My Return To Kokomo Indiana - The Kokomantis / Old Zoo Remnants / Unusual Attractions Around Town
Kokomo Indiana October 2020
Transcript
0:03
oh yes
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we meet again coco mantis
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not gonna climb on you because you're
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ticklish
0:12
but we meet again under the shroud
0:18
of the sun rising early morning in
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kokomo
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indiana this 12 13 maybe 14 foot tall
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creature of the shrubs
0:32
coco mantis we meet again
0:36
welcome everyone adam the woo
0:40
here it has been a year and a half maybe
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two years i have lost
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track of the last time i was in
0:47
the state of indiana and never as far
0:50
back as i can recall have i
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visited during the month of october but
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i decided
0:56
heck it fly flew out yesterday
1:01
hanging out with my sister the next few
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days who lives
1:04
in the vicinity and this
1:07
is a almost a vicarious stomping ground
1:11
for me a secondary home if you will
1:16
even though it's been a while since i
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hated to visit i'm just going to wander
1:19
around
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and check and see if anything has
1:22
changed reminisce
1:25
and showcase what there is in this neck
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of the woods
1:30
claim to fame that the coco mantis has
1:33
if
1:34
if there is any is stevo from jackass
1:37
climbed up on this and perched on his
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noggin
1:40
many many moons ago
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i'm not i'm not going to do that because
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he just doesn't like it i'm inviting you
1:48
to join me
1:51
oh it goes it's brisk out here i might
1:53
have to get a
1:54
purchase a hoodie or a jacket at some
1:56
point and a coffee
1:57
a piping warm caffeinated beverage is in
2:00
my immediate future join me shall you
2:04
whether the mantis wants to be or not it
2:08
is
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more or less the unofficial mascot of
2:12
this
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tiny quaint community
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looming over the traffic
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i love it look how tall that thing is
2:24
take a look at this
2:48
a little harry potter going on here in
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indiana
2:49
at the moment it's 51 degrees it's a
2:52
little brisk but it's going to warm up
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very quickly within the next couple
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hours
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it's going to be very tolerable so i
2:57
think i can hold out
3:00
without getting a jacket in all honesty
3:04
it kind of feels colder than it really
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is it's a
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maybe i'm just not acclimated to a hands
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maybe it's nowhere near
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the freezing temperatures at all it's
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not near 32 degrees or under but my
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hands are
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are feeling it so the sun needs to to
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get up higher elevated don't worry
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there will be no train going through
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here this
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this track this rail is not quite
3:30
operational anymore goes off into the
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shrubs there
3:44
very grown over from this direction as
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well
3:59
the walkway continues underneath
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washington street
4:01
there's a painting here a butterfly
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instead of crossing over the road you
4:07
just go
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under this this beautiful
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artwork
4:23
just enjoying the day up there huh
4:23
squirrel
4:36
yup chowing down on something
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that reminds me i need i need to have
4:38
makeshift breakfast in the form of
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a coffee i'm gonna go get one now
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okay see you later squirrel following
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what is now
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kind of protocol more or less you don't
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want to shake hands
4:57
you want to give a see i don't want to
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shake your hand but you're doing the
5:00
fist bump so
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yeah it's just 2020
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the greeting initiated
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good to see you
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name the jackrabbit i believe this has
5:17
been repainted and repurposed and
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tidied up just a bit since the last time
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i was here
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i think a trolley just went by yeah look
5:30
there's a trolley
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this homestead is being attacked by cobs
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notice all the all the cobb webbing
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here and all the ghouls
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upon its porch perfect place for a cup
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of joe
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is next door at the storybook express
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it's a drive-through and very unique
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looking building
6:00
with a front door that is
6:03
something you don't see every day
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not your typical store to get
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you know sodas and candy and whatnot
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fresh
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brew achieved bean town gourmet
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except it's i would say it's classified
6:21
as lukewarm it's not
6:23
not as toasty as i like but it'll it'll
6:25
do the trick
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about a mile or so away
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arrived at highland park
6:35
and it's always the little things that
6:37
are exciting
6:39
like the leaves falling from the trees
7:10
nothing says americana quite like well
7:10
there's a lot of things that do but
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a covered bridge certainly is
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one of those things this states vermont
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1875.
7:29
transferred from a different state
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obviously
7:31
a little placard here that says
7:35
removed and brought to highland park in
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1975
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a vermont bridge
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okay i stand corrected 1875 is when it
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was in vermont and it was moved here in
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it's got some some lights there
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up top
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i can't be the only one i know i've
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stated this before i can't be the only
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one
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that thinks i'm beetlejuice when you see
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a covered bridge like this
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no vehicles allowed though they put the
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little stanchions at the end so
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no car can drive over here get
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distracted by a dog
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and drive off the side that can't happen
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in here anymore because of the
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barricades
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got to see if old ben is still over here
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maybe it's big ben i know it's ben
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but i can't remember which if it's old
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or
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big old ben at birth he was acclaimed
9:03
the largest
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calf in the world and was an object of
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wonder
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born in january of 1902
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placed here to appear to be grazing on
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some hay
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oh ben
9:28
good to see you again buddy not really
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sure if
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the perspective shows up you know as far
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as camera wise versus being here in
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person
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you kind of get the general idea he's
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about
9:39
my height i'm six foot three and i'm
9:42
kind of parallel with the top of his
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back
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and after re-reading that signage says
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height
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at four quarter is six
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foot four so yeah just about the same
9:57
and in the next room over behind this
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glass window i'm peeking in
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is a gargantuan sycamore stump
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zykius would could utilize that thing
10:10
to no end originally stood in the west
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end of howard county about two miles
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north of new london along the north bank
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of
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scenic wildcat creek
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100 feet tall storms broke it down
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but it had a 57-foot circumference
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of one of its lower branches
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you see how it goes all the way up to
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the
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to the ceiling roof line there
10:47
the structure that houses both those
10:47
items has been recreated in model form
10:50
and is also placed inside its doors
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looks as if it it might light up there's
10:58
a plug in there
11:00
that's not in an outlet
11:07
there's the recreation
11:07
behind the glare of the glass as well as
11:10
that covered bridge
11:12
and miniature scale nicely done
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according to this quilt the stump used
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to be
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open-aired it didn't have wasn't in the
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current building
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it was under a little vestibule there
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back in the day
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as i wander around noticing
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there's a a bridge of some sort maybe
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for
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a railroad line perhaps it's just kind
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of tucked away in there going over
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over the creek you can see it from this
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perspective a little better
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yeah rusted out metal piece over there
11:50
across the waterway
12:03
making some noise down there get the
12:03
rock work
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this aluminum bridge here this really
12:09
dates back
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quite a while quite a ways
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incredibly peaceful out here
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i love it it took a little walking
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around for me to find i never
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have noticed this before
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but at the bottom of the parking area
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the parks department building are
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remnants
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of the old zoo that used to be out here
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that closed in the 30s
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you could see some of the embankment
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here we're not there
12:48
at the bottom of the embankment where
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is and you can even see how the ground
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you know over time
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has kind of elevated up a little bit and
13:02
covered
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that hole there this is pretty dang
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awesome
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it has been a while since i've been away
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from
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you know bigger areas metropolitan
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sections you know i've gone to orlando
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area i've been los angeles i love living
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in orange county california and no plans
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to move however
14:00
you know 2020 i had some some things
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formulating in the mind i was going to
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to do and document and that did not
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happen
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you know for all of us this year has
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been a little bit wacky
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next year i have some ideas those ideas
14:17
that i was
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going was going to to do this year
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next year will be happening a reformat
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a i'll say a rebranding but there will
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be more of
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more road trips more of this type of
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stuff i'm not going to give any of that
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away now but
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i really miss i miss this type of
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this type of content i do a wide variety
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a wide
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range of stuff from theme parks
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filming locations roadside attractions
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stuff like that but
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it's just something about this
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small town life documenting things which
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are easily
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overlooked all across the u.s
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so just keep that in mind and i'll keep
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it in my mind as well 2021
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okay moving on it's a nice little tie-in
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that i'm driving a car
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because right up here is a little
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history pertaining
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to the automobile
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on july 4th 1894 elwood
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haynes made the first test run
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of an automobile which he designed and
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built
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this car reached a speed of seven miles
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per hour over a six-mile course
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down the pumpkinville pike and looks to
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be
15:43
some sort of uh abandoned production
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facility a warehouse back there
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that's no longer being used at least
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from this angle
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during these times
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no cars in the parking lot and if you
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follow the road up a couple blocks
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is another designation here in kokomo
16:07
not the beach boys song that they were
16:10
referring to
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which is not a real place this one
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however
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is tablet marks the road
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and starting place
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on july 4th 1894. now both of these
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markers are a couple blocks from each
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other
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i believe the one down the way was where
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the car was built this is where he
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started the drive
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seated in america's first car
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made the initial run here the birthplace
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of a new era of transportation the
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nucleus
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and beginning of the automotive
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industry 1893
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or maybe 1894. that's why there's a
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a dash there
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pretty cool right i would imagine most
17:08
that
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crews buy this
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are going a little too quickly to even
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read the
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the small print there or even know
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what happened right here on this corner
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unless they're locals it's it's it's
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good local lore
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oh someone's speeding off there they're
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recreating the moment
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except the original car i think only
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went under 10 miles an hour
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so probably didn't speed off and squeal
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like that
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that's gonna do it for today
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