roadmaven

Hey folks, I have it on good authority that someone about to make a trip to Connecticut from Indiana in the next four hours might be planning a journey on the Mohawk Trail within the next week. This person, who shall remain nameless, was seen on his or her computer last evening looking up Mohawk Trail info. This person, who shall still remain nameless, is also a pretty good "pitcher taker", so I would suspect images will be available within two weeks. You heard it here first.....and last!

Oh man, do I remember that "Famous Hairpin Turn"! I was driving my mother-in-law's 15 passenger Ford Econline van. Westbound MT was downhill and you have to make a HARD left turn. Fortunately, there's a restaurant with a parking lot at hairpin to drive off into if you're coming down the hill a little too hot (hot is "fast" in racin' terms). And as I recall, once you've made the turn, it was a decent drop off the side of mountain, though there was a guardrail there to protect you (although I sure wouldn't want to test its strength!). The hairpin is east of North Adams, MA. I'd really like to get back to it again. We really didn't get to enjoy it too much because of the fog and rain that day. Too bad I'm not heading to CT next week with Jennifer, as we'd probably have to give it another shot! If any of you have Google Earth, I'd view it from there. The detail is MUCH better than the other satellite images. You can really zoom in on the hairpin and even see the lines on the road.

I've driven the Mohawk Trail in Massachusetts. We were in Connecticut a few years ago visiting Jennifer's family when we headed north to check out the basketball hall of fame before heading west to Albany, NY to visit with Route 66 roadie Steve Rider. I insisted we take the Mohawk Trail so I could visit mecca: Clark's Corvair Parts in Shelburne Falls, MA. As I recall, it was quite rainy and quite foggy that day. But, from what I could see, the scenery was fantastic.

That is a very good assessment of these two towns. And I'd go further to say in general each town looks down on the other equally. I recall a few year's ago on April Fool's Day, the "Welcome to Carmel" signs were replaced with "Welcome to Greenwood" signs, or vice versa. To add further to the anaolgies, Carmel can be described as the wine & cheese district while Greenwood is the beer & pretzels district. But hey, the cardiology group I work for treats those beer drinkers, so I'm not complaining.

Ahhh, but you're in luck! American Road is ON THE SHELF at Borders on US 31 South in Greenwood, IN! I know this because I, uhhhh, I mean someone seems to "rearrange" the shelf so AR is more prominently visible to those browsing the travel magazines.

To get an idea of how our forum members receive American Road magazine, please choose one of the answers above. Your answers will remain anonymous, so if you choose #3, the American Road gnomes won't come out at night and kick you in the toe while you're sleeping.

The new W & W book is formatted much like "Route 66: The Mother Road", full of many fine images across the route. Most of us road dogs know a good deal about the L.H., but I think this and Brian's "Greetings from the Lincoln Highway" are really going to make Route 66 look over its shoulder (no pun intended), because the L.H. will soon be making up ground in the battle for attention. I would say it's already starting to take off, as it's being talked about by many 66ers. Granted, it's because of the author, but it's getting talked about like never before. I know a former editor of this magazine and staunch 66er is heading on a L.H. journey into Nebraska and into Nevada later this month, so the interest is there, though I wouldn't say it's soley because of the book. I think a lot of folks in the 66 community who've been in the movement for nearly 20 years have seen just about everything there is to see on it and are wanting a new, fresh adventure, and the L.H. offers that....plus you get several hundred more miles out of it than 66 offers. I think in the next five years you're going to see even more L.H. books, videos, maps of abandoned alignments, keychains, hats, decals....you name it. And believe me, this ain't a bad thing!

Dave, as one who has the utmost admiration for then & now photos, I tip my proverbial cap to you! Cool how it looks like they lowered the level of the road over the years. I've toyed with then & nows several years ago and have a few up on my web site. Russell Olsen put a fine book out about three years ago of Route 66. I think it's called Route 66 Lost & Found. I believe he came out with a follow-up on it a year ago. US 40 guru Frank Brusca is in the process of publishing a 50 year follow-up to the George Stewart book, and painstakingly working to take every one of his pictures at the same location and same angle as Stewart's. Last I heard he was nearly done with retracing, but I think a week or two ago he posted a note about it on the Route 40 Yahoo Group about doing some work on it out west and was looking for anyone interested in tagging along. I'm too lazy to look up what he said, so I'm sure Denny can fill in the holes of my story.

Paul, thanks for joining and Be sure to check out our latest poll under the "Polls" section of the forum for best road songs. It's right up your alley!

If they exist, I'm not aware of them. But then again, there's a lot I'm not aware of. It's amazing on the newer photos on that site how close you can zoom in and the clarity when you do. My yard looked a little tall that day.

Jim, I forgot a pretty useful tool for here in Marion County from the IndyGov web site. It's called the "General Data Viewer". It's basically a Terra Server thing, but the great part is they have "layers" that date back as far as 1937! It's been very useful in researching old alignments as well as some old motels & other structures throughout Marion County. It's a little tricky to get to the old aerial pix, but here's the link for you to spend HOURS on: http://imaps.indygov.org/prod/GeneralViewer/viewer.htm Let me know if you need any tips on navigating it.

I just realized we have some pics from the Dixie weekend that I didn't inform anyone of. So, here goes ya!Has it been 2 months already??

Great trip, Jim! One of these days we'll have to hook up for some road sleuthing. Just some observations from your web site: --I remember when the 4-lane alignment of 36 between Avon and Danville was built, around 1980, give or take a couple years. My grandma is buried out in Hendricks County in North Salem, so Danville was usually part of our route. **NOTE**: For a fun little 10 mile or so drive, head north on IN-39 from Danville and then take IN-236 west into North Salem. Reward your completion of your drive with some tasty grub at the Red Dog Saloon in N. Salem! Fun little road that's twisty and some rolling hills. Good views of farm country out there. As for where Old 36 blends back in with New 36, you are correct that the strip of grass is where Old 36 made a westerly curve. You can still see part of that on your map with the little culdesac there. --As for the gravel section near Bellmore, *likely* it was an alignment of 36 that was never paved. Based on my experience with "Dirt 66" out in Texas, many sections of US highways in their infant years were unpaved and continued to be so until 1. they were paved, or 2. a new, paved alignment was built, thus abandoning the unpaved alignment. I suspect this is the case with the Bellmore alignment. I don't know if you have any interest at all in Route 66, but even if you don't, I'd highly suggest you grab a copy of the video "Bones of the Old Road". Jim Ross & Jerry McClanahan do a great job of exploring old, forgotten alignments of 66. It'll give you the bug to go searching for more abandoned stuff! You can purchase it from Jim via his website: http://www.66maps.com/products.html

Ahhh, so THAT is why he never posts on the forum! Since he's one of those big, fancy movie stars, I reckon he doesn't have time for us little people. **DISCLAIMER** The preceding was a useful tool called sarcasm. Any truth in jest is purely coincidental.

For those of you expecting to see John Schneider at the 4th Annual Cruisin' to Litchfield on Route 66 Car Festival this coming weekend, celebrity look-alikes will have to satisfy you! No Bo We'll be there anyway, so if you're in the area, stop by & look for the blue Corvair!

OK folks, we're off to the Dean Martin Festival in Steubenville, Ohio for the weekend, so ya'll behave yourselves around here while we're gone!

OK, time to chime in here. I learned Roadology 101 from Route 66 professors Jim Ross and Jerry McClanahan. Jerry was out digging up old alignments of 66 back in the early 80's before the Route 66 Revival even began. I sent both of them the link to this thread to see if there's anything they'd like to add (in the hopes they'd reply here!) and this is what I got from "McJerry": Looks pretty good, Pat, although there are always exceptions to the rule! "And anytime you approach a cut or fill, look left or right because the old road went around, not across or through." This is generally excellent advice, but there are some exceptions, like the "big cut" on the early route between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Here was a huge cut that the old road did go thru. Also, while the "old road" did go thru the center of towns, by the time the US Highways came around, some of those downtown routes had already been bypassed. Odell Illinois is an example, where SH 4, which became 66, was routed to bypass downtown. Just two minor quibbles, which probably don't really need to be included. This list of tips sure takes me back to my early days of Route-spotting. Memories. McJerry PS: mention might be made of the help offered by the aerial photos on Terraserver. By the way, Jerry & Jim collaborated on the "Here It Is" 8-map series covering Route 66 from Chicago to LA (available at the American Road online Hitching Post) and did a great video "Bones of the Old Road", which they illustrate on-the-scene finds of various old alignments of 66. The video is a must for those of us fascinated with old alignments.

That is the place! "Pluto" was the, for a better word, mascot at French Lick Springs. The Valley was known for its sulphur springs, many of which were on the grounds of the French Lick and West Baden Hotels. People drove for hundreds of miles to drink "Pluto Water", which was believed to "cure what ailed ya". There was a rail line from Chicago that dropped off guests daily.....Al Capone being one its more notable guests. The springs are now capped off, but some of the limestone gazebos that were around the various springs are still there, and the smell of the sulphur is very prevelent. Both the FL and the WB Hotels are worth touring. Now that the WB has reopened, I believe tours are scaled back. However, if any of you can get your hands on their video "Save of the Century", it is not only fascinating, but gives inspiration to those of us like minded preservationists. If the WB can be brought back to life, anything can. Me thinks our next American Road forum gathering (midwest region!) might have to be at French Lick/West Baden. Not only are the hotels there, but the Indiana Railway Museum has a nice train riide that takes you through a 1500 foot tunnel. Anyone interested??

Here's a cool shot of the garage at the house where he grew up: Larry Legend As for that nickname, well, he didn't attend "French Lick High" (since it didn't exist), but as a Blackhawk at Springs Valley High is where he earned a basketball scholarship to play for Bob Knight at Indiana, only to drop out less than two months later to transfer to Indiana State. The rest, as they say, is histree!

Well, not in the near term: Troubled Bridge Over Waters

Greetings Jim, and It appears we traverse some of the same roads on a daily basis and hear the same "sweet music" of 33 of the fastest cars in the world every May, as we reside in Speedway. I'm really looking forward to getting home tonight to read more of your blog from your SR 37 quest. We took much of those same alignments a few weeks back on our way to Cave City, KY for a little American Road forum gathering and cruise. Not only were those old 37 alignments fascinating for, well, being old SR 37 alignments, but more importantly because those old alignments were once 37's predecessor, the Dixie HIghway. We hope you stick around and contribute. We've got a wide array of "road geeks" on here from all over the country (and a few from around the world), with many of them stationed here in the midwest. Feel free to post some of your road pics in our gallery as well. I'll touch base with you on that 36 alignment through Indy soon!

There's an interesting article in today's Indy Star regarding the high gas prices, and why the midwest has the highest prices in the nation right now. Also, it breaks down the myth that stations are doing the gouging, when in reality, they're barely making anything on gasoline. Good read here: got gas?

Just to add my : In no particular order: -Nashville, Indiana (can't argue there) -Mackinaw City, MI (never been disappointed) -Metamora, Indiana (a lot like Nashville, but with a nice mill, canal boat) -Madison, Indiana (GREAT old river town) -Park Rapids, Minnesota (great place to relax in a little cabin on a lake) -Wisconsin Dells, WI -Cave City, KY (more to do than just Wigwams!) -Speedway, IN (gotta see the motor speedway just once in your life!) OK, I've hit a roadblock at 8. Guess I need to get out more!

Didn't see this posted anywhere, so here goes! For those of you who can't make it to Clinton, OK for the national Route 66 Fest, the 4th Annual Cruisin' Route 66 to Litchfield Car Fest is June 22-24 in Litchfield, IL, with celebrity guest John Schneider from Dukes of Hazzard fame. We've been to all three and are looking forward to number four. Details can be found here. Some pics from the '05 show can be seen here.

From Inside Indiana Business: A Ball State University telecommunications professor is traveling the Indiana portion of the National Road to tell the stories of the people along the historic roadway as part of a new documentary. Nancy Carlson, chair of the telecommunications department, and students will create "Stories along the National Road." The documentary will be used as a public television program, as well as in visitor centers, museums and schools across the state. The rest of the story can be read here.