Ride along with me...
Thread Starter
|
Captain
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 568
Likes: 8
From: The Summit, Queensland, Australia
Nice to have you riding along, David...
Thus far I haven't been all that close to you in Lawrence. You possibly read that we just nicked into a bit of the South-East corner of your state on our first trip, later you'll read that I went through a larger slice of Kansas, but in the North-West this time.
Good to have a comment, I'm hoping more will be able to post as we go along.
Thus far I haven't been all that close to you in Lawrence. You possibly read that we just nicked into a bit of the South-East corner of your state on our first trip, later you'll read that I went through a larger slice of Kansas, but in the North-West this time.
Good to have a comment, I'm hoping more will be able to post as we go along.
Thread Starter
|
Captain
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 568
Likes: 8
From: The Summit, Queensland, Australia
Departing Gouverneur I had only two real plans in mind for Thursday, June 19, 2014...
I had to go to the Waterloo DFO centre to get some more Reeboks. And I wanted to catch up with Charlene, a woman I'd met in Sydney in 2003. When we met and she said she was from the Fingerlakes district I told her that if I ever went to the US I would be going to Watkins Glen and when I did I would look her up.
The path from Gouverneur to Watkins Glen looked like this:
I tried to locate Charlene last trip with Janet, but she wasn't there that day. So the schedule was set, but I was expecting to find other things to look at and do as I travelled. But I had a bit of a slow start because I was catching up on internet activities at McDonalds in Gouverneur.
The country was as green as could be and it was a nice sunny day. At a pharmacy in Gouverneur their electronic signboard said it was almost 8:30 as I went by, and that it was 65°, while they were also offering shingles shots...
Informative. This signboard tells the time and the temperature and other things, at times the temperature will be bad news, but not on this bright sunny day.
Shingles shots. So different to Australia, where only a doctor can give the shots. And it reminded me of my mum, who didn't know I was out of the country (so she wouldn't worry) and had shingles among her other problems.
I headed down to Watertown, with a couple of stops. First there was a garage sale, and as I was leaving that a young woman pulled up in this...
Police extras. Another thing we don't see in Australia, police equipment left on a police car when it's sold off.
...ex-police Dodge, still kitted out with some of its police extras. A little later I stopped to look over this old Dodge truck, a type we never saw in Australia. It sports a 413, by the way:
Heavy lifter. None of these made it to Australia, either. The 413ci power unit uses petrol and would be very thirsty, I'd imagine. Though not any more, its days are done.
There was some heavy traffic in Watertown...
Traffic in Watertown. It didn't take long to clear.
...and that cleared so I had a good run through the outskirts...
The outskirts. Watertown seemed a quiet and clean town and had some good looking homes.
...and down the secondary roads headed South. At Sandy Creek I found a reminder of how 'old time' such an area can be...
Come to the fair! This little town, Sandy Creek, is part of the Oswego County and it really looks like it's dying, but it still brandishes the banner for the County Fair.
...but out in the countryside it was all pretty much as you'd have expected in the past...
Stable farms. One thing about America: The farms prosper and seem to go on forever.
...and it will probably remain so in the future. Then again, modern times have arrived in other spots...
Lovely locations. Waters in inlets from Lake Ontario, this one at Port Ontario, and from rivers and streams running into the lake, make nice spots for people to build their homes in nice surroundings.
...and commerce goes on like this boat dealer's business on an inlet from the lake near Ramona Beach:
Good business. Near Ramona Beach this boat dealer seems to be very well established. And there's a lot of lake to go boating on!
Before I got to Scriba I drove under a number of high-voltage powerlines. Looking at the picture later I saw the steam rising in the background and a check revealed that these lines come from the Nine Mile Point nuclear power station...
Power to the people. Reaching out from the nuclear power plant, these power poles intrigued me for the different styles that they are.
Before I left home, Jerry Ryan had told me about the Erie Canal which had been built when there was conflict between Canada and the US. It was to avert the possibility of the US not being able to use the St Lawrence to access industry in the northern states.
I pulled up at a small roadside place that seemed to offer information...
Information.[i I wanted to know more about the Erie Canal that was built in case Canada blocked US access to the Great Lakes. This sign display near Scriba wasn't very informative about that, but there was information there about the war of 1812. And yes, that is a 4-wheeler going by just near the edge of the sign... on the road!
Generally speaking. Apparently the British nearly beat the Americans in this stoush...
...but I was disappointed to find nothing about it. Though I did learn a bit about the conflict of 1812, formerly not something I'd recalled.
Oswego was next, and I stopped there to get something to eat. There was a market on and these signs related to that:
Warning signs. They apparently get serious with their 'no smoking' policy around here.
Canals too. At Oswego there is a canal with locks for shipping into and out of Lake Ontario, it joins up with the Erie Canal about half-way between its source at Buffalo and Troy on the Hudson River.
I felt that Oswego was interesting with the canal and locks right in the town. It is a big lake out there and shipping transport has been a big part of this area for two hundred and years.
The big lake. Lake Ontario stretches out to the North of Oswego.
My next point of interest was seeing this van...
Rusting van. A similar model to mine, but well past its prime!
...rusting away beside a factory at Port Byron (which is nowhere near the lake!). A similar model to mine, but very different with a shorter wheelbase. short rear overhang, a single door at the side and a slant 6 engine and the basic round headlights. It would have had the lighter 5-stud wheels and it obviously wasn't going anywhere, either!
Driving along I also noticed that birds were nesting in the top of high tension poles. The poles in question were a fabricated truss style with an open box at the top, this providing an ideal starting place for the birds to work with.
Opportunistic birds. Along the course of these high tension lines, most of the tops of the poles provide a nesting place for these birds, which I learned are osprey. The nests are huge.
These birds are osprey and live around Lake Cayuga in large numbers.
The roads wound down through the pretty countryside, but ultimately we had to come to Interstates and industry and commerce and this led to Waterloo. The DFO centre is huge...
Waterloo Outlet Centre. Janet and I found this place last trip and the great bargains on shoes drove me back this time. I bought myself four pairs of Reeboks for under $150.
Reebok had a couple of pairs of shoes to suit me, both of which were on a 'buy one, get one free' deal. I walked out with four pairs of shoes, they should keep me going for a while!
The Reebok shop. This was a 'must do' for this trip after finding this DFO centre in 2012 and getting some good shoes for myself which had lasted well.
I then headed up the road to the Petro truck stop and had a shower, which was interesting. Truckies get a voucher at some of the truck stops when they fill their tanks, the voucher entitles them to a shower. Of course, not all of them want a shower every time they top up, so the vouchers are sometimes left lying there.
I enquired about a shower and was told it would be $13, but the console operator had a spare voucher there and I got it for nothing. Once showered I had some dinner and headed off to meet up with Charlene and some of her friends.
I had to go to the Waterloo DFO centre to get some more Reeboks. And I wanted to catch up with Charlene, a woman I'd met in Sydney in 2003. When we met and she said she was from the Fingerlakes district I told her that if I ever went to the US I would be going to Watkins Glen and when I did I would look her up.
The path from Gouverneur to Watkins Glen looked like this:
I tried to locate Charlene last trip with Janet, but she wasn't there that day. So the schedule was set, but I was expecting to find other things to look at and do as I travelled. But I had a bit of a slow start because I was catching up on internet activities at McDonalds in Gouverneur.
The country was as green as could be and it was a nice sunny day. At a pharmacy in Gouverneur their electronic signboard said it was almost 8:30 as I went by, and that it was 65°, while they were also offering shingles shots...
Informative. This signboard tells the time and the temperature and other things, at times the temperature will be bad news, but not on this bright sunny day.
Shingles shots. So different to Australia, where only a doctor can give the shots. And it reminded me of my mum, who didn't know I was out of the country (so she wouldn't worry) and had shingles among her other problems.
I headed down to Watertown, with a couple of stops. First there was a garage sale, and as I was leaving that a young woman pulled up in this...
Police extras. Another thing we don't see in Australia, police equipment left on a police car when it's sold off.
...ex-police Dodge, still kitted out with some of its police extras. A little later I stopped to look over this old Dodge truck, a type we never saw in Australia. It sports a 413, by the way:
Heavy lifter. None of these made it to Australia, either. The 413ci power unit uses petrol and would be very thirsty, I'd imagine. Though not any more, its days are done.
There was some heavy traffic in Watertown...
Traffic in Watertown. It didn't take long to clear.
...and that cleared so I had a good run through the outskirts...
The outskirts. Watertown seemed a quiet and clean town and had some good looking homes.
...and down the secondary roads headed South. At Sandy Creek I found a reminder of how 'old time' such an area can be...
Come to the fair! This little town, Sandy Creek, is part of the Oswego County and it really looks like it's dying, but it still brandishes the banner for the County Fair.
...but out in the countryside it was all pretty much as you'd have expected in the past...
Stable farms. One thing about America: The farms prosper and seem to go on forever.
...and it will probably remain so in the future. Then again, modern times have arrived in other spots...
Lovely locations. Waters in inlets from Lake Ontario, this one at Port Ontario, and from rivers and streams running into the lake, make nice spots for people to build their homes in nice surroundings.
...and commerce goes on like this boat dealer's business on an inlet from the lake near Ramona Beach:
Good business. Near Ramona Beach this boat dealer seems to be very well established. And there's a lot of lake to go boating on!
Before I got to Scriba I drove under a number of high-voltage powerlines. Looking at the picture later I saw the steam rising in the background and a check revealed that these lines come from the Nine Mile Point nuclear power station...
Power to the people. Reaching out from the nuclear power plant, these power poles intrigued me for the different styles that they are.
Before I left home, Jerry Ryan had told me about the Erie Canal which had been built when there was conflict between Canada and the US. It was to avert the possibility of the US not being able to use the St Lawrence to access industry in the northern states.
I pulled up at a small roadside place that seemed to offer information...
Information.[i I wanted to know more about the Erie Canal that was built in case Canada blocked US access to the Great Lakes. This sign display near Scriba wasn't very informative about that, but there was information there about the war of 1812. And yes, that is a 4-wheeler going by just near the edge of the sign... on the road!
Generally speaking. Apparently the British nearly beat the Americans in this stoush...
...but I was disappointed to find nothing about it. Though I did learn a bit about the conflict of 1812, formerly not something I'd recalled.
Oswego was next, and I stopped there to get something to eat. There was a market on and these signs related to that:
Warning signs. They apparently get serious with their 'no smoking' policy around here.
Canals too. At Oswego there is a canal with locks for shipping into and out of Lake Ontario, it joins up with the Erie Canal about half-way between its source at Buffalo and Troy on the Hudson River.
I felt that Oswego was interesting with the canal and locks right in the town. It is a big lake out there and shipping transport has been a big part of this area for two hundred and years.
The big lake. Lake Ontario stretches out to the North of Oswego.
My next point of interest was seeing this van...
Rusting van. A similar model to mine, but well past its prime!
...rusting away beside a factory at Port Byron (which is nowhere near the lake!). A similar model to mine, but very different with a shorter wheelbase. short rear overhang, a single door at the side and a slant 6 engine and the basic round headlights. It would have had the lighter 5-stud wheels and it obviously wasn't going anywhere, either!
Driving along I also noticed that birds were nesting in the top of high tension poles. The poles in question were a fabricated truss style with an open box at the top, this providing an ideal starting place for the birds to work with.
Opportunistic birds. Along the course of these high tension lines, most of the tops of the poles provide a nesting place for these birds, which I learned are osprey. The nests are huge.
These birds are osprey and live around Lake Cayuga in large numbers.
The roads wound down through the pretty countryside, but ultimately we had to come to Interstates and industry and commerce and this led to Waterloo. The DFO centre is huge...
Waterloo Outlet Centre. Janet and I found this place last trip and the great bargains on shoes drove me back this time. I bought myself four pairs of Reeboks for under $150.
Reebok had a couple of pairs of shoes to suit me, both of which were on a 'buy one, get one free' deal. I walked out with four pairs of shoes, they should keep me going for a while!
The Reebok shop. This was a 'must do' for this trip after finding this DFO centre in 2012 and getting some good shoes for myself which had lasted well.
I then headed up the road to the Petro truck stop and had a shower, which was interesting. Truckies get a voucher at some of the truck stops when they fill their tanks, the voucher entitles them to a shower. Of course, not all of them want a shower every time they top up, so the vouchers are sometimes left lying there.
I enquired about a shower and was told it would be $13, but the console operator had a spare voucher there and I got it for nothing. Once showered I had some dinner and headed off to meet up with Charlene and some of her friends.
Last edited by Ray Bell; Sep 13, 2022 at 09:36 AM.
Thread Starter
|
Captain
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 568
Likes: 8
From: The Summit, Queensland, Australia
Thursday, June 20, 2014 was the day I’d catch up with someone I’d met briefly at a Sydney convention over a decade earlier…
I'd phoned Charlene that morning so she knew I was coming and she was delighted that I'd remembered her. She vaguely remembered me, too ("You write about sports or something, don't you?") and we had a good chat.
Then along came Mika, the Japanese wife of Eliah, who had been instrumental in helping me ensure that I found Charlene this time. Mika insisted that I go to their place and spend the night, something I found hard to resist.
The next morning Eliah took me for a drive. Not far from his home, within just a couple of miles, is the pretty Taughannock waterfall...
Taughannock Falls. These falls are the highest single-drop falls in the USA, just a few feet higher than Niagara Falls. The early morning sun creates difficulties with lighting, but the beauty of the spot shines through.
We had a look at that, then went to the point downstream where the waters run into the lake. That's Lake Cayuga, the next one along from Seneca Lake. From there he took me for a quick jaunt around the district and more little falls... like these:
Another fall. Eliah also took me to this fall on our little pre-breakfast tour. And described what it looked like when it was in full flood!
And another. This one is pretty dramatic, and creates a lot of spray.
And what a delightful thing the morning light is playing with the spray from the falls:
Morning light. Though it makes things difficult to photograph, it is pretty.
Of course, it wouldn’t be America without some buildings falling down…
Well worn. Another barn past its ‘use by’ date, this is located between the falls.
We returned to his home for breakfast after that, Charlene came around too and it was quite sad that we all had something else to do that day and had to go our separate ways.
My path was to Watkins Glen to meet up with Michael Argetsinger. Michael is one of the sons of Cameron Argetsinger, who was the moving force behind the United States Grand Prix being held at Watkins Glen for many years. Cameron also played the major role in inaugurating road racing at the Glen back in 1948 and in having the permanent circuit built in 1956.
Arriving in Watkins Glen is something a lot of people enjoy…
Watkins Glen. Most ways into Watkins Glen involve descending a hill to the shore of the lake with the town gradually coming into view. The town became a favourite with holidaying New Yorkers, especially after motor racing began there in 1948.
We met at the International Motor Racing Research Center, which is attached to the Watkins Glen Library. During the course of the day we went for a drive around the old road course, slipping off that for Mike to take me for a 3-lap trip around the existing circuit.
On track today. Michael took me for a 3-lap run around the modern Watkins Glen racing circuit. He knows it well, he grew up with it and has written two books centred on activities here.
We also drove up the western side of the lake to the Argetsinger family’s summer cottage. This is on the steep slope that lies between the road and the lake, and it's not used at all in winter. The steepness of the drive caused me consternation because of the gearing of the van with its overdrive manual gearbox, I had to be careful to park it somewhere I'd be able to get it moving when leaving.
Lake Seneca, I learned, is 600’ deep in parts. So deep it was used during WW2 to test submarines. It’s deeper than the other lakes in the ‘Fingerlakes’ series.
Michael showed me my room for the night and took me for a bit of a tour... the area down by the lake flattens out and there's a jetty for mooring small boats as well as a playhouse for the various children who've played there over the decades.
The mooring. Down at the water's edge the cottage property has an area which is great for family get-togethers or for children to play. There's a jetty too, though the ducks are not the kind of inhabitants to keep the Argetsingers happy.
Across the lake we could clearly see the family farm, an award-winning vineyard, too…
The farm. The cleared section across the lake is the family farm. Michael's mother lives there and the farm is worked by his brother, Sam.
Others enjoy the lake. Lake Seneca is a popular place for those who can afford a summer home there away from the stresses of the city.
Michael obviously enjoys coming away from his Chicago home to this place of beauty on a regular basis. He was here without his wife, Lee, for a couple of weeks as he had to catch up on family matters and on pressing business at the Research Center.
The centrepoint of the weekend for the Center was the presentation by Scotsman Murray Smith about his exploits in racing over the years. We had the pleasure of dining with Murray at one of the old motels where the Grand Prix drivers used to stay. This was the Glen Motor Inn, overlooking the lake.
The conversation was great and we all learned a lot, I think. The motelier, Vic Franzese, was also a party to the discussion as he recalls so well those halcyon days of World Champions coming to the Glen. He also raced and owns a McLaren Can-Am car.
On Saturday I took some time out to do my washing and then went to the Center for Murray's presentation. This went over very well and the attendant group joined in for nibblies and drinks in the Center - right beside the Eagle Indy car:
A famous name. The Eagle name at Indianapolis goes back a long way and is the name chosen by America's own Dan Gurney for the cars his team built.
This was a real picture, the amazing part about it being how neat the installation of the Offenhauser engine is:
Eagle's engine bay. The neatness of the installation of this Offenhauser engine with its turbocharger, inlet tracts and everything else is outstanding.
Workmanship. They must have been part artist, part engineer, part designer to make it so nice.
After that we took a drive up to the farm and I spent a little time walking about the vineyard with Michael's brother, Sam*. It was a treat to meet Jean Argetsinger, who is still a moving force behind the IMRRC despite being well into her nineties, and also Louise, Michael's sister.
Michael wasn't well that evening and I took advantage of the fact that he didn't want to eat to cook myself a meal in the cottage.
On Sunday morning we had breakfast out in the open at a spot that's a favourite of his. The sun glistening over the lake…
Glistening on the lake, Mornings are special at the Argetsinger lakeside cottage. The rising sun sends its rays to glisten across the rippling of the lake's surface. It's beautiful here, I'm so glad Michael invited me to spend a couple of nights at the cottage.
...is very special. Mike told me that no matter where he is in the world to see such a display, he always thinks of this spot. He has such fond memories there, and who can blame him?
The lake is special for many, I can understand why…
Fishing. A fisherman looks for a catch out on Lake Seneca, a place of real peace and tranquility.
I departed on Sunday morning, June 23, ready for a run across the hills to Pennsylvania where I had another appointment…
* Just seven months after my visit I had a letter from Michael. It included Sam's obituary. A fascinating man, steeped in Indian knowledge and an expert winegrower, he had sadly decided to end his life. Michael was also ill, but bravely pressing on. It was with great sadness that his friends and myself learned that he had died just a year after my visit.
I'd phoned Charlene that morning so she knew I was coming and she was delighted that I'd remembered her. She vaguely remembered me, too ("You write about sports or something, don't you?") and we had a good chat.
Then along came Mika, the Japanese wife of Eliah, who had been instrumental in helping me ensure that I found Charlene this time. Mika insisted that I go to their place and spend the night, something I found hard to resist.
The next morning Eliah took me for a drive. Not far from his home, within just a couple of miles, is the pretty Taughannock waterfall...
Taughannock Falls. These falls are the highest single-drop falls in the USA, just a few feet higher than Niagara Falls. The early morning sun creates difficulties with lighting, but the beauty of the spot shines through.
We had a look at that, then went to the point downstream where the waters run into the lake. That's Lake Cayuga, the next one along from Seneca Lake. From there he took me for a quick jaunt around the district and more little falls... like these:
Another fall. Eliah also took me to this fall on our little pre-breakfast tour. And described what it looked like when it was in full flood!
And another. This one is pretty dramatic, and creates a lot of spray.
And what a delightful thing the morning light is playing with the spray from the falls:
Morning light. Though it makes things difficult to photograph, it is pretty.
Of course, it wouldn’t be America without some buildings falling down…
Well worn. Another barn past its ‘use by’ date, this is located between the falls.
We returned to his home for breakfast after that, Charlene came around too and it was quite sad that we all had something else to do that day and had to go our separate ways.
My path was to Watkins Glen to meet up with Michael Argetsinger. Michael is one of the sons of Cameron Argetsinger, who was the moving force behind the United States Grand Prix being held at Watkins Glen for many years. Cameron also played the major role in inaugurating road racing at the Glen back in 1948 and in having the permanent circuit built in 1956.
Arriving in Watkins Glen is something a lot of people enjoy…
Watkins Glen. Most ways into Watkins Glen involve descending a hill to the shore of the lake with the town gradually coming into view. The town became a favourite with holidaying New Yorkers, especially after motor racing began there in 1948.
We met at the International Motor Racing Research Center, which is attached to the Watkins Glen Library. During the course of the day we went for a drive around the old road course, slipping off that for Mike to take me for a 3-lap trip around the existing circuit.
On track today. Michael took me for a 3-lap run around the modern Watkins Glen racing circuit. He knows it well, he grew up with it and has written two books centred on activities here.
We also drove up the western side of the lake to the Argetsinger family’s summer cottage. This is on the steep slope that lies between the road and the lake, and it's not used at all in winter. The steepness of the drive caused me consternation because of the gearing of the van with its overdrive manual gearbox, I had to be careful to park it somewhere I'd be able to get it moving when leaving.
Lake Seneca, I learned, is 600’ deep in parts. So deep it was used during WW2 to test submarines. It’s deeper than the other lakes in the ‘Fingerlakes’ series.
Michael showed me my room for the night and took me for a bit of a tour... the area down by the lake flattens out and there's a jetty for mooring small boats as well as a playhouse for the various children who've played there over the decades.
The mooring. Down at the water's edge the cottage property has an area which is great for family get-togethers or for children to play. There's a jetty too, though the ducks are not the kind of inhabitants to keep the Argetsingers happy.
Across the lake we could clearly see the family farm, an award-winning vineyard, too…
The farm. The cleared section across the lake is the family farm. Michael's mother lives there and the farm is worked by his brother, Sam.
Others enjoy the lake. Lake Seneca is a popular place for those who can afford a summer home there away from the stresses of the city.
Michael obviously enjoys coming away from his Chicago home to this place of beauty on a regular basis. He was here without his wife, Lee, for a couple of weeks as he had to catch up on family matters and on pressing business at the Research Center.
The centrepoint of the weekend for the Center was the presentation by Scotsman Murray Smith about his exploits in racing over the years. We had the pleasure of dining with Murray at one of the old motels where the Grand Prix drivers used to stay. This was the Glen Motor Inn, overlooking the lake.
The conversation was great and we all learned a lot, I think. The motelier, Vic Franzese, was also a party to the discussion as he recalls so well those halcyon days of World Champions coming to the Glen. He also raced and owns a McLaren Can-Am car.
On Saturday I took some time out to do my washing and then went to the Center for Murray's presentation. This went over very well and the attendant group joined in for nibblies and drinks in the Center - right beside the Eagle Indy car:
A famous name. The Eagle name at Indianapolis goes back a long way and is the name chosen by America's own Dan Gurney for the cars his team built.
This was a real picture, the amazing part about it being how neat the installation of the Offenhauser engine is:
Eagle's engine bay. The neatness of the installation of this Offenhauser engine with its turbocharger, inlet tracts and everything else is outstanding.
Workmanship. They must have been part artist, part engineer, part designer to make it so nice.
After that we took a drive up to the farm and I spent a little time walking about the vineyard with Michael's brother, Sam*. It was a treat to meet Jean Argetsinger, who is still a moving force behind the IMRRC despite being well into her nineties, and also Louise, Michael's sister.
Michael wasn't well that evening and I took advantage of the fact that he didn't want to eat to cook myself a meal in the cottage.
On Sunday morning we had breakfast out in the open at a spot that's a favourite of his. The sun glistening over the lake…
Glistening on the lake, Mornings are special at the Argetsinger lakeside cottage. The rising sun sends its rays to glisten across the rippling of the lake's surface. It's beautiful here, I'm so glad Michael invited me to spend a couple of nights at the cottage.
...is very special. Mike told me that no matter where he is in the world to see such a display, he always thinks of this spot. He has such fond memories there, and who can blame him?
The lake is special for many, I can understand why…
Fishing. A fisherman looks for a catch out on Lake Seneca, a place of real peace and tranquility.
I departed on Sunday morning, June 23, ready for a run across the hills to Pennsylvania where I had another appointment…
* Just seven months after my visit I had a letter from Michael. It included Sam's obituary. A fascinating man, steeped in Indian knowledge and an expert winegrower, he had sadly decided to end his life. Michael was also ill, but bravely pressing on. It was with great sadness that his friends and myself learned that he had died just a year after my visit.
Last edited by Ray Bell; Jul 3, 2023 at 04:50 AM.
Thread Starter
|
Captain
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 568
Likes: 8
From: The Summit, Queensland, Australia
Sunday, June 22, 2014 – I headed for Lancaster in Pennsylvania. It was a trip where I learned of the pretty hills in that state. Here’s the path I took:
After a couple of days in Watkins Glen I had to get on the move again. It had been great staying with Mike Argetsinger and meeting more of his family, seeing the vineyard and once again driving around the old road circuit at the Glen. And enjoying being by the lake…
Looking back on the lake. Leaving the Argetsinger summer home on the lake was not something I was looking forward to. Looking down on their wharf reminded me of how much joy these people had when they stayed there.
But the road beckoned, you'd have to say. After five weeks in the US and Canada I still have goals to meet, in particular states to drive through, and there's plenty still to be seen as I travel.
This is a light day, just Watkins Glen NY to Lancaster PA, I chose a scenic route which paid big dividends for Sunday travelling in a fairly busy part of the country. Through to Elmira was pleasant driving…
You see all kinds... Two modern 3-wheelers heading towards the Glen along the road that heads for Horseheads. For miles the road is nice and easy like this.
All green hills. Unlike our first trip, the green of the countryside was strong and made for a nice drive, the odd home alongside the road looking like they've been there for many years.
Hills ahead! Getting closer to the Pennsylvanian border there were hills coming into view. They would make the day so much nicer.
I stopped at Horseheads to have a bite to eat and then pointed the van south into Pennsylvania. I was to be pleasantly surprised at the kind of country I would enjoy on the way through.
Easy driving. Approaching Monroeton, near Towanda and about 20 miles inside Pennsylvania, we're in the Susquehanna Valley - that's a river that plays a big part in this day.
Off the rails. This would not be the last disused railway line I saw on my trip, this one at the entry to the small town of Monroeton.
Monroeton. One of many small towns I'd see during the drive, Monroeton is home to about 550 people.
More Monroeton. For a Sunday it was very quiet and the town was like most, a bit sleepy but clearly ready to supply the needs of the surrounding countryside.
I wasn't covering a lot of miles by my standards. Monroeton, for instance, was only about 25 miles inside Pennsylvania and Dushore…
Roadblock! In Dushore, another 25 miles or so along, roadworks necessitated navigating a detour.
...was about the same south of Monroeton. I was for the time being heading away from the Susquehanna River but I'd get back to that later. Then I hit some nice hills, climbing and winding around on Route 220 and finding a new sight over the top of each hill. In particular I had to stop and take photos at Wright's View.
Wright's View. The payoff for taking the hilly route! Lovely views over the green countryside from this lookout named after P D Wright, a former Secretary for Highways.
Green valleys. Another angle from Wright's View, this is near Laporte. Wildflowers enhance the scene.
The lovely countryside continued for another fifty or sixty miles until I found myself driving right alongside the river, with a railway line between the road and the drop to the water. This was after crossing the I80 and I was approaching the town of Catawissa, I was surprised to see a rocky crag hanging out over the southbound lane, it seemed to me to be too low to clear the tops of bigger trucks, but I guess it is high enough:
Watch your head! Another fifty or so miles along there's a railway running close to the road. This is approaching the town of Catawissa and there's a crag of rock overhanging the road at the upcoming bend that must go close to scraping the tops off trucks!
There was a lot of traffic about as I came towards the bridge across into the town. I think there was some kind of event going on in the river, a regatta or something, and it took a while to actually get onto the bridge. In time I headed into the long-established town, which dates back to before Cook sailed up the East Coast of Australia…
Catawissa. There was a lot of traffic as I came into town here, though it's not evident in this photo. I think there might have been a regatta of some kind going on in the Susquehanna River beneath this bridge. Surprisingly, despite the appearance of the town, fewer than a thousand people live there.
From here on in I was relying strongly on the Garmin, which was set to 'shortest route' as usual, to get me to Lancaster before it got dark. Villages and countryside mixed in a picturesque way, the lack of traffic suiting me as I progressed towards my destination on Route 42 and then Route 61.
Villages and green countryside. Along Route 42, Numidia Drive, there are a couple of little villages separating sections of pretty green countryside.
At Ashland I changed from Route 61 to Route 54, though I wouldn't be sure which way the Garmin took me. Before Ashland I spotted this sign…
Reduced gear. I guess this is the equivalent of our 'Trucks must use low gear' signs.
I went from Ashland…
Ashland. Quite a small town here, too, Ashland was another point where the Garmin had me take another turn.
Multi-storey. Though it's only a small town, these homes in Ashland have been built upwards rather than outwards.
...through nearby Locustdale...
Locustdale. This little village is even smaller, just a short distance west of Ashland.
...then through more hilly countryside, crossing a railway at one point…
Railroad crossing. Luckily there were no trains, this level crossing is in the middle of a very nice drive in the hills.
...and on some good 2-lane roads…
The open road. This picture shows how the travel was easy on the day, a good road despite not being a highway, I was now headed towards Pine Grove.
Pine Grove was a larger town, though it wasn’t terribly busy on this Sunday afternoon.
Pine Grove. A larger town, but locally proud. There are 'Welcome to Pine Grove' signs right through town.
...and over some more hills, again providing nice views but proving difficult to photograph. This one had me climbing up the embankment to be frustrated at the prospect of not ever getting high enough to see over the trees opposite!
Another pretty vista. After Pine Grove I negotiated my way over this hill, with its attendant views, and headed towards Myerstown and, eventually, Lancaster.
And eventually the hills led back to flatter country where agriculture took over the colouring and shaping of the surroundings. Corn, of course, was the major crop, and it was strong and green as it grew.
Out of the hills, Just a little further and I was back in agricultural land, nice and green as summer would dictate, and heading for my overnight stay.
Ultimately I made it to Lancaster. My friends, known from one of the forums I use, live above a car dealership and I spotted them too late as I pressed on trying to not be late. I pulled up and stalled the van, then I found it wasn't going to restart!
The bolt retaining the bottom of the starter motor had fallen out and the nut on the stud at the top was gone too! They wouldn't be too hard to replace, but it was a problem for us as we had to push the van back up the road and into the driveway before we went out for the evening to a barbecue put on by some of their friends.
All went well there, I was able to source a bolt from the garage and I knew I'd be able to get another nut somewhere in the morning. The job ahead of me now was to get all the way down the East Coast to Florida without wasting too much time.
After a couple of days in Watkins Glen I had to get on the move again. It had been great staying with Mike Argetsinger and meeting more of his family, seeing the vineyard and once again driving around the old road circuit at the Glen. And enjoying being by the lake…
Looking back on the lake. Leaving the Argetsinger summer home on the lake was not something I was looking forward to. Looking down on their wharf reminded me of how much joy these people had when they stayed there.
But the road beckoned, you'd have to say. After five weeks in the US and Canada I still have goals to meet, in particular states to drive through, and there's plenty still to be seen as I travel.
This is a light day, just Watkins Glen NY to Lancaster PA, I chose a scenic route which paid big dividends for Sunday travelling in a fairly busy part of the country. Through to Elmira was pleasant driving…
You see all kinds... Two modern 3-wheelers heading towards the Glen along the road that heads for Horseheads. For miles the road is nice and easy like this.
All green hills. Unlike our first trip, the green of the countryside was strong and made for a nice drive, the odd home alongside the road looking like they've been there for many years.
Hills ahead! Getting closer to the Pennsylvanian border there were hills coming into view. They would make the day so much nicer.
I stopped at Horseheads to have a bite to eat and then pointed the van south into Pennsylvania. I was to be pleasantly surprised at the kind of country I would enjoy on the way through.
Easy driving. Approaching Monroeton, near Towanda and about 20 miles inside Pennsylvania, we're in the Susquehanna Valley - that's a river that plays a big part in this day.
Off the rails. This would not be the last disused railway line I saw on my trip, this one at the entry to the small town of Monroeton.
Monroeton. One of many small towns I'd see during the drive, Monroeton is home to about 550 people.
More Monroeton. For a Sunday it was very quiet and the town was like most, a bit sleepy but clearly ready to supply the needs of the surrounding countryside.
I wasn't covering a lot of miles by my standards. Monroeton, for instance, was only about 25 miles inside Pennsylvania and Dushore…
Roadblock! In Dushore, another 25 miles or so along, roadworks necessitated navigating a detour.
...was about the same south of Monroeton. I was for the time being heading away from the Susquehanna River but I'd get back to that later. Then I hit some nice hills, climbing and winding around on Route 220 and finding a new sight over the top of each hill. In particular I had to stop and take photos at Wright's View.
Wright's View. The payoff for taking the hilly route! Lovely views over the green countryside from this lookout named after P D Wright, a former Secretary for Highways.
Green valleys. Another angle from Wright's View, this is near Laporte. Wildflowers enhance the scene.
The lovely countryside continued for another fifty or sixty miles until I found myself driving right alongside the river, with a railway line between the road and the drop to the water. This was after crossing the I80 and I was approaching the town of Catawissa, I was surprised to see a rocky crag hanging out over the southbound lane, it seemed to me to be too low to clear the tops of bigger trucks, but I guess it is high enough:
Watch your head! Another fifty or so miles along there's a railway running close to the road. This is approaching the town of Catawissa and there's a crag of rock overhanging the road at the upcoming bend that must go close to scraping the tops off trucks!
There was a lot of traffic about as I came towards the bridge across into the town. I think there was some kind of event going on in the river, a regatta or something, and it took a while to actually get onto the bridge. In time I headed into the long-established town, which dates back to before Cook sailed up the East Coast of Australia…
Catawissa. There was a lot of traffic as I came into town here, though it's not evident in this photo. I think there might have been a regatta of some kind going on in the Susquehanna River beneath this bridge. Surprisingly, despite the appearance of the town, fewer than a thousand people live there.
From here on in I was relying strongly on the Garmin, which was set to 'shortest route' as usual, to get me to Lancaster before it got dark. Villages and countryside mixed in a picturesque way, the lack of traffic suiting me as I progressed towards my destination on Route 42 and then Route 61.
Villages and green countryside. Along Route 42, Numidia Drive, there are a couple of little villages separating sections of pretty green countryside.
At Ashland I changed from Route 61 to Route 54, though I wouldn't be sure which way the Garmin took me. Before Ashland I spotted this sign…
Reduced gear. I guess this is the equivalent of our 'Trucks must use low gear' signs.
I went from Ashland…
Ashland. Quite a small town here, too, Ashland was another point where the Garmin had me take another turn.
Multi-storey. Though it's only a small town, these homes in Ashland have been built upwards rather than outwards.
...through nearby Locustdale...
Locustdale. This little village is even smaller, just a short distance west of Ashland.
...then through more hilly countryside, crossing a railway at one point…
Railroad crossing. Luckily there were no trains, this level crossing is in the middle of a very nice drive in the hills.
...and on some good 2-lane roads…
The open road. This picture shows how the travel was easy on the day, a good road despite not being a highway, I was now headed towards Pine Grove.
Pine Grove was a larger town, though it wasn’t terribly busy on this Sunday afternoon.
Pine Grove. A larger town, but locally proud. There are 'Welcome to Pine Grove' signs right through town.
...and over some more hills, again providing nice views but proving difficult to photograph. This one had me climbing up the embankment to be frustrated at the prospect of not ever getting high enough to see over the trees opposite!
Another pretty vista. After Pine Grove I negotiated my way over this hill, with its attendant views, and headed towards Myerstown and, eventually, Lancaster.
And eventually the hills led back to flatter country where agriculture took over the colouring and shaping of the surroundings. Corn, of course, was the major crop, and it was strong and green as it grew.
Out of the hills, Just a little further and I was back in agricultural land, nice and green as summer would dictate, and heading for my overnight stay.
Ultimately I made it to Lancaster. My friends, known from one of the forums I use, live above a car dealership and I spotted them too late as I pressed on trying to not be late. I pulled up and stalled the van, then I found it wasn't going to restart!
The bolt retaining the bottom of the starter motor had fallen out and the nut on the stud at the top was gone too! They wouldn't be too hard to replace, but it was a problem for us as we had to push the van back up the road and into the driveway before we went out for the evening to a barbecue put on by some of their friends.
All went well there, I was able to source a bolt from the garage and I knew I'd be able to get another nut somewhere in the morning. The job ahead of me now was to get all the way down the East Coast to Florida without wasting too much time.
Last edited by Ray Bell; Jun 13, 2021 at 03:10 AM.
Thread Starter
|
Captain
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 568
Likes: 8
From: The Summit, Queensland, Australia
From Pennsylvania my plan was to see someone with a gearbox for sale in New Jersey, then go into Delaware, through Maryland and DC and thence Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. As I did that I would be adding Delaware, the Carolinas and Georgia to my list of states visited.
Here’s the path as far as Lynchburg in Virginia, June 24, 2014:
With the necessity to find the nuts and bolts to secure the starter I lost track of things a little and forgot all about the gearbox in New Jersey, I picked the bolts up at a wrecking yard not far out of Lancaster, but not before I'd seen a bunch of Amish and Amish farms…
Amish farms. There's a significant Amish population and they farm using old methods. But still very effectively.
Cycling. This Amish girl was out enjoying the day on her cycle during the school holidays. Or is it some kind of scooter?
Traffic interruptions. In this area there is no separate lane for the Amish horse-drawn vehicles, these kids on a sulky are holding up the traffic.
A nice smile. An Amish mum out with her kids, she gave me a nice smile when I went out of my way to get into a good spot to get a picture.
...then I was a little surprised (though I shouldn't have been) at the sight of a small bunch of 'trailer homes' in what was otherwise a fairly prosperous-looking area.
Trailer dwellers. A cluster of 'low priced housing' - trailer dwellers aren't hard to find in many parts of the USA.
At Avondale I stopped to have a look at this neatly restored late-forties Dodge:
A standout. This late-forties Dodge was beautifully restored, and painted in a colour which will attract attention.
Soon I was through into Delaware, the eighth new state for the tally...
A new state. My first time in Delaware, the state I've still seen the least of.
Entering Wilmington. Wilmington brought me back in touch with some traffic, but it wasn’t at all bad. This is just coming into the outskirts.
A visit to a thrift shop in Wilmington DE for some fresh shorts and then into the van and drive, I went through a couple of urban streets just to have a look…
Thrift. I picked up another pair of shorts here to help cope with the hot weather. This is in Wilmington DE.
Suburbia and Nationalism. Neat front yards and houses in towns like Newark and Elsmere, with flags also flying.
Upmarket? These homes may be more expensive, being 2-storey. Or maybe just easier to heat in winter?
Traffic wasn’t an issue at the time I drove through this area:
Traffic free. Perhaps it was the right time of day, but the various main streets were almost free of traffic.
I crossed the Susquehanna river…
River crossing. Moving south into Maryland, I crossed the Susquehanna river on this bridge, with plenty of traffic about.
...and then stopped for some supplies at an Aldi store at Aberdeen in Maryland and had some lunch near there.
Familiar shopping. Aldi at Aberdeen provided some supplies to continue my trek.
I couldn’t help but notice this pickup in Baltimore, it seems to have had a hard life (and continues to do so!):
Baltimore traffic. There was a bit more traffic in Baltimore, but noticing this pickup and its state of disrepair – and also its load – captured my interest.
It wasn't long before I reached DC and drove through in the beginning of the afternoon rush hour:
Washington streets. The early rush hour had arrived by the time I got to Washington. People were on the move.
I saw the Capitol building in the distance…
The Capitol. It was only in the distance, but I did see the dome of the Capitol.
...and a freeway took me over the Potomac and right past the Pentagon...
Crossing the Potomac. A famous river, this freeway wasn’t the only one to cross it.
Traffic building. There must be a lot of people working in Washington who head South at the end of the day.
The Pentagon. It’s huge! The freeway rushed right by it.
...as I headed south towards Virginia. I camped in a rest area and the next morning I headed towards Lynchburg, VA.
I hadn’t gone far and I decided to stop and take a photo of an SPCA thrift shop (we have RSPCA ‘op’ shops at home) and did a U-turn. This attracted Police attention, but I got away with it.
Diligent policeman. This police car pulled up when I did something unexpected. I allayed his fears.
More thrift. As we have such things at home I was interested to get a pic of this one, particularly for a friend who manages such a store.
So then I continued across Virginia so I could pay a visit to noted race engine builder, Bill Richardson in Lynchburg.
BHJ Dynamics introduced me to Bill, we both BHJ use for harmonic balancers. He showed me a range of Chrysler performance engines he's built and is building, including a 318 Poly, a 426 Hemi and a more modern Hemi he’s fitted to a ‘62 Dodge convertible.
The famous Hemi 426. Bill had just finished building this one with a stroker crank.
Poly 318. Obviously not finished but well on the way, the Poly isn’t so popular but it’s worthy of development.
He does some good work, specialising in high performance Mopar engines. This installation is a credit to him:
Late model engine. A latter-day Hemi fitted in where a Poly once lived, very neatly done.
Soon it was time to keep on moving on...
Here’s the path as far as Lynchburg in Virginia, June 24, 2014:
With the necessity to find the nuts and bolts to secure the starter I lost track of things a little and forgot all about the gearbox in New Jersey, I picked the bolts up at a wrecking yard not far out of Lancaster, but not before I'd seen a bunch of Amish and Amish farms…
Amish farms. There's a significant Amish population and they farm using old methods. But still very effectively.
Cycling. This Amish girl was out enjoying the day on her cycle during the school holidays. Or is it some kind of scooter?
Traffic interruptions. In this area there is no separate lane for the Amish horse-drawn vehicles, these kids on a sulky are holding up the traffic.
A nice smile. An Amish mum out with her kids, she gave me a nice smile when I went out of my way to get into a good spot to get a picture.
...then I was a little surprised (though I shouldn't have been) at the sight of a small bunch of 'trailer homes' in what was otherwise a fairly prosperous-looking area.
Trailer dwellers. A cluster of 'low priced housing' - trailer dwellers aren't hard to find in many parts of the USA.
At Avondale I stopped to have a look at this neatly restored late-forties Dodge:
A standout. This late-forties Dodge was beautifully restored, and painted in a colour which will attract attention.
Soon I was through into Delaware, the eighth new state for the tally...
A new state. My first time in Delaware, the state I've still seen the least of.
Entering Wilmington. Wilmington brought me back in touch with some traffic, but it wasn’t at all bad. This is just coming into the outskirts.
A visit to a thrift shop in Wilmington DE for some fresh shorts and then into the van and drive, I went through a couple of urban streets just to have a look…
Thrift. I picked up another pair of shorts here to help cope with the hot weather. This is in Wilmington DE.
Suburbia and Nationalism. Neat front yards and houses in towns like Newark and Elsmere, with flags also flying.
Upmarket? These homes may be more expensive, being 2-storey. Or maybe just easier to heat in winter?
Traffic wasn’t an issue at the time I drove through this area:
Traffic free. Perhaps it was the right time of day, but the various main streets were almost free of traffic.
I crossed the Susquehanna river…
River crossing. Moving south into Maryland, I crossed the Susquehanna river on this bridge, with plenty of traffic about.
...and then stopped for some supplies at an Aldi store at Aberdeen in Maryland and had some lunch near there.
Familiar shopping. Aldi at Aberdeen provided some supplies to continue my trek.
I couldn’t help but notice this pickup in Baltimore, it seems to have had a hard life (and continues to do so!):
Baltimore traffic. There was a bit more traffic in Baltimore, but noticing this pickup and its state of disrepair – and also its load – captured my interest.
It wasn't long before I reached DC and drove through in the beginning of the afternoon rush hour:
Washington streets. The early rush hour had arrived by the time I got to Washington. People were on the move.
I saw the Capitol building in the distance…
The Capitol. It was only in the distance, but I did see the dome of the Capitol.
...and a freeway took me over the Potomac and right past the Pentagon...
Crossing the Potomac. A famous river, this freeway wasn’t the only one to cross it.
Traffic building. There must be a lot of people working in Washington who head South at the end of the day.
The Pentagon. It’s huge! The freeway rushed right by it.
...as I headed south towards Virginia. I camped in a rest area and the next morning I headed towards Lynchburg, VA.
I hadn’t gone far and I decided to stop and take a photo of an SPCA thrift shop (we have RSPCA ‘op’ shops at home) and did a U-turn. This attracted Police attention, but I got away with it.
Diligent policeman. This police car pulled up when I did something unexpected. I allayed his fears.
More thrift. As we have such things at home I was interested to get a pic of this one, particularly for a friend who manages such a store.
So then I continued across Virginia so I could pay a visit to noted race engine builder, Bill Richardson in Lynchburg.
BHJ Dynamics introduced me to Bill, we both BHJ use for harmonic balancers. He showed me a range of Chrysler performance engines he's built and is building, including a 318 Poly, a 426 Hemi and a more modern Hemi he’s fitted to a ‘62 Dodge convertible.
The famous Hemi 426. Bill had just finished building this one with a stroker crank.
Poly 318. Obviously not finished but well on the way, the Poly isn’t so popular but it’s worthy of development.
He does some good work, specialising in high performance Mopar engines. This installation is a credit to him:
Late model engine. A latter-day Hemi fitted in where a Poly once lived, very neatly done.
Soon it was time to keep on moving on...
Last edited by Ray Bell; Jun 13, 2021 at 03:20 AM.
Thread Starter
|
Captain
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 568
Likes: 8
From: The Summit, Queensland, Australia
After spending a little while with Bill, I headed further South towards North Carolina. My path here took me down US 29, and it wasn’t all that long before I started to feel the pangs of hunger.
So I started on this leg of the journey:
I stopped at Gretna to get some supplies from Food Lion and Dollar General. I had allowed by on-board supplies of fruit and biscuits run down since buying some in Bathurst, New Brunswick and some replenishing was in order. And I went into the McDonalds there to get a burger.
Shopping. A necessity, to keep supplies in the van fresh and plentiful.There I met three youngsters who were with their mothers…
Happy youngsters getting a treat. Out with their mums for the day, these well-dressed kids were happy to chat with me while I got myself some tucker.
…and they told me about their adventures that day. They were, of course, on school vacation. I took their recommendation to have a quick look at some things nearby before continuing down the highway.
I saw this early-seventies Dart and pulled up to have a look…
Dart. We didn’t get these at home, so I had to stop and look.
...and I found I was driving through another Amish area:
Amish again. Apparently related to the Pennsylvania Amish, they settled in Virginia too.
There were a number of places there, somewhere around the Virginia/North Carolina border, where bridge abutments are surrounded by flower gardens which were brilliant yellow as I drove by…
A nice touch. Flowerbeds in the median strip of the highway dressed it up a little.
...and I also saw a little yard sale on the side of the road and pulled up to have a look, buying a few tools:
Yard Sale. You’ve got to be on the lookout for bargains!
Prize purchases! A good-quality Imperial tape measure is hard to find in Australia these days.
Through Greensboro I saw some tall buildings, parking stations and other signs of it being a large city…
Greensboro. Quite a sizeable place, tall buildings and multi-storey carparks were a feature.
...and not at all like the Greensborough we have in Australia.
I wanted to have another shower that afternoon and went to the WilcoHess truckstop at Salisbury...
Refreshing shower. Some negotiations with the management enabled me to shower for free at Salisbury's busy WilcoHess truckstop.
I asked the girl at the counter if I could have either a discount on the shower or get it for free if I bought a decent amount of fuel, suggesting $100 worth.
She referred me to the boss, who said I could indeed have my shower free if I put $100 worth of gas in the tank. I forced that much into the tank and headed for their nice clean shower rooms. I used my own towel, however.
A part of the drive that day was off the Interstates and on some good back roads, like this one at Mount Holly.
Open road. At Mt Holly, near Charlotte, this car dealer was one of few interruptions to the green scenery.
As darkness came I stopped off at East Gastonia and met a number of fresh acquaintances, and having satisfied myself with covering some miles and being cleaned up and fed, I scurried into South Carolina…
South Carolina welcome. After a long day the Welcome Center near Blacksburg was a good place to pull up and have a good sleep.
..to find a rest area for another night's sleep.
And no, I didn’t take Exit 100!
So I started on this leg of the journey:
I stopped at Gretna to get some supplies from Food Lion and Dollar General. I had allowed by on-board supplies of fruit and biscuits run down since buying some in Bathurst, New Brunswick and some replenishing was in order. And I went into the McDonalds there to get a burger.
Shopping. A necessity, to keep supplies in the van fresh and plentiful.There I met three youngsters who were with their mothers…
Happy youngsters getting a treat. Out with their mums for the day, these well-dressed kids were happy to chat with me while I got myself some tucker.
…and they told me about their adventures that day. They were, of course, on school vacation. I took their recommendation to have a quick look at some things nearby before continuing down the highway.
I saw this early-seventies Dart and pulled up to have a look…
Dart. We didn’t get these at home, so I had to stop and look.
...and I found I was driving through another Amish area:
Amish again. Apparently related to the Pennsylvania Amish, they settled in Virginia too.
There were a number of places there, somewhere around the Virginia/North Carolina border, where bridge abutments are surrounded by flower gardens which were brilliant yellow as I drove by…
A nice touch. Flowerbeds in the median strip of the highway dressed it up a little.
...and I also saw a little yard sale on the side of the road and pulled up to have a look, buying a few tools:
Yard Sale. You’ve got to be on the lookout for bargains!
Prize purchases! A good-quality Imperial tape measure is hard to find in Australia these days.
Through Greensboro I saw some tall buildings, parking stations and other signs of it being a large city…
Greensboro. Quite a sizeable place, tall buildings and multi-storey carparks were a feature.
...and not at all like the Greensborough we have in Australia.
I wanted to have another shower that afternoon and went to the WilcoHess truckstop at Salisbury...
Refreshing shower. Some negotiations with the management enabled me to shower for free at Salisbury's busy WilcoHess truckstop.
I asked the girl at the counter if I could have either a discount on the shower or get it for free if I bought a decent amount of fuel, suggesting $100 worth.
She referred me to the boss, who said I could indeed have my shower free if I put $100 worth of gas in the tank. I forced that much into the tank and headed for their nice clean shower rooms. I used my own towel, however.
A part of the drive that day was off the Interstates and on some good back roads, like this one at Mount Holly.
Open road. At Mt Holly, near Charlotte, this car dealer was one of few interruptions to the green scenery.
As darkness came I stopped off at East Gastonia and met a number of fresh acquaintances, and having satisfied myself with covering some miles and being cleaned up and fed, I scurried into South Carolina…
South Carolina welcome. After a long day the Welcome Center near Blacksburg was a good place to pull up and have a good sleep.
..to find a rest area for another night's sleep.
And no, I didn’t take Exit 100!
Last edited by Ray Bell; May 9, 2023 at 11:56 PM.
Thread Starter
|
Captain
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 568
Likes: 8
From: The Summit, Queensland, Australia
Tuesday night I headed for South Carolina, knowing it wouldn’t take all that long to drive across that part of the state – it’s only about a hundred miles. But it was getting on towards 10pm when I left the Gastonia area, so I was happy to see the Welcome Center at Blacksburg just past the South Carolina border. I drove in there and camped for the night.
Very Welcome Center! I couldn't go too far into South Carolina or I'd miss out on taking pics within that state, so I was glad to see this Welcome Center come up and give me somewhere to camp after a fairly full day.
Hitting the road the next day...
Wednesday morning, June 25, 2014, was still new when I drove further South-West, stopping at the Waffle House at Piedmont, near Greenville, where I joined a number of early-to-rise workers for an early breakfast…
Waffle House. The first time I tried it, a good breakfast for an early start.
Morning signs. After lighting up the area at night, the coming of dawn tends to give a whole different life to those advertising signs.
...and to let the daylight gather a bit so I could take some photos while I was still in the state. I had two goals as I entered Georgia.
The first was to see Scott Marshall, who does CNC machining and who lives at Ringgold, right across the border from Chattanooga, Tennessee and the second was to drive around and photograph the public roads used for the US Grand Prize races in 1908-1912 at Savannah.
With my entry into South Carolina I had covered ten of the twenty states I needed to visit to add to the 28 of our last trip so that I had been to all the Continental US states. Georgia would become number eleven, with those two visits to make.
But one of my newfound friends in East Gastonia, on hearing me mention I was going there, said to me: "If y'all is goin' to Savannah, you just have to visit mah sister!" She armed me with the sister's name and phone number. That gave me a third destination.
Water dwellers. The first major waterway I crossed as I got close to completing the drive across South Carolina showed signs that a lot of people like living on or near the water.
Looking back. There’s still some faint pink hue in the morning sky as very little traffic fills the I85.
The eleventh state. Crossing another waterway led me to the Georgia state line.
I headed off the Interstate and onto some back roads and soon spotted this ‘63 Dodge Dart for sale…
1963 Dart. We had Valiants at home, no Darts, so this was of interest to me.
...and took a few photos of it.
I was on the Toccoa Bypass when I came across this incident:
Impeded passage. I saw surprisingly few accidents on my trip, this was the worst.
The crunch! I obviously didn’t see it happen, nor stop and ask, but the evidence was that it all happened too quickly for the wagon to stop.
It looked like the machine had come off its trailer and dropped to the road, giving the following station wagon nowhere to go.
Sometimes you do catch up with some traffic on these roads, often behind a truck, but this one…
...had me thinking of the words to the song, Wolf Creek Pass.
I guess there would be others who remember the humour of this song?
Very Welcome Center! I couldn't go too far into South Carolina or I'd miss out on taking pics within that state, so I was glad to see this Welcome Center come up and give me somewhere to camp after a fairly full day.
Hitting the road the next day...
Wednesday morning, June 25, 2014, was still new when I drove further South-West, stopping at the Waffle House at Piedmont, near Greenville, where I joined a number of early-to-rise workers for an early breakfast…
Waffle House. The first time I tried it, a good breakfast for an early start.
Morning signs. After lighting up the area at night, the coming of dawn tends to give a whole different life to those advertising signs.
...and to let the daylight gather a bit so I could take some photos while I was still in the state. I had two goals as I entered Georgia.
The first was to see Scott Marshall, who does CNC machining and who lives at Ringgold, right across the border from Chattanooga, Tennessee and the second was to drive around and photograph the public roads used for the US Grand Prize races in 1908-1912 at Savannah.
With my entry into South Carolina I had covered ten of the twenty states I needed to visit to add to the 28 of our last trip so that I had been to all the Continental US states. Georgia would become number eleven, with those two visits to make.
But one of my newfound friends in East Gastonia, on hearing me mention I was going there, said to me: "If y'all is goin' to Savannah, you just have to visit mah sister!" She armed me with the sister's name and phone number. That gave me a third destination.
Water dwellers. The first major waterway I crossed as I got close to completing the drive across South Carolina showed signs that a lot of people like living on or near the water.
Looking back. There’s still some faint pink hue in the morning sky as very little traffic fills the I85.
The eleventh state. Crossing another waterway led me to the Georgia state line.
I headed off the Interstate and onto some back roads and soon spotted this ‘63 Dodge Dart for sale…
1963 Dart. We had Valiants at home, no Darts, so this was of interest to me.
...and took a few photos of it.
I was on the Toccoa Bypass when I came across this incident:
Impeded passage. I saw surprisingly few accidents on my trip, this was the worst.
The crunch! I obviously didn’t see it happen, nor stop and ask, but the evidence was that it all happened too quickly for the wagon to stop.
It looked like the machine had come off its trailer and dropped to the road, giving the following station wagon nowhere to go.
Sometimes you do catch up with some traffic on these roads, often behind a truck, but this one…
...had me thinking of the words to the song, Wolf Creek Pass.
I guess there would be others who remember the humour of this song?
Last edited by Ray Bell; Jun 13, 2021 at 03:33 AM.
Thread Starter
|
Captain
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 568
Likes: 8
From: The Summit, Queensland, Australia
So I was winding my way through some nice foothills country, through Dahlonega, following the Garmin’s instructions blindly. I grabbed some lunch somewhere near there. Then it was on through more of the same kind of roads to Spring Place…
Spring Place. A small village with a deceptive name (‘Chatsworth’) on its water tower. Just another place to note on the way.
...and onto some enjoyably twisty roads:
Twisty roads. Did I say I was enjoying the drive? The van was very comfortable traversing roads like these.
Hampered view. As I neared Ringgold I crossed some high points which should have given good views. The camera couldn’t capture them because of the foreground.
The run up towards Ringgold was certainly nice, hilly country – bordering on or even through the Chattahoochee National Forest – as green as green could be, and after checking out the alpacas owned by Scott's wife and discussing matters with him, I went into Chattanooga just for the sake of going into another state, though I would visit more of the other side of Tennessee a few days later. I didn’t count that on my list until the following week.
Scott Marshall. Here with his wife and their alpacas, Scott does precision machining.
Chattanooga. A slight diversion took me briefly into Tennessee.
After finding myself in heavy traffic around Atlanta as the evening neared, including this truck packed with new Hondas…
Honda delivery. I believe there were nine of them on this truck I passed as we slipped around the Atlanta rush hour.
...I drove on to Dublin, about halfway between Atlanta and Savannah and pulled in to McDonalds. There were some arty car pictures on the walls along with some '50s period photos...
An earlier time. The fifties saw some wild car designs, also the growth of McDonalds. This photo puts them together with a Dodge at the fore.
Befinned Mopar artwork. Stylised and commercialised, this artwork at least captures the finned era, and in particular it has a Mopar in it.
...it was a good atmosphere for me. And then, like at a number of places during this trip, I went to sleep in their carpark and returned to the restaurant for breakfast and more time using their wi-fi.
Then I headed for Savannah as my first stop of the day. Along the way I phoned the lady and duly visited her, her husband and cousin and a 91-year old friend of theirs and her autistic grandchild. She was in tears much of the time I was there, just so excited to have a visitor from Australia
It was a pleasant experience with some interesting conversation, and I barely noticed that it took well over an hour to drink one cup of coffee!
Savannah visit. Having met her sister in North Carolina, I’d been encouraged to visit this lady in Savannah, she was so happy that I did!
I was now ready to drive around the mighty Savannah circuit...
Spring Place. A small village with a deceptive name (‘Chatsworth’) on its water tower. Just another place to note on the way.
...and onto some enjoyably twisty roads:
Twisty roads. Did I say I was enjoying the drive? The van was very comfortable traversing roads like these.
Hampered view. As I neared Ringgold I crossed some high points which should have given good views. The camera couldn’t capture them because of the foreground.
The run up towards Ringgold was certainly nice, hilly country – bordering on or even through the Chattahoochee National Forest – as green as green could be, and after checking out the alpacas owned by Scott's wife and discussing matters with him, I went into Chattanooga just for the sake of going into another state, though I would visit more of the other side of Tennessee a few days later. I didn’t count that on my list until the following week.
Scott Marshall. Here with his wife and their alpacas, Scott does precision machining.
Chattanooga. A slight diversion took me briefly into Tennessee.
After finding myself in heavy traffic around Atlanta as the evening neared, including this truck packed with new Hondas…
Honda delivery. I believe there were nine of them on this truck I passed as we slipped around the Atlanta rush hour.
...I drove on to Dublin, about halfway between Atlanta and Savannah and pulled in to McDonalds. There were some arty car pictures on the walls along with some '50s period photos...
An earlier time. The fifties saw some wild car designs, also the growth of McDonalds. This photo puts them together with a Dodge at the fore.
Befinned Mopar artwork. Stylised and commercialised, this artwork at least captures the finned era, and in particular it has a Mopar in it.
...it was a good atmosphere for me. And then, like at a number of places during this trip, I went to sleep in their carpark and returned to the restaurant for breakfast and more time using their wi-fi.
Then I headed for Savannah as my first stop of the day. Along the way I phoned the lady and duly visited her, her husband and cousin and a 91-year old friend of theirs and her autistic grandchild. She was in tears much of the time I was there, just so excited to have a visitor from Australia
It was a pleasant experience with some interesting conversation, and I barely noticed that it took well over an hour to drink one cup of coffee!
Savannah visit. Having met her sister in North Carolina, I’d been encouraged to visit this lady in Savannah, she was so happy that I did!
I was now ready to drive around the mighty Savannah circuit...
Last edited by Ray Bell; Sep 4, 2022 at 12:04 AM.
Thread Starter
|
Captain
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 568
Likes: 8
From: The Summit, Queensland, Australia
I left my newfound friends and they seemed as happy for me to have visited as I had been to share the time with them. Now I had to find the roads which made up the circuits on which the United States Grand Prize had been held.
For many years I'd sporadically come across articles and mentions of racing in the early part of the 20th century in the USA. Names like David Bruce-Brown (winner of the American Grand Prize at Savannah in 1910 and 1911) and Ralph de Palma conjure up in me thoughts of those old pictures or cars with their wheels leaning forwards and dust flying, spectators ducking for cover on unprotected roads and very brave men.
Peter Helck’s art. Fortunately for generations to come, a young Peter Helck captured in both colour and black and white the Savannah atmosphere as well as the action of the races held there.
I had looked up the maps which showed where the races were held. The first of them was over a course of about 21 miles, while later ones were slightly shorter. And then that Peter Helck book Paul Hoffmeyer gave me earlier in this trip, Great Auto Races, has drawings which show evocatively just what it looked like there those days with the overhanging trees framing the cars.
Unique pictures. Another picture from Helck, again showing that ‘Spanish Moss’ (or ‘Gray Moss’) and the closeness of the trees to the roads used.
Available maps. I don’t know if there are better maps available, but this was as good as I could find. Note that there are two different circuits marked on this one.
And those overhanging trees with the ‘Spanish Moss’ hanging down from them still abound! First I went to an address where the 'Great Savannah Races Museum' was located in Abercorn Street only to find an unwelcome sign…
Not a good sign! And worse, they were away on vacation.
So now it was up to me to find my way around the roads, and what incredible roads they must have been. There were straights up to four miles long and the circuit stretched out of town…
Long straights. In early racing, long straights were normal. Savanna had them up to four miles long, and lots of them ran beneath these mossy trees.
Modern intervention. The landscape keeps on changing, however, and today’s freeways play havoc with old race circuits.
...and into several corners of the countryside, including a bit which wound narrowly on the edge of the water near some jetties. I got a real feel for what it must have been like and was very pleased with my afternoon's work.
More moss. The moss remains a unique sight here, intriguing and even spectacular.
By the water’s edge. One of the really unusual parts of the circuit, where it goes close to the water and right by some jetties.
Dale Avenue. Getting towards the end of the lap, again a freeway and the modern multi-lane road that it is are very much a change from what they had in 1908.
So now it was time to head further South. Just one state left in that direction – Florida…
I didn’t really travel far this day because of the time spent in Savannah.
Travelling down the I95 I noted the many bridges that made up much of the highway and the scenery. I was actually a bit mystified by the sight of one obviously new suspension bridge between the Interstate and the Atlantic, this being South of Brunswick on Hwy 17. I wouldn’t have expected to see such a huge bridge…
Another bridge. This was seen in the distance, a new bridge on Highway 17.
Abundant waterways. All the many waterways are the reason for the many bridges, of course.
...so close to the Interstate on which I was travelling, paralleling its path. Then a couple of miles after crossing the St Marys River, the border between Georgia and Florida at that point, I called into the Welcome Centre on the Interstate.
Welcome Center. The welcome centre just inside the Florida border was the biggest I’ve ever seen. I guess it gets a lot of visitors.
This must be the biggest Welcome Centre around, simply huge, though I didn't have time to spend there as I wanted to take a couple of photos in Jacksonville before it got dark. Some pics I didn't expect to get were of a couple of bridges sadly deteriorating alongside the more modern concrete structure on which I crossed the Trout River within the beginnings of the city.
Defunct rail bridge. Left permanently open so boat traffic can go through, this rail bridge really added to the flavour of this sunset.
Trout River bridge. Right alongside the new road bridge and adjacent to the rail bridge, this old structure also has a span open for boats to ply their way through.
Once I got to Jacksonville I had a quick look around…
Jacksonville Memorial Arena. Like most American cities, Jacksonville has a huge indoor arena for sports, conventions and entertainment.
…got something to eat and then turned to the West. But as I needed to top up my fuel I didn't get onto the Interstate - the I10 - but took to a parallel road, Beaver Street W which led into Highway 90, looking for a good price on fuel. It was wet on the road, though not raining, big puddles prevailed as I drove into a Speedway service station/convenience store.
This was to be a memorable event. I was using a card which never worked at the bowsers, so I went inside to pay first, as is the 'custom' in the US. The shop absolutely reeked of stale cigarettes, the stench permeated the whole place. And I don't sit well with that smell, so I was anxious to get out of there, I didn’t want it to make me sick (yes, it was that bad!).
The offensive Speedway. From Google Earth street view, this is the place where I was nearly gagging with the stench of stale cigarettes.
But it's not so easy. I didn't know how much it would take and I wanted to fill the tank, which meant overpaying and then getting a refund on the card when I'd finished topping up. I told the person in no uncertain terms that I would not re-enter the shop, but that he would have to bring the paperwork to me outside when this was done. Of course he kept me waiting and finally I had to go in again!I continued West, getting onto the I10 and drove for a while. It was now dark which meant it was getting late with the long summer days and daylight saving. About two thirds of the way between Jacksonville and Tallahassee I made a late decision to turn into the Madison County Rest Area (just before Lee)…
A nice rest area, but… I should have turned in to the entry, however I went across the grass and bottomed out the exhaust on the kerbing at the top of the grassy slope.(GE)
…which was to have repercussions for the rest of the trip and a long time afterwards.
Having missed the entry I turned across the grass, kept it going through the slightly swampy (but mowed) area between the highway and the rest area drive and then found I had to drive over a concrete kerb. The van went over it all right, but the exhaust pipe bottomed out on the concrete and it cracked the flange on the right hand manifold. One day this would have to be fixed!
Manifold flange damage. I slept the night blissfully unaware of how much trouble it would ultimately be to fix this problem!
I slept there the night and counted back over all those fresh states I'd added to our list in the past few days. Six of them. And I knew that the coming few days would add Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee to the list while I'd also see much more of Kentucky.
For many years I'd sporadically come across articles and mentions of racing in the early part of the 20th century in the USA. Names like David Bruce-Brown (winner of the American Grand Prize at Savannah in 1910 and 1911) and Ralph de Palma conjure up in me thoughts of those old pictures or cars with their wheels leaning forwards and dust flying, spectators ducking for cover on unprotected roads and very brave men.
Peter Helck’s art. Fortunately for generations to come, a young Peter Helck captured in both colour and black and white the Savannah atmosphere as well as the action of the races held there.
I had looked up the maps which showed where the races were held. The first of them was over a course of about 21 miles, while later ones were slightly shorter. And then that Peter Helck book Paul Hoffmeyer gave me earlier in this trip, Great Auto Races, has drawings which show evocatively just what it looked like there those days with the overhanging trees framing the cars.
Unique pictures. Another picture from Helck, again showing that ‘Spanish Moss’ (or ‘Gray Moss’) and the closeness of the trees to the roads used.
Available maps. I don’t know if there are better maps available, but this was as good as I could find. Note that there are two different circuits marked on this one.
And those overhanging trees with the ‘Spanish Moss’ hanging down from them still abound! First I went to an address where the 'Great Savannah Races Museum' was located in Abercorn Street only to find an unwelcome sign…
Not a good sign! And worse, they were away on vacation.
So now it was up to me to find my way around the roads, and what incredible roads they must have been. There were straights up to four miles long and the circuit stretched out of town…
Long straights. In early racing, long straights were normal. Savanna had them up to four miles long, and lots of them ran beneath these mossy trees.
Modern intervention. The landscape keeps on changing, however, and today’s freeways play havoc with old race circuits.
...and into several corners of the countryside, including a bit which wound narrowly on the edge of the water near some jetties. I got a real feel for what it must have been like and was very pleased with my afternoon's work.
More moss. The moss remains a unique sight here, intriguing and even spectacular.
By the water’s edge. One of the really unusual parts of the circuit, where it goes close to the water and right by some jetties.
Dale Avenue. Getting towards the end of the lap, again a freeway and the modern multi-lane road that it is are very much a change from what they had in 1908.
So now it was time to head further South. Just one state left in that direction – Florida…
I didn’t really travel far this day because of the time spent in Savannah.
Travelling down the I95 I noted the many bridges that made up much of the highway and the scenery. I was actually a bit mystified by the sight of one obviously new suspension bridge between the Interstate and the Atlantic, this being South of Brunswick on Hwy 17. I wouldn’t have expected to see such a huge bridge…
Another bridge. This was seen in the distance, a new bridge on Highway 17.
Abundant waterways. All the many waterways are the reason for the many bridges, of course.
...so close to the Interstate on which I was travelling, paralleling its path. Then a couple of miles after crossing the St Marys River, the border between Georgia and Florida at that point, I called into the Welcome Centre on the Interstate.
Welcome Center. The welcome centre just inside the Florida border was the biggest I’ve ever seen. I guess it gets a lot of visitors.
This must be the biggest Welcome Centre around, simply huge, though I didn't have time to spend there as I wanted to take a couple of photos in Jacksonville before it got dark. Some pics I didn't expect to get were of a couple of bridges sadly deteriorating alongside the more modern concrete structure on which I crossed the Trout River within the beginnings of the city.
Defunct rail bridge. Left permanently open so boat traffic can go through, this rail bridge really added to the flavour of this sunset.
Trout River bridge. Right alongside the new road bridge and adjacent to the rail bridge, this old structure also has a span open for boats to ply their way through.
Once I got to Jacksonville I had a quick look around…
Jacksonville Memorial Arena. Like most American cities, Jacksonville has a huge indoor arena for sports, conventions and entertainment.
…got something to eat and then turned to the West. But as I needed to top up my fuel I didn't get onto the Interstate - the I10 - but took to a parallel road, Beaver Street W which led into Highway 90, looking for a good price on fuel. It was wet on the road, though not raining, big puddles prevailed as I drove into a Speedway service station/convenience store.
This was to be a memorable event. I was using a card which never worked at the bowsers, so I went inside to pay first, as is the 'custom' in the US. The shop absolutely reeked of stale cigarettes, the stench permeated the whole place. And I don't sit well with that smell, so I was anxious to get out of there, I didn’t want it to make me sick (yes, it was that bad!).
The offensive Speedway. From Google Earth street view, this is the place where I was nearly gagging with the stench of stale cigarettes.
But it's not so easy. I didn't know how much it would take and I wanted to fill the tank, which meant overpaying and then getting a refund on the card when I'd finished topping up. I told the person in no uncertain terms that I would not re-enter the shop, but that he would have to bring the paperwork to me outside when this was done. Of course he kept me waiting and finally I had to go in again!I continued West, getting onto the I10 and drove for a while. It was now dark which meant it was getting late with the long summer days and daylight saving. About two thirds of the way between Jacksonville and Tallahassee I made a late decision to turn into the Madison County Rest Area (just before Lee)…
A nice rest area, but… I should have turned in to the entry, however I went across the grass and bottomed out the exhaust on the kerbing at the top of the grassy slope.(GE)
…which was to have repercussions for the rest of the trip and a long time afterwards.
Having missed the entry I turned across the grass, kept it going through the slightly swampy (but mowed) area between the highway and the rest area drive and then found I had to drive over a concrete kerb. The van went over it all right, but the exhaust pipe bottomed out on the concrete and it cracked the flange on the right hand manifold. One day this would have to be fixed!
Manifold flange damage. I slept the night blissfully unaware of how much trouble it would ultimately be to fix this problem!
I slept there the night and counted back over all those fresh states I'd added to our list in the past few days. Six of them. And I knew that the coming few days would add Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee to the list while I'd also see much more of Kentucky.
Last edited by Ray Bell; Sep 14, 2022 at 08:58 PM.
Thread Starter
|
Captain
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 568
Likes: 8
From: The Summit, Queensland, Australia
June 27, 2014…
The outstanding thing about driving across the top of Florida before heading into Alabama was the obvious signs of frequent and heavy rainfall, rivers and plenty of water everywhere while greenery was to be seen in every direction.
The day begins. Typical Interstate, smooth, light traffic, perfect for distance travel.
I don't recall where I had my breakfast that morning, but I did take some pics as I drove…
Unlike Wisonsin! Cattle graze in a paddock, just like at home.
Burning it out.A dead tree is about to be burned into submission.
I do know that I stopped at a well-appointed and spacious Rest Area just to the West of Tallahassee…
Great Rest Area. Like so many US rest areas, this one had plenty of room and amenity.
Highway Patrol training. It also provided a venue for a group of new Highway Patrolmen to practice using laser or radar guns!
… and then started looking for a likely way to enter Alabama.
Last of the Interstate. In order for me to accomplish my task of driving through every state, I had to get off the I10 and head into Alabama. This was the time to do so.
More water. Everywhere there was water lying around.
This took me through Cottondale and into Graceville. I bought some novelty presents – including alcoholic jams – to take home with me from there. The little place where I got these was quite interesting…
Florida Citrus. The place doesn’t look much, but they have a lot of goodies in there. I hadn’t taken a photo so I’ve used a Google Earth image here.
…and just near it was a boarded-up supermarket with interesting spelling on the sign:
Closures. I was to see a lot of little places boarded up this day, the spelling of the sign on the hoarding here had me wondering. Today this is a Peterbilt workshop.
Then started running through smaller towns on lesser roads for much of the day.
Quiet Graceville. Not much activity in the town of Graceville.The quietness for the businesses obviously prompted this:
Pleading for business. The yellow sign reads: “Keep business in town, Save time and $$$, Ask us about matching prices.
Piggly Wiggly. Strange names, but there are so many of them. This is in Geneva.
Samson. A more prosperous-looking town, but still fairly quiet.
Their own bank. Prosperous enough, it seems, for them to have their own bank.
Through Samson, Monroeville, Jackson…
2-door. As always, my eye was out for cars, particularly ones we don’t have at home. All ours were 4-doors up until 1969.
Flowers. I was noticing this day that a lot of cemeteries had fresh flowers on many graves.
Electioneering. Each time I saw a sign for a position in charge of money it was for a woman!
…and then over the massive 'Joe C McCorquodale' bridge…
Twin bridges. This wasn’t the only one but it was a stand-out.
…before turning onto Rt 56 and heading through Chatom to the Mississippi border near - strangely enough - State Line. I photographed the bridge (or bridges), not because it was a unique sight, but it was so unlike what we have in Australia. There are so many big rivers in this part of the world and even this Tombigbee River is not one that is well known.
Timber jinker. Logging was something I didn’t really expect to see, but it goes on everywhere.
Duct tape. Some people like to say strange things.
State Line. Into Mississippi, some rain greeted me there.
I was following the GPS on 'shortest distance' to McComb in Mississippi, and along this stretch I struck some light rain. The route took me through Hattiesburg, where I was surprised to find, after entering the town via a fairly nondescript area…
Nondescript. The way I came into Hattiesburg I probably saw the worst of it...
And more. ...with some places out of business and others looking tired.
…that there were one-way streets and at least two parking stations…
Prospering. But the centre of town was well-manicured and looked prosperous.
I drove on to McComb, had a feed and found somewhere to camp for the night. In the morning I would keep a fresh appointment...
The outstanding thing about driving across the top of Florida before heading into Alabama was the obvious signs of frequent and heavy rainfall, rivers and plenty of water everywhere while greenery was to be seen in every direction.
The day begins. Typical Interstate, smooth, light traffic, perfect for distance travel.
I don't recall where I had my breakfast that morning, but I did take some pics as I drove…
Unlike Wisonsin! Cattle graze in a paddock, just like at home.
Burning it out.A dead tree is about to be burned into submission.
I do know that I stopped at a well-appointed and spacious Rest Area just to the West of Tallahassee…
Great Rest Area. Like so many US rest areas, this one had plenty of room and amenity.
Highway Patrol training. It also provided a venue for a group of new Highway Patrolmen to practice using laser or radar guns!
… and then started looking for a likely way to enter Alabama.
Last of the Interstate. In order for me to accomplish my task of driving through every state, I had to get off the I10 and head into Alabama. This was the time to do so.
More water. Everywhere there was water lying around.
This took me through Cottondale and into Graceville. I bought some novelty presents – including alcoholic jams – to take home with me from there. The little place where I got these was quite interesting…
Florida Citrus. The place doesn’t look much, but they have a lot of goodies in there. I hadn’t taken a photo so I’ve used a Google Earth image here.
…and just near it was a boarded-up supermarket with interesting spelling on the sign:
Closures. I was to see a lot of little places boarded up this day, the spelling of the sign on the hoarding here had me wondering. Today this is a Peterbilt workshop.
Then started running through smaller towns on lesser roads for much of the day.
Quiet Graceville. Not much activity in the town of Graceville.The quietness for the businesses obviously prompted this:
Pleading for business. The yellow sign reads: “Keep business in town, Save time and $$$, Ask us about matching prices.
Piggly Wiggly. Strange names, but there are so many of them. This is in Geneva.
Samson. A more prosperous-looking town, but still fairly quiet.
Their own bank. Prosperous enough, it seems, for them to have their own bank.
Through Samson, Monroeville, Jackson…
2-door. As always, my eye was out for cars, particularly ones we don’t have at home. All ours were 4-doors up until 1969.
Flowers. I was noticing this day that a lot of cemeteries had fresh flowers on many graves.
Electioneering. Each time I saw a sign for a position in charge of money it was for a woman!
…and then over the massive 'Joe C McCorquodale' bridge…
Twin bridges. This wasn’t the only one but it was a stand-out.
…before turning onto Rt 56 and heading through Chatom to the Mississippi border near - strangely enough - State Line. I photographed the bridge (or bridges), not because it was a unique sight, but it was so unlike what we have in Australia. There are so many big rivers in this part of the world and even this Tombigbee River is not one that is well known.
Timber jinker. Logging was something I didn’t really expect to see, but it goes on everywhere.
Duct tape. Some people like to say strange things.
State Line. Into Mississippi, some rain greeted me there.
I was following the GPS on 'shortest distance' to McComb in Mississippi, and along this stretch I struck some light rain. The route took me through Hattiesburg, where I was surprised to find, after entering the town via a fairly nondescript area…
Nondescript. The way I came into Hattiesburg I probably saw the worst of it...
And more. ...with some places out of business and others looking tired.
…that there were one-way streets and at least two parking stations…
Prospering. But the centre of town was well-manicured and looked prosperous.
I drove on to McComb, had a feed and found somewhere to camp for the night. In the morning I would keep a fresh appointment...
Last edited by Ray Bell; Sep 10, 2022 at 07:33 PM.