is a w bash Indiana
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I think there is this is W bash Ohio
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right over the state line first town
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over the state line on the road that I
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was traveling on there's the W bash
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church I never knew there was such a
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thing as the Quilted Rock a rock that is
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painted like a quilt
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but in fact there is right here
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designated the quote quilted
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Rock the entrance to a stone
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company right there says Stone company
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with the arrow down that
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road this piece of Mill Machinery as
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well here at the Quilted
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Rock had to pull over and check out
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this massive B Bolder painted like a
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quilt carry it on that way Eastward all
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right this is cute a little bit bigger
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than a small town but this is
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Selena look at this nice really great
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onto Forest
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now says so right there on the side of
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the brick Freight house that is now the
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library it's also known as Tree
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Town see the sign over there says Tree
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Town the side of the downtown area also
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a little Dairy Barn over here nice retro
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Pepsi
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signage getting out stretching the legs
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walking
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around yeah Tree Town this evidently was
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the Tree Town Inn at one time also here
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on this main drag there's the post
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office right over
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there all right hopped on the freeway
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for about 20 mi just to make up some
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time covering a lot of ground but now
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getting back off onto the back roads
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again small highways and
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whatnot so there is an
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empty it's like an old service station
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over there a mechanic shop but really
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the reason I pulled over here was take a
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look at this radio former radio station
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that eventually became a family
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restaurant and then the family
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restaurant
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closed but I'm going to say that this
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was a radio
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station or maybe it just says restaurant
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you know what it might have just been a
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restaurant but looking at the front of
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it it just seems to me that it would
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have been a radio station but now now
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that I'm looking at it I could be wrong
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I saw the little Tower
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there I thought maybe it was a radio
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station Tower but maybe it wasn't either
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way in my mind could have been a radio
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station see what else I can find down
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down this
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way wow here's a
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relic kind of thing you'd see in front
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of an old super what do I say super not
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super center what's the word I'm looking
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for shopping center
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or grocery store put a quarter in there
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the
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motorcycle
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Gates got the grain elevators over there
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and take a look over here little train
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car over by the side of the road I know
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I'm going to mispronounce this name but
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the city of
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bosis buyus
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Osiris home
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of Harry Martin recipient of a
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Congressional Medal of Honor back in
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1945 also a couple track
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Champs and a pole vault
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champion and take a look at this this is
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pieces of railroad track here as
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well oh you know what this is a
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miniature Rail Road wow there's like the
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one they have in Griffith Park out in LA
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okay was not open anymore or today
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anyway but there's the miniature
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railroad of course one in Griffith Park
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the track and I believe some of the
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trains came from Walt's place carolwood
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address before the carolwood barn was
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moved over there but what this reminds
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me
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of
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yeah I was thinking it was just
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something when you pulled in a town you
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could get a photo with but in fact fact
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it is a miniature ridable
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railroad spot that's
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neat you always think of the movie The
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Jerk also there was a scene like that
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with a miniature Railroad and down the
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way on the outskirts of this town it's
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an old
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Sinclair Gas Station here looks like
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it's been fixed up a little bit since
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the olden days but still has that
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rustic historical charm to
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it got a snow plow there behind the gas
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pumps on the front of
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truck Barney Barney 5 mobile and I said
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that just looking at
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it cuz it reminded me of andyw Griffith
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Show Barney 5 but think a look it
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actually has Sheriff Mayberry right
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there on the side
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too it's an old GMC
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Sinclair truck behind there as well it's
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a
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firewood bunch of signage
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right here at the base of the Town water
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tower right over there continued on a
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bit and I am now in Mansfield a place I
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have been before the
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first one of the first few filming
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locations I did with sha Shank
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Redemption that took place in quite a
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few places around Mansfield but
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mostly in this building right
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here the old Ohio State
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Reformatory which does tours
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again I covered the whole movie very
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detailed years and years and years ago
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but it is always nice to go go back by
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here but it's already so late in the day
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they they've closed the tours but this
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is definitely worth stopping in and
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doing a tour of the shaw Shake spots
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inside the old re Reformatory that's
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just so dang cool what a fantastic
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movie A Perfect film