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Road Trip Dreams


mobilene
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PPS. I find the toll gates all over the place interesting! Imagine what that translated to when you tried to develop free transcontinental roads. The Lincoln Highway was touted early on as a "free road." No wonder that was a big deal!

I count at least three toll gates on that little section of map--how did those work? Were they operated by the people who lived on the adjoining parcel? Who did they give the money to? Did they have to give a portion to the county, or how did that work? I wonder what kind of an income one of those toll gates could earn someone compared to farming back then. I can see taking a toll on some of the major trails like the Michigan Road, but I can't imagine that some of those smaller county roads would get a lot of traffic that wasn't local farmers and neighbors.

 

Chris

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I count at least three toll gates on that little section of map--how did those work? Were they operated by the people who lived on the adjoining parcel? Who did they give the money to? Did they have to give a portion to the county, or how did that work? I wonder what kind of an income one of those toll gates could earn someone compared to farming back then. I can see taking a toll on some of the major trails like the Michigan Road, but I can't imagine that some of those smaller county roads would get a lot of traffic that wasn't local farmers and neighbors.

 

Chris

Chris,

 

I am not an authority on toll gates, but here in the west it seems to me that counties or even the state issued licenses to operate toll roads and ferries, etc. I know that in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, for example, a local rancher would improve a road and get permission to collect tolls. Or sometimes companies were formed to build a toll road and collect tolls.

 

I think the story of the Michigan Road needs to be researched and told! Was it abandoned after the railroads became important and did it revert back to individual land owners? I have a book on the National Road written in the 1890’s that might shed light on the situation of old roads that were no longer the primary transportation route......

 

Fun stuff!

 

Keep the Show on the Road! Dave

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PS, Have you Hoosiers thanked IUPUI lately? You would be surprised how much that is appreciated. Tell them about the forum in the process and how their efforts get national attention. They need encouragement and deserve recognition.

 

Sure do - everytime I write a check for my daughter's tuition payments - ka-ching!!! Except when they lose scholarship checks, then I grumble!!

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I know that the Road started out as free, and then I gather the state privatized it in the late 1860s. The sense I get is that gravel companies improved the road with gravel, and then charged tolls to recoup the cost. I'm not sure how long the toll gates lasted. In the mid 1920s, I gather that there was a push to improve the Michigan Road; I imagine, but don't have any citations to support it, that by this time the state took the road back. Looking at the maps of the pre-1926 state routes at illi-indi.com, there's no single state route covering the Michigan Road, and the map there that shows the Logansport to Rochester connection doesn't even show the Michigan Road between the two towns.

 

I can see that if I'm not careful, I could consume the whole winter researching this road.

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What about you? Where are you dreaming of going next year?

 

jim

 

 

I'm not sure if I'll be able to do much at all this coming year. Finances have me in a bind. But as for dream trips, here's a few.

 

Knoxville to Bristol by US 11E and return by 11W with a couple of days in Bristol. One to visit the "Birthplace of Country Music" museum and one to find and explore Burke's Garden, a mountain cove that the locals call "God's thumb print."

 

DHW from Jasper, TN to Nashville, possibly making a side trip to Bell Buckle for the annual RC and Moon Pie festival. Nashville musts are a tour of Ryman Auditorium and the northern terminus of the Natchez Trace. I also want to get pictures of the old L&N station which has been restored and is now an upscale hotel, and Hume Fogg High School which looks like a castle. If it's still there, that is.

 

Route 66 from Oklahoma City west.

 

Yellowstone NP from Milwaukee via the former US 16. Don't know if I want to mess with the Michigan part of 16. Route hunting in Detroit intimidates me: :(

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When you enter MO from Dyersburg you will hit Hayti at I-55 about 5 miles after crossing the bridge. Drive into Hayti on MO 84 to the 84/61 junction. Turn south and as I recall you'll be able to cruise 61 all the way into AR, crossing under the concrete arch over 61 at the border. At some point, old 61 into Memphis becomes current highway 77 - but you already know this. Right? It's a fun cruise and Kip can provide details upon request.....Bliss

 

 

From the looks of the maps, Bliss, I think I'm gonna have to pick up 61 south of Hayti, in Steele - looking at the maps there is not much to show where 61 ran between Steele and Hayti - the maps I have of the area aren't really old enough. Even Streets & Trips doesn't show a clear routing, unless it's AR 164 to AR Route D to 84.

 

Unless - I just noticed AR 439 and AR Route H are literally under 55 into Hayti from Steele - wonder if that's the old 61!! Hmmmmmm

 

KC and I did do some of that area a few years back on our trip to South Dakota. As I recall, we followed 61 (part of the way) thru Steele and it dead-ended against the interstate. Streets and Trips shows a broken line in that area, whatever that means. Will check it out.

 

Y'all have a great day now, hear - and a very Merry Christmas and best of the New Year to all.

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

Memphis, TN

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Living in a state with mild winters, my dream in this post is more about convenience than the weather. I want to take a weekend that would be spent in Starkville driving US 45 and 51 to Cairo, Ill., making my way to Sikeston, Mo., and then taking US 61 down to Memphis, returning to Starkville however I see fit at the time. Of course, when I say 45/51/61, I mean following historic alignments as much as possible instead of the four lane monstrosities that 45 and 61 are now in Tenn. and Ark., respectively.

 

I would like to take a trip like the one I took to Texas during the summer, as well. Of course, there are always small trips around the state (like that one I once took on a whim to Greenville to see the US 82 bridge over the Mississippi).

 

We have the County Challenge in Miss. as well; I think I've geocached in four out of eighty-four <laugh>.

 

Tracy

Edited by cityboy1986
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From the looks of the maps, Bliss, I think I'm gonna have to pick up 61 south of Hayti, in Steele - looking at the maps there is not much to show where 61 ran between Steele and Hayti - the maps I have of the area aren't really old enough. Even Streets & Trips doesn't show a clear routing, unless it's AR 164 to AR Route D to 84.

 

Unless - I just noticed AR 439 and AR Route H are literally under 55 into Hayti from Steele - wonder if that's the old 61!! Hmmmmmm

 

 

I've asked Kip for route details between Hayti and Steele. When we drove this alignment with him a few years ago we left Hayti on 61 south and never used the interstate. This particular road may not actually be marked as 61 until Steele and, instead, may just be a series of county roads. We drove through Cooter, for example, and old 61 burg. We'll try to clarify the trip within the next few days.

 

U.S. 61 is a great cruise from STL to the Arkansas line and goes through towns like Perryville, Jackson, New Madrid, Benton, Sikeston, etc. We also tried 61 north with the intent of going to Canada but gave up somewhere in Wisconsin; got tired of cornfields and narrow, winding, asphalt roads. A poor decision methinks.....Bliss

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I'd just like to be able to afford the gas to do my cruisin' in 2008.

 

Looking forward to an AR get-together in the Midwest like last April. Definitely will be at the Route 66 Festival in Litchfield.

 

Definitely want to hit more NTN joints. Went to 51 new ones this year.

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From the looks of the maps, Bliss, I think I'm gonna have to pick up 61 south of Hayti, in Steele - looking at the maps there is not much to show where 61 ran between Steele and Hayti - the maps I have of the area aren't really old enough. Even Streets & Trips doesn't show a clear routing, unless it's AR 164 to AR Route D to 84.

 

Unless - I just noticed AR 439 and AR Route H are literally under 55 into Hayti from Steele - wonder if that's the old 61!! Hmmmmmm

 

KC and I did do some of that area a few years back on our trip to South Dakota. As I recall, we followed 61 (part of the way) thru Steele and it dead-ended against the interstate. Streets and Trips shows a broken line in that area, whatever that means. Will check it out.

 

Y'all have a great day now, hear - and a very Merry Christmas and best of the New Year to all.

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

Memphis, TN

 

 

 

 

The following routing is from cruisin' friend Kip. Have a great trip!....Bliss

 

In Portageville, 61 Turns East to meet up with "ugly" 55. At the intersection with highway T, we will proceed straight on Highway T going south parallel to 55. At the intersection with highway YY, we will go straight and be on the West Outer Road to the next Exit, at which time we will be on highway K. We will then pass by Concord (4 miles). According to an early 60's map of Missouri, Concord was on highway 61.

 

Proceed on K South to Highway J. Proceed on J south (straight) to the intersection with U.S. 412 and into Hayti (which I do not believe holds much significance). About 6 miles to the left is Caruthersville, which has a Casino if yer feelin lucky on the way home.

 

Go straight from the intersection with U.S. 412 on the west outer road until it dead ends. Turn left and cross "ugly 55" and turn right on Highway H. Shortly thereafter, you will be on a serious stretch of old 61. Take H to highway 164. Turn right on 164. Take 164 a couple of miles, cross "ugly" 55, and you will be on highway 61 again as it breaks away from the "ugly" road.

 

A mile or so down the road, you will enter Steele. I don’t know much about the town, except that Howlin’ Wolf bellered the blues here one time.

 

Take 61 South out of Steele, past Holland (4 miles) to State Line Missouri (approx. 4 miles). There are a few buildings here, and there is a proprietorship called TCB Enterprises (obviously for Elvis) but the DEAL is the concrete arch across the highway, built in 1924 and as majestic as it was on day one! It saddened me that they put those yellow and black striped warning signs on either side of the arch, but it is still there and very much intact.

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  • 4 weeks later...

For summer of 2008, I have set my sights on the Ohio River Scenic Byway from Cincinnati east to where you cross over into West Virginia at Huntington, then U.S. 60 through Charleston and east to at least its junction with I-64. From there, it will depend on how much time we have left before we have to head home.

 

The spring trip will be another run south to Alabama to visit with grandchildren, so maybe a little more exploration of U.S. 41 in Kentucky (we'll be going through Hopkinsville again, DennyG; Round Table Literary Park will definitely be on the itinerary this time) and U.S. 31 through Tennessee and Alabama will be in store.

 

Bucfan

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Since it's 12 degrees with a -4 wind chill this afternoon, my mind has taken me to the warmer months ahead. I've got many a place planned and dreamed for this year.

 

I'm really hoping I can make Bliss' Sweetheart Cruise in February, traversing north of St. Louis in Mizzou and Illinois. As always, weather will dictate a weekend jaunt like that, as it's fairly easy on the pocketbook.

 

There have been rumors of an American Road National Road cruise sometime in April between Indy and St. Louis. Nothing's been mentioned of late, but it's early yet. I'm not the most proficient when it comes to my National Road alignments in Illinois, so if someone would like to carry the torch on a weekend cruise...you'll have my full support!

 

I'll probably take a Saturday some weekend this year and traverse our friend, the Ben Hur Route. I may be the only one who does it this year, but I'll just do my part to keep that old route alive...at least for a day.

 

I'm really looking forward to June and the national Route 66 festival in Litchfield, IL. This event draws thousands and aside from the car show I'll hopefully have the Corvair in there, I'm really looking forward to seeing all the Route 66 friends all across the U.S. that I've met over the past 10+ years who'll be there. I'll tell you folks, and some of you know what I mean who've been at an event with like-minded roadies, there's nothing better than the camaraderie sitting around a fire or poolside at a motel swapping road stories.

 

After June, my schedule's somewhat sparse. If funds allow, I'm really going to make an effort to make it to Minnesota in September or October. Our vacations as a kid were loading all eight of us in the '68 Bel Air wagon with dad's hand made wooden luggage carrier bolted on top, which stretched the entire length of it and was adorned with stickers from roadside attractions we visited. I wish he still had that thing. The Bel Air was a white version of this: 68c01.jpg

We rented a cabin on a little lake right next to US 71 in Park Rapids. I'd lay awake at night listening to the occasional car or truck drive by and listen to the rhythm of their tires hitting each seam in the concrete. Ahhh.....

 

Those are my dreams for this year. Of course, probably the best ones will be those I don't even have on my radar that'll pop up out of nowhere.

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The lady across the street when I was a boy had a midnight blue '68 Impala hardtop sedan. That car was huge, but she could park it anywhere. It wallowed a bit on the road but was plenty comfy. I'll never forget that car.

 

I almost bought a partially restored '68 hardtop coupe about 5 years ago from a guy around the corner. It was that goldish green. The exterior was excellent but the interior needed work. But while I spent a couple days in internal debate, he smacked the front end pretty good, and that was the end of it. If I ever find another '68 in good nick I'll do whatever I can to buy it.

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