DennyG

I have corrected a couple of things (minor details) in Wikipedia and was briefly tempted to make an attempt here. If I hadn't already talked myself out of it, I believe your comment about editing the student newspaper would have done it. Yep, when you think about it, Wikipedia is a lot like the student newspaper. I just now thought of editing it and simply changing the 2448 to 2449 or some such and see where it goes from there... but I've talked myself out of that, too.

I couldn't decide whether this Wikipedia entry for National Old Trails Highway belonged in the National Old Trails Road / Santa Fe Trail / U.S. 66 or National Road / U.S. 40 forum so I decided to post it here and let the moderator sort it out. There's more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Old_Trails_Road

Congrats and welcome to the club. I assume you'll be buying drinks at the next moderators meeting.

Welcome to the forum, Keith. Looks like the average photographic skill level around here just went up a another notch. Weren't you busy (possibly National Road related) in SW PA last summer?

I wish I could give you a long list of interesting stops in this section but only a couple come to mind. Greenup, with its balconies, is an eye catcher and the historical society there is worth a stop, too. I've stopped twice and found some very friendly people both times. Downtown Marshall, which is the only spot between Indiana and Vandalia that Stewart photographed in 1953, also deserves a look if only to see how it has or hasn't changed in 54 years. Frank Brusca has a neat 43 year comparison here. (The 1950 & 1996 photos are misbehaving but the animated version seems to be OK.) The section does mark both the physical and the financial end of the National Road and maybe that's why it doesn't have a lot of "A List" road side attractions. But it does have some very nice two lane and you sleuths may uncover some old National Road or US-40 alignments that have some real pizzazz. It is part of the Historic National Road Scenic Byway so you might find something of interest on that site and, of course, I have to point you toward my own drives in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Looking forward to hearing about your discoveries.

That's a pretty cool website in general and our recent stay at the Wigwams made that particular photo extra interesting. All of the buildings are still there and so is most of the neon sign. In 1940 the main building housed a restaurant as indicated by the word "EAT" over the door. When the restaurant shut down, they removed the "EAT AND" from the neon but the tepee outline and "SLEEP IN A WIGWAM" remain to this day. That Red Ball moving van behind the pumps is quite a classic, too.

That article was actually understandable and having Rick vouch for it helps. It answered my questions so well that it makes buying the book seem unnecessary. Not its intent, I'm sure. Of course, I may buy it anyway since there are certainly questions and variations that I haven't even thought of yet. Good find.

There are some better lighted photos of me about the site but I'll direct you to http://www.uplatette.typepad.com/ for not only a recent well lit photo of yours truly but a whole different version of the recent doings in Clinton and travels to and from. It's the blog of Kat & Daz, who I met in Glenrio. I appear on Day 15.

As I've mentioned before, I intend to someday drive US-36 end to end so I'm interested in your report for future use. I'm not nearly the sleuth that you (and Pat and others) are so I doubly appreciate the work you've done in digging out those old alignments so that I can someday breeze along them. Nicely done. Although officially a "Lincoln Highway guy", Ohio's Mike Buettner has done some very nice articles on other roads including the PP-OO. If you haven't already seen it, you may find http://www.lincolnhighwayoh.com/pikespeak.html useful even with its Ohio lean. Heck, it might even lure you over the state line. Alex's Ernie Pyle comment triggered another thought and gives me another opening. I drove the currently signed US-36 west of Indianapolis last fall and stopped at the museum in Dana. While there, I was surprised to learn that Ernie had already achieved fame as a travel writer before the war. When I mentioned that fact and my surprise to my parents, their reaction was along the lines of "I thought everybody knew that". I picked up a small "best of" volume of his columns at the museum and have since acquired a used copy of a much larger collection. I've yet to tackle the bigger book. What I have read includes articles on the southwest (where his travels were concentrated) and Indiana. They're quite interesting tales of the roads and the people and places beside them. Ernie was one of us.

Good to know that some of the reading occurs in situations similar to that of some of the writing. The gravel road is indeed an old Sixty-Six segment. Reportedly, it was once paved and stripped of asphalt at some point. I know nothing of the details. Glenrio is one of the more visible examples of what can happen when a town is bypassed by whatever the local main road may be. The story behind the restrooms is the town of Endee that was isolated and emptied even more than Glenrio. Earlier this year, Glenrio was declared a National Historic District by the National Park Service. I have no idea what that means or if it's even a good thing. I'd welcome a discussion on this subject as its own thread since I'm very unsure of the legalities involved. In the past, I've avoided photographing people to the point that someone once described one of my trips as looking like an "after the bomb" movie with the world largely devoid of humans. Now I use a general "do they know" - "can they be recognized" rule. If someone knows me and poses for a picture I feel they know it could appear on the web and have no qualms about putting it there. I also feel fairly comfortable posting pictures with people in them that cannot be recognized because of distance, angle, or something else. I have no reason to believe that either of these views would carry any weight in court and there is certainly a whole lot of gray between the black and the white. I do feel a little protection from the amateur nature of my website but I fear that may be entirely unwarranted. Perhaps you could start a topic under General Discussion and maybe our resident lawyers, professional photographers, and publishers can give us some guidance.

Yes, that one of the real gems on Sixty-Six. In Clinton, I heard that hail (presumably from the same storm I saw at the Big Texan) knocked out some of the neon on the tower. I'm sure it will be repaired soon, though. No. But but I had driven over 30 miles after the initial chime and about 10 after the odometer was blocked out by a "LOW FUEL" message. I thought I had saved all gas station receipts but a quick check just now didn't find that one. Whatever it was, it was close enough for me. Best brace yourself. I know there's at least one more shot on the last day.

I sure appreciate those kind words and hope you enjoy the remainder of the trip. Now that I'm home, with different time pressures, I took a look at my mailing list and see that you subscribed at some point but have not confirmed. (That's the sort of personal attention having a small readership allows;-) Following signup, an email is sent to the entered address and it must be confirmed before other list mailings are sent there. That's to keep folks from signing up their worst enemies and getting them mad at me. There are a few others in that situation so I may send off a set of repeat confirmation requests tonight. Watch for something from webmaster@dennygibson.com. Of course, I won't be traveling again for awhile so the list will be quiet for awhile. The signup page does try to alert folks to be on the lookout for the confirmation but maybe I should somehow make that more prominent. I suspect some of the confirmation request are tossed aside by spam filters. If I didn't know that you were otherwise a reasonably intelligent person, your happiness at seeing a photo of me would raise some doubts

The trip is over and I'm back home in Ohio. I saw some new places & faces along with revisiting some spots and renewing some friendships. I've caught occasional postings here but haven't had the time to respond or to even read everything. I'll be catching up over the next couple of days. The tale of the eleven day Tulsa to Tucumcari drive is available at http://www.dennygibson.com/rt66fest07/

The article includes a photo of Bert & Carol Pauluhn standing by their 1948 Studebaker Landcruiser at the recent Lincoln Highway Association Headquarters dedication. I invite everyone to visit my forum profile (click on my "handle" in the left column) to see another couple (the female half is my sister) standing by another (AFAIK) 1948 Studebaker Landcruiser in a photo I added to the profile some time back.

I was at the center in Chandler on Saturday so knew about the "in progress" documentary but didn't know there was an American Road connection. I believe all the other videos there were either scripted by Jim Ross of pre-existing PBS stuff. The Chandler stop is here as part of day 3 of my current outing. I should have something up on the Elk City visit sometime tomorrow morning.

I stopped by the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, OK, today. They have added a new Transportation Museum since my last visit in 2003. It includes a little theater with a short movie. I sat down to watch it and, much to my surprise, was greeted by a familiar face. American Road Editor Thomas Repp narrates much of the movie and other writers (e.g., Frank Brusca, John Ridgely) put in appearances, too. Actually, I think it might have been produced by American Road for the museum. It's a very nicely done overview of American transportation that fits the museum well. And Thomas look good in that 'Vette, too.

Can we assume this is on the National Road with appropriate rituals performed at the Madonnas in Richmond & Springfield?

I've started toward the National 66 Festival in Clinton, OK, but am spending a couple of days in Tulsa before I head west. I'll get as far a Tucumcari before turning back to Clinton. Tulsarama is just getting fired up and they'll be unveiling that '57 Plymouth on Friday (today). Thursday contained a lot of expressway and airplane but I did manage to get to Claremore and follow Historic US-66 back to Tulsa. I got a little tour of the town from some friends then both dinner and lodging on the old route. The first day is up at http://www.dennygibson.com/rt66fest07 and more will follow each day through departure from Clinton next Sunday. I try to get each day's journal up the following morning but that sometimes doesn't happen. For those who don't know, you can sign up for an email notice when each post actually occurs or you can just take a look every once in awhile. Or you can just ignore the whole thing and I won't even know the difference. Mailing list signup is here.

When the replica marker was dedicated in 2002, 89 year old Bernard Queneau was there. Bernard was one of the boy scouts who had been with the crew setting the original in 1928. Designing and installing that interpretive plaque was spearheaded by a fellow named George Clark. He was 85 when it was erected. In the fall issue of the Lincoln Highway Forum, George has a nice article describing the trials and tribulations of getting the plaque put in place. I can only hope that, like Bernard & George, I'm still a roadie through my ninth decade and, Rick, I hope you're enjoying your travels on the Yawhgih Nlocnil. Nice picture.

I've read that this was used quite a bit by the men heading north on the Natchez Trace after delivering their cargo to Natchez or New Orleans. Boats carried the goods downstream then were generally pulled apart for the lumber. The crews would head north for another load and most would be on foot. It was a lucky man who could share a horse with a buddy by "Riding & Tying". Each man only had to walk half the way and even the horse got a break while waiting for the trailing partner to catch up.

It was just too nice a day to not go somewhere so I headed for the nearest top ten town - Nashville, Indiana. It's a nice place and it's in the middle of some beautiful country. I had some great "made right here" ice cream, got a glimpse of local history at the town museum, and enjoyed just walking through the downtown area but I'm not much of a shopper and I think shopping is a big part of the Nashville attraction. But there is that beautiful country and I got a pretty good peek on the way home. I noticed a sign to the town of Story and recalled someone in an online group (possibly this one) once commenting on a good restaurant there. It turns out the restaurant actually IS the town. The Story Inn is the only thing going in this little town on the edge of the Hoosier National Forest. I didn't try the restaurant but did test the bar and listened to some musical entertainment outside. Story was the highlight of my day.

They say that the most common excuses for getting lost in Indiana are that South Bend is in the north, North Bend is in the south, and French Lick ain't nothing like it sounds.

Greeting from a neighbor. That's an excellent website you've got going. I just did a fairly quick pass (although I got hooked and still spent more time than intended;-) and know I'll spend some more time there. US-36 is on my "To Do" list and I'll be looking over your comments on the old alignments (some requiring SCUBA gear) you found. Do you still believe Clapton was singing about Terre Haute?

I don't think we have a lot of members from Washington but I know we have a few. And I know I've seen some members mention HAM radio though I couldn't tell you who. As for metal detecting, you could be the first or maybe they're just hiding. I'm in Ohio, with radio skills pretty much limited to FM (with some occasional AM for ball games), and my one or two outings with a detector were basically flops. Welcome aboard.

I started out being embarrassed by realizing that I've been to only one of the original list and it wasn't either of the closest two (Madison, yes. Nashville & Put In Bay, no.) Then I struggled to come up with some additions and stayed embarrassed. Several candidates wouldn't make the 20,000 cutoff so I'm going to settle for two "me toos", three additions, and a couple of "maybes". The "me toos" are Kent's Greenup, IL, and Pat's Madison, IN. The additions are Ripley, OH, Augusta, KY, and Bardstown, KY. Ripley is an Ohio River town with a lot of tobacco and underground railroad history. Augusta is on the south banks of the river with a lot of old buildings, a very good restaurant, and a cool ferry. Bardstown has a lot of history and a lot of bourbon. All three have some real nice country around them. The "maybes" are Corydon, IN, and Crawfordsville, IN. Both towns that I've only been through once so can't make an endorsement that I'd stand behind but I enjoyed my one visit to each and they LOOKED like places worth going back to.