mobilene

You guys have really had the Holy Grail of road trips! I don't know how it gets any better than this! What a great story! I can't believe you guys found artifacts from the town still on the site. That just blows me away. jim

Hi! Glad the forum's back after the site upgrade. I do have a small request, though. The new AmRoad banner at the top of the forum page, at resolutions of 1024x768 and smaller, hides the forum -- you always have to scroll to read anything. Screen shot of my browser, screen resolution 1024x768: It would be a lot cleaner if this banner weren't so tall. It would also make the forum more usable, because then scrolling down would not always be the first thing I have to do. Thanks, jim

Well, whatever a Clabber Girl is, it's Terre Haute's claim to fame! It's also pretty much the only brand of baking powder you can buy in a 75-mile radius.

I've finished writing up this trip. Here are the last two blog posts! http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/roadside-relics/ http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/wh...oad-fades-away/

Sounds like it was a great drive! I love it too when you can avoid the semis.

I went through the entire slideshow literally on the edge of my seat! My favorite parts were Snohomish, the private road you crashed, the Old Cascade Highway that's white-striped on the edges but not up the middle, and the shot of the plaque on the 1920 Chelan County bridge. And yes, original concrete is like porn. Same with original brick, btw. I deeply admire the amount of pre-trip sleuthing you did to suss out the original routes, and your willingness to explore hunches. Peace, jim

Another bit from the trip -- a visit to old Brazil! http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/re...-to-old-brazil/ I think I've got two more stories from this trip left -- lots of neon in Terre Haute, and the end of the old road in Indiana (with a 1919 concrete-arch bridge).

I'm here, eagerly awaiting reports! Bring them on! jim

Congratulations and happy hauling!

Hey, now, it's not every day I find a reference to the Chicago, South Shore, and South Bend. I grew up in South Bend. Although the heyday of that interurban was past by the time I was growing up, I've ridden that line a time or two. I had no idea that it benefitted from this Cold War event. jim

There was this place in San Antonio, TX, my ex-brother-in law took me to that had the best cheeseburger I ever had. But I can't remember its name or where it's located! Endless frustration on those occasions I've been back through that town.

I am following all of this with great interest, mouth watering, wishing this road weren't 2,000 miles away! jim

I think I've figured out my issues with the bridge. It's not that they restored it. It's that they replaced the deck and railings. Even though the railings look identical -- and when the concrete turns gray with time, you may not be able to tell they're not original -- they replaced so much of the bridge that it doesn't seem like the same bridge anymore. But what they did is far, far better than tearing it down. The other 1920s concrete-arch bridges I've written about from this trip are not protected, and in the most recent Indiana bridge inventory (from last year) were not judged to be historically significant enough to make the cut. So when those bridges become unsafe, they will certainly be demolished. Those roads get so little traffic -- 10 cars a day, the latest bridge inspections estimate -- that I would be surprised if the county even replaces them. I wouldn't be surprised if they just dead-end the road at the bridges. jim

Great photoset, and great sleuthing!

I have to admit, I've been ambivalent about the restoration, too. When I wrote the blog post, I was okay with it, but when I came upon the restored bridge, I was a bit disappointed. The old, decrepit bridge had more character! It was reproduced in a book called "Overland by Auto in 1913," a true story of a family who traveled from California, down the coast and then across the country to central Indiana, in 1913. It took something like eighty days, and in some places there were no roads. The Goodrich strip map was part of an actual road guide they purchased along the trip. The book said that the Indiana portion of the trip was probably the most civilized driving they encountered. I've attached a scan of the strip map, without the current-map overlay. jim

Annnnnd.... a place where the road's been moved twice. http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/2009/09/07/th...lsville-part-1/ http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/th...lsville-part-2/

I've been following along daily and have been enjoying it very much. What a trip!

Check this out! Motorcycle stunt riders on US 99 in Oregon. The riding's fine, but what's most interesting to me is seeing the old road!

A couple more: Several great old homes remain along the route: http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/gr...-national-road/ I found a brick alignment on private property!!! Bricks were laid sometime between 1922 and 1925. http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/a-...gment-of-us-40/

Rick, Thanks for pointing that out!! I've come away from a few road trips myself regretting having no photos of those who rode along. I'll try not to make that mistake next time! jim

A hidden cemetery that roadmaven pointed out to me: http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/irons-cemetery/ One of the tiny towns along the route -- and the only one that has any sort of "downtown": http://jimgrey.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/stilesville/

Sounds like you've had plenty of life circumstances interrupt your NPH effort -- but I am looking forward to reports from the route when you get back to it!

I have to say, Dave, that many of my road trips over the past two years have been inspired by similar "take the road trip while you can" comments you've made. I'm still in that rebuilding stage of my life, and its demands frequently keep me off the road, but I still work to manage as many as possible.

If you've ever driven the Milton-Madison bridge on US 421 between Kentucky and Indiana, you know it's narrow and very creaky. Looks like forces are coming together to tear the trusses and the deck off the piers and build a new deck, twice as wide. Kentucky apparently owns the bridge, and is applying for Federal stimulus money to get the job done. A news story about it: http://madisoncourier.com/main.asp?Section...ArticleID=52377 An entry from a blog I follow with a local reaction, plus a neat photo of the bridge: http://sindianavisions.wordpress.com/2009/...roubled-waters/

Dave, your map collection is nothing short of amazing. Every time you post one, I want to drop what I'm doing, fly west, and go see which of those roads are still there!! jim