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Where To Go?


mobilene
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It feels weird that I haven't made my first road trip of this season yet. But I've been quite busy with work and some long-overdue projects at home -- projects I put off in 2008 and 2009 in favor of the road. I absolutely need to not neglect my home another year, so I may not make as many road trips as I would normally. But I kind of have analysis paralysis over where to go this year, and now that's got me kind of stuck. Here's what I've been thinking about:

 

US 50 in Indiana - This road is cram jam packed full of old-alignmenty goodness, including some long ones. And you know how I loooooove the old alignments. It also promises to have some twisty parts, and I love twisty parts almost as much as I love old alignments.

 

The Buffalo Trace in Indiana - This road is about as old as it gets in Indiana. US 150 more or less follows its route today.

 

The Bridges of Putnam County, Indiana - My US 36 and US 40 trips across western Indiana both passed through Putnam County, where I've found some great bridges. This is largely a rural county, and (strangely for Indiana) its roads aren't a neat grid. I'm a fan and contributor over at bridgehunter.com, a catalog of US historic bridges, and it shows several through and pony truss bridges still in use on its country roads, and I'm thinking spending a day finding them all would be just wonderful.

 

The National Road in Ohio - You know I wanna. Of course, this would involve some overnight stays, and I'd have to bring the dog, so that makes it complicated.

 

I also continue to think about the Lincoln Highway and the Yellowstone Trail (what's left of it) across Indiana. And my last trip down the Michigan Road in southern Indiana showed me that a couple places I photographed in 2008 aren't there anymore, and so I'm feeling the need to do a recon mission.

 

So what do you all think? What should be my first road trip of the year? If the weather holds, I hope to make it this coming Saturday!

 

jim

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It feels weird that I haven't made my first road trip of this season yet. But I've been quite busy with work and some long-overdue projects at home -- projects I put off in 2008 and 2009 in favor of the road. I absolutely need to not neglect my home another year, so I may not make as many road trips as I would normally. But I kind of have analysis paralysis over where to go this year, and now that's got me kind of stuck. Here's what I've been thinking about:

 

US 50 in Indiana - This road is cram jam packed full of old-alignmenty goodness, including some long ones. And you know how I loooooove the old alignments. It also promises to have some twisty parts, and I love twisty parts almost as much as I love old alignments.

 

The Buffalo Trace in Indiana - This road is about as old as it gets in Indiana. US 150 more or less follows its route today.

 

The Bridges of Putnam County, Indiana - My US 36 and US 40 trips across western Indiana both passed through Putnam County, where I've found some great bridges. This is largely a rural county, and (strangely for Indiana) its roads aren't a neat grid. I'm a fan and contributor over at bridgehunter.com, a catalog of US historic bridges, and it shows several through and pony truss bridges still in use on its country roads, and I'm thinking spending a day finding them all would be just wonderful.

 

The National Road in Ohio - You know I wanna. Of course, this would involve some overnight stays, and I'd have to bring the dog, so that makes it complicated.

 

I also continue to think about the Lincoln Highway and the Yellowstone Trail (what's left of it) across Indiana. And my last trip down the Michigan Road in southern Indiana showed me that a couple places I photographed in 2008 aren't there anymore, and so I'm feeling the need to do a recon mission.

 

So what do you all think? What should be my first road trip of the year? If the weather holds, I hope to make it this coming Saturday!

 

jim

 

End the suspense - start at the top and work down!!!!!!!!!! :D

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

Memphis, TN

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An educated guess is that you don't want "complicated" so strike Ohio's NR. Another guess is that it never was a serious immediate candidate. Same with the LH, YT, and, to a lesser degree, US-50. While they wouldn't necessarily require overnights, they are all sizable -- both time & miles -- outings. The Putnam County thing is both the closest to home and the most flexible. At any point you could declare whatever bridge you've just seen the last of the day. The Buffalo Trace has what might be an advantage in being well bounded and it really isn't all that long. The total length is, however, tripled by the need to get to one end and get home from the other. You could pick between those two based on flexibility vs. commitment or by flipping a coin but my third guess is that one or the other just sounds better to you.

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Thanks guys, I knew I'd get some good support here!

 

The Putnam County trip is tempting because it's so close, and my favorite road-trip buddy grew up there and she might know some history.

 

Emotionally, I'm still jonesing for more National Road, but yes, Denny, complicated is right out this season. I'm thinking maybe next Memorial Day -- I'll have three days to myself. And between now and then I can investigate dog-friendly motels on the route. That is, unless my old girl doesn't make it that far.

 

After doing more research on the Buffalo Trace, the thick plottens, as they say. Sources disagree on its route.

Some say US 150, others say that it's actually local roads in that general corridor. Hmm.....

 

If I break up US 50 into 3 or 4 parts, it would work just fine.

 

Anyway, I'm probably just going to have to pick a road and go! If the weather holds, I'll go Saturday.

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After doing more research on the Buffalo Trace, the thick plottens, as they say. Sources disagree on its route.

Some say US 150, others say that it's actually local roads in that general corridor. Hmm.....

 

OK, now this would get my vote! A good road dog always goes for those paths that need to be sniffed. And if I were a bettin' man, I'd probably put my gas money on the local roads theory.

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Roadmaven, I'm thinking the Buffalo Trace definitely needs more research before I make a trip. But it's definitely on my list.

 

brownwho, I've traveled a bit of Indiana's US 6 here and there. It has some old alignmenty goodness along the way. I have family in South Bend just a bit to the north where 6 meets 31, so northern Indiana is not that big of a deal.

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