What’s the idea behind Dusty Tires? It’s getting off the beaten path and getting road dust on your vehicle’s tires, and maybe even turning off the GPS. It’s about venturing out and discovering special and different places in Ohio. Some of these places are fairly new, while others have been around a long time.

Dusty Tires is created to help people locate and visit places that are sometimes not easy to find but are well worth the search. Often, unless you live near some of these places, you may not know much about them.

They include mills, barns, candy shops, hardware stores, general stores, grocery stores, root beer stands, ice cream shops, factory tours, diners, drive-in restaurants, drive-in movie theaters, historic taverns, lighthouses and many other places. Also included are a few places just outside Ohio that are well worth the drive. From 100 plus-year-old hardware stores to classic drive-in movie theatres, there are great opportunities to enjoy fun, wonderful destinations in Ohio.

Dusty Tires is a great starting point to plan daytrips, road trips and theme trails. Some of these could be considered stops to investigate and enjoy for a length of time, while others may be worth a quick stop to check off your list. It’s up to you.

I remember many of these places, and others like it, from my growing up days in the 1960s and ‘70s in east Columbus, Ohio. It was a real treat to eat hamburgers at Emil’s Steer-Inn, to take daytrips to Lynd’s Fruit Farm for apple cider and see double features at the East Main Drive-In Theater. Some of these places have disappeared with the passing of previous generations and the economic effects of shopping malls, recessions and online shopping, but many are still thriving.

My hope is that the information in Dusty Tires will help more people invest their time and money in these businesses and allow their owners to keep them going and their communities economically healthy well into the future. In other words, travel local, buy local, and have fun!

It is not possible to compile a complete list of everything that’s available, since things change all the time. I have made every attempt to include as many businesses as possible. Please let me know if you think a place should be added or a change made.

Descriptions have been compiled from websites, Facebook pages, printed marketing materials and online sources directly related to each business or organization involved. Descriptions of mills have been selected and updated from my previous book, Waterwheelin’: A Travelers’ Guide to 28 Ohio Mills. Posts and comments from the Facebook group “Ohio Road Trips,” created and curated by travel writer and author Brandy Gleason, have been used to identify places.

Since January 2025, short fictional stories have been included in the Dusty Tires blog cycle. These stories, written by “Dusty Tires” himself, also include original illustrations that were mostly sketched in pen or pencil in the 1970s and 1980s, and were recently digitized and colored.

All photographs and illustrations, unless marked otherwise, are credited to Ken Drenten and are exclusive property of the author.

The author has made every attempt to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of this information. Changes occur every day, so it’s smart to make a phone call before taking an extended trip to visit a place.

Happy adventuring, and keep those tires road-dusty!

Ken Drenten and his wife Sandy.

MY STORY

Hi, I’m Ken Drenten, the creator and caretaker of this blog. I live in Zanesville, Ohio, home of Zane Grey, Donald’s Donuts, Tom’s Ice Cream Bowl and the Y-Bridge. I’m a native of Columbus, Ohio, and a graduate of The Ohio State University School of Journalism.

I spent the first part of my career as a newspaper reporter and editor for the Sandusky Register and Columbus Messenger newspapers, and the remainder as a communications consultant with American Electric Power in Columbus, for a total of 37 years as a professional writer, editor and consultant. I self-published the book “Waterwheelin’: A Travelers’ Guide to 28 Ohio Mills,” in 2016. I retired from AEP in September 2020.

I live with my wife Sandy, my stepdaughter Becky and my brother-in-law Tony, as well as our part Golden Retriever Twyla. I have a son, Matt, a daughter, Hilary, and four grandchildren, Genevieve, Grant, Alex and Claire.

Twyla is ready to go on another adventure!

I’ve combined my own love for out-of-the-way places with Sandy’s love for waterwheels. We were engaged at Rock Mill Covered Bridge near Lancaster and married at Ye Olde Mill in Utica. We’ve spent many enjoyable miles exploring this beautiful state, including Amish Country, the Mohican area, the Muskingum River parkway, Hocking Hills, Lake Erie, the Indian Lake area and many other parts of Ohio. We take our dog Twyla with us whenever we can on our adventures, usually in our Winnebago RV.

All rights reserved, copyright Dusty Tires (dusty-tires.com), 2023.