Dusty Rustyford

I've enjoyed reading all of the interesting new information. Those strip maps are really great! Sometime when you’re exploring in eastern Washington be sure to check out the Kittitas County Museum in Ellensburg. They have a very early steam automobile which actually belonged to Henry Ford. The last time I was there, on display by Henry's old car was an incredible old panoramic photograph of the dedication of the Sunset Highway at Snoqualmie Pass.

There are quite a few scanned PDF copies of the Automobile Blue Book that can be downloaded for free from http://books.google.com/ You can just do a search in quotes for "Automobile Blue Book" and then be sure to click on the "More editions" link to bring them all up. If you click on the main link rather than the Full View link you'll find the download link on the top right corner of the page. They're each about 40MB - 60MB downloads, but they're free.

Start your engines and prepare for another exciting summer of exploring the Yellowstone Trail and other lost highways! I'll be exploring across Eastern Washington! - Dusty Rustyford

The painted arrow marker at that particular location is also noted in the book Snoqualmie Pass, From Indian Trail to Interstate, published in 1981 by The Mountaineers. On pages 151-152 is a brief history of the marking of the Yellowstone Trail route west from the summit by W. Warwick, shortly after the Yellowstone Trail Association was incorporated.

Yes! I've traveled that road many times. I noticed the arrow painted on the rock cut there over 20 years ago, but at that time I didn't know the significance. Unfortunately the historic old bridge near that location has now been replaced with a new one.

I recently noticed something else worth mentioning. There are modern highway signs for Yellowstone Trail Road along both the eastbound and westbound off ramps of Exit 53 on I-90 at Snoqualmie Pass, in Washington State. Yellowstone Trail Road in that vicinity is a remnant of the old highway along the north side of I-90, just east of the summit on Snoqualmie Pass.

I think the Washington Hotel was an even earlier large, grand, hotel, somewhere near that same vicinity. It seems like I remember seeing photographs of the building in Seattle history books, and as I remember, I think it was about fifteen stories tall and had a prominent sign on top. Unfortunately, I don’t remember any of the history about the building. Also, thank you very much for the information about the technique that you used to enhance the digital images that you posted.

The Olympic Hotel opened at 4th & University in December 1924, but I don't know if that would have anything to do with the western end of the route, since the Yellowstone Trail predates the hotel. The Pioneer Square location still seems most logical to me, as it's considered in the heart of old Seattle.

Keep the Show on the Road, I’m interested in history in general, but I’m particularly interested in old transportation routes. I know about the brick section of road in Shoreline, Washington that you mentioned. That section of brick road, dating from 1913, is the last remaining brick surfacing of what was the North Trunk Road, the first paved highway through northwest King County. It’s now named Ronald Place North and it is now being torn up for urban redevelopment. Within the last couple of years a section of the old brick road was torn up to construct another chain drug store and the rest of the road will undoubtedly be torn up for other short sighted urban redevelopment. Getting back to the Yellowstone Trail, I’ve followed parts of that old route across eastern Washington and have noticed yellow paint showing through white paint on old cylindrical concrete posts with cable guard rails. I’ve also noticed old weathered yellow paint along the Yellowstone Trail route on the ends of old concrete bridge railings. I’m wondering if the yellow paint is unique to designate the Yellowstone Trail route or if the yellow paint was simply the color that was used at one time in Washington State to paint guard rail posts and the ends of bridge railings. Lastly, I would also like to know your secrete for creating the vibrant colored images that you have posted. Dusty Rustyford

Thank you very much for the information! The route from Pioneer Square probably makes more sense then from the intersection of Madison Street and Railroad Avenue, which though more direct, it would have been much steeper. There is still an original red brick paved segment of the Yellowstone Trail route over by Redmond, Washington (see: http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=2363 ).

Excellent photos! Does anyone know where the official western end of the Yellowstone Trail automobile route was located in Seattle? I think it was probably located at the intersection of Madison Street and Railroad Avenue, but I’ve never seen any route information that gives that much detail. Madison Street runs across Seattle from the old Madison Park ferry landing, on Lake Washington, where the ferry from Kirkland used to land, directly to the Seattle waterfront on Puget Sound. Railroad Avenue used to run along the Seattle waterfront, about where the Alaskan Way viaduct is now located.