I'm going poutine-pretzel-burger chasing the weekend before Kwanzaa and so I'll be out in Michigan the night of 12/23 and all day 12/24 (most likely). I could probably make it out by lunchtime on 12/23 if there's any interest in an actual roadmeet. Lunch would be at Red's (https://www.redssportsbar.com), home of that famous burger, starting as early as they serve it. We would then check out area sights - hopefully there are some - or at least just go get some mileage on highways in the area. If you have ideas of what to see or would like to meet us for lunch or dinner (I plan to have another such burger for dinner if it's good), comment here and now!
See my reply to your message on Facebook. :)
Poutine pretzel burger. Sounds mouthwateringly delicious!
Grand River Avenue between Grand Rapids and Lansing is a nice quiet drive if you're up for a nice old section of US 16.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 07, 2018, 12:26:13 PM
Grand River Avenue between Grand Rapids and Lansing is a nice quiet drive if you're up for a nice old section of US 16.
I actually drove Steve out along Grand River (from Cascade to about Howell) on the way to a Detroit meet at the beginning of 2010 (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=2166.0). :spin:
I will admit that even though that poutine burger was rather tasty when I ate it, I didn't think it would be something to plan a roadmeet around. :-o
Quote from: rawmustard on December 07, 2018, 01:37:51 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 07, 2018, 12:26:13 PM
Grand River Avenue between Grand Rapids and Lansing is a nice quiet drive if you're up for a nice old section of US 16.
I actually drove Steve out along Grand River (from Cascade to about Howell) on the way to a Detroit meet at the beginning of 2010 (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=2166.0). :spin:
I will admit that even though that poutine burger was rather tasty when I ate it, I didn't think it would be something to plan a roadmeet around. :-o
I have family on Grand River all the way from Lansing east to Redford Township. Last year I took them down the M-5 section through the old family neighborhood to catch the Southfield Freeway. Things aren't looking great in Western Detroit these days but at least they didn't feel anywhere near as bad as they did in the late 1980s and 1990s.
I love the section of Grand River between Brighton and East Lansing. Always made for a nice side trip when I-96 got too frustrating to tolerate.
I'm assuming Steve doesn't have the time for a day trip up M-37? That whole loop on M-22 from Traverse City on Leelanu is pretty damn nice on a quiet winter day.
No
At the very least, the idea of a poutine pretzel burger is intriguing. :-o
Unfortunately probably not logistically possible for my family Christmas Eve celebrations, which sucks.
I could probably make something like that if it was on the other side of the state.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 07, 2018, 04:26:15 PM
Quote from: rawmustard on December 07, 2018, 01:37:51 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 07, 2018, 12:26:13 PM
Grand River Avenue between Grand Rapids and Lansing is a nice quiet drive if you're up for a nice old section of US 16.
I actually drove Steve out along Grand River (from Cascade to about Howell) on the way to a Detroit meet at the beginning of 2010 (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=2166.0). :spin:
I will admit that even though that poutine burger was rather tasty when I ate it, I didn't think it would be something to plan a roadmeet around. :-o
I have family on Grand River all the way from Lansing east to Redford Township. Last year I took them down the M-5 section through the old family neighborhood to catch the Southfield Freeway. Things aren't looking great in Western Detroit these days but at least they didn't feel anywhere near as bad as they did in the late 1980s and 1990s.
I love the section of Grand River between Brighton and East Lansing. Always made for a nice side trip when I-96 got too frustrating to tolerate.
I'm assuming Steve doesn't have the time for a day trip up M-37? That whole loop on M-22 from Traverse City on Leelanu is pretty damn nice on a quiet winter day.
I was on part of Grand River tonight. I only rode it from Meridian Mall to Williamston though. Always love riding on Grand River, I did hop on I-96 after Williamston though.
Well, based on my schedule and available daylight, this will just be an evening meetup on the 23rd.
Quote from: Alps on December 10, 2018, 12:30:49 PM
Well, based on my schedule and available daylight, this will just be an evening meetup on the 23rd.
I should be up for that. What's your travel itinerary? Are you driving or flying to Michigan?
Quote from: A.J. Bertin on December 10, 2018, 08:15:48 PM
Quote from: Alps on December 10, 2018, 12:30:49 PM
Well, based on my schedule and available daylight, this will just be an evening meetup on the 23rd.
I should be up for that. What's your travel itinerary? Are you driving or flying to Michigan?
Driving both ways via southern Ohio for various clinches.
Intriguing, but I have family coming for brunch that day so I'll have to pass. It would be late afternoon before I could get there.
Quote from: Alps on December 10, 2018, 09:13:05 PM
Quote from: A.J. Bertin on December 10, 2018, 08:15:48 PM
Quote from: Alps on December 10, 2018, 12:30:49 PM
Well, based on my schedule and available daylight, this will just be an evening meetup on the 23rd.
I should be up for that. What's your travel itinerary? Are you driving or flying to Michigan?
Driving both ways via southern Ohio for various clinches.
How far "southern" and what clinches? There have been a couple of closures recently in the Portsmouth-Chillicothe area and I don't know if everything is back open yet or not.
Day 1 route: I-80, US 219, US 40, PA 523, Ohiopyle, Business US 40, PA 21, WV 891, US 250, CR 89, WV 2, OH 7, OH 800, US 36 to Delaware
Notes:
* US 219 is now very seamless as it transitions south into the new freeway. The clues are new (and, as has been commented elsewhere, poorly designed) signs, lots of delineators, and grooved concrete. Still, of course, the stub at the north end. MD is doing some work along the road but unrelated to widening.
* Barely got up the hill as I bore right from PA 281 toward Ohiopyle, and I was the only person at the falls. Which, by the way, were magnificent in winter, so PA really should be plowing the signed route to the main area tourist attraction and trying to promote it.
* CR 89 is a quintessential WV drive. Enjoy it, but follow it carefully. At several points, the road was washed out or caved in and there was one lane traffic, facilitated by a couple of orange signs and a stop sign. One of them even looked semi-permanent! There were stop ahead signs in yellow, not orange, with fresh stop signs on U-channel posts instead of temporary supports. WV really doesn't have the money to maintain all of its roads.
* OH 800 is my new favorite road in Ohio. It does not at all feel like Ohio - maybe like Kentucky or PA. Lots of hills, curves, valleys, ridges. Highly recommend. There is a covered bridge about 2 miles off of its US 22 concurrency down a narrow dirt trail, FWIW.
Day 2 route: US 36, US 33, US 20, CR 17, M-217, US 12, M-40, I-196, M-89, M-222, US 131, M-179, M-37
Notes:
* Found a Wall Drug ad toward the end of US 33, pointing almost 1,000 miles to the west. Is that the record for the farthest ad?
* I love Allegan! It's got an expansive, historic downtown, and there's even an old iron truss bridge! (Roads.)
* Interestingly, 3-digit Michigan routes get 3-digit shields when they end at freeways, both as the "ENDS" assembly and on the ramps. Everything else is 2-digit shields, including when they end at conventional roads.
* Time to go enjoy that poutine pretzel-bun burger!
* ETA: Patterson Ave. has a couple of flashing red balls for left turns as holdovers from the pre-FYA era.
Quote from: Alps on December 23, 2018, 03:18:58 PM
* Found a Wall Drug ad toward the end of US 33, pointing almost 1,000 miles to the west. Is that the record for the farthest ad?
If you spread out all the Wall Drug advertisements in South Dakota such that you never encountered more than one in ten miles, I'm sure they would span well beyond that - probably at least from Alaska to Nova Scotia. :-P
That fudge at Wall Drug is worth travelling 1,000 miles for, though. I think it was the graham cracker vanilla swirl. I was going to share it with the Denver meet attendees but ended up hoarding it all in my hotel room.
Day 3 route: M-44 Connector, M-37, M-113, US 131/old 131/Business 131, M-46, M-91, south to M-50, US 127 to Celina
Notes:
* Upper reaches of M-37 were not plowed from about US 10 to M-115. It was a snow-covered two-track each way for much of that, sometimes clearer and sometimes requiring slower travel. Did not run into such issues on any other highway, even old 131. This is clearly the least-used section of 37 (at least south of US 31).
* Random covered bridge in Fallasburg. It was signed from the road so I went in. Very worthwhile.
* A lot more nice towns and courthouses in county seats. I generally like this part of the country.
* US 127 goes through a giant wind farm north of Van Wert.
* My battery charger went 99% kaput. I spent 20 minutes in the car just now holding the power cord one very particular way with a lot of force to get as much juice into my spare batteries as I could until I started hearing crackling noises. I guess for tomorrow, since all the stores are closed (even now, so especially tomorrow), I will just have to hope and pray I have enough juice for whatever goodies I may encounter, and then go get a new charger later this week.
Merry Messiahmas for those who observe, and happy day off to the rest!
Quote from: Alps on December 23, 2018, 03:18:58 PM* I love Allegan! It's got an expansive, historic downtown, and there's even an old iron truss bridge! (Roads.)
I grew up in Allegan, it was built in 1883. Sadly, besides Perrigo, there isn't much there.
Quote from: Alps on December 22, 2018, 05:33:29 PM
Day 1 route: I-80, US 219, US 40, PA 523, Ohiopyle, Business US 40, PA 21, WV 891, US 250, CR 89, WV 2, OH 7, OH 800, US 36 to Delaware
How many of Oh 37's truck routes did you cover in Delaware?
Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on December 24, 2018, 10:33:58 PM
Quote from: Alps on December 22, 2018, 05:33:29 PM
Day 1 route: I-80, US 219, US 40, PA 523, Ohiopyle, Business US 40, PA 21, WV 891, US 250, CR 89, WV 2, OH 7, OH 800, US 36 to Delaware
How many of Oh 37's truck routes did you cover in Delaware?
As many as I ever knew about. How many are there?
Quote from: Alps on December 25, 2018, 07:31:43 AM
Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on December 24, 2018, 10:33:58 PM
Quote from: Alps on December 22, 2018, 05:33:29 PM
Day 1 route: I-80, US 219, US 40, PA 523, Ohiopyle, Business US 40, PA 21, WV 891, US 250, CR 89, WV 2, OH 7, OH 800, US 36 to Delaware
How many of Oh 37's truck routes did you cover in Delaware?
As many as I ever knew about. How many are there?
Officially still 2.
Unofficially, I think it went to 5
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7860/46412298672_e58d799dd1_o.jpg)
Blue line - original 'Temp Truck Route Oh 37'
Red line - Alt Oh 37
Green lines - "New" Truck Route Oh 37 designations.
All the various truck routes in Delaware, for Oh 37, is due to this...
http://bridgehunter.com/oh/delaware/bh69321/
In the 35 years I've lived near Delaware, everybody has said this bridge needs to be *fixed* (i.e. raised). The only solutions that have been presented have been putting up signs (for 20 years now) to encourage truckers to avoid the bridge. It hasn't worked.
Thus, City of Delaware & ODOT have put up these contraptions back in the fall...
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4901/45739993454_351e1b14c8_o.jpg)
When those digital signs went up, they also decided to make as many bypasses for trucks as possible (since 2 routes weren't working)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4829/44161456300_163095fe07.jpg)
(above image as example)
So far, no change in driving habits, nor in listings for the travelmapping site.
Blue looks like the preferred routing and red is the "in case you missed this" routing. Anything in green is just connectors to those.