Shell Service Station, 1111 E. Sprague Street, Winston-Salem, North Carolina ~ May 16, 2026

Eight of these stations were built in 1930 and this is the only one that still exists. Quality Oil was a Winston-Salem marketer of Shell Oil and commissioned local contractors R.H. Burton and his Ralph to build them in the shape of a giant scallop shell.

The station eventually fell into disrepair but was restored in the 1990s by Preservation North Carolina. They had a small office inside until 2011, and the station is now privately owned. You can't get inside but can see through the windows/door. It's a quick stop, 10 minutes tops 😊

The station was placed on the U.S. National Registry of Historic Places in 1994.

Thomas Dambo Dix Park Trolls, Raleigh, North Carolina ~ May 2026

Thomas Dambo creates his trolls from repurposed materials (in this case tons of bourbon barrels) and fallen branches. He's created trolls all over the world and we were lucky to find five of them in Raleigh.

Dix is the baby, holding onto the end of her Mother's tail, which is over 600 feet long.

We followed the tail into the woods to find the Mother.

And there she was, taking a rest with one eye open.

Here's Daddy Bird Eye.

Dux the troll is depicted as if playing a game and hide-and-seek.

And Dax is running away from his brother Dux as part of their game.

There are some nice paths and trails in the woods but keep your eyes open for snakes.

It's a lovely park to explore and even better when you have friends to guide you to the trolls 😊

Madison County Nature Trail, 5000 Nature Trail road SE, Huntsville, Alabama ~ June 1, 2026

In our search for this covered bridge in Huntsville, we found ourselves in a lovely park on top of Green Mountain.

The bridge and the man-made 17 acre Sky Lake were developed and constructed 1974-1975. The park is 72 acres with a 1.5 mile walking trail around the lake. Had it not been drizzling and thundering, we would have taken the entire hike 😊

It's a beautiful place and worth the winding road up the mountain.

After spending a lot of time in cities on our trip, this stop was a refreshing back-to-nature visit 💗