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American Road Magazine
Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear…And the joys of driving them today!

rod

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  1. I have at various times over the past 50 years driven the 200-mile stretch of US-20 west from its intersection with Ohio-25 (formerly US-25) in Maumee, Ohio to its intersection with US-12 in Michigan City, Indiana. Also, while on vacation back in 1970 I drove the portion of US-20 that is in Yellowstone National Park and the stretch from the eastern entrance to Yellowstone to the intersection with Alternate US-14 in Cody, Wyoming. I live 40 miles north of the intersection of US-20 and I-69 in Angola, Indiana. My travels on US-20 are either east from this intersection to Maumee or west to Michigan City. I am not a fan of heavy traffic, so I have no interest whatsoever in driving the section of US-20 from Michigan City to Elgin, Illinois, nor do I plan to drive US-20 through Cleveland. I prefer to travel the rural areas and small towns.
  2. While these dams are not the massive structures that most are probably thinking of, there are examples of roadways on dams in Ohio and neighboring states. Here are a few examples: Greenup, Kentucky - A bridge on top of the Greenup Locks and Dam that crosses the Ohio River. This is a true multipurpose structure - its primary function is to maintain water levels in the river for navigation, and it also provides a highway bridge and generates electricity. Waverly, Ohio - Ohio 104 is built on top of the Lake White dam. Powell, Ohio - Glick Road on top of the O'Shaughnessy Reservoir dam near the Columbus Zoo. Delaware, Ohio - An unnamed road built on top of the Delaware Dam across Norris Run to form Delaware Lake. The road is 1-1/2 miles south of the main entrance to Delaware State Park on US 23. Russell's Point, Ohio - Ohio 366 built on top of the Indian Lake dam. Fort Loramie, Ohio - Ohio 362 built on top of the Lake Loramie dam.
  3. I can't help with the lodging, since I always stay in one of the timeshare units behind the hotel. However, you also asked about food, and I think I can help there. The folowing is a list of places I have eaten in the area that I can recommend. Black Buggy Restaurant 8331 West State Road 56 West Baden Springs, IN 478469 (812) 936-5390 Amish buffet - same building as the indoor go-kart track Chicagos Pizza 8498 W State Road 56 French Lick, IN 47432 (812) 936-2962 very good pizza Dennys Restaurant 8695 W Jack Carnes Way French Lick, IN 47432 (812) 936-6030 German Cafe 656 N Gospel St Paoli, IN 47454 (812) 723-3007 German food - located across from Wal-Mart Jodys Restaurant and Lounge 452 Maple St French Lick, IN 47432 (812) 936-2871 pizza and tenderloin sandwich are both very good Miguels Mexican Restaurant 8345 W State Road 56 West Baden Springs, IN 47469 (812) 936-9200 Rowboat Cafe 8345 W State Road 56 West Baden Springs, IN 47469 (812) 936-5288 Schnitzelbank Restaurant 393 3rd Ave Jasper, IN 47546 (812) 482-2640 German food - upscale but very good There are other places in French Lick and West Baden Springs as well - the Dairy Queen for sandwiches and ice cream, the French Lick Winery Vintage Cafe with limited hours and a limited menu, and a couple of others that I have not tried yet.
  4. For me it would have been about 1954 or 1955, in my parents' barnyard and lanes, driving their 1953 Ford (manual steering, manual brakes, three on the tree). I began driving farm tractors in 1952, after my father bought one.
  5. I can't believe you left out the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee.
  6. I grew up in southern Ohio, where we had a saying: "In Kentucky the schools teach 4 R's; readin', ritin', 'rithmetic, and Route 23 north." I was no dummy; I figured they just might have something there, so when I graduated from high school I took Route 23 north to Columbus. Then when I graduated from college, I took Route 23 even further north to Michigan and got me a job working in an auto parts plant. The high school I attended was built on the original alignment of US 23, although by the time I started to school there the highway had been rerouted to a newly constructed 4-lane stretch of road. The university I attended was also on the original alignment of US 23, although in this case the school was there first. By the time I arrived on the scene US 23 had been rerouted, a little to the east. I guess I should find myself a copy of his Hillbilly Deluxe album.
  7. I am one of those who got a relatively late start in road-tripping. I grew up in southern Ohio, and by the time I graduated from college in 1965 I had been as far north as Marion, Ohio, as far east as Athens, Ohio, as far south as Lexington, Kentucky, and as far west as Cincinnati. Upon graduation, I extended my boundaries north and west as far as Battle Creek, Michigan when I found a job in that area. Next, Uncle Sam gave me a job, and I finally ended up at Aberdeen, Maryland, where a group of my buddies and I would jump in a car, head out the gate, and if we did not have a destination in mind would flip a coin at various intersections to determine if we turned right or left. One of the sights we found with this method was the Great Falls of the Potomac, which none of us were aware of until that day. When I was released by the army, I decided that I was going to see some of the country west of the Mississippi River before returning to my civilian job. I spent 3 weeks driving to Los Angeles through El Paso, Tucson, and Las Vegas, then to San Francisco by way of Yosemite, then up the coast to Portland, then back to Michigan through first Yellowstone, then the Wisconsin Dells. A couple of years later I spent two weeks touring Colorado and Utah. Then, for about 10 years, I sort of settled into a routine of driving to Florida most years, although I did vary the route each year. For example, about 1975 I realized I had not been in any of the New England states yet; I remedied that by going to Florida by driving through Maine. Also, my only visit to New Orleans was while traveling from Florida back to Michigan. I next married a woman who dislikes the travel; to her, it is something that has to be endured in order to get to the destination, so it should be done as quickly as possible. I do still get to travel the two-lane roads, but just not as often as I would like. I have found this forum to be very interesting, and I hope to be able to make some worthwhile contributions to it.
  8. Ohio-104 and US-23 have always been separate roads except for the stretch from Chillicothe to Waverly. Ohio-104 is on the west side of the Scioto River, while US-23 is east of the river except for the stretch from Chillicothe to Piketon. Now that I have seen the photos, I can tell you that the South Bridge Diner in Chillicothe was built during the 1950's as a Frisch's Big Boy. It was probably built after US-23 was realigned, although it might well have been before the US-23 realignment since the stretch of Bridge Street where it is located was the original alignment of US-35. The original alignment of US-23 was, from the south, Massieville Road to the present South Bridge Street to Cooks Hill Road (CR 602) to Paint Street to Riverside Street to North Bridge Street. Then in the 1950's the present alignment of Bridge Street south of Eastern Avenue was built, and US-23 followed the present Bridge Street, which was widened to 4 lanes at this time, all the way through Chillicothe. US-35 entered Chillicothe from the east on Eastern Avenue, turned north onto Bridge Street, then west onto Main Street. In the mid-1960's the US-23 and US-35 bypass was completed, providing a limited-access roadway that avoids downtown Chillicothe.
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