Alex Burr - hester_nec

Politically incorrect or not - MERRY CHRISTMAS, everybody, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope Santa brings all of you that GPS unit for our road travels - or maybe a complete collection of Automobile Blue Books or AAA tour guide books. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

I have a 1926 road map (goes along with the 1926 ABB I have) which shows the route from St. Augustine to Jacksonville as part of the Dixie Highway. From Jax west it's the Old Spanish Trail. Directions in the 1926 ABB are as follows: (Daytona Beach to Jacksonville), St. Augustine (Mile 68.7) - St. Augustine, King and Bay Streets before bridge > Left on Bay Street > 4-Cor. at old city gates; right with trolley on San Marco Ave. > (Mile 90.5) Bayard, 4 cor, Left across rr > (Mile 107.9) 4-cor at bank; left on St. Johns Ave. > (Mile 108.2) Right hand street; right across toll bridge over St. Johns River > (Mile 109.1) Forsyte Street, at cross-trolley; right > (Mile 109.6) Jacksonville, Forsyth and Main Streets. Jacksonville to Lake City, Madison, Monticello and Tallahassee (the Old Spanish Trail is shown joining the Florida Short Route from Lake City to Tallahassee). Leaving Jacksonville > Pavement and sand-clay. A section of the Old Spanish Trail and Dixie Highway. Follows State Highway No. 1. > OST starts at Main and Forsyth Streets > north on Main Street 1 block > (Mile 0.1) Adams Street, left > (Mile 1.1) Myrtle Avenue at end of pavement, right > (Mile 1.4) Enterprise Avenue at trolley, left > and on to Tallahassee and points west. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

One thing I've noticed while wandering around parts of Arkansas - the bridges I've found over the White River are quite spectacular. The one outside DeVall's on U. S. 70 (see a picture on my web site @ http://www.freewebs.com/yankeetraveller/ under Arkansas Ramble Part 2) and another on U S 79 a bit to the south (need to get pictures of that one.) I'm not 100% sure but I think they demolished the DeVall's bridge when they by-passed it a little to the north. Got to check that one out. I'm surprised you didn't stop in New Madrid, Denny. That is famous for the big earthquake back around 1813 (and we're due again) that was felt as far away as Baltimore. There is a great little museum and a couple old houses that are very interesting. Anyway, safe travels. I'll have to get over to Hardy one of these days and check out that car museum. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

The thing I like about the (Sikeston/Cairo) area is the number of U S highways that converge in the area; 51, 60, 62 (and a little further west 61). And 67 a bit further west over by Poplar Bluff, about 45 miles, as the Ivory Billed Woodpecker flys. Crossing the bridge is Cairo is a "thrilling" experience - especially if there's an 18 wheeler or a Greyhound bus coming the other way!!! I've driven thru that area a few times and always enjoyed it. It's on the edge of the north/south border, so to speak, but has pretty much the charm and slow paced life like that further to the south. It's not heavily developed - there's not much there to develop, but I'm sure it will be someday. I've followed U S 51, which passes thru Cairo, between Winona, MS, and Decatur, IL over the years - one of these days I should follow the rest of it. Safe trip Denny - looking fwd to your daily trip reports. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Maybe it is - along with pleasure and health it also teaches you frustration (along with a whole new language), patience and a few other things. Certainly there are times when they are not "easy to take"!!!! Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

By Motor to the Golden Gate is excellent reading. We take so much for granted with our roads of today - reading books like By Motor, and others of that period, are enlightening to say the least. If you think of the transcontinental road trips of the early 1900's in the context of man going to the moon, you begin to appreciate what those drivers and travelers went thru. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Old Sturbridge Village for Thanksgiving!!! Now that's a great idea. Actually, I didn't realize they were still operating. It seems to me that it was suggested for a tour at the 2008 Massachusetts National, which was close enough, but was not added because it was thought to be closing it's doors. I'm glad to see that it is still up and operating. I've also been to the aviation museum at Bradley - a really interesting collection. When I was there they had an HU-16/SA-16 Albatross amphibian. Since I'd been connected to those when I was, briefly, in Coast Guard aviation I got a chance to see it up close and personal and give the museum some information on it. Glad you had a great trip (and I have also been on parts of U S 6 in New York - but it was a while back). Safe travels everybody. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN Oh, PS - coming back from Texas today I came up I-30 from Texarkana to Little Rock due to bad weather. I-40 was even worse with all the trucks tossing water all over the place, so I dropped over to U S 70. Sad to say the by-pass of the beautiful old bridge in Devalls Bluff is complete. The by-pass almost runs over the old, now abandoned, railroad bridge - tho the top of that sticks up beside the by-pass. You can still get to the old bridge, but I'm not sure if it's even passable - it probably is, but I'll have to check it out someday.

Little late, but I hope everybody had as great a Thanksgiving as I did. If you don't really have family to share with, good friends will do the trick. I was invited to Bulverde, TX, to spend Thanksgiving with friends - from my "Hudson" family. We had 15 people for dinner - brothers, sisters, step-mom and dad and two Air Force recruit trainees from Lackland AFB, which is just south of here. These two, Priscilla Revera from New Jersey and Jamie Traver from Michigan are 18 years old and away from home for the 1st time in their lives. They were part of the San Antonio military/civilian "Share the Holiday" program - there were, the girls told me, were 4000 Air Force personel participating. The Army, at Fort Sam Houston, also in San Antonio, also participates. It gives these great young men and women a day away from the rigors of the service and a chance to enjoy a home-like atmosphere. Our hosts, Russel and Vicki, gave their cell phones with loads of free minutes to the girls and they both talked to family for over an hour. This is one Thanksgiving I'll long remember. I even got to participate in the Christmas opening ceremonies here in Bulverde with the Chiltons - we went downtown and watched the parade with Santa and Mrs. Santa being conveyed in the local fire truck. Bulverde is a very small town - the parade consisted of two local police cars (2 or 3 others were on blockade duty), two fire trucks and the police chief's car!!! It was all of 5 blocks long, if that. Ah, I'd forgotten how great small town celebrations can be. So, now we move on to the next - here's wishing everyone a VERY HAPPY AND MERRY CHRISTMAS and the absolute best of the upcoming holiday season!! Safe Travels all. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Your comment on the "lady at the counter didn't speak English............." rings a bell. A few years back, before I moved to Memphis, I would go down to Massachusetts and stay a Saturday night with a friend - on Sunday we would head for a Hudson car meet near by that was, at that time, hosted twice a year by some great people. We'd usually stop at a Burger King in Brockton, MA, for breakfast. I always had the #1 sausage-egg-cheese croissant simply because the people working there spoke at least 3 different languages (1 was Spanish - I don't have a clue as to the other two) none of which were English. My friend told me one of the other languages was Cape Verdian, what-ever that was. As I said I ordered the #1 - at least I know Numero Uno!!!! LOL Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

I use the "shotgun" method. For example: I took a trip to the San Antonio, TX, area from Memphis. Looking at the map (paper as well as Streets and Trips) I found that U S 79 runs thru Memphis on down across Arkansas and winds up just north of Austin. Close enough for gov'mt work. Did deviate a little - 79 goes thru Shreveport and then west. So I when I came to 82 I went west to Texarkana, then south on 59 back to 79. No planning, just climbed in the car and went. Found most of the route pretty much empty of cars, about 50/50 2-lane/4-lane, cruise along about 60/70 - and best of all NO D&*^*(&D 18 wheelers!!!!!!!!!! Well, ok, once or twice maybe. Only trouble with 79 - great if you like cotton fields (Arkansas) or other crops (Texas) and miles and miles of flat, open road. Did find a very nice bridge across the White River and an interesting, almost like an aqueduct for cars over some wet spot. I'll have to try and get pictures of that next trip. I've done a number of day trips around here - tracing out U S 51 and U S 61 in the area, going about 50 or 60 miles from Memphis. Again, no real planning - just go and find out what's out there. That's my method. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

When I lived "down" Maine, as they say, one of our favorite drives, when the leaves turned, was to take Route 99 out of Kennebunk, up thru Acton to Sanbornville, NH. From there we'd drive north on Route 16 to Conway, then west on Route 112 (the Kankamagus Highway) thru the White Mountain National Forest which brought us into Lincoln on U S 3. There was always time for a stop at the famous Clarks Trading Post - back then the attraction was pretty much the trained bears (an excellent show they put on and very informative about the bears). Sometimes we'd go check on the Old Man of the Mountain, but sadly he fell off his perch overlooking Echo Lake back in 2003. Usually we'd round out the day driving south on U S 3 to U S 11 then east back to Rochester and U S 202 back to 109 in Sanford and home again. Nice thing about that area is there are so many different alternatives to choose from. For example you can go north from Lincoln on U S 3, or from Conway on 16, for example and find much to see and enjoy. It was a long day's travel, but the scenery never ceased to amaze and make the journey interesting. And so many things to see and do along the way. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Great photos and sounds like a great trip - I have to admit, I've lived in Memphis for over two years now and still havn't gotten to the Stax museum. Visited a lot of other places, like the zoo, the Cotton Museum and other sites - but not even Graceland, tho I have been over to the mess across the street. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

I used to sleep in my car at camp grounds - but that gets really. really old when you get past 60 or 65. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Actually, Denny, it runs pretty much NE/SW, at least 90% of the way - all the way from Kaintuck to Austin, with a couple short N/S alignments in NE Arkansas and SW Arkansas down into Lousyana. In that respect it is consistent - as opposed to many others that seem to wander all over the place. As I drove this route I could not help but wonder if this was, back in the 1800's, the trail that men like Davy Crockett and others followed on their way to immortality at the Alamo. Interesting conjecture. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN (Bulverde, TX)

Since my room-mate needed a few days to recuperate from a heart probe, and some other tests, and was having a girl friend over to help her out, I decided this would be a great time to head for the little town of Bulverde, TX, just north of San Antonio, to visit with the fellow I went to the Hudson National with in July and his family. So out with the maps, and we find that U S 79 runs all the way to Austin!! Close enough for govm't work. Only problem is that 79 turns south in Magnolia, AR, runs down to Minden, then thru Shrevesport and then into Texas thru Marshall. So we opted to turn west on U S 82 in Magnolia for Texarkana, then south on U S 59 to Marshall and pick up 79 to Austin. We took I-40 into Arkansas, then turned south on 79. We found the roads to be flat, straight and in great shape - and NO 18-wheelers. We were running 65 and 70 most of the way to Magnolia, where we turned west on 82 for Texarkana. We had trouble finding 59 in Texarkana, tho - with highway construction it is confusing. We probably didn't go far enough on 82 so ended up turning north on I-30 for a short distance until we found 59 south. That is a great road - 4-lane divided most all the way to Marshall, where we stayed the first night - around 400, 410 miles in 8 hours. The next day we picked up 79 and found long empty stretches of 2 lane (somewhat narrow 2-lane) with posted speed limits of 70!!! And NO 18-WHEELERS. Well, not many anyway. We found hiway construction, widening to 4 lanes, in the Hearne-Gause-Rockdale area and 4-lane divided from Rockdale into Austin. And only a few 18-wheelers!!!!!! We were taking U S 290 west south of Austin, traffic thru Austin on the I-30 to be a nightmare, but we finally made it. From there on to U S 281 was a beautiful drive thru mostly hilly country, again speeds of 65 to 70 were possible with very light traffic. We went south a few miles on U S 281, then turned off to Russells house in Bulverde - a run of 350 miles in 7 hours. Although we had foggy conditions early the first morning, and intermittent rain shows most of that first day, the 2nd day was mostly sunny and temps in the hi 60's giving a pleasant drive. We didn't take any pictures, 'cause there weren't nothing to take pictures of!!! Most of the route thru Arkansas is thru flat farmland; in Texas much is also farmland, and such towns as exist out there only consist of a few buildings that probably date back to the early 1900's if not a tad earlier. It is a great alternative to the interstates - and did we mention NO, OR VERY, VERY FEW 18-WHEELERS????? Safe traveling everybody - y'all have some great road trips. Hudsonly, Alex Burr

Seems like only yesterday you posted Day 1 - and now you're safely home again. Bet this trip will remain in your memory file for a loooooong time. Thanks for taking all of us along with you - it's been a great trip, even if we all were only able to read about it. But I guess we all wouldn't quite fit into your 'vette. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Fast fwd 70 years: so much traffic today somebody would have been killed; somebody in a car would (ooops) accidently run at least one biker off the road; at least 30 drivers would be on cell phones calling 911; if no helmets, as shown then, probably get that added to the tickets. Ain't progress fun!!! Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Mention of the big clear channel stations reminded me of the one's we used to get back in the 50's - clear up in New England - like XERF (think Wolfman Jack) broadcasting out of Del Rio, Texas (840 kHz transmitter) was one of those border stations. Remember - send your dollars to Jesus - that's J-E-S-U-S and get a glow in the dark Jesus statuette for your dashboard. You could almost cook an armadillo within 50 miles of the transmitter from the radiation the carrier was putting out. Carrier was listed as 500 KW, but the engineer types put in the goat glands to make considerably over a megawatt on a good day. Anyway, Dave, your comments brought back some memories of some of the places I stayed back in the 50's. And you forgot to mention the critters some of those old motels came with - spiders, for example, you had to beat off with a baseball bat. I shared one motel somewhere in Kentucky with a squirrel one night!!! He didn't seem to mind!!! LOL Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

The Great American Road Trip, in the last episode, was down to 3 families and they were in Winslow, AZ. They stopped at the Grand Canyon, and there were some great shots of the canyon. Not to sure where they'll end up next week. An earlier episode showed the Route 66 drive-in in Carthage - they contestants stopped there for a King of the Road Challenge. My favorite family are the DiSalvatore's - he is so typical New York, right down to the accent. And funny. When the started this contest in Chicago he got behind the wheel of the RV and said "How do you start this thing!!" In this last episode it showed him trying to figure out how to put gas in the RV. I hope they make it further down the road. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

This list reminds me of what I forgot in my last post. 8, 9, 10 years back I used to go out to Decatur, IL, on my way to Memphis to visit friends. Most of the time, going either way (east or west) I would use U S 36 out of Decatur to Indianapolis, then take either U S 40 or 30 just to get away from I-70. Other times, I would go north and take U S 24 across and pick up 30 in Van Wert (or come down off I-80 to Mansfield to 30. Or take 224 across. Truck traffic was/is heavy on 30 so not as enjoyable. As I said in my earlier post, using the old roads was enjoyable - cruise along at 60 or even 65 with no problems and very little traffic. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Two lane roads, wagon and a couple mules - what else you need for the ultimate road vehicle!!! Oh, yeah, forgot the Aussie sheep dog for company. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Why not take a side trip now and again, just to break the monotony of the great interstate. There have been many times, when I was driving to Memphis and back to Maine on my yearly Christmas trip to my daughters, that I would drop off I-81, for example, and follow U S 11 up thru the Shenandoah Valley for a few miles. I've done the same on short stretches of U S 70 between Trashville and Knoxiousville. And more than a few times have come back from Brinkley, AR, after a pet transport from Memphis to Brinkley using U S 70 over there. 70 is so close to the interstate that only a few locals use it and I can make almost as good time over there as I can on I-40 - and no freaking trucks on 70 either!!!!!!! Definite plus. In the past, on trips down to visit my friend Cloyd in Mississippi I've used U S 51 instead of I-55. Again, the roads are so close very little traffic on 51. And a couple trips down to Clarksdale I've used the old U S 61 - 2-lane as opposed to the current 4-lane just to the east. Again, a 4-lane next door, no traffic on the old road. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

The ultimate in collecting taxes??? Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Not really - there are rock paintings still visible in many places that go back thousands of years. But this discovery is still awesome. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN