This is one of my favorite words.  I hardly ever get to use it in conversation and have never used it in a blog post, so what better way to break it in than in a blog post title.

But the word demands an “of” followed by a word to describe what there is an abundance of, doesn’t it?

Here’s my problem:  I wanted to say that I have a lot of new photos of repurposed gas stations that I took on my recent month-long road trip to Colorado and back.  To put that point across I wanted to use the word “plethora” in the title and I wanted to follow it with a lot of alliteration.

So I started off the title with  “A plethora of petrol….”   But then I got stuck.  I could not find any alliterative words to complete the thought.    Yes, I could have just settled for “A plethora of recycled gas stations,” but that would have been no fun at all.

So there’s a challenge while you’re looking through my latest package of repurposed gas stations:  Come up with a title for this post using the word “plethora” and a lot of alliteration.

And, by the way, plethora is pronounced with a slight accent on the first syllable, so don’t go putting the emphasis on the “or.”  It comes from a similar Greek word meaning abundance of blood, but has obviously evolved to mean a lot, even too much, of just about anything, including, in this instance, Previous Petrol Palaces.

There are photos below of some of my new finds.  These and all the other new ones will be added to my collection of photos of recycled stations.

This first one I was especially happy to see.  It’s in the small Mississippi River town of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri.  I didn’t stop there on my canoe trip down the river because I was then heading to Chester, just downsteam and on the Illinois side, where I hoped to meet up with a friend from Florida.

As it turns out, a river stop at Ste. Genevieve would have been very disappointing because it is separated from the river proper by farmland, wetlands and a levee.  By road, however, it’s a nice stop, with great residential areas and nice old downtown.

I was happy to see that this old gas station in the historic district (below), is now being used by the local non-profit public transportation service, because when I first encountered it in 2012 (inset on right) it was empty, for rent and in need of some repair.

Republic, MO.  Today this classic structure is an architect’s office.  It was a beauty salon previously and before that of course a gas station.

Smithfield, Utah.  A Farmers Insurance Company office.

Deadwood, SD.  A glass blowing studio.

Woodward, Oklahoma.  The downtown’s booster office uses this classic A-frame corner station.  Note that one can still see where the “P,’ standing for Phillips Petroleum, was mounted on the chimney.

Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. These rusted remains are all that’s left of an old gas station along the Trans-Canada Highway. 

Livingstone, Montana.  Breezy Tree Floral and Gifts makes nice use of this old station, which is located on the edge of a residential area.

Blackfoot, Idaho.  This small A-frame is just waiting to be put to good use.

Del Norte, Colorado.  This nice stone classic makes a great residence.

For more, go here.