Alex Burr - hester_nec

I can't wait to hear what "old road" route you took to get from Hot Springs to Eureka Springs!!!!!!!!!! Should prove interesting. I'm a tad familiar with that area and the routing must have been a doozy. Interesting - straight line as the woodpecker flies is about 135 miles - road wise it's closer to 200 or so. Looking at the maps it jogged my memory - I went thru Eureka Springs back in 1990 on the way from Memphis to Wichita. Took I-40 to Conway, then 65 to 62 thru Eureka Springs and to AR 37 to 60 over to 71. As I recall that section of 62 was a real "eastern" mountain road!!! Safe traveling. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Consider yourself lucky you didn't have access to the old bridge at Vicksburg. Back in (yeah, yeah, here we go with a "back in" story!!) 1958, when I was stationed in Kingsville, TX, I was assigned, along with another great pretender to bring a couple big Navy trucks from Navy Millington to Kingsville. Looked to me like the best route was down 61 to Vicksburg and then across the river. Damn that old bridge was narrow - I met a big civilian truck coming the other way and we both left parts of our left side mirrors in the middle of the bridge!!! Seems like early bridge builders thought narrow was the way to go - try the bridges at Cairo sometime. Turn your hair gray early. There's lots and lots of those old 1940 towns here in the south - Mississippi probably has more than anybody else. Some just havn't faded yet. I can show you U S 61 (OLD 61) between Memphis and Clarksdale where on the map there are a bunch of towns shown - like Robinsonville, Dundee, Newport and a couple others - that are on the map, but are now just a dusty crossroad that you can't identify as a town. They are - but they aren't. Keep those great reports coming down the pike - we are enjoying every word. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Hey Starfire - I'm Scottish. Therefore I'm not cheap, I'm frugal!!!! LOL Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Absolutely beautiful. Love these road trip reports - lets me travel without spending gas money!!!! As the previous post said, keep 'em coming. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Is everybody sure it was an earthquake ----------- or Denny's snoring??????? Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Memphis/Millington area, while I was out and about, gas prices range from $3.30-$3.38 for regular; $3.45-$3.52 mid-range and $3.60-$3.75 for premium. Diesel stands at around $4 everywhere. There IS something we can do about it as follows: 1) Vote in a new administartion in November and hope THEY do something; 2) Everybody change their driving habits - not likely to happen as we Americans ARE going to do our thing and price be damned; 3) Shoot the speculators that are driving oil prices to Mars (well, it's a thought!!); 4) Truckers go on a National strike. Shut down the trucks and something's gonna happen real quick. Tha't's probably more of a possibility than 1 and 2. The independent truckers are already starting to park their rigs in some places. But as long as the trucking industry can pass on the added cost to us (we've felt it in the grocery store already) it'll be a while before a national strike happens. The pot may come to a boil Memorial Day weekend. That's the first big travel weekend of the summer season and traditionally gas prices go up like a rocket powered elevator. I suspect prices will go over $4 a gallon and it should be interesting to see what happens. Motel owners should start burning their motels for the insurance money shortly. I bought two gallons of gas for my lawn mower the other day - the gas is worth more than the mower!!!! For myself - well, I go do all my errands on Friday, if possible. Rest of the week the car sits. I've got several road trips planned out around the area, but am putting those on hold for a while. I will still do pet transports - I have one to Brinkley, AR, on Sunday. That's about 125 mile round trip. But it's well worth it to help some pup get out of a bad situation and go on to a new and more loving (hopefully) home. And sometimes I can make a road trip out of it - like coming back from Brinkley I can use U S 70 (parallels I-40) so little, if any traffic to worry about. Everybody take care and safe traveling. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

W. Memphis, AR to Gilmore, AR: SR-77 (Old US 63??) Arkansas State Route 77 is, I'm convinced, old U S 61. This is based on old tour guide books and that the street, in Left, uh, West Memphis is Missouri Street. It was probably a dual alignment for 63 from Turell into West Memphis and also 64 from Marion into W. Memphis. I havn't dug all that out yet. CORRECTION:[b/] Dug thru a 1941 AAA Tour Book, Western Edition. This shows U S 64 coming into West Memphis via AR 147 to Lehi, then east on 70 into Memphis and then east across TN. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TNcorrection

Folks do things a bit different out there in the wide open spaces. I remember a hand lettered sign posted on the doors of a motel we stayed at in Valentine, NE (when my daughter, KC, and I went out to the Black Hills) that said: "There will be no cleaning of fish or game in the bathrooms". Another sign I saw in Baker, MT, on my way to Miles City and Seattle proclaimed "Last gas for 92 miles." How right they were. Only in the American West. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

May I suggest the following route Key West to Helena - U S 1 Key West to Waycorss, GA (traffic may be a problem on some parts); U S 82 Waycross, GA > Greenwood, MS - I used this route on the way to Columbus, MS, from Jacksonville, many times - admittedly 50 years ago. I would suspect it has been upgraded and should be a decent road to travel today. U S 49E Greenwood to Clarksdale - the route Denny and I took the end of Dec - good road, light traffic U S 61 north to Lula - turn west on U S 45 to Helena. Alternative Florida West Coast: U S 1 Key West to Miami U S 27 Miami to High Springs U S 41 High Springs to Tifton, GA - pickup U S 82 west in Tifton Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Well, I guess a 2003 Vette IS better than a 1939 Dodge coupe!!! But the Dodge, driven today, would add a touch of de ja vous, now, wouldn't it. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Ok, I can make Helena from here in about, oh, 1:45 and a 2 hours - depending on how long it takes me to get out of Memphis. Hudsonly, Alex B

If you go thru Helena, which isn't such a bad idea, pretty much on your route and no interstates - perhaps we can work out some way to meet up. Best place for a rendesvous would be the old railroad station/museum on the south end of Cherry Street (corner of Missouri and Cherry Street. Something to think about. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN NEChester_nec@yahoo.com (Drop the NEC)

On the news tonight - river's up to 37 feet - 4 feet above flood stage. There was a levee breech in Greenville, MS - something to keep in mind. Hudsonly, Alex B

Regards Daves post - all I can add is GREAT. Every issue is fantastic. Only problem I have with the magazine is it shows all these great places - and I don't have time to visit them all!!!! Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Old adage - you want to screw something up royally, get the govm't involved. Works every time. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

And ole Missy keeps on a'rising here in Memphis. Expected to crest sometime this weekend. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis TN

Just a little update for my buying activity since this post originally appeared. I've bought the following from ebay: AAA Tour books - 1935, 1937 and 1939. All Southeaster editions (took me a while to find these); Automobile Blue Books - Vol. 2 - 1923 (Middle Atlantic and Southern); - Vol. 1 - 1923 (Northeast US and eastern Canada); - Vol. 2 - 1926 (Middle Atlantic and Southern) I don't remember what I paid for all of these over the past year, but it was under $50. In good condition, no, but I'm not into condition. For me these are to be used and abused until they fall apart. If they weren't so many pages I'd be scanning them into my computer. This brings my small collection up to the 1918-1941 period - I have a 1918 Goodrich tour guide for Northern New England all the way up to the 1941 AAA books - 1 for the Northeast and 1 that covers the western states from the Mississippi to the west coast. I find a lot of these simply by going to ebay several times a week and typing in Automobile Blue Book, or AAA tour book (unless you're into a particular era, like 1920's AAA tour books) - there are a lot of 1960 up tour books on ebay.) Watch the price - if it stays under $10 I'll bid on it. If it attracts a number of bidders, ok, I'll try again another day. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Somebody doesn't think so, Denny - more rain to come. And the snow pack up north really hasn't started to melt yet. And, as an aside, that's the 2nd motel I've found in this area that originally had garages attached. The other was on the west side of Brinkley - the Cottage Inn. Some of the units are still standing, but it is no longer a motel. Or anything else for that matter. Wonder how many others are around here. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

A few days ago I decided, before the waters receeded, to take a short jaunt around the Memphis area and get some pictures of the flooded areas. So far no one has been flooded out in Memphis, tho the people that live in the bottoms over in West Memphis on the edge of Ole Missy over have moved their trailers up to higher ground on an access road next to I-40 - and even that is getting close to being flooded. In actuality this little jaunt turned into a mini-road trip which I have put on my yankeetraveller web site @ http://www.freewebs.com/yankeetraveller/index.htm - click on Memphis Short Trips. Not only are there some interesting flood shots along Mud Island and along the old US 70 alignment, but an interesting motel I found on East Broadway in West (around here we call it "Left") Memphis. Enjoy. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

"Definitely check out the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola." The museum in Pensacola is definitely on my list - I've visited it before, but at that time it was crammed in a couple of old quonset huts (if that doesn't give you a clue as to how long that was - it was around 1965!!!!!) Your comment about the "end of a hard winter" reminds me of something Minnie Pearl once said - "My boyfriend told me I was a breath of spring - - actually he said I looked like the end of a hard winter!!!" LOL Safe and happy travels Hudsonly, Alex Burr

Evergreen, Everett - sound the same to me. LOL Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN maybe that's why I get lost all the time

Check the weather reports before you get up around Arkasas, Oklahoma - and watch the news. There's some heavy flooding and roads washed out all thru that area at the moment. And you know the old roads will be the last to be fixed. Here in the Memphis area the feeder streams, like the Wolf and Loosahatchee, are starting to back up - I went over the Wolf yesterday (21st) on my way home and it's way above normal. I think they said the Mississippi is about 3 feet above normal here at the moment, something like that. So that's going to translate downstream for a while. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

Is that the museum where Howard Hughes "Spruce Goose" wound up?? Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN

For some time now I've been tracing 51 thru Memphis - and I finally got it back to 1926, from a 1926 Automobile Blue Book. From the description in the book the route, in 1926, ran north on Main from Main and Court, at the park, following the trolly. You made a right turn onto Jackson, made a right at a 5 corner at a church and then left onto 7th Street. I was over that way the other day, and it's now a 4-corner, but you can see a trace where the 5th street went. Following 7th the route curves left, today joining 2nd Street. From that point the route followed 2nd up and to the right onto Whitney, then crossing the current 51 (Thomas Street) and a little further on bearing left becoming Millington Road. Moving ahead about 10 years to a 1937 AAA tour book the route changed a bit. It's not quite clear, but it looks like it followed Main to Chelsea - but from that point it's very vague. I'm of the opinion that it ran along Chelsea to the current Thomas Street, then turned north. I know Thomas was there in 1937 and there is a bridge not far north of Chelsea that has railings that fit the 1930's styling. Going south the ABB routing is shown as starting at Main & Court, go south on Main to Monroe and turn left for two blocks, turn right on 3rd and follow south to McLemore, then east to Mississippi Blvd. Follow Mississipppi and turn left on Kerr, heading east and pick up Mississippi Blvd again (this area is now pretty much buried under I-240, but Mississippi Blvd. does follow I-240 south to Alice Avenue where it ends. From that point on no streets or roads are mentioned, and the routing further south, while following the current 51 south alignment, thru Hernando, Coldwater and on south apparently turning south of Enid, down by Oakland and going southwest on what is now MS 35 to Charlestown, then south to Greenwood. There is no mention of a routing from Memphis down thru Grenada and Winona given in 1926. Things had changed a bit 10 years later. A 1936 AAA tour guide map of Memphis shows the southbound routing going east on Linden Avenue to Lamar, then south along Bellvue (Elvis Presley Blvd today). Like the northbound routing, southbound routing has also changed, mainly due to the intersatate routings. Today, 51 routes out Union Avenue, under I-240, then turns south on South Bellvue (Which becomes Elvis Presly Blvd south of S. Parkway E. Happy Traveling. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN