Below: Giant Skinny Indian at Pratt's Barn, 1225 E. Stone Drive, Kingsport, TN
Kingsport's Indian is at least 30 feet tall. He's been the mascot for Pratt's Restaurant for over 40 years. The local high school teams are "The Indians," so the big brave is an icon of local pride.
The Indian has a rigid pose and is held upright by an external frame across his back. His lack of clothes would freeze any real mountain-dwelling Tennessee Indian, and his big, shiny, black shoes would be useless on the forest trails. Perhaps this Indian is one in transition, just starting his new wardrobe. He seems to be staring at the giant snacks across the street and his hands look ready to grasp the white man's bounty.
above quote from http://www.roadsideamerica.com/map/1221 |
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In Kingsport, Tennessee, Karen
Duquette photographed Big French Fries, a giant Hot Dog, a hugh Shake
and other Giant fast food replicas that are part of the rooftop decor
at this drive-thru restaurant. |
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Below: Karen Duquette loved the odd cows at
Purple Cow Subs and Burgers.
This drive-thru burger joint had one cow by the side of the road, and three cows in front of the building. There was also a giant Hot Dog getting ready to squirt ketchup and mustard on himself, and looking quite pleased about doing it. |
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Below: The Welcome to Bristol sign was one of the nicest city signs the two RV Gypsies have ever seen. The same goes for the Kingsport water tower shown below. |
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Bristol is in Sullivan County, TN. It is the twin city
of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between
Tennessee and Virginia. boundary between the two cities is also the
state line. Bristol is probably best known for being the site of some
of the first commercial recordings of country music. The U.S. Congress
recognized Bristol as the "Birthplace of Country Music" in
1998 and has a museum of the same title. Bristol is the birthplace of
Tennessee Ernie Ford. Bristol is also the site of Bristol Motor Speedway,
a NASCAR short track that is one of the most well-known motorsports
facilities in the country. |
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Below: The two RV Gypsies saw a building shaped like a Guitar in Bristol,
Tennessee:
The "Grand Guitar" once contained a music museum, but that is now closed and the uniquely-shaped building is aging. Located on I-81 North but easily visible from the rest stop on I-81 South, this guitar-shaped building displays a sign for Grand Guitar. Best photo opportunity is across the highway at the rest stop. The Guitar-shaped store is now closed and looks a bit sad now; its strings are broken and hanging down to the ground and some of its windows are broken. |
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Below: UFO and Aliens in a yard in Blountville, Tennessee
Located at the corner of Blountville Boulevard and
Birch Street on the north side of Birch Street, in the fenced yard
of the first house in which is Private property, but visible from
street. When The Two RV Gypsies took the photo shown below, two small
dogs in the fenced yard were yapping their heads off.
The flying saucer and its friendly crew were built
by the owner of the house, Bob Moore. He also built a missile that
sits across the street. Bob passed away in April 2011, but his family
plans to keep the saucer.
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NOTE: For more big oddities that The Two
RV Gypsies have photographed, go to the bottom of almost any page on
this very large website and choose the "Oddities"
button - but first, please continue on with the regular travel menu
below for more adventures of The Two RV Gypsies in Tennessee. There
are always lots of travel choices below most pages. |
AFTER
you have visited all five sites above, 
