On the Back Roads: Discovering Small Towns of America

by Bill Graves

Do you like small towns, places off the beaten path, trips down memory lane? Ever wonder if old-fashioned values are still alive in America? Then kick back, unwind, and hop onboard with travel writer Bill Graves as he takes you On the Back Roads. Graves has a knack for finding the quirky, the offbeat in some of the most obscure, yet fascinating, small towns on the map. Among the places and faces he a town where it's against the law not to own a gun, a town famous for its split pea soup, the wise 83-year-old Emmy who camps alone in the dessert, and a man who hunts live ants for a living. The list goes on! Retired and free to roam in his motorhome, the “RV Author,” Bill Graves, logs 40,000 miles through the western states of California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming.

Genres: Travel

287 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

Bill Graves is a travel writer known for covering the Western United States in his motorhome. His column, America’s Outback, appeared monthly in Trailer Life Magazine, and his work was featured in The Chicago Tribune, The San Diego Union, Long Beach Press-Telegram, and various travel and lifestyle magazines.
Before his writing career, Graves spent a decade in Hollywood as a military technical advisor on films such as The Winds of War and An Officer and a Gentleman. A retired Navy captain, he served as a public affairs officer for twenty-four years, including two tours in Vietnam between 1965 and 1969.
A Minnesota native and graduate of the University of Minnesota, Graves resides in Palos Verdes, California, when not on the road. He has two grown children living in Southern California.

Reviews

[MaryAlice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this on Kindle via Libby library loans. I enjoyed Mr. Graves' travels. "The freeway is always faster, but the back roads are always more interesting." unknown author A lot of emphasis on elevations. I liked the stories about the people and small town histories. Would give the memoir a higher rating, if someone proofread it.

I could barely go a page without errors. After a while I would read the mistakes aloud, thinking, "I sound like a southerner." A small sampling of typos follows.

What is an "et in?" (suns set in) I am guessing author meant "the sunset in."

Then I past the Mormon Church. (page 178)
...handed the Slurpee t the woman. (page 178)

But you have not iced each group is a family?
yelling above the dies el
said goodbye to my fellow host ages of the storm (RV park drivers stayed during snowstorm for 3 days)


Sett led (Sett used quite often)
be fore
pawn hop (pawn shop)
Acfually
sonin-law
her selve
con duct
sol i ci ting
Jimmy's fat her
to ward
nor really. e
Hoi el
Cali forma (a lot, even though it was spelled correctly on same page as a mispelling)
plat form
feat ure
eve ry
catile (cattle, maybe)
mainl ine
res ort
Nancyn (her name was Nancy without the n)
a coupon good from ants
mass ac re
mass acre
itsinland
ball et
its elf
City fat hers (same page City fathers typed correctly)