DennyG

Wow. That's a pretty cool trip you've got coming up. Since you've been to DC before, you're undoubtedly aware of the vast array of stuff in the various Smithsonian museums. The Museum of the American Indian is pretty new (2004) so you may not have seen it. Definitely worth while. Be aware that the American History Museum is closed for major renovation. A little south of DC is US history in a large dose at Williamsburg with Jamestown and Yorktown nearby. The Colonial Parkway that connects all three is a fairly nice drive, too. South of there, I know that you're going through some beautiful history drenched territory but I'm stumped in coming up with real specifics. With the mention of Ashville, the Biltmore Estate ( http://www.biltmore.com/ ) immediately comes to mind but I have to confess to never having been there. Even if you are restricted to expressways (How big is that RV?) you'll find that I-40 through the Smokys is better than most. Are you planning any sightseeing time on the Ashville-Cincinnati run? What about Cincinnati-NYC? As the trip gets closer and even as it progresses (We're talking a goodly amount of time here.) more specific question may come up. Give the forum a shot at those too, if you can. BTW, you had an extra 't' and were short one 'n' in Cincinnati but not to worry. That's how just about everyone who doesn't live here spells it. I believe I got it right after living here only a few years.

I believe that once upon a time the route starting in Chicago was THE Dixie Highway and that the eastern route came later. That's why the bit that connects Indianapolis with Michigan is considered a connector (even though it looks like it could be called DH Central;-). Of course, learning this was quite a shock for a guy who, for much of his life, thought of the Dixie Highway as purely an I-75 (or US-25) predecessor. Practically doubling your gas mileage in one swoop is quite an accomplishment. Are the gas station owners glaring at you yet?

Your post lead me to a "discovery", too. Actually it's more an embarrassing revelation than a discovery. My defense, which I'll admit is weak, is that I live in western Ohio and, until not too many years ago, thought the Dixie Highway was nothing more than the road that connected Michigan with Florida before I-75 came along. The embarrassing revelation was that US-136 was once the Dixie Highway. I now see that the Dixie Highway must have become US-136 from Danville, IL, to Indianapolis. I've driven that entire stretch but it never occurred to me that I was on the DH. Incidentally, it seems the Mr. Droz supports both you discovery at Lizton and your suspicions about that road at New Ross at http://www.us-highways.com/dixiehwyw.htm . New Honda, eh? Since it's a bit chilly to be cruising on a Gold Wing, I'll assume it's of the four wheeled variety.

Yep, Dave seems to "understand" a lot. I gotta believe that Jon Stewart learned from him. So many Waffle Houses and so little time.

I can't help with the picture but can answer your "Hello" with a Welcome. I didn't think it possible to retire from either guitar playing or hippydom. Are you sure you're not just fooling yourself? I admire anyone who has ridden a bicycle farther than the corner carry-out and look forward to more posts.

I don't believe that I've ever seen that number (5,786 miles) although I knew the total mileage had to be pretty impressive. I sometimes think of tackling the Dixie Highway but usually get overwhelmed within moments. Has anyone been known to have traveled the whole thing? Either while it lived or on modern equivalents?

Less than 150 miles west of you is the Blue Grass Parkway which American Road Magazine featured in a recent issue. A slightly shorter drive to the east gets you to Hico with the big New River Gorge Bridge just a few miles south. I've driven US-60 from its eastern terminus in Virginia Beach, VA, to near Afton, OK, although not all in one stretch, so took a look at my own journals to see what caught my eye in an Ashland centered section. From the east, I posted nothing between Lewisburg and Charleston, WV, so I may have been in a hurry, frightened into two-handed no-time-for-the-camera driving, or just saw nothing I thought photo worthy. All are possibilities. West of Charleston, I noted a century old amusement park (that won't be much fun in February) and a few old buildings. On the west of Ashland route, I posted some building shots in Frankfort & Louisville and the Blue Grass Parkway gets you near Bardstown & Elizabeth. If you take US-62 instead of the Parkway, you'll go right through those towns on some very nice two-lane. Of course, Sixty-Two is a lot more wiggly than the Parkway and wiggly may not be at all what you're looking for in either January or February particularly with a trailer attached. That wiggly comment fits long sections of US-60, as well. If you'd care to see what I saw, take a look at http://www.dennygibson.com/newkid/day04 , http://www.dennygibson.com/newkid/day05 , and http://www.dennygibson.com/DayTrips/Trip10/ . If all that leads to more specific question, come on back, and, of course, let us know how the trip turns out.

I've just posted the last day of this trip and I'll even try to save folks the effort of scrolling up a few entries by repeating the URL: http://www.dennygibson.com/ntrace2006 Although I had rain on both ends most actual travel time was at least devoid of precipitation if not under clear skies. As I say on the website, this was one of those rare trips where I got to feed all of my addictions a little. There were scenic roads, lots of history, some blues, some rock & roll, a car museum, cool accommodations, worthy diners, and interesting taverns. Bob, I didn't know those things had a name but knew they existed. The one I think of first is "'scuse me while I kiss this guy". I wish I had had a copy of "Rat Cheese Under the Hill" along on the drive.

I'm just about to head north from Natchez on the Natchez Trace Parkway and I'll post something here when I'm done. I spent a couple of days getting here on US-61 and thought someone here might be interested. The trip south is posted at http://www.dennygibson.com/ntrace2006 and the trip north will show up there, too. Stop by once in awhile, check it out when it's over (around year's end), or sign up for the mailing list that signals completion of each day's posting.

I've read one or two of his books. They're much like the show with many short standalone stories. Now here's a story combining Charles Kuralt, a road trip, and a used book: On the way home from the Springfield, MO, Route 66 Festival, I stopped at the Ernie Pyle Museum in Dana, IN. I only knew of Ernie as a war correspondent and was surprised when Charles Kuralt, speaking from a video, said that Ernie had been one of his inspirations. I learned that before the war he had written travel columns. The museum had a small book of reprints available so I bought a copy. It contained columns he had written in the 1930s on the southwest and I really enjoyed reading about the Arizona, southern California, Nevada, and New Mexico of 60 plus years ago. One story involves a visit to Boulder Dam while it was under construction (and still called Boulder Dam). Not too long after that, I was rummaging through Alibris or Amazon Marketplace (used & discount books) and found a deal on "Ernie's America - The Best of Ernie Pyle's 1930s Travel Dispatches". I made the buy and have a thick and interesting collection to tackle when the snow arrives. The foreword is written by none other than Mr. Kuralt.

The first question was: Who sang "On the Road Again"? If only they had all been that easy. After a 6 for 6 start, my ignorance came through and I ended up with 11994.

The good news is that one of the Topix topics for this week is Road Songs. The bad news is (I think) that it is the second (i.e., late) game. I'll certainly try to participate and post my score and I'm confident that RoadDog will do the same. In fact, I'm hoping that RoadDog will clarify the scheduling. Road Songs is listed second for Friday (after Endangered Species) so I'm assuming it's the late game. I think that means 10:00 in Cincy which is just about past my bedtime but I'll do my best. Am I reading that right, RoadDog? NTN (ntn.com) is the electronic trivia game available in many restaurants & bars and Topix is a weekly game with all questions on a single subject.

A few posts back, a suggestion was made regarding some sort of forum member road trip and the suggestion quickly turned into some serious discussion. That discussion has moved to Spring 2007 Road Trip in the Dixie Highway forum. Please join that thread and help with the planning.

Good coverage. I hope Wilder Tower is still open for climbing because I'd like to take a look.

I'm sure it will surprise no one to read that my idea wasn't completely baked when I posted it. The Louisville meet & drive would certainly work or we could use WV2 as home base for a one day loop and there's plenty of other options, too. Pat, if we want to pursue this, maybe you could put together some sort of announcement/invitation to break it out of this thread. Bliss may have been half joking when he suggested it but it seems Pat & I are taking it somewhat seriously. If anyone else reading this is the slightest bit interested in a spring time road trip some where in the weekend range of Indianapolis & Cincinnati, speak up and let's see if we can get something sorted out over the winter.

I know Pat has proposed one or two but there were scheduling problems. Maybe if we started now to think about something in the spring we could have better luck. One possibility for Indy/Cincy/St Louie/Etcetery is Wigwam Village #2 with a bit of Dixie Highway. Maybe something in April or May?

Well, if that's what Mary Sue wants, it seems like you best be getting to it.

Dayton, OH, newspaper article on the National Road's National Scenic Byway designation: http://www.daytondailynews.com/community/c...111606us40.html Thanks to Mike Austing for the link.

A Thanksgiving weekend trip through bits of North Carolina and Tennessee has just been completed. It includes the Cherohala Skyway (Now, that's cool!), the "Road to Nowhere", a Great Smoky Mountains Railroad outing, and some exploring with forum member Baby Boomer Bob. All four days are now posted at http://www.dennygibson.com/tg2006

I think that's right. Although they didn't talk with the owner directly, it does say he has requested to keep the structure which could be OK. Any PA residents here wtth better information?

According to an article in the Altoona Mirror, the subject of the most recent American Road Diner Days may be in trouble. The article, available here, says that a Rite Aid pharmacy wants to tear down Grubbs Diner in Huntingdon, PA. This is clearly not a done deal and quotes from the county planning director indicate that he's not exactly in favor of the move.

Fantastic!! Three cheers and a big thank you to Rick.

I've eaten at the original QS&L a few times and was at the one in Milford, OH, (near Cincinnati) just a couple of weeks ago. The new restaurants (e.g., Milford & Bloomsburg) are purpose built but the original in Sharon is in an old gas station. The food's pretty good, the beer's always cold, and the decor is superb.

That Mini-Mater is pretty cool and the woody's not too bad either. During my very brief (and very distant) time around slot cars, I don't think anyone even thought of tow vehicles. I did my third Cars viewing (first non-theater) last night and throughly enjoyed it. I'm sure I'll be seeing new stuff through many more viewings.

I just got got home to find my pre-ordered (amazon.com) copy of the Cars DVD waiting in my mailbox. Watching election returns was already on my agenda so Lightning and friends will probably have to wait until tomorrow. The DVD arrived in the company of my other pre-order - Jerry Lee's Last Man Standing. That means I've got something to get me in the mood for a road trip (Yeah, like that's necessary!) and something to entertain me on the road. Now, if that amendment banning all taxes passes, life will be perfect.