the best of Union County’s thunderstorm season (second half, which is when I got here!), and a couple odds and ends. Taken throughout September and October of 2009. Lightning just after sunset, and my favorite picture of the season. It was dark enough that I needed only moderately quick reflexes to try to catch a lightning bolt, as the exposure lengths were approaching 1/8 second (this one was 3/16 I [...]
Photos from Kansas, Colorado, and Oklahoma (and the single point in which they intersect) from September, 2009 – and some New Mexico, and a really, really small quantity of Texas. This is the New Mexico/Colorado/Oklahoma triple point. Dale takes this opportunity to breathe some refreshing Oklahoma air, and drink some water he has brought with him from New Mexico – and park in two states at the same time. Dale [...]
Day 5 - Cincinnati to the Gulf Coast A few highlights from the final day of traveling from the Cincinnati area back south toward the Gulf Coast of Florida... The start of the morning has us heading north from the Covington area back into Cincinnati over the Brent Spence Bridge. Opened to traffic in 1963, this double-deck cantilever bridge carries Interstate 71 and Interstate 75 traffic from Kentucky into the [...]
Day 4 - Detroit to Cincinnati Met up with fellow road enthusiast Dan Garnell the night before and discussed various topics around Michigan and the Great Lakes. One such item was the tanker fire that destroyed the 9 Mile Road overpass along Interstate 75. Dan told us that the damaged bridge was removed but little progress was made since the demolition on its replacement. The topic is discussed on the [...]
More from my New Mexico trip of November 2008, including some actual New Mexico this time. On the mountain pass between Chama, New Mexico, and Cumbres, Colorado – both states call this one highway 17. The sky was dark blue, just after sunrise – the snow is that bright, and there is just that little atmosphere, at 10,000 feet. Sunset over the plains of northeast New Mexico. Old US-64 (now [...]
Time for some photos from my trip from San Diego to eastern New Mexico and back, in November 2008. This batch is from the first day of my trip, and is heavily centered around Utah. Specifically: highway 95 in southeast Utah, crossing the Colorado River in red rock country. The only button copy sign in Nevada. This one is very, very old. Ominous clouds over old US-91 in southern Utah. [...]
Day 3 - Petoskey to Sault Ste. Marie to Detroit Started the day on a frosty morning in Petoskey, traveling up U.S. 31 through resort towns by scenic lakes and hills to its end at Interstate 75. Stopped by Fort Michilimackinac State Historic Park in Mackinaw City to view the Mackinaw Bridge in 27 degree wind. The Mackinac Bridge, nicknamed the "Mighty Mac" or "Big Mac", spans the Straits of [...]
Day 2 - Seymour, Indiana to Petoskey, Michigan Heading north from southern Indiana to the capital city, Interstate 65 continues with four lanes and loads of tractor trailers. The constant beating the pavement takes from the moving freight prompted officials to resurface the route from Whiteland to Greenwood in 2007 as part of the INDOT Major Moves initiative. Expansion of the road to six lanes does not occur until Exit [...]
I’ve decided to go with this batch of wintry goodness: a November, 2008 trip to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. It was a dark and snowy night… Don’t eat the orange snow. Distant municipal lights provide the mushroom-cloud effect. I took this picture by the side of US-45 in Michigan. The US-41 bridge in Houghton, Michigan. Oh, nothing to see here, just the last embossed cutout US shield in the wild. [...]
Some notes from a recent five-day road trip from the Gulf Coast northward to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Widening is currently underway along Interstate 65 in Montgomery, Alabama. This project totals 4.613 miles in length and focuses on replacing the original concrete surface with asphalt while expanding the previous four-lane freeway into six lanes overall. Work exists between U.S. 80 (Exit 167) and the Alabama River bridge. Overhead highway signs [...]
