By Joy Kraft / Enquirer staff writer

Gelene Morales of Independence, KY. poses with baskets and vintage cookbooks she bought at the World's Longest Yard Sale which stretches from Alabama to Covington, KY. (Brandi Stafford/The Enquirer)

The first time Kim Wells of Dent went to the World's Longest Yard Sale, she and a friend "took off for a nice little outing" in her VW Cabriolet convertible to tool down U.S. 127 and hunt for bargains.

They returned, with the top down, carting a chest of drawers, a wagon wheel, candles, stuffed Halloween figures and other goods from the small section they shopped along the 450-mile stretch from Covington's MainStrasse to Gadsden, Ala. (This year, MainStrasse will not have independent vendors in the park).

IF YOU GO

What: World's Longest Yard/Outdoor Sale When: Saturday through Aug. 15 Where: Along U.S. 127 for 450 miles, from MainStrasse in Covington to Gadsden, Ala. Information: www.127sale.com

The next year, the two friends took a motor home.

"You name it. We had it packed in there - antique tins, old crockery bottles, a play pen, a baby car seat," says Wells, who works at Heidelberg Distributing Co.

What's for sale along the way varies from "25-cent merchandise to places offering high-quality antiques for hundreds of dollars," says Joe Brockmeyer of Dayton, Ky., a part-time antiques dealer who works for Coca-Cola.

Advice from the shoppers

Here's some World's Longest Yard Sale advice from experienced shoppers. • Take cash. • Don't be afraid to haggle. • Know what you're looking for. • Never pass up any sale site; you never know what you might find. • Drive safely.

On his maiden trek down the highway sale he spotted a farmhouse scheduled for demolition.

"People were buying the light fixtures, banisters, doors, even ceramic tile from the fireplace."

He toted back a claw-foot bathtub his wife had a hankering for that took four men to load into his truck ... only to get it home and find it 2 inches too long for the space. He sold it in the classifieds.