roadmaven

Thanks for posting this, Chris! Just last week when I passed there I reminded myself that I had to get down there for some pics. I've not read or seen anything in any local media about it, which I find a little odd given it's size and uniqueness. They did a nice job with that new interchange by adding this monument, the older style street lights, and the repositioning of the old milestone to the east. It may not take too much digging to find out the scoop on the monument. The same company that is involved with redeveloping the Town of Speedway also took care of that whole new interchange on Washington Street where the new monument is located. Full details of that project can be found here.

Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire passed away this morning around 8:30. Details here.

Great trip...thanks for letting us come along! I've driven quite a bit of 41 in both directions, but never in the same trip. I especially enjoyed the Copper Harbor, MI area images. My parents & I took a Great Lakes trip in '85 before my senior year in high school and stayed in the Copper Harbor area for a couple of those nights. And once again, I have to say I love the signature you put on your photos with having the sign of the highway you're on in each (or most) pic.

Hooker Cut rocks!

Nice post, and Watch out....once Becky sees this, she'll want to put this in the mag as a Diner Days feature!

I always had the Mackinac Bridge as my #1 "Death Bridge" (i.e....this bridge is gonna somehow kill me when I drive over it) until a few years ago when we were out east visiting Jennifer's family in Connecticut. We drove up to Newport, RI to check out some of the old mansions up there and to get to Newport, you have cross the Claiborne Pell Bridge. It's not as long as the Mackinac (about 2 miles from approach to approach), but the elevation at the center span to the water is a whopping 206 feet! So as you may guess, with a bridge that short and getting that high, you're constantly climbing the thing. Didn't care for that bridge one iota!

We took the Cassville Ferry last year on our return trip from Minnesota. Great time!

If you're looking for something this month, I'd suggest the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival in Parke County, IN (western Indiana near the IL/IN border along US 36). If you've never been to it, it's definitely worth the trip. There are 30-some covered bridges in Parke County and the 10 day event draws an estimated 2 million people a year. During the week is the best time to go. Rockville is the hub for the event, but for overnight lodging, I'd suggest staying down in Terre Haute and making the trip up US 41. It's a great event that everyone should put on their list! The festival is going on now through Sunday, October 18th. Covered Bridge Festival

Dave -- They squeeze, in a compact form, a stove, sink, cabinets, table & seats, and those seats & table convert to a queen size bed. We've never owned an RV, never been camping, I"ve never hauled a thing in my life, and I'm nervous as heck! We joined a Yahoo group dedicated to these little wonders and there are over 3,000 members on there! They've been really helpful in giving us suggestions. More info on what's inside, with the different floor plans, can be found here. We're excited about it. It's going to open up a whole new world to our travel experience and an introduction to these campgrounds that seem to be around ever curve in the road. We won't blow off mom & pop motels for sure, but when we're on a long trip and all there is are chain motels, well, the mobile escape pod gives us an alternative. Plus, it's darn cool looking! Heck, I thought I got looks in my Corvair...this is gonna blow that away! Just wish the Vair could haul it!

Well, I guess since we're on the cusp of purchasing our first "RV", we'll be posting here! We're picking up our brand new little baby Saturday morning in Elkhart, Indiana!

More photos from Day 2! There are roughly 60 cars and around 100 people on hand for this year's tour. That's a big jump over the last couple of years. Several AR forum folks on hand for this event. Hats off to one of those AR forum members...Kip Welborn...for putting this thing together. Weather's been perfect & everything's gone according to plan. Route 66 Missouri Motor Tour -- Day 2

529 miles in the books and we made it to Joplin! The motor tour starts bright & early at 8am, so I'm off for a sound night's sleep. I've got Day 1 pics up on Flickr, which cover US 40, Route 66, and parts of I-44 (to make up some lost time!). 2009 Missouri Motor Tour Weekend

Just wanted to bring this topic back up to the top & report WE'RE THERE! Sent our registration in today & we're really looking forward to meeting up with everyone next weekend. I threw caution to the wind & disregarded that 8/15 deadline....I figure they won't turn anyone away. If you're in the area and have a 3-day weekend to kill, I highly recommend attending this cruise. AR Forum member Kip Welborn and his cohort Jane Dippel do a great job in putting this together. And as an added bonus, the Saturday night stop is in Lebanon where you have the chance to bunk up at the historic Munger Moss Motel. Hope to see YOU there! Motor Tour Info & Registration

I'd venture to say this won't be a good thing for Madison, short term. I'd be interested to know how much of their commerce comes from across the river. And I'm sure there are some folks who earn a living in Madison but reside in Kentucky. The nearest bridge is 25 miles to the east in Markland, and you have to go 40-plus miles west to Louisville for the nearest bridge in that direction. I'd be a little concerned about the piers, as the blogger states, but I figure that's why the engineers get paid the big bucks. Should be interesting. Would've been nice to keep the old gal there, though.

GREAT topic, Dave! At the risk of sounding too generic, for me the best county fair is the one that has my favorite fair foods: --Lemon Shake-Up --Pineapple Whip --Corndog --Elephant Ear At the state fair, they have a new deep-fried something on a stick every year, such as Twinkies, Snickers, etc. Yeah, I'll put down my $4 to try that, but typically I'm underwhelmed with the result. But hey, it's the fair...we go there to eat...and eat some more!

Ah hah! As soon as I saw the name McKinney, I was sure at had to be "the" McKinneys. It would've been the home of the parents of Frank McKinney, a one time Olympic swimmer and banking executive here in Indianapolis until he was killed in a mid-air plane collision in 1992. I found his obituary online and it talks how his father worked in the Truman administration. Now if I just could find out which house on Meridian Street it was....

Now this sounds like a very cool roadtrip to retrace. I'll be on the prowl for this book this weekend. Jim -- Do you know where Truman stayed in Indianapolis?

Awwwe shucks, you guys! Actually we never made it to Niagra Falls, but had a great trip regardless. We made it as far as Lake Chautauqua, New York and started back from there. We cruised US 6, 20, 62, 224, and the Lincoln Highway, to name a few. We scored 7 bottles of wine, slept in a caboose, saw Lucille Ball's childhood homes and eternal resting place, ate exclusively at mom & pop diners/cafes/soda fountains and slept exclusively at mom & pop motels. We weren't going to be bound by the chains on this trip. All my pics are loaded on Flickr, but I don't have them all labeled yet. Definitely one of the better trips we've had. We only wished we had Brian Butko's new Lincoln Highway book with us, but it's not too hard to follow through Ohio.....it's signed very well.

The annual Turtle Days Festival in Churubusco, IN is June 17-20. Located on the original segment of the Lincoln Highway, Churubusco celebrates "Oscar the Turtle", a legendary...and mythical....turtle locals claimed to have seen in Churubusco in 1949. So large, it apparently had a mouth wide enough to eat a soccer ball and enough room on its back for 8 people to have dinner. Details for the festival can be found here.

Dad & his buddy Ron will be there Sunday through Friday. However, they're going up in Ron's Toyota Avalon. Whaaaa????

Just a heads-up for any car nuts in "The Region", the Model A Restorer's Club will be having their national meet June 21-26 in Merrillville, Indiana at the Radisson Hotel on US 30. This will be a showcase display of Model A Fords in mostly original condition. More details here.

Hi all & thanks for the GREAT replies! I wish I had posted my note a couple days earlier. We headed out early Friday morning, so we were stuck with finding things on our own. I think we're starting to learn a valuable lesson: No more bonsai roadtrips! We made it as far as Chandler, OK Saturday afternoon and got back here Sunday night at 11:55pm after leaving Tulsa Sunday morning. We met up with Jim Ross, Shellee Graham, and Jerry McClanahan Saturday in Chandler, and after telling Jim our schedule for the weekend, he nailed it: We are masochists! A three day trip like this isn't too condusive to being a good road warrior. Few stops due to time. But, I'll have pics up on my blog later this week and will post a note when that happens. But one tidbit about Lambert's....We were stunned when we arrived there at 2:15pm Friday and there was a 40 minute wait! We ended up skipping it and eventually had dinner at the one on the other side of Missouri in Ozark. It was "OK". Not sure if it's worth a 45 minute wait to go through the novelty again. The food wasn't bad, but wasn't the best I've ever had either.

What's funny about this trip is that we've been through Springfield more times than I could remember....but on 66. This'll be the first time going through Springfield on a different route, so it'll be interesting to see the city from that standpoint. And based on our schedule Friday, we very well may end up staying there, which we've done umpteen times...at the Rest Haven Court Motel on 66. I don't know if my mind could handle staying in Springfield on a different highway and at a different motel. Might be encountering some weird dimensions come Friday!

I thought since it's been over two years since there was a post in the US 60 forum, I'd solve that by taking a trip on it. Actually, we're heading out to do a little 66ing in Oklahoma this coming weekend and thought we'd mix it up a little on our outbound trip by dipping south and picking up US 60 in Kentucky and taking it on out to Oklahoma's Route 66. So, besides the convergence of the Ohio & Mississippi Rivers in Cairo, IL and Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston, MO, what else does US 60 have to offer between Henderson, KY and Afton, OK??

The shots of the courthouse sure do hurt. And when you finally get a Hinkleburger, get two....it'll save you from having to place a second order!