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Wherever we go we encounter BIG roadside attractions. Fitz loves sneaking his way in and photo-bombing as many as he can!
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Another big ice cream cone!
This is the last of Fitz’s big stuff that he found from in Alaska. He found loads of big stuff in the Yukon in 2021 and those were posted then.
This big cone was found in Sterling, Alaska.
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big wooden head!
In 1981, Peter ‘Wolf’ Toth carved a sitka spruce trunk into a 25 foot tall Indian representing area tribes. Part of his ‘Whispering Giant’ series.
Peter Toth, who at the time had undertaken a vow to carve a sculpture in each of the 50 US states. The monument he carved in Valdez was his 40th tribute honoring the United States’ Native American heritage.
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big pile of bobbers!
I just loved this big pile of bobbers outside the Bunnell Street Arts Centre in Homer.
Great find Fitzy!
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big halibut!
Fitz found this one just for the hellibut. 😂
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big silver salmon!
Fitz found this big guy mounted outside a fish processing plant in Homer, Alaska
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big fishing hook!
In 2015 the city of Homer, Alaska completed a repair of the giant circle hook sculpture on the Spit. Apparently it was shuddering in the wind and the city did not want it damaged. Although the 13 foot tall aluminum sculpture built in 2015 by local metalsmiths & welders had only been around since that spring, it quickly became an iconic fixture on the Spit.
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big coffee cup!
Stopped by the big coffee cup in Seward the other day to get Dave a Mexican Mocha. 😋
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big spooky building!
Apparently everyone who visits Whittier asks the same question.
“What’s with the big abandoned building?”
Well… the ‘Buckner Building’ once housed the entire city of Whittier, Alaska. Built in 1949, the compound was renowned as the ‘City Under One Roof’ and was used as a secret and self-contained military base.
In 1964, a massive earthquake hit the area, causing severe damage to the Buckner Building and rendering it unsafe for human habitation. After the earthquake, the military abandoned the facility, leaving it to be slowly consumed by the Alaskan wilderness.
Fitz loves BIG stuff… even if it’s kinda spooky. 👻
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Big tunnel!
Yup, that ole Fitzy whipping thru the Whittier Tunnel yesterday to Prince William Sound on Alaska.
6 minutes to drive the 2.5 mile tunnel at 25mph compressed into 27 seconds. 😂
For more info on the Whittier Tunnel see this same reel on @goingglobal.faves
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big roller skate!
It was just there sitting alone in the sky at the side of what looked like a closed down roller rink in Anchorage.
But… it’s not closed down.
Founded in 1984 Dimond Skateland Roller Skating is apparently the best roller skating rink in Anchorage and is open year round.
Who would have thought as the site looked totally abandoned when we pulled in. The really big skate was great, because we all know - Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big igloo!
Once known as the only ‘year round igloo to be seen in Alaska’.
Everyone has a dream and for Leon Smith (1921-1999) it was to build a giant igloo in Alaska and open it as a resort motel.
Leon began in 1971 and hoped to be open for business in July 1973. The building was to have 58 wedge-shaped rooms opening on a 3 story atrium. The fourth floor was to be the private penthouse of Leon and his wife Lucille.
Leon called the building now 80 feet high & 105 feet wide - ‘Igloo Lodge’.
Leon finished the exterior, plywood covered with snow-colored urethane insulation… and then stopped. No one really knows why. His dreaming, however, didn`t stop. Leon held onto the Igloo for decades. It was renamed ‘Igloo City’ as plans for the resort grew more grandiose, while Leon ran a gas station on the property.
Age finally caught up to Leon in 1996. He sold everything to another dreamer, Brad Fisher. 3 years later, Leon died.
Brad held on for another 11 years, then closed the gas station in 2010 and put the Igloo on the market, where it`s been ever since.
Over the years people have forgotten the Igloo Lodge name - but after a half century of Alaska weather the Igloo is still standing, and still empty.
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big candy canes!
Last of Fitz’s ‘Christmas themed’ big stuff that he found at the North Pole.
These were very cool tho and are the entrance to a big welding shop in the North Pole.
Thankfully ole Fitz didn’t need a true visit to the welding shop.
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big Santa!
Outside Santa Claus House at the North Pole stands the ‘World`s Largest Santa’. 42’ tall with his boots anchored in a base of 8’ thick cement.
He was built in 1968 by Wes Stanley of Stanley Plastics in Enumclaw, Washington. Santa first served as a seasonal display at the Westlake Mall in Seattle; then assumed similar duties outside the old Federal Building in Anchorage.
Con Miller (who started Santa Claus House) bought the 40’ Santa for $4,500 and stood him permanently outside Santa Claus House with his new cement overshoes in 1984. "We have to be careful not to sweep snow off Santa on a -50F below day as the fiberglass gets brittle," said Paul. "One year his arm fell off."
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big pole!
Fitz found the the actual North Pole pole on Monday.
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big ice cream cone!
We found this big cone just off Hwy 3 at Miller’s Market just outside Wasilla, Alaska this morning.
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big mosquitos!
Everything is big in the north and so are the mossies!
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big chair!
This one is a bit lame, but it was there and it was a big chair.
Fitz loves BIG stuff!
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Big wheels!
Big wheels keep on turning… well maybe not these ones as the back one looks a bit flat.
Fitz loves big stuff!
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What do you expect when you go to a place called Chicken on Alaska.
Yup, BIG chickens!
Fitz loves big stuff!
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Big mukluk!
Everything is BIG in Alaska and Fitz is having a great time finding them.
Yesterday he found 4!
Got some great ones coming to you over the next few days like big chickens, big mosquitoes, big wheels & a big chair.
Stay tuned in to Fitz loves big stuff!
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Big igloo church.
Our Lady of Victory church is a major landmark in Inuvik.
The church took 2 yrs to build all with volunteer labour in 1958.
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Big digger!
Couldn’t find any info on this old digger, but it was a big and Fitz found it!
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Big burger!
Fitz found a big burger at the Starlite Dog n’ Suds in Williams Lake
When was the last time you remember eating at at a Dog n’ Suds?
Me… about 1969. 😅
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Big tomahawk!
Have to admit we’ve driven past this many times over the years but for some reason never saw it.
Fitz found it now for as you know… Fitz loves big stuff!!
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Big skis!
Woohoo, Fitz is back on the road in his updated form and hunting for ‘big stuff’ along his travels.
Found a set of the world’s largest cross country skis in 100 Mile House yesterday.
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Big rock 🪨!
It’s been a long time since Fitz was able to go out and do anything after his transformation over the last few months let alone find any Big Stuff.
However, today he really needed a run out so we headed up to @harrison_hot_springs
The Harrison Hot Springs area is home to BC’s legendary Sasquatch.
Fitz found one and narrowly escaped a big 🪨 being thrown by a Squatch. 😂
Great to be out and about and have a bit of fun today.
Thank Fitz!
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Big birds.
They say they are big yard birds but they look a bit like big ducks to me. Still ducks are birds.
The really big one is like a duck submarine.
It’s always fun to search out fun big stuff.
Anyhoo, the duck-birds were really big and we all know ‘Fitz loves big stuff!’
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Big watermelon slice.
Melons are Green River’s specialty but the area is well known for its watermelons.
Their annual Melon Days celebration in September is the highlight of the local social year. Melon-day activities in Green River date back to the early 1900’s.
In 2008 we were in the area getting ready the run the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands with our Disco 2 and we picked up a couple of melons in Green River - wow were they scrumptious!!
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Big rock.
This is Shiprock, it is the most prominent landmark in northwestern New Mexico.
In 1975, Shiprock was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.
Shiprock originated from a volcanic eruption about 30 million years ago and is the remains of an extinct volcano.
The rocks in Shiprock formed when magma solidified in the neck of an old volcano.
Fitz loves big stuff!
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Big owl.
Hitting Albuquerque yesterday Fitz made a bee line for the Owl Café.
Why?
‘Cause it’s a big owl!
The Owl Café has been an Albuquerque landmark since 1986. A 50’s style diner that is helping to keep old Route 66 alive.
We ate lunch there and the place, the staff & the food was awesome right down to those little table top jukeboxes (love those!) Yup, we popped in some quarters and listened to oldies like Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sly & the Family Stone, CCR and more. Such fun!
Fitz loves big stuff!
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