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

629 National Parks Highway - Expedition To Launch


Recommended Posts

The 2010 National Parks Highway Rediscovery Expedition - Puget Sound to Great Lakes will depart Olympia, Washington Tuesday, June 29, 2010 following the route of the famed National Parks Highway! Present plans call for the Expedition to be relaunched in Spokane Washington, where last year it was truncated by a family emergency. The Chief Trailblazer has spend the better part of two weeks mapping the route, and still has much to do.....but the road beckons and there is a time plan and a time to drive.

 

I have been using the tools we have today, like Google maps and Delorme Topo USA (great credit to both!), along with material from my collection like vintage TIB strip maps, Automobile Blue Books, Hobbs guides and a copy of the circa 1917 National Parks Highway Motorist’s Service Guide to chart the route. Because John Ridge and others have already charted the sections that overlap the Yellowstone Trail, I am not recharting those sections, but am benefiting from their work.

 

As I have been identifying the route and roadside artifacts, I have been struck by the number of 1917 hotels that are still standing, several still open for business. I hope to stay in at least a couple.

 

Another realization is that our "brick towns" are often handsomely sprinkled with Ghost Signs of the Coca Cola and John Deere variety, and more local varieties advertising hotels and drug stores. These precursors to the roadside billboard beckoned travelers to stop, to stay, eat, drink, or play. I hope to capture a few in the lens.

 

The trip is already exciting. I have already learned a great deal about the land and the built environment along the 2200 miles of the National Parks Highway. Now I am ready to enjoy the road itself.

 

I don’t plan to follow every dirt segment of the road, but there are plenty to follow! I’m driving “Old Red” on this trip, and she is a ragtop. She is an old man’s ride, and not a high clearance pickup. But she has a great sound system, and its easy to wave at folks when the top is down. Old men in convertibles are not seen as threatening, so it is easy to meet people. And speaking of old, I will cross the 70th big one on this trip, probably on the way home.

 

I’m not sure how I want to return from the Great Lakes (Chicago area) I may visit my son in Kansas, I may take the Yellowstone Trail, I may follow the Custer Battlefield Highway, and I have considered the Lincoln, especially since I have strip maps I’d like to use for the Colorado Loop.

 

Regarding strip maps, I’ve promised that I will post the strip maps I used, which I can do as I get to the areas they cover.

 

Gotta pack....

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...