BlueRidgeMike
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Posts posted by BlueRidgeMike
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AWESOME! I will be stopping in that area to see friends, so perhaps we could all meet for lunch...? It'd be great to meet you! I'm posting approx times below....
Cort | 38.m.IL | pigValve + paceMaker + cowValve | 5 MCs + 1 Caprice Classic
* POST-SURGERY PARTY = ~5:30p-10:30p, SAT, 02/11/12; Beef Villa, 1225 W Spring St, S Elgin IL *
"Wouldn't you like to get away?" __ Gary Portnoy __ 'Where Everybody Knows Your Name (Cheers)'
9/6/12 in Greenville it is!
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As far as your "weekender" ... wow ... sounds great! Had to laugh at your description of your Wigwam experience. 65 still seems a bit cold to me ...
. I'm guessing you didn't stay long in Nashville TN?Cort | 38.m.IL | pigValve + paceMaker + cowValve | 5 MCs + 1 Caprice Classic
CHD.MCs.CC + RoadTrips.hobbies.RadioShows.us66 = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"If by chance you are ever this way look me up" __ John Anderson __ 'Down in Tennessee'
No, we had quite a bit of ground to cover, and as it was we didn't get home until about 10:00pm Monday night. Next time we'll take it a bit more leisurely.
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2012 ROAD TRIP
I lost 5 of my 15 vacation days due to my 11/11/2011 OHS, so it'll be a shorter journey.... IF it works out, I will follow the ROUGH schedule/outline below, arriving home before the LAST birthday of my 30s.
Any thoughts/suggestions about the schedule or route? Want to meet up along the way? Let me know, please!
Day 1, Saturday, 09/01/2012:
Elgin IL
central/Decatur IL
St Louis MO
Day 2, Sunday, 09/02/2012:
St Louis MO
Little Rock AR
Memphis TN
Jackson TN
Day 3, Monday, 09/03/2012:
Jackson TN
Big Sandy TN
Nashville TN
Birmingham AL
Day 4, Tuesday, 09/04/2012:
Birmingham AL
Tallahassee FL
Day 5, Wednesday, 09/05/2012:
Tallahassee FL
Orlando FL
Atlanta GA
Day 6, Thursday, 09/06/2012:
Atlanta GA
Greenville SC
Charlotte NC
Bridgewater VA
Day 7, Friday, 09/07/2012:
Bridgewater VA area
Day 8, Saturday, 09/08/2012:
Bridgewater VA
Alexandria VA
Baltimore MD
Philadelphia PA/NJ/NY
Day 9, Sunday, 09/09/2012:
Philadelphia PA/NJ/NY areas
Day 10, Monday, 09/10/2012:
Philadelphia PA
Binghamton NY
Buffalo NY area
Day 11, Tuesday, 09/11/2012:
Buffalo NY
Holsopple PA
Pittsburgh PA
Day 12, Wednesday, 09/12/2012:
Pittsburgh PA
Akron OH
Columbus OH
Day 13, Thursday, 09/13/2012:
Columbus OH
Indianapolis IN
Fort Wayne IN
Detroit MI
Day 14, Friday, 09/14/2012:
Detroit MI
Traverse City MI
Day 15, Saturday, 09/15/2012:
Traverse City MI
Elgin IL
Cort | 38.m.IL | pigValve + paceMaker + cowValve | 5 MCs + 1 Caprice Classic
CHD.MCs.CC + RoadTrips.hobbies.RadioShows.us66 = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"Getting there is half the fun" __ The Muppets, Kermit & Fozzie __ 'Movin' Right Along'
Sounds like a great trip Cort.
Day 1 - I know you probably have diet restrictions but if it were me, my first day would end at Ted Drewe's in St. Louis with a Big Apple Concrete.
Day 6 - Greenville, SC is getting pretty close to my house. Maybe we could arrange to meet there for lunch.
Day 14 - Make sure you have your jacket packed for Traverse City!
Mike
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By coincidence, an uncle who spends his winters near Lake Alfred, FL, called last night to invite me down for a stay. I think I'll probably follow through on it and had already started thinking about what Dixie Highway exploring I might be able to do. It looks like the Brevard-Volusia County Line is well within range. I don't want to push in front of you but taking a look has certainly occurred to me.
As a group I think we can find out a lot more about these roads than we can individually, so I absolutely hope you are able to get down there and check it out. Who knows, maybe by then we'll have a lead on another one.
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Wonderful. I've stopped at Horse Shoe Camp several times but you told me more about it after one stop than I've learned in seven years. My first sighting was in 2004 when the roof was still intact and the sign still horizontal. It was still fairly straight in 2009 but was listing considerably in 2010. That plywood in your photo is every bit as new as it looks. It has been added since September of 2010. Rain kept me from stopping when I passed in December but I regret not even getting a drive-by shot. I didn't know it was on the National Historic Register. Never thought of it. I see there is quite a bit of information on the application. Did you also find other sources?
Nothing that wasn't redundant with the application, so it probably came from the same place. I did notice that the application says that Western Kentucky University is a repository with a lot of info on the Horse Shoe. There was also an oral history interview done with the owner and the caretaker of the place in 1992 I believe. Not sure whether that interview is also housed at the university or not, but I'll bet there is a lot of good information in it.
Your Wigwam Village "weather report" definitely put a smile on my face. It wasn't too many years ago that it simply shut down in the winter. Then I think they decided that, if people were crazy enough to stay there in the winter (you & I both qualify:-), they'd let them. Of course, we're also crazy enough to appreciate a true classic that turns 75 this year. I've stayed at the three surviving Wigwam Villages. You started with the newest and moved to the oldest. I believe the one in the middle, Holbrook, is closer in age to the one in San Bernardino but closer to the one in Cave City in "amenities". I doubt, though, that you'll be staying in Holbrook in January.
Definitely not January! I'm guessing we'll make our trip sometime in June or July. It's difficult for me to plan trips too far in advance. I usually just try to go when there are lulls in the business, and I don't often know when that is more than about a month ahead of time.
Nice to see that both Hoskins Drug Store & Restaurant and the theater next door are still operating. Did you happen to stop at either of two attractions, Ciderville Music and the airplane gas station, just a little to the south?
We didn't stop nearly as often as I would have liked. I have been dealing with a toothache that is apparently going to require a root canal. So the long-winded answer is, not this time.
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Mike,
The only way to improve on the experience would be for the room to be 45 degrees when you returned, and you had to jump in a freezing bed, then enjoy the chatter of your teeth until you got cozy. Then the memory would endure far beyond the discomfort. Clean is necessary, heat is optional.....we are just spoiled.
Loved the story! And the Photos!
Dave
keep the Show on the Road!
I agree on all counts! The one other thing I really like to find is a great neon sign. I'll take that over heat any day.
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So our weekend jaunt is finished, and even with the rain we had a great time. In addition to covering old ground, we drove the rest of the Tennessee portion of the eastern alignment of the Dixie Highway from Newport to London, KY. I saw a great old overgrown drive-in in Newport that I'll go back to visit sometime soon. Lots of other interesting architecture too.
From London we headed west along Hwy 80 and 90, ultimately ending up at the Wigwam Village #2 in Cave City. Our last time through here was in the summer and we were disappointed to find out that the Wigwam was full that night because a tourist bus was taking up all of the rooms. Determined not to let that happen again I made a reservation. Turns out I needn't have worried. We were the only ones there. Literally. The office was even closed and they left the key in the mailbox for us. Tepee #13.
We got in the room and there were two small electric heaters going full blast, and it was about 50 degrees. We hoped that the owners had just put the heaters in our room before we got there; then we laughed hysterically and decided to go have dinner. To hedge our bet a little bit we closed off the bathroom door in order to make the space needing heat a little bit smaller. When we got back from a nice meal the room was a balmy 65 degrees or so, which was fine. The bathroom, on the other hand, was probably 40 degrees and the floor was foot-numbingly cold. I brushed my teeth quickly and made a mental note to skip my morning shower. The night was peaceful, uneventful, and we slept well. Would we go back? Ummm, yes...in the summer, and probably not before staying at the third Wigwam motel in Holbrook, AZ (San Berdoo, CA is already checked off). The room was old and HVAC challenged, but it was clean. I can put up with a lot but I can't abide by dirty. So in the end it was an enjoyable adventure.We got up early and packed the car and hit the highway. We didn't get very far before I saw this incredible falling down motor court, so I had to stop and take lots of pictures. It has gone by a few different name variations, but on its application for National Historic Register status it is called by its original name, Horse Shoe Camp. The camp is located 9 miles north of Bowling Green, KY on US-31. It started as a tavern in the early 1930s, added gas pumps and lots of cottages, and was a very popular and very busy place until 1965 when I-65 started diverting customers away. The owners stayed in business until the 1980s when they closed. Anyway, even in its decrepit, run-down state it is absolutely beautiful. And long after the roofs completely collapse the stone walls will still be standing as a silent reminder to what once was.
We moved on and drove through Bowling Green and toward Russellville. US-68 is mostly a 4-lane pseudo-expressway along there, but if you look carefully it isn't hard to find much of the original route that crosses back and forth under the super slab. One cut off and quiet section of the former US-68 / Dixie Highway is where the Shaker Village is located in South Union. It has been maybe 35 years since I was last there, when US-68 ran right by the fence separating the village from the road and cars whizzed by at 60mph. I drove several miles without seeing a single vehicle, and I stopped in the middle of the road to take several pictures of the idyllic village. I can tell you I wouldn't have done that in 1977!
Onward to Russellville, then Nashville, then southeast. We made it to Chattanooga by late afternoon and enjoyed the sites of Market Street (Dixie Highway) and other aspects of this reborn city. What a great place! Sharon's daughter attends college there so we had a late lunch with her before heading up the connector to Knoxville. By the time we got there it was starting to get late and we were still a long way from home. Since we had just driven this section of the Dixie the day before we decided to cheat and take I-40 home so we could get to bed before midnight.
On the way home we talked about our plans to take another end-to-end trip on Route 66 this summer. How to get to Chicago has always been the question before. This time it's a no-brainer. Go to US-31W in Cave City and hang a right this time.
Ciao,
Mike
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While I was thinking about visiting the Franklin monument, I dropped a note to Russell Rein to see if he could help clear up the two alignments for me. His reply was a real "duh" moment since he mentioned Mike Buettner and I recalled that Mike has a very nice article on line about the Dixie Highway in Ohio. That article is here. The report of me taking advantage of it is here.
The monument was right where it was supposed to be and I believe I've now driven fairly accurate modern versions of both Franklin to Cincinnati routes. Once in downtown Cincinnati it's kind of a crap shoot but I'm going to claim having done it right at least once in the past ten years if only by accident.
Great writeup of your short trip to the Franklin monument Denny. I don't know Mike but I had come across his very detailed driving directions through Ohio on the Dixie Highway. I printed them out prior to our trip to Michigan, then promptly forgot them.
I managed to get shots of the last two of the seven monuments in North Carolina on Saturday. And it's hard to say for sure, but if the signs are located correctly the monument at the NC/TN border is actually in Tennessee. If it isn't exactly on the border it's within a few feet either way. That leaves Greenville (maybe next weekend), Franklin (maybe in the spring when we can get together) and Bradfordville, FL (who knows?).
There might be at least one more, though it will take a bit of investigation. The librarian for the United Daughters of the Confederacy sent me an article from the January 2011 issue of UDC that references the re-dedication of the Bradfordville monument. In the article written by a member of the Tallahassee, FL chapter of the UDC, she mentions that, "At one time a Dixie Highway marker was located on the Brevard-Volusia County Line, however, that marker is unconfirmed as still in place."
So it's time to confirm it I guess!
Mike
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Sounds like an awesome way to spend the weekend, Mike. ENJOY!
And ... Nashville is my favorite city, with the Nashville/Big Sandy/Jackson TN triangle along I-40 being my favorite area of the US.
Cort | 38.m.IL | pigValve + paceMaker + cowValve | 5 MCs + 1 Caprice Classic
CHD.MCs.CC + RoadTrips.hobbies.RadioShows.us66 = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"Let's make our escape" __ Creed __ 'Higher'
Thanks Cort. The trip was pushed back a day so we went on Sunday and Monday instead of Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was sunny but we ran into quite a bit of rain on Monday. It was still a very pleasant trip though.
Mike
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Yeah, that day was pretty much a waste weather wise. With better weather, I'd have probably looked over Stone River Battle Field south of Nashville though I don't really know what's there. If you like old falling down stuff, you might like the ruins of Bell's Tavern in Park City and the ruins-in-process of Horseshoe Camp Motel on towards Bowling Green. The old motel is on the right side of 31W maybe halfway between Park City and Bowling Green. If something in particular interests you and you'd like better direction, I can probably come up with some.
I've been copying your notes and printing them out to take with us. Old buildings, motels, gas stations, etc. are high on my list of things to track down and shoot. Thanks for taking the time to mention these points of interest.
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Mike,
Looking at your latest photos was a real pleasure. The ones taken in the rain prove a road trip under cloudy skies can still be fun, and the photos can be great. Well done!
Dave
Keep the Show on the Road!
Thanks! I just bought my first digital SLR a few months ago, a Canon T2i. I've been practicing with it as much as possible. I bought it mostly so I could shoot neon lights but I haven't even done it yet. I had a pretty good point-and-shoot camera but couldn't adjust it enough to make the pictures come out like I wanted. I'm confident I'll be able to do so with this. I just have to find some good neon.
Mike
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I drove the Dixie Highway between Russellville, KY, and Shelbyville, TN, the week before Christmas. I know I'd driven much of it in the Nashville area before but it was "undocumented". I usually mention trips like that here but apparently missed that one. (My secretary's really been slacking.) The Dixie day is here although there aren't a lot of details.
You're probably more familiar with the area than I am but I'll still mention some things that come to mind:
- Wigwam Village #2 at Cave City is the oldest village still standing but a store/restaurant/gas station still operates on the site of Wigwam Village #1 at the intersection of US-31E and KY-218.
- The road behind WV #2 is the old DH.
- As a car guy, you're probably familiar with the Lane Museum in Nashville and the Coker Museum in Chattanooga. If so, excuse me for being unnecessarily redundant -- again.
- Chattanooga is home to one of my favorite breakfast spots, Aretha Frankenstein's, and "motels", the Delta Queen.
- Some great 'burgers (and many other things) are at Litton's just north of Knoxville.
Sounds like a wonderful time. Wish I was there.
I recall that you were heading that way when I was heading up the eastern alignment through your home town on my way to Michigan. Your notes are very much appreciated. I am somewhat familiar with Nashville, but I just sat here doing the arithmetic and realized it has been close to 35 years since I was in Russelville, KY. I was stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY back then and visited several of the small towns in the area back then. I am going to be flying blind through the better part of this trip, so I appreciate your suggestions. I took a look at your trip blog to glean what I could as well. From the looks of things the one advantage I'll have over your trip is a little more sunshine for picture taking.
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Since it appears that we are going to avoid any treacherous weather in the southern Appalachians this weekend, I think Sharon and I are going to do some exploring along the Dixie Highway. I think we'll start in Asheville and head through Marshall and then across US-25 to the state line to get pictures of the two remaining NC Robert E. Lee / Dixie Highway monuments that I don't have yet. Then from Newport, TN we'll follow the eastern alignment along 25W through Knoxville, then up to Corbin, KY. I have taken the 25E Cumberland Loop many times, but never this section of the route.
Once we get to Corbin we will make our way over to the western alignment at US-31W in Cave City, KY to spend the night at the Wigwam Village Inn #2. From there I'm not sure, but maybe we'll follow the western alignment down to Chattanooga, TN, then back to Knoxville, and home from there. The Wigwam has been on our to-do list for a while, and new sections of the Dixie Highway are always fun.Looking forward to a great weekend.
Mike
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It might well turn out that they will really appreciate your research, and maybe you will be the spark that gets them to revisit the efforts of their predecessors.
I didn't find anything to add to the list in the Google Archives on a quick search. There were a couple of stories about dedications in old newspapers but you had already identified the sites. None the less, I will keep my eye out.
Dave
Keep the Show on the Road!
Thanks for taking a look Dave. I'll keep my eyes open for more; it has been fun trying to track them down.
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Nice to know that the UDC did respond. The articles could certainly contain some interesting tidbits even if there is nothing about the monuments.
It never stopped raining on the day I threatened to run up to Franklin and now it's snowing. Maybe I'll get there when the spring thaw breaks.
"Montgomery Inn for ribs"? Hey, you're no stranger to these parts after all. And now you've awakened a craving that could just drag me out in the cold.
It's cold here but no snow yet; not even in the nearby mountains. I thought we might get some last night but it never happened.
The Montgomery Inn is my favorite place anywhere for ribs. I've eaten there 3-4 times in the last six months. That made up for about a 10 year absence. Sharon and I will make it up your way sometime soon and we'll get a chance to meet you face-to-face over the best ribs east of...anywhere!
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I heard back from the research librarian at the United Daughters of the Confederacy yesterday. She informed me that she was unable to find a list of all of the monuments, but she is mailing me some articles from their files about the Dixie Highway. I don't know if they reference any of the monuments (currently found or additional ones) or not.
So for now at least, my highly unofficial count is 10 monuments:
NC: NC/TN border, Hot Springs, Marshall, Asheville, Fletcher, Hendersonville and Tuxedo (NC/SC border)
SC: Greenville
FL: Bradfordville
OH: Franklin
Mike
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Not necessarily. There were two DH alignments south of Franklin. I'm not sure which is the oldest. If you were following OH-4/OH-73, you would have swung west just before reaching the marker. Of course, if you went directly south on the Cincinnati-Dayton Road alignment (which is actually called Dixie in spots), you have no excuse (except for the evil wizard thing). In looking at maps just now, I'm thinking that even the western DH might have originally passed the marker by turning west on Hamilton-Middletown Road rather than today's OH-73.
We did exactly as you described - we turned on OH-4/OH-73.
Franklin is one of those towns that has split traffic onto two one way streets. The northbound route is the one that follows the Dixie so you may have missed a section of the DH and the marvelous murals that make Franklin cool. You have lots of reasons to come back.
We definitely do!
Find a local guide and buy him a beer.
Actually you were on the right course. Vine Street being one way makes it impossible to precisely drive the DH southbound and construction near the bridge makes it tough, and sometimes impossible to drive it in either direction. First it was building the two stadiums and now it's the Banks Project which is filling up the space between. Access to the bridge isn't really blocked all that often but the various material and equipment sitting around can make it look like it is. This too shall pass or so they say. If you haven't driven the Roebling Bridge you have a really big reason to come back. It's possibly the coolest bridge on the DH and almost certainly the oldest. Construction was interrupted by the Civil War but it has been in service since 1868.I'd love to find that local guy and buy him a beer! We'll make it a point to hit Franklin and Cincinnati when you're in town and you can introduce us to your favorite watering hole. Or better yet, the Montgomery Inn for ribs!
Mike
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Hi Denny,
I must have driven right past the monument in Franklin on my way home from Michigan for Christmas and didn't notice it either. I took pictures of the NC/SC state line marker and the ones in Fletcher and Asheville this past weekend. I have pictures of downtown Marshall in my gallery from December and I completely missed the marker in front of the courthouse. I may drive back there this weekend if the weather is decent, then go on to capture the one at the NC/TN border.
I've read the Wikipedia article on the Dixie Highway, but have never updated anything in Wikipedia as you suggest. What is the process?
Also, I have been meaning to ask you about the route through Cincinnati. After Christmas we were heading south down Vine St. in Cincinnati, trying to get to the Roebling Bridge. We got to Central Parkway where we were forced off of Vine due to one-way traffic, and it was all downhill from there. Where should we have gone at that point? Even looking at Google Maps is unclear because it seems that the only road leading to the bridge is Race Street to Freedom Way, and it appears to be blocked by construction (or was at the time the photo was taken). Any ideas for my next trip through?
Mike
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Mike,
How did you find all of these.....by guess and by golly?...that is by "I see one!"
...
I suppose you have checked the modern web. How about Google's book archives?
Dave
Keep the Show on the Road!
Hi Dave,
I came across the first one (Hot Springs) online. I drive through that way often, and the funny thing is I have always noticed the monument. I was curious about what it said but could never read it from the road and I never stopped until last time. When I saw this one online it referenced others so I got curious and started searching via Google. I have never seen a list of these 10 all together. I have seen the seven NC monuments referenced and sometimes the eighth one in Greenville, SC is mentioned in the same breath. I visited the Daughters of the Confederacy web site but haven't contacted them directly yet. I may do that next.
If there are any more at all, there may not be many. It was the NC chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy that launched this program with an idea that first came up in 1818. It apparently took them eight years to get the first plaques made and dedicated.
An interesting side note is that there is a Civil War monument database on a NC government website (http://ncmonuments.ncdcr.gov/) that only appears to mention two out of the seven located in the state.
Mike
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Hi Everyone,
I have been taking pictures of the various Robert E. Lee / Dixie Highway monuments placed along the highway by the Daughters of the Confederacy in the 1920s and at least in one case, in the 1930s. It got me wondering whether there are still more out there that I haven't identified yet. These are the ones I know about:
North Carolina
1. Near Hot Springs at the NC/TN border on US 25.
2. Hot Springs, NC on US 25.
3. Marshall, NC on Main Street in front of the county courthouse.
4. Asheville, NC in Pack Square in front of the Vance monument.
5. Fletcher, NC on US 25 in front of the Calvary Episcopal Church.
6. Hendersonville, NC on Business 25 (Church Street) behind the historic courthouse. (This one was moved from Main Street in front of the courthouse in 2008)
7. Near Tuxedo, NC at the NC/SC border.
8. Greenville, SC on N Main Street at Elford Street.
Ohio
9. Franklin, OH at the intersection of the Old Dixie Highway and Hamilton-Middletown Road.
Florida
10. Bradfordville, FL on Highway 319, just south of the Georgia border.
Any others that you know of that I'm missing? I have pictures of the close ones except for #1, #3 and #8 so we might get those this weekend. I just don't want to drive all the way to #9 or #10 and find I passed others along the way.
Mike
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Dave,
That looks and sounds amazing. Thanks for sharing!
Mike
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Dave,
Beautiful pictures. I wish we had gotten as close to the lighthouse as you did. We spent the night in Newport last summer as the starting point for our US-20 trip.
Mike
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Nothing wrong ... saw it perfectly! That is a GORGEOUS '72 MC ... wow. Congratulations!!!!
Cort | 38.m.IL | pigValve + paceMaker + cowValve | 5 MCs + 1 Caprice Classic
CHD.MCs.CC + RoadTrips.hobbies.RadioShows.us66 = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"All the places I have yet to go" __ Luce __ 'Good Day'
Thanks Cort! I look forward to seeing your collection too. I loved seeing the pictures of your rental car parked next to the various Monte Carlos you came across.
Mike
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*grins*
Not a difficult decision for me ... the 1972 Monte Carlo, of course!
Do you have any pics of your newly-acquired '72 MC, by chance?Hi Cort,
I definitely want to meet you on one of my trips, whether in Elgin, along Route 66 or wherever.
I will try to attach a picture of the '72 below. I haven't attached a picture in any posts yet, so if you see it I must have done it right. If not, there must be something wrong with the process!
Mike
Robert E. Lee / Dixie Highway Monuments
in Dixie Highway
Posted
Not really. I used Google to search US-1 at the county border and the only thing I saw was the monument that shows up on the Wikipedia page for the Dixie Highway. I was unaware of the County Line Road/Dixie Way, so I hope you are able to find something there.
Yesterday we drove to Greenville, SC and got a picture of the monument there. I am trying to get a better sense of the route from the NC state line to downtown Greenville. You can still see snippets of the old road running parallel to US-25 in several places, and Old US-25 and Buncombe Road split off of the newer highway in a few places. I'm guessing that these may be remnants of the Dixie Highway, but I'm not sure. I'm also guessing that the highway originally went the direction of US-276 where it crosses US-25, but again, it's just a guess. I am on the lookout for one of the early ALA Automobile Green Books to help me pin down the route more exactly.
Mike