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

Welcome - Please Introduce Yourself!


Jennifer
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Greetings to all -

My name is Bob or Rapid Robert. I have visited or rather lurked here for several years and always found the discussions very interesting and informative. Thought it was high time I registered and got in on the conversations every once in a while. I reside in Salt Lake City. I am an artist and graphic designer by profession, but I currently work for the military. I enjoy all of the topics, and I have several that I have devoted many hours of research and travel to. First and formostm I am passionate about the 1908 New York-Paris auto race, especially as it pertains to roads and trails in Wyoming, Utah and Nevada. I have spent a good part of my adult life collecting material and tracing the route of NY-P. I have driven on about 90% of the actual route, as it exists today, in Utah. I'm working on Wyoming.

 

I am also passionate about the early history of auto racing, especially Land Speed Racing and the Bonneville Salt Flats. This ties into the history of the Lincoln Highway in Utah as well.

 

Love to get out and go exploring when I have the chance. There you have it.

 

Bob.

Sorry it took me so long to say welcome but I see Dave has kept us from looking completely oblivious. Sounds like you two have a lot in common and I know your interests overlap those of some of the rest of us, too. Glad you signed up.

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  • 3 months later...

Hi Everyone!

 

I have been enjoying looking through all of the features of this site, including the information in the forums and the amazing photography, and I thought I should introduce myself.

 

I live in Brevard, North Carolina, the Land of Waterfalls. I relocated here from Michigan about 10 years ago. I have always been a fan of two lane "blue highways" since long before William Least Heat Moon coined the term in his terrific book by that name. I travel a lot for both work and pleasure, and though I spend a lot of time in airplanes I will almost always opt for a 500 mile drive rather than a 500 mile flight.

 

I have a particular soft spot for Route 66; I've driven it end-to-end three times now including this past summer with my girlfriend. That particular trip extended beyond 9,000 miles and included the entire length of U.S. 20 from Newport, Oregon to Boston. We also took a 1,400 mile weekend trip a few weeks ago to get a "concrete" custard from Ted Drewe's iconic custard stand on Route 66 in St. Louis, then walked the Chain of Rocks Bridge, drove to Litchfield, Illinois for dinner at the Ariston Cafe, then came home the next day. We are planning our next end-to-end trip again next summer.

 

Another favorite is the Blue Ridge Parkway, which borders our county.

 

I think the things that excite me the most about this site, though, are the roads we have yet to explore. I'm just learning a little bit about the Dixie Highway and have driven short segments of it. Even though a stretch near Detroit where I grew up is still called the Dixie Highway, I never really knew what it was until this year. I would love to explore more of it. We are also excited about traveling the Lincoln Highway, though we decided to put that off until 2013 to coincide with the 100th anniversary. Right now the plan is to drive from New York to San Francisco in my 1937 Ford. That's one thing I haven't done yet; taken one of my old cars on a long road trip.

 

It's clear from reading many of your posts that there are some incredibly knowledgeable people on these forums. I'm quickly learning that there are so many facets to these old roads that I don't even know what I don't know!

 

Anyway, I look forward to spending more time visiting and learning. After only a few days I have added the Yellowstone Trail, National Road and U.S. 89 to my "gotta drive someday" list. I'm sure the list will get much longer before it gets shorter too!

 

Ciao,

Mike

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I'm sure the list will get much longer before it gets shorter too!

Yep, just about everybody who actually gets to the point of making a to-drive list finds it never gets shorter no matter how many routes and auto trails get checked off. This forum won't do a thing to cure you but you will be among folks with the same addiction.

 

You're in a dandy location with the Blue Ridge Parkway so close and the eastern trunk of the Dixie Highway not much farther. Regarding your 2013 Lincoln Highway plans, are you considering hooking up with the Lincoln Highway Association caravan to the national conference in Nebraska or planning a solo run?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yep, just about everybody who actually gets to the point of making a to-drive list finds it never gets shorter no matter how many routes and auto trails get checked off. This forum won't do a thing to cure you but you will be among folks with the same addiction.

 

You're in a dandy location with the Blue Ridge Parkway so close and the eastern trunk of the Dixie Highway not much farther. Regarding your 2013 Lincoln Highway plans, are you considering hooking up with the Lincoln Highway Association caravan to the national conference in Nebraska or planning a solo run?

 

Hi Denny,

 

The Association caravan looks like an awesome trip, but I think I would have to skip making the entire trip in order to do that. Our goal is to make it from Times Square to San Francisco, then decide how to get back home. Maybe Route 66 again or U.S. 50 back to the Atlantic Ocean or...?

 

Mike

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  • 2 months later...

Hello, my name is Mike. I live in Mount Dora, Florida, and from this location in the center of the state I travel all over Florida on the back roads. It's a huge state, and I chronicle my travels with writing and photos.

 

My website is http://www.FloridaBackroadsTravel.com

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  • 2 weeks later...

My dad was an auto mechanic from before the big one, WWII. He passed on in 2006. My dad loved to be behind the wheel and drive roads to explore. He never did any cross country trips but did his share of driving.

 

This is where I got my love for using my hands and driving as well. My dad always wanted to do drive and use his own car. Like father like son.

 

Back in grade school an HS boy down my street had gotten himself an old model T truck in rough shape. I tought having an old car was great. By the time I hit HS I had saved up my money to buy an old car myself. The summer of 1970 I turned 16, my dad and I drove upstate on US 11. We were just south of Fort Drum where we found a junk yard that had a 1935 Buick 3 window coupe. That Buick was my first car.

 

We towed it home on a tow bar with a 1962 Chevy II. Forerunner of the Chevy Nova. 196 straight 6 with a 2 speed power glide. The Buick weighed 1,000 lbs more then the Chevy as well. We found out fast that towing the Buick would not work well on the Interstates to get back to Long Island so it fell onto me to find secondary roads to get back to LI.

 

Whenever we would go on road trips my dad would let me study his pile of gas station maps and navigate the trip. So we took US 11 to US 20 to NY 22. Pulling that Buick up on some hills on US 20 the Chevy just pulled the Buick over the top with the gas pedal floored, trans in low, at 5 MPH. Going down some hills still in low we got to smell the fragrance of brakes burning to keep the speed in check.

 

However while I was finding the most direct secondary roads to take back home I noticed that some numbered routes went coast to coast. This is when in my dads pile of maps their was a 1956 US route map. I think it was an ESSO map. There I saw the many major US routes that went coast to coast with some major state routes such as NY 22. Wish I still had that map.

 

This was the start of me wanting to drive coast to coast on US 20. I have yet to do so but hope to some day. Thing is once you do US 20 then I am afraid I wil have to do US 2, 6, 50, Pacific Coast Hwy. Will this addiction ever end?

I hope not.

 

So for now I just have to settle for reading "Road Trip USA" by Jamie Jensen and all your posts on the forum.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi – I’m new to this Forum and have enjoyed perusing it prior to joining. My name is Charlie and my wife Ruth and I live in the St. Louis, Missouri area. I’m a retired international union officer and Ruth is a retired school teacher. We’ve both been retired for about 10 years and have traveled extensively since retirement. Most of our travel has been by car in North America and we’ve visited 49 of the 50 states – we’re missing only Hawaii. Our only non-road trip has been a 7 Day cruise of Alaska’s Inside Passage followed by a 10 Day road trip in upper Alaska. We’ve also done several Route 66 trips covering Springfield, Illinois to Santa Monica California. We’ve also made two trips to Canada, one to Banff/Jasper and one to Nova Scotia. The latter was perhaps our favorite trip.

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Hello, Charlie! Welcome!

I'm a "50 stater", since 2006. North Dakota was my 50th. Have overnighted in only 47, though. Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire have so far just been "drive throughs".

 

Thanks for the welcome. What is it about North Dakota - it was my 49th! Surprisingly, we really enjoyed it. The Roosevelt Badlands are really prettier than the better known South Dakota Badlands and the Medora Musical is great fun.

 

We're only missing Hawaii and I don't like to fly but we might make it yet.

Edited by Charlie
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Thanks for the welcome. What is it about North Dakota - it was my 49th! Surprisingly, we really enjoyed. The Roosevelt Badlands are really prettier than the better known South Dakota Badlands and the Medora Musical is great fun.

We're only missing Hawaii and I don't like to fly but we might make it yet.

 

Well, for me it was the fact that SD and ND were the only two states I was lacking, and my travel companion had not been to either of them, nor to MT and WY, so we flew to Denver, rented a car, and did a big northern plains loop. Like you said, ND has it's charms, as does it's more-visited southern neighbor. And I guess right now it's the most economically healthy state in the country, with the oil boom up there.

 

As far as Hawai'i, I've been there three times. My Delta pilot friend used to live on Maui, so for two of my visits I had a place to stay, which was really nice (and money-saving!). I think my favorite island is Moloka'i, because it is so un-touristy and totally "laid back" the native way! I still need to visit Lana'i, so I have a reason for yet another trip, although my friends have since departed Maui for Indiana.

I heartily recommend Hawaiian Airlines for both inter-island and mainland to/from Hawai'i. They treat you right.

Edited by mga707
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First, Welcome Charlie!

 

I can't come close to matching either you or mga707 in states visited. And I thought I was a big time auto tripper. I feel sort of disadvantaged now....but on the other hand it gives me some new bargaining power with Sheila....."Honey, look what the other guys get to do!"

 

As for North Dakota, the fact that it was the route of the National Parks Highway and the Red Trail, and headquarters for the National Parks Highway is reason enough to visit it.......in my opinion. :wavetowel2:

 

We look forward to your future posts.

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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I too am way behind many here for complete state coverage. I just tallied the list and find I have 16 states to hit, although counting being in airports would cut 2 from the list, although the Atlantic Seaboard has been hit hard with lots of road trips and visits.

 

Welcome to all our new members. Keep posting so that we have more and more places we still "need" to visit.

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Thanks for the welcome! As to the 49 states, it really helps to be retired. For 22 years I could rarely take more than one week of vacation at a time so now I have the opportunity to make up for lost time.

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A belated welcome, Charlie. Sounds like you're doing the right stuff the right way. I, too, have a lot of states left to visit.

 

I was in your neighborhood not too long as part of a small group that drove Sixty-Six between Mitchell and Springfield, Illinois. The group included a couple of other St Louians who stop by the forum once in awhile.

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A belated welcome, Charlie. Sounds like you're doing the right stuff the right way. I, too, have a lot of states left to visit.

 

Thanks for the welcome. I'm guessing you're the same Denny G I sometimes see on the Yahoo Group. Had the new neon at the Luna Cafe been lit when you went through Mitchell?

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That's probably a good guess. I do poke my nose into the Route 66 Yahoo group now and then.

 

Yep, I believe the redone signs were turned on in October. I was there the first weekend in March. I spent the night before the group cruise in Collinsville and made a point of visiting the Luna after dark. I had seen pictures from the lighting ceremony but seeing the real thing was even better. They definitely did a nice job with the sign. I just added a photo to the forum gallery here.

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Eek, where to begin. Well I like long walks on the.... Oh wait that's a different profile. ^_^ I have to admit I was truly lucky having a family that shares my passion for the good old fashion family road trip. Be it a random weekend adventure with no real destination, or one of our big multi-week expeditions exploring the country. Either way we have a blast! Every aspect of the trips are a thrill for me from camping out in the van at some secluded rest stop, to getting lost on some back country mountain road (epic GPS fail, a story for another post). I have three teenage boys that still love to go out on the road with their old man which I thank my lucky stars for every time. The Griswold family vacation isn't a comedy, its a lifestyle! Although there are so many things I love about road trips, seeing the sights, exploring new places and things to do, etc, if I had to pick one that I valued the most it would be what it does to my family. The bonding experience it creates as everyone shares a new experience together, or the unity it builds as we're all trapped in the van together for up to 2 weeks sometimes. Yup, I love those times the most and wouldn't give them up for the world. Like so many others, we have a family blog (gratuitous plug below) but we're always on the lookout for a new place to find others of like mind, so here's to hoping its here!

 

www.FamilyTimeRoadTrips.com

 

P.S. Leaving for our 2012 Spring Break Road Trip tomorrow, heading down from Green Bay to the Great Smoky Mountains, scooting down to the Florida Keys, banking up through the Everglades, and making a pit stop in Orlando before swinging around back up through Chicago to get back home again. Any fellow road trippers have any must see and do sights, please let me know. Love adding strange crazy side stops to our trips.

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Big welcome, Wayne. Congrats on having a family that enjoys road trips and on having the wisdom to appreciate it. My days of traveling with family are over and I now wish I'd done a lot more of it. The closest thing I have now is an occasional trip to family.

 

If you like scenic drives and time permits, you might try a bit of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I started this paragraph intending to suggest picking it up at the western terminus in Cherokee but just checked and see that the first few miles are still closed for construction. You could reach Waterrock Knob on the section between US-19 & US-23 and those two roads aren't all that shabby either. Of course, US-441 through the park is also very cool.

 

American Road Magazine Vol-IX No-4 (Winter 2011) had a feature piece on the Orange Blossom Trail which goes through the middle of Florida. Depending on how you get to and from Orlando, you could be on or near it. One of the many attractions mentioned is Bok Tower about 50 miles south of Orlando. I visited there for the first time in January and definitely enjoyed it.

 

Here are a couple of things closer to Key West that don't seem to get a lot of press. Coral Castle in Miami is pretty cool but does cost money. The real African Queen can usually be seen for free at the Holiday Inn in Key Largo.

 

There's an old sugar mill on the east coast near Daytona. I know about it only because my great grandparents stopped there in 1920. I've stopped there several times. It's got the old mill, paths running though some beautiful gardens, and even some dinosaur statues! And it's free.

 

Apparently you have to do something (like declare it a link?) to make something clickable. You might want to look into that for the URL in your signature to help speed people to your site;-)

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. One of the many attractions mentioned is Bok Tower about 50 miles south of Orlando. I visited there for the first time in January and definitely enjoyed it.

 

Thanks Denny G. - We just happen to be in Kissimmee with nothing to do tommorrow so we'll give it a try. God Bless Travel Forums!!

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  • 2 months later...

I'm new to this forum and I've been asking myself why it took so long. I've been checking out topics discussed here and hope I can contribute.

 

A little background: I'm a photographer specializing in nature and travel. About ten years ago I started working on a project to document US Route 89 between Canada and Mexico. I became fascinated with this highway because of the twenty national parks and monuments on or near 89. What I've discovered in my travels is all of the wonderful places in between. There are numerous wilderness areas, state parks and historical sites along with over 150 cities and towns. The really nice part is that it is a two-lane road for most of its 2,000 miless so you can enjoy it all at a leisurely pace.

 

In order to promote highway 89 as a destination for road trippers, I started an organization, the US Route 89 Appreciation Society, and a website with all kinds of information for travelers. (Denny G is member #0029.) I also write about things to do and see, places to eat and stay, and anything else that I think will be of use on the US Route 89 blog.

 

I'd love to hear from folks on this forum who have traveled on US 89. Let's get a discussion going about special places to visit. Of course, if anyone has questions, I'll do my best to answer.

 

Be well and safe in your journeys.

 

James

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