Category Archives: Animals

This is one great Big Pig! It was an unexpected treat to find him in front of Rocky Top Exchange on SR-46 in Spenser, Indiana. We had stopped to hike in McCormick’s State Park on our way to a short log cabin vacation in Brown county. As we were leaving the park I looked to the right and saw this big guy atop a hill across the road and made a quick change in direction. We didn’t see him on the way in since he was up high. Rocky Top sells all sorts of small wooden structures, from chicken coups, to play houses, to storage buildings. In addition to this pig they had a grizzly bear and gorilla but they didn’t seem bigger than life.

Rocky Top Pig

We were hiking in Brown County State Park and stayed to have lunch at the Abe Martin Lodge. On the way to the dining room on the second floor we spotted this Big Squirrel.  I imagine I am not the first to have my photo taken with him, what do you think?

Brown County Squirrel

We were in Baltimore for Matt and Erin’s wedding. This gave us the rationale to spend the prior week at the Maryland Shore. A week well spent, Sun, Surf and Seafood. The wedding was at the Old Otterbein Church downtown with the reception at the American Visionary Art Museum. What a great place for a reception. This poodle was on the ground floor. This is a mixed marriage, Erin is a Redskins fan while Matt roots for the Eagles. Dan almost started a riot by referring to this arch rivarly in his Best Man’s toast. I thought he looked familiar, I have a photo of him at the Baltimore Visitors Center, you can see it below.

Matt’s Wedding Poodle

Ah, the Shore. In this case the Maryland shore at Ocean City. As a veteran of Ocean City, New Jersey it was good to make a comparison. Lot more high rises, probably since they draw a lot more people here from Baltimore and Washington, DC. As expected the minature golf courses and small amusement parks cry out for Big Things. In this case it was a tilt-a-whirl type ride on the OC boardwalk at Jolly Roger on the Boardwalk. If you’re daring try the “slingshot ride!”

Boardwalk Monkey

A little farther up the road we hit a jackpot with multiple Big Thing hits. It was early in the morning when we stopped at Adventure Golf. This octopus was guarding the second hole. Pretty scary, sure to throw you off your game. I got a little too close but thankfully was saved by the groundskeeper, the only person nearby at this time of day. I didn’t get his name but did leave him with one of my business cards. Hopefully he get in contact. What a lifesaver!

Adventure Golf

Our last Big Animal on the Spring Break trip to the Smokies. Actually we noted this on the way down just south of Exit 134 along I-75. Take the exit in Caryville, TN go east about 100 yards and turn south on John McGhee Blvd, Rt. 116. John McGhee was the son of the railroad magnate Charles McClung McGhee active in railroad building in eastern Tennessee. Anyway, this dragon is south about 1/2 mile, just past the Motel 6 at the site that was once the Thunder Mountain Fireworks. We didn’t see any sign of Thunder Mountain except a concrete pad. Oh well, the dragon still looks pretty good, enjoy!

Tennessee Dragon

A found image from our trip down to Columbus and Nashville, Indiana during Fall Break (one day) 2011. Shopping is in order in Nashville, an artsy village in southern Indiana. I’m not quite sure what these big dogs were doing in front of “For Bare Feet Too” a store dedicated to selling socks. More bewildering was the dog wearing the number 18 jersey, which was Peyton Mannings number. Remember this is the 2-14 Colts season when Peyton didn’t play. Go figure.

Nashville Dogs