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etchr66

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  1. This week the 113Th U.S. Open Golf Championship is being held at Merion Golf club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. The U. S. Open is one of the four golf major tournaments held each year. As such all of the top golfers in the world will be there. Merion Golf Club was established in 1896 and has hosted more USGA championships than any other golf course in America. This week's U. S. Open will be the eighteenth such tournament held at Merion. For more information and to enjoy all the action see the tournament website [1] I would love to go but its's a long way from Texas so I will enjoy it from the comfort of my armchair. Please comment if you are able to attend. Ardmore is a suburb of the major city of Philadelphia on its west end. Interesting enough Ardmore itself could have been one of our Namesake Cities as it was originally named "Athensville". It was renamed to Ardmore in 1873.[2] The Lincoln Highway, passes through Ardmore on US 30. Our Namesake City for this entry is Lima, Pennsylvania which is located just 10 miles to the south west of Ardmore at the intersection of Pennsylvania Routes 352 and 452. This is just north of yet another famous US highway, US 1. Another Namesake City, "Berlin, New Jersey" lies 24 miles south east of Ardmore across the Delaware River. You may read about it and many other Namesake Cities in the book "For Namesake, a Travel Book"[3] Here is the Information about Lima from "For Namesake": Middletown Township was established in 1687. The name is thought to come from its location in the center of what was then Chester County. In 1806 Phillip Yarnell obtained a license to open and operate a tavern at the Middletown Crossroads. That spot was then known as Lima, although no one knows why it was named that. The tavern was known as the Pine-Apple and became a wild place known for its cheap whiskey. It was so wild that Phillip had much difficulty in maintaining his liquor license from year to year and the place became known as Wrangletown. A post office was established there in 1832. It was originally named Hamor’s Store presumably because it was located in the general store that had been built there in 1829. A lumberyard was opened in the area about that same time. The tavern closed for good in 1836 and soon there after the name of the locality reverted back to Lima. [4] Lima was never incorporated and is officially a Census Designated Place or CDP. There are many attractions in the communities near Lima. Brookhaven offers the 1724 Old Chester Court House, Caleb Pusey House and Landingford Plantation. Chadds Ford has the Brandywine River Museum. Chester is on the Brandywine Scenic Byway and has Harrah’s Casino. Chester Springs offers Eagle’s Crest Vineyard, Halls Covered Bridge and Historic Yellow Springs. In Media you may visit Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation with Civil War Reenactments, Delaware County Courthouse, Hedgerow Theater, Linvilla Orchards, Media Theater for Performing Arts, Middletown Friends Meetinghouse, Pennsylvania Veterans Museum and the Turning Point Art Gallery. Newton Square has Bartrams Covered Bridge, Fox Leap Vineyards and the Paper Mill House Museum. The community of West Chester offers the American Helicopter Museum and Education Center, Brandywine Ballet, William Brinton 1704 House, Debottis Art Gallery, Harmony Hill Covered Bridge, Strodes Mill Gallery, The Arts Scene and West Chester Railroad. There are a total of fifteen covered bridges in nearby Chester County. [5] Just a half hours drive from Lima are the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. See all the attractions in Philadelphia at the “Visit Philly” web site [6] and those in Wilmington at the “Visit Wilmington” web Site. [7] Tyler Arboretum in Media is one of the largest arboretums in the northeastern United States. It offers 650 acres of plantings and some 20 miles of trails. Nearby is Rose Tree Park. You can try your luck at fly fishing at FlyFish Pennsylvania, also in Media. Just to the north are Springton Reservoir and Ridley Creek State Park. Notable residents of Delaware County include Danny Bonaduce, actor; Mary Ellen Clark, Olympic diver; Ed Dougherty, professional golfer; Tina Fey, actress; W.C. Fields, comedian; Harry Kalas, sportscaster; Todd Rundgren, singer-songwriter; Ethel Waters, jazz vocalist; and Ed Yarnall, Major League baseball pitcher from Lima. Notes: 1. http://www.usopen.com/index.html 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardmore,_PA 3. http://www.amazon.co.../dp/B00CBM6JFK/ http://www.barnesand...n=2940016722009 4. Ashmead, Henry Graham, History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: L.H. Everts & Co., 1884) p. 630 http://www.delawarecountyhistory.com/documents/Delco-Ashmead.pdf 5. http://pacoveredbridges.com 6. http://www.visitphilly.com 7. http://www.visitwilmingtonde.com Picture Credit: Wikimedia Commons - User:Smallbones Public Domain "School at Middletown Friends Meetinghouse near Lima, Pennsylvania"
  2. etchr66

    Lima PA Pict

    From the album: For Namesake

    School at Middletown Friends Meetinghouse near Lima, Pennsylvania

    © Wikimedia Commons - User:Smallbones Public Domain

  3. etchr66

    Florence, Kansas

    This entry in our Blog about Namesake Cities is about Florence, Kansas. I chose this town because I spent the Memorial Day weekend visiting my Mother in Law who lives in nearby Newton, KS. Florence, Kansas was once a busy railroad town that reached a peak population of nearly 3000 in the 1920's. Since then it has declined and today is a mere shadow of its former self. Still though it has an interesting history. The very first overnight establishment opened by the Fred Harvey company was the Clifton Hotel in Florence. Today it is a museum and restaurant. You can read about Florence at the city Web Site [1]. Here is a view of the Santa Fe Railroad Depot today in Florence. There is an interesting double stone arch bridge over the Cottonwood River located south of the small community of Clements which is northeast of Florence along US 50. [2] From "For Namesake, a Travel Book - Places in America Inspired by Famous World Cities"[5]: Florence, Kansas is a village of 465 located in Marion County along US Routes 50 and 77. It lies 12 miles southeast of the county seat of Marion. The Cottonwood River flows just to the east of the village, which promotes itself as “Nestled in a Valley of Opportunity”. The closest colleges are Tabor College near Hillsboro and Bethel College in North Newton. Florence was organized by the Florence Town Company, a group of men who proposed to build a town site where the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad would cross the Cottonwood River. It was established in 1870 and named in honor of the daughter of Samuel Crawford, ex governor of Kansas and member of the Florence Town Company. For a long time it was the only town in Marion County with a railroad. In the 1890’s as many as eight passenger trains a day would come through town. Florence was incorporated in 1872 and grew to its peak size of between 2000-3000 by the early 1920’s. Running water came to the village in 1888; the source was the Cottonwood River. As the village grew, a better source was required and in 1920 it switched its water supply to Crystal Spring, which supplies cool, good tasting 99.96% spring water to the village water tower to this day. Being on the River, flooding of the town occurred on numerous occasions. The most serious was in 1951 when 90% of the town was under water up to a foot and a half deep. In 1964 levees were constructed to the south and east of town and since then no flooding has occurred. [3] In the early 1870’s the Fred Harvey Company was founded with the purpose of offering good food in clean elegant restaurants to the traveling public throughout the southwest. In 1878 they opened there first overnight establishment, the Clifton Hotel in Florence. By 1884 at their peak, there were seventeen “Harvey Houses” along the Santa Fe Railroad. Learn about their history and see pictures at the Harvey House Home page on the web. [4] Today the Clifton Hotel is a museum and restaurant. Other places of historic interest include the Doyle House from 1881, the 110-foot landmark water tower from 1888 and the Bichet School east of town from 1896. The Santa Fe depot was built in the early 1900’s but is now closed. Every year Florence sponsors the “Tour De Florence” a bicycle tour through the nearby Flint Hills. They also have a farmers market and yearly Spring Flings and Labor Day festivities. Nearby, three museums of interest are; Kauffman Museum in North Newton, Mennonite Heritage Museum in Goessel and Roniger Memorial Museum in Cottonwood Falls. The Roniger Museum has an extensive collection of Indian artifacts. The Flint Hills Scenic Byway runs along US 177 through the village of Strong City. In the western part of Marion County traces of the Santa Fe Trail still exist. There are two large parks in Florence, Moses Shrine Park and Grandview Park. Boating is available at Marion Reservoir northwest of Marion. Southeast of Marion is a smaller lake, with a beech for swimming, at Marion County Park. Thirty miles south of Florence is Eldorado Lake and State Park. Hiking trails are available and a small head of Bison can be seen at the Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve north of Strong City. Notable residents of Florence include J. Ware Butterfield, Charles O. Fuller and J. K. McLean; all members of the Kansas House of Representatives. Notes: 1. http://www.florenceks.com 2. http://kansastravel.org/clementsbridge.htm 3. http://www.florenceks.com/text/city/city_history.htm 4. http://www.harveyhouses.net 5. http://www.amazon.com/For-Namesake-Travel-Book-ebook/dp/B00CBM6JFK/ http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/for-namesake-a-travel-book-places-in-america-inspired-by-famous-world-cities-rick-etchells/1115130086?ean=2940016722009 Article Picture is the 1896 Bichet School located east of Florence, Kansas. Photo Credit: (Wikimedia Commons – User: Brylie CC-BY-SA)
  4. From the album: For Namesake

    Old 1886 Stone Arch Bridge near Clements, Kansas.

    © Rick Etchells

  5. From the album: For Namesake

    Santa Fe Depot in Florence, Kansas

    © R. Etchells

  6. etchr66

    Tunnel View

    From the album: For Namesake

  7. etchr66

    Kings Canyon

    From the album: For Namesake

  8. etchr66

    Moro Rock

    From the album: For Namesake

  9. etchr66

    Humingbirds

    From the album: For Namesake

  10. etchr66

    Hetch Hetchy

    From the album: For Namesake

  11. I have just returned from a week's vacation to Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks in California. Each of them are fabulous in their own way and I would highly recommend that you visit them in you are able to. Like the Grand canyon you need to see these at least one time in your life. On the first day of our trip we flew in to Fresno and then drove to Three Rivers, California to spend the night. Three Rivers is just south of Sequoia National Park. The next day we spent in Sequoia National Park and visited the big trees including the General Sherman Tree and took a hike to the top of More Rock. The General Sherman Tree is the Largest Tree in the World based on the volume of wood and too large to get in one single photo. This will give you some idea of its size. The Hike to Moro Rock was well worth the more than 350 steps UP that it took to get there. Here is just part of the view from the top. We spent the night at Montecito Sequoia Lodge which is located on the Generals Highway right between Sequoia and Kings Canyon National parks. They had a small lake which you could row a boat on and great meals. The meals which included Dinner and a great breakfast are all part of the lodging price which was quite reasonable. The next day we spent the morning driving through Kinds Canyon and then drove on to our base of operation for visiting Yosemite National Park. Here is a view of the Canyon. Our base of operation for our visit to Yosemite was the Highland House B&B near Mariposa just one hour from the west entrance of Yosemite. I highly recommend this B&B, very friendly folks, great breakfasts and more hummingbirds than I have ever seen in one spot at a time. We had two days to visit the park. The first day was very full from 9AM to about 7 PM visiting the Yosemite Valley, driving the Tioga Road which we were surprised to find open tis early in the year and seeing Hetch Hetchy which forms mush of the water supply for the city of San Francisco. Do a web search on Hetch Hetchy and read about its amazing history and the controversy with none other than John Muir. Here is a view of the reservoir. The 2nd day we drove the southern part of the park and visited the Mariposa grove of big Sequoia trees, took the road to Glacier Point. THe lead photo of this blog entry is taken from Glacier Point. We also stopped at Tunnel View. Here is a photo of yours truly from Tunnel View. After a fabulous time with a third night at the Highland House B&B, it was a grueling day of travel back home to Houston. We arrived back home at 12:30 AM the next day. You may ask what does all of this have to do with our Namesake towns that we have been talking about. Well just about a 100 miles northwest of Yosemite National Park you will find the town of Georgetown, California. Georgetown was founded as part of the California Gold Rush of 1849 so it has quite a history also. If it wasn't for it and the many other Gold camps, California would be quite different than it is today. Georgetown, California is a town of 2,367 located in El Dorado County along California Route 193. It lies 12 miles north of Placerville, the county seat of Eldorado County and 12 miles east of Auburn. The nearest colleges and universities are in Sacramento, the capital of California. These include the California State University Sacramento Campus, Capital Bell College and Trinity Life Bible College. For more information on Georgetown please see my book "For Namesake, a Travel Book - Places in America Inspired by Famous World Cities" at the the links given below. Links: For Namesake at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Namesake-Travel-Book-Inspired-ebook/dp/B00CBM6JFK For Namesake at Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/for-namesake-a-travel-book-places-in-america-inspired-by-famous-world-cities-rick-etchells/1115130086?ean=2940016722009 Montecito Sequoia Lodge: http://www.mslodge.com Highland House B&B: http://www.highlandhouseinn.com/?gclid=CIHCo4GSoLcCFYFQ7AodSSsAAw
  12. I just wanted to let everyone know that I have started a new Blog on American Road. It is entitled "For Namesake". It is about cities and towns in America that were inspired by Famous World Cities. With each installment of this blog we will explore towns in our great country that have the same names as famous world cities. Places like Athens, Berlin, Cairo, Dublin, London, Paris, etc. Many of these are along famous highways like Route 66, the Lincoln Highway, Yellowstone Trail, etc., while others are on back country roads that you might otherwise never drive on. So far I have posted an introduction Blog and two towns, Athens, Texas and Florence, Oregon. Many more will follow every week or two. If you can't wait to read about them all (185 or so in total) you can read ahead by going to Amazon or Barnes & Noble and downloading a copy of my Ebook about them "For Namesake, a Travel Book - Places in America Inspired by Famous World Cities". Search for it by my name Rick Etchells. Hope that you all enjoy - I wrote it for all of us that have an urge to wander even if that is only in your armchair with a map and a suitable cool drink alongside. etchr66 (aka Rick Etchells)
  13. etchr66

    Florence, Oregon

    This installment of our blog about places in America Inspired by Famous World Cities is about Florence, Oregon. It is from the Book "For Namesake, a Travel Book". Florence is an interesting place with a very nice bridge across the Siuslaw River. This week they hold their Annual Rhododendron festival from May 17 to May 19. If you aren't able to visit check out the pictures of Rhododendron's on Either Google or Bing Images, very nice. Also be sure to read up on the famous exploding whale incident below - unbelievable. If anyone has visited Florence please leave me a comment and let me know what you thought of it. Florence, Oregon is a town of 8,466 located in Lane County along the Pacific Coast Highway, US Route 101. It lies along the Pacific Coast at the mouth of the Siuslaw River, some 50 miles west of Eugene, the county seat of Lane County. There is a satellite campus of Lane County Community College in Florence. The main campus is in Eugene as is the University of Oregon. US Highway 101, known as the Pacific Coast Highway, runs mostly along the coast from Port Angeles, Washington to Los Angeles, California. It is highly scenic and almost as historic and famous as Route 66. When you drive it, enjoy the beautiful scenery, but beware that is can be a twisty windy road in many areas. Learn about it at the us-101.com website. [1] The first settlers in the area around Florence were the Siuslaw Indians. Lane County was established in 1851. White settlers came to the area around Florence in the 1870’s. The story of how the settlement received its name is a matter of discussion. Historical records at the University of Oregon indicate that a sailing vessel named Florence was wrecked nearby along the coast in 1875. Legend has it that a wooden board, with the name of the boat on it, was found by local Indians and given to the townspeople. Thomas Safly supposedly nailed this board to the hotel in town, that was also the post office, and with that the town was named Florence. Others claim that the town was named for State Senator A.B. Florence. He was a supporter of the coastal region and it would be logical that the townspeople might name their town after him. The early 1880’s saw the growth of sawmills and a salmon cannery along the Siuslaw River in the area. The town was incorporated in 1893. [2] Florence has a number of places listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Among them is the Edwin M. Benedict House, said to have inspired Ken Kesey’s Stamper house from his novel “Sometimes a Great Notion”. The William Kyle and Sons mercantile building dates from 1901 and the Art Deco Siuslaw Bridge from 1936. There are two museums in town, the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum and Dolly Wares Doll Museum. The waterfront Old Town district has a number of excellent seafood restaurants. You can try your luck at Three Rivers Casino located just outside of town on the Florence-Eugene Highway (Oregon Route 126). Ten miles to the north of town you may view Sea Lions at Sea Lion Caves, said to be the world’s largest sea cave. If covered bridges strike your fancy, there are some 20 of them located throughout Lane County. [3] Every May, since1908, Florence has hosted its annual Florence Rhododendron festival. Florence is the site of the infamous exploding whale incident. This took place in 1970 when the Oregon State Highway Division thought it would be a good idea to blow up a beached sperm whale with dynamite. Needless to say they got more than they bargained for. You can watch the video at “The Exploding Whale .com” web site [4] Florence abounds in opportunities for outdoor recreation. Head a few miles south to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, where you can hike or ride a dune buggy on the extensive coast side sand dunes, some of which reach 500 feet in height. Or you may take a jet boat or old fashioned sternwheeler out on the Siuslaw River. Fishing and boating are available at any of 17 lakes in the area. The Oregon coast has more than 60 State Parks or recreation sites. The five near Florence are Jesse M. Honeymoon Memorial State Park, Darlingtonia State Nature Site, Bolon Island Tideways State Scenic Corridor, Carl C. Washburne Memorial State Park, and Heceta Head Lighthouse State Scenic Viewpoint. One famous resident of Florence is poet Scott Wannberg, author of the book “Strange Movie of Death”. Notes: <http://www.us-101.com> <http://www.northwestmagazines.com/oregon_coast_florence_origin_of_name.php> <http://www.lanecounty.org/About/Documents/Cov_Br_Bro_03.pdf> <http://www.theexplodingwhale.com> Photo Credit: (Wikimedia Commons – Sam Beebe CC-BY-SA)
  14. etchr66

    Athens, Texas

    Since I recently returned from a trip to Athens, Texas I would like to start this Blog with that town. If you go I can highly recommend the restaurant at the Lake Athens Marina. The catfish was fantastic. Plan to arrive early enough in the day to visit the Texas Freshwater Fisheries center which is also located on lake Athens which is just about 4 miles east of the town. Athens, Texas is a city of 12,710 located 70 miles southeast of Dallas on US 175. Texas Routes 31 and 19 also bisect the city. It is the county seat of Henderson County and home to Trinity Valley Community College. Several Lakes and recreation areas are located nearby. Athens was established and became the county seat of Henderson County in 1850. It was named Athens after Athens, Greece, because it was expected to become the cultural center of the state. Athens was a small village in its early years and had no improved roads or sidewalks. The Cotton Belt Railroad arrived in 1880, followed by the Texas and New Orleans in 1900. The city was incorporated in 1902. Cotton was the main agricultural crop until around 1930; however, during the depression it switched to livestock and vegetables. Industry arrived in the 1950’s, and Athens had a furniture plant and an electronics manufacturer. By the 1980’s many other small industries were added. [13] Trinity Valley Community College was established in 1946 and was named for the nearby Trinity River. They have around 6,500 students with campuses in Athens, Palestine, Terrell and Kaufman, Texas. The school also offers a distance-learning program. Athens has been called the “Black Eye Pea Capital of the World” and was the largest producer of them from the 1930’s to the 1970’s. It still holds an annual festival to celebrate them called “The Black Eye Pea Jamboree” every July. Even from Egyptian times the pea has been a symbol of good luck. Tradition has it that those who eat this inexpensive and modest food on New Years day will bring good fortune to themselves for the entire year. This is so prevalent in Texas that rumor has it you can lose your Texas citizenship if you don’t participate in this time honored ritual. [14] According to local lore, Athens is also supposed to be where the hamburger sandwich got its first start. The story goes that it was invented by a man by the name of Fletcher Davis and that he introduced them to the world at the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair after first serving then in his downtown Diner in Athens. The “Uncle Fletch’s Burger and Bar-B-Q cook off festival is held every year in downtown Athens in June. [15] The Athens Visitors center located on the downtown square at 124 N. Palestine can provide information on all the local area attractions. These include the Athens Scuba Park, offering underwater viability up to 70 feet; Henderson County Historical Museum; East Texas Arboretum & Botanical Society with a 100-acre arboretum featuring walking trails and the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center. This complex offers more than 300,000 gallons of aquarium exhibits and includes nearly every species of freshwater fish seen in Texas. The center is located at 5550 Flat Creek Road (F.M. 2495) near Lake Athens. It is a must see if you are in the area. The nearby city of Palestine, offers the very popular Texas State Railroad, a 25-mile steam train excursion to the town of Rusk and back. Lakes abound in the Athens area and include Cedar Creek Reservoir, Lake Athens, Lake Palestine, and Richland-Chambers Reservoir. Purtis Creek State Park is located near Cedar Creek Reservoir and also includes its own 335-acre lake. United States District Court Judge, William Wayne Justice, was born in Athens, first practiced law there, and was city attorney for 8 years. President Lyndon Johnson appointed him to the district court in 1968. Notes: 13. <http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hea05> 14. <http://texaslesstraveled.com/blackeyedpea.htm> 15. <http://www.hamburgerhome.com>
  15. My name is Rick Etchells. I love to travel 2 lane highways and read about the history of the towns and cities along the back roads of America. Several years ago now I created the American Road Magazine Index. I maintain and update it with each new issue. The index is now available as a online database that allows you to search for the Magazine articles by Road Name, Route, Topic, Author, Department, etc. As I woud travel the back roads and the famous highways such as Route 66, The Lincoln Highway, Our National Road, etc., I often ran across towns that had the same name as famous world cities, towns such as Athens, Berlin, Cairo, Dublin, London, Paris, etc. I would always wonder how did they get those names and what their history was. I became so intrigued by this that I finally wrote and published a book about them. The book was recently released as an Ebook. It is entitled "For Namesake, a Travel Book - Places in America Inspired by Famous World Cities". It is available for the Kindle and devices with a Kindle app at the following Link: http://www.amazon.com/For-Namesake-Travel-Book-ebook/dp/B00CBM6JFK. It is also available for the Barnes and Noble Nook and devices with a Nook App at : http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/for-namesake-a-travel-book-places-in-america-inspired-by-famous-world-cities-rick-etchells/1115130086?ean=2940016722009 I believe that the towns talked about in the book would be of interest to the readers of American Road so I decided to start this blog to introduce them to my fellow roadies. With each installment we will talk about one of the towns from the book. In total the book talks about 17 Famous World Cities and 185 places in America that have the same names. The list includes: 14 towns named Athens 15 towns named Berlin 07 towns named Cairo 09 towns named Dublin 15 towns named Florence 13 towns named Geneva 17 towns named Georgetown 06 towns named Havana 06 towns, named Lima 09 towns named Lisbon 14 towns named London 05 towns named Madrid 10 towns named Milan 06 towns named Moscow 13 towns named Paris 08 towns named Rome 11 towns named Vienna 08 towns named Warsaw
  16. An awesome photo, Dave. We took a trip to Glacier in 2006. It really is a must place to go. I truly enjoyed the lakes and short hikes that are available there. We flew from Houston into Spokane and drove over from there. Saw some other parts of Montana as well and drove back to Spokane via Missoula and the Lolo pass. One of our fondest memories of Glacier was spending two nights in a cabin with no TV, No Phones, no radio, no internet, no email, no newspapers, etc. Thanks for bringing back the memories. etchr66
  17. I just finished reading this book and felt that I had to comment on it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is about a road trip that Harry and Bess Truman took right after he left the presidency. While it is indeed based on the 19 day road trip that he took in 1953, it is much more than that. It includes detailed history of the politics of the day, the presidency, the roads of the day and of every stop they made along the way. It is very well researched and extremely well written. If you enjoy history at all you will enjoy this book. I learned a lot not only about Harry and his presidency but also about nearly every thing else going on in America at that time. It was truly a great read. etchr 66
  18. Dave recently wrote: "I recall the trains in Nebraska when I was on the Lincoln last spring. They seemed to be just a couple of minites apart. And I passed by one that had derailed earlier in the day! It looked like maybe the trackl had failed. They seemed to be mostly carrying coal. Was that your experience?" Dave Keep the Show on the Road Dave - There were a lot of trains, about one every 20 minutes and sometimes they there were 2 or 3 in a row that were stopped behind a slower train in front of them even though there was more than one track, sometimes as many as 4 tracks. It seemed that they were a mixture of frieght trains with the large semitruck type containers and coal trains. If you like trains this is a great road to travel on. The train depot in Cheyenne, Wyoming is also well worth a stop. They have a nice train museum inside. etchr66
  19. In response o Denny's question the Gravel section where the Rainbow bridge is located is graded and does not require a high clearance vehicle. It is just north of Beaver Iowa as I recall. Greene County had a lot of Lincoln highway stuff plus some real live Burma Shave signs. Etchr66
  20. My friend and I recently completed a trip along the Lincoln highway from Laramie Wyoming to Chicago Illinois. It was a great trip and we really enjoyed seeing the sights along the way as well as some great Lincoln Highway signage. We did the trip in 3 1/2 days so we were pretty much on the move from sun up to sun down each day. We followed Brian Butko's book Greetings from the Lincoln Highway as close as could. Highlights included: Wyoming - Lincoln Statue & Joy Monument at the 8800 foot high point of the Lincoln highway, The Ames Mounument, the Tree in Rock, A great Union Pacific Train Station in Cheyenne and Lady of Piece Shrine at Pine Bluffs. Nebraska - The start of about 70 trains a day as the Lincoln follows the main Line of the UP pretty much all through Nebraska and Iowa. It was at least 2 tracks at all time and up to four tracks in some areas. Spent the night at the Palimino Motel In Sidney and took in a movie (New Star Trek) at the 1951 Fox movie theater. We had a great home cooked breakfast in Brule, saw the Spuce Steet Station in Ogallaia,and drove across the Bailey rail yard in North Platte. Then we followed the 1913 Stairstep route from North Platte to Gothenburg. We saw the Arch over 1-80 at Kearney, Columbus has a great LH sign display in Pioneer park and we also saw the brick section at Clarks. Finally we saw the Lincoln Statue at Freemont. Iowa - A great brick section and nice LH display in Woodbine. The Donna Reed center in Denison was fantastic - they have a 1914 movie theater and a working soda fountain. Lots of LH mounuments in Carroll and Greene Counties where we also saw some Burma Shave signs and drove the 1913-1919 gravel section across the Lincoln and March briges- Great stuff. Some nice LH displays in Nevada followed by the Super LH bridge in Tama - a must see in my opinion and nicely maintained. There is a nice brick section to see in Mount Vernon as well. We voted Iowa as the Best LH state that we traveled through on this trip. Illinois - Nice Windmill at Fulton, the Lincon Bridge and Statue at Dixon as well as the arch they have. A few seedling miles are near Malta and Franklin Grove. We really enjoyed our stop at the Lincoln Highway Asociation in Franlklin Grove. There we finally found some Lincoln Highway Memorbilla Like hats, Shirts, Pins, books, etc. Last year we traveled the portion of the Lincoln Highway from Philadelphia to Chicago and couldn't find any LH stuff to buy. This was a great stop and also a must see for any LH fan. Sorry this was so long, but there was a lot to see and I have 206 photos to remember the trip by. Next May we plan to do the portion of the Lincoln Highway from Laramie, Wyoming to San Francisco. Stay on the roads and stay safe. Etchr 66
  21. We did indeed fill our tank at Dunkle's and were pleasantly surprised by the gas attentant that came out to fill our tank for us. The gas cost just the same as everywhere else in that region where you have to pump it yourself. He explained that Dunkle's was the only station left in Pennslyvania where they still pump your gas for you. What a treat. There is also a great photo stop at the edge of town at the old Coffee Pot. etchr66
  22. A friend and I recently traveled the Lincoln Highway as best we could follow it from Philadelphia to the Chicago Area. We had traveled all of Route 66 over the years and so we have now started to drive other famous highways. We take an annual trip and figure it will take at least two more such trips to compete the Lincoln. We found it a very worthwhile drive but significantly different than traveling on Route 66. There don't seem to be as many famous spots to see as on R 66. In most areas that we traveled we found great historic Lincoln highways signs, 1926 Cement posts, and some good Lincoln Statues. Also in Ohio there are some really cool brick sections. Ohio was very well signed but Indiana was not. We were surprised the most by what we could "not" find". That is Lincoln Highway memorabila, souvenirs, etc. No Lincoln Highway hats, T-shirts, etc. None anywhere that we could find. Also a lack of Lincoln Highway museums. On 66 this stuff is at every stop it seems, but not on the Lincoln. Highlights of the trip - Red Caboose Motel in Strausberg, PA; Dunkle's Gulf Station in Beford, PA; Flight 93 Memorial near Buckstown, PA;, The great bridges in Pittsburgh, PA; The large Teapot in Chester, WV; The NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, OH; The town of Van Wert, OH; The studebaker Museum in South Bend, OH and the 3 blocks in Plainfield, IL where Route 66 and the Lincoln highway are the same road. We used Brian Butko's book "Greetings from the Lincoln Highway and I highly recommend it to anyone interesetd in the Father Road. etchr66
  23. Where can we see a picture of this glorious pothole ? Surely some roadie somewhere has one to share. Thanks, etchr66
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