Wharton, TX: The Teepee Motel

Built in 1942 and restored in 2006, the Teepee Motel is a "distinctive landmark motel from America's golden age of highway travel." It's a throwback to the days before the Interstate Highway System came to dominate travel across America; the days when the trip was as much a part of the vacation as the destination.

Certainly air travel and the Interstate Highway System have given us conven-ience, but in doing so, we've lost the experience of places like the Teepee Motel and roadside rest stops with BBQ grills, which, by the way, can still be found on many west Texas state highways. Though, I've never slowed down enough to see if people actually stop long enough to grill anything.