Seeing beyond the road

[bugo]

One of my favorite drives I've ever taken was over White Pass, and I would never have had a reason to go there if I weren't clinching US 12 in the state and/or taking pictures for Wikipedia.

I'm totally necroing this thread, just to note that one can see a lot just by sticking to one numbered route which isn't a freeway.  for example, US-6 is a great drive across the country... I wholeheartedly recommend such an activity to anyone who wants to see the world.  Pick a number, and go.

as for missing out, really the one worst thing one can do is stay on the interstate, especially I-80 in Nebraska, which gives the entire Eisenhower system the stereotypical "connecting nothing to nowhere, really quickly" reputation.  Just five miles away is US-30, which is infinitely more interesting.

But the speed limit on I-80 is 75 MPH.  I prefer driving fast to slowing down to 25 MPH in town after town.

[corco]

And that's the problem- people assume there's nothing to see in Nebraska so they make it a state they want to get through as quickly as possible.

You know what- I'm OK with it because Nebraska is one of the most underratedly scenic states in the country and there are basically zero tourists.

[agentsteel53]

But the speed limit on I-80 is 75 MPH.  I prefer driving fast to slowing down to 25 MPH in town after town.

there is a lot worth slowing down for.  old signs, random businesses, squirrels, etc.

I wouldn't go through the old towns if I were doing the road for the third or fourth time, but once or twice is very much worth it.

[cpzilliacus]

This is one of the most illuminating points on this thread.  I also feel compelled to add my own take on this (a month later)--

I think being roadgeeks allows us to see beauty in places and objects that others tend to find banal or ugly.  What may be a horrific tangle of concrete and asphalt to some may be a masterwork of the applied arts to us.  While an extensive array of green signs may be just background texture that slips from most commuters' everyday notice, to us it can be the drumbeat that gives continuity to and defines the rhythm of spatial/temporal creations that we consciously experience (consciously, because that is something we focus on).  No piece of land or object on the landscape is inherently more or less worthy of anyone's attention.  Beauty is something that only the individual observer can rightly take from something and give to himself or herself, and it follows that being roadgeeks is our gift to ourselves, just as nature lovers, train enthusiasts, bird watchers, or localized cuisine aficionados present such gifts to themselves.

That's probably why more than a few roadgeeks like the northern segments of the New Jersey Turnpike, even though Looking for America on the New Jersey Turnpike asserted that it is "so bad that it's good," making specific reference to the petroleum processing operations in Carteret and the general "look and feel" of Elizabeth (a large swath of which was condemned when the Turnpike was constructed) and past Newark Liberty International Airport.

....

A Car and Driver article once used the memorable description "miles and miles of universal fart" in referring to that area. I'll concur in that description because on one trip to New York, I rode with my brother and he insisted on keeping the windows down.....and then we got stuck in stopped traffic on the Goethals Bridge. I don't think I've come so close to puking from just a bad smell as I did that afternoon.

Worst smells on a highway? 

In my experience,they are trucks hauling certain noxious-smelling cargoes.  In particular, (1) trucks hauling dead animals to a rendering plant (e.g. Virginia's Valley Proteins); (2) trucks hauling grease from grease traps can be bad (frequently same company that hauls dead animals, though in different vehicles); (3) animal livestock trucks, in particular those carrying hogs; and (4) truck carrying a load of crated chickens to the slaughterhouse.

I think your comments underscore something somebody recently said in another thread about how variance in signs (whether because of different local standards or because somebody made a mistake) is to be treasured because it's part of what keeps things interesting out there. What I find interesting is that it's not just roadgeeks who notice some of the variations. I recall when my parents and brother came down to Duke for a visit during my law school days we were driving to Chapel Hill and my father commented on a sign saying "REDUCE SPEED AHEAD" instead of the "REDUCED" wording that's standard in Virginia. But then, my mother was an English teacher and my father was also an English major, so they'd be more likely to notice such things.

The wording that always catches my attention (and annoys me) are the WATCH CHILDREN signs that some municipalities in Pennsylvania seem to like.

[Beltway]

The wording that always catches my attention (and annoys me) are the WATCH CHILDREN signs that some municipalities in Pennsylvania seem to like.

It's a shortened phrase to fit a point onto a sign.

"Watch your step" is very common with respect to stairs, but you could say that's an over-literal way to say that.

I see "watch your step" signs on the transit bus that I use, as well as "pise con cuidado", the Spanish phrase that means "tread carefully" in English.  "Tread carefully" sounds odd if you are not familiar with it as well.

[1995hoo]

One of my favorite drives I've ever taken was over White Pass, and I would never have had a reason to go there if I weren't clinching US 12 in the state and/or taking pictures for Wikipedia.

I'm totally necroing this thread, just to note that one can see a lot just by sticking to one numbered route which isn't a freeway.  for example, US-6 is a great drive across the country... I wholeheartedly recommend such an activity to anyone who wants to see the world.  Pick a number, and go.

as for missing out, really the one worst thing one can do is stay on the interstate, especially I-80 in Nebraska, which gives the entire Eisenhower system the stereotypical "connecting nothing to nowhere, really quickly" reputation.  Just five miles away is US-30, which is infinitely more interesting.

But the speed limit on I-80 is 75 MPH.  I prefer driving fast to slowing down to 25 MPH in town after town.

To me this underscores to some degree the difference between the travel to the destination and the travel around the destination. I suppose that sentence is unclear, but what I'm getting at is the notion of taking a vacation in a particular region where you don't maintain the same lodging the whole time. When my wife and I visit relatives in Florida, for example, we make stops in Venice, Fort Myers, Miami, and Viera, so I distinguish between the travel between Virginia and Florida (travel "to" or "from" the "destination") and the travel between locations in Florida (travel "around" the destination). For the travel around Florida I like to get off the Interstate (or the Turnpike) when feasible and see other things/take other roads, even if it means being slowed down a bit. But for the travel between Virginia and Florida I prefer to stay on the higher-speed roads to make time (assuming we're not on the Auto Train).

When I was a kid our family vacations were similar; for example, in August 1984 we took a trip that went up I-81 to the Thousand Islands, stopped for two days or so around there, then on to Montreal, stopped for two or three days, up to Quebec City, then to the Saguenay area, then back home via Magog and Vermont. My father usually took the Interstate for the trip to and from Canada but routinely avoided roads like 401 or the Quebec autoroutes when feasible because the travel around Quebec was part of seeing the province.

I do the same now, plus I tend to view it from the standpoint that I want to get to my destination in a relatively expeditious fashion with some level of exploring as long as it doesn't delay me too much or take me through speedtrap towns. Plus sometimes you have to be somewhere by a particular time and so you have to take the fast route–our last trip to Nova Scotia where we took the Cat Ferry from Portland being a great example, because it was imperative we be in Portland the night before for the early-morning departure.

So in general, seeing different roads is a part of the trip, but I do not allow it to become the trip itself.

[corco]

I'd say my family roadtrips growing up were similar- we'd hustle from Idaho to the Oregon Coast, and then take US-101 down the coast, or go as fast as possible from Chicago down to North Carolina ,but then spend time driving around the Smokies, or drive to Ohio and then have like five different destinations within Ohio.

I'd say I do that too to a degree- once I've gone every reasonable route between two places once, I typically start taking the faster route exclusively. I never use anything but I-10 to get from here to Phoenix anymore, for instance. Or, if I were going to, say, Texas right now and were on a time crunch, I'd probably take I-10 past El Paso because seeing new things in Texas is more interesting than driving through Deming, NM on the backroad again.

[agentsteel53]

I'd say I do that too to a degree- once I've gone every reasonable route between two places once, I typically start taking the faster route exclusively.

I do so typically, but not exclusively.  there will be times when I drive up to the Bay Area and elect to take 101, instead of 5-580, even though I've done both dozens of times.  (probably literally - I've done the trip between San Francisco and Los Angeles, in one direction or the other, at least 100-150 times.)

[1995hoo]

For me it varies because of variables like traffic and road construction and being utterly bored with routes I've driven hundreds or thousands of times. Between the DC area and New York, for example, the New Jersey Turnpike is under construction, there's often traffic in various places along I-95, etc., so I tend to go through Pennsylvania instead. It's a longer drive distance-wise, but it's not unusual for it to be faster time-wise (although I haven't made the trip since Delaware finished rebuilding the toll plaza). The one downside, I suppose, is that I know the I-95/Turnpike route so well that I always know exactly where I am and how far I have to go without even thinking about it, whereas I don't have that sense of familiarity with the Pennsylvania route.

But there are other trips where the alternate routes just aren't attractive. If I drive to Florida, it's almost a certainty that I'll wind up on I-95 between I-26 and Jacksonville. Going around by Atlanta is too far out of the way, and based on looking at a map it appears there aren't any good crossings from South Carolina to Georgia that don't require going through too many small towns other than a few fairly close to I-95 (and I've used some of those as bailout routes in traffic). So no matter how many times I make the trip, I know we're going to wind up on I-95 through there.

[bugo]

And that's the problem- people assume there's nothing to see in Nebraska so they make it a state they want to get through as quickly as possible.

You know what- I'm OK with it because Nebraska is one of the most underratedly scenic states in the country and there are basically zero tourists.

I love Nebraska.  The Sand Hills, US 75 north of Omaha...and I haven't been west of US 183.

[kphoger]

And that's the problem- people assume there's nothing to see in Nebraska so they make it a state they want to get through as quickly as possible.

You know what- I'm OK with it because Nebraska is one of the most underratedly scenic states in the country and there are basically zero tourists.

I love Nebraska.  The Sand Hills, US 75 north of Omaha...and I haven't been west of US 183.

Nebraska has some good scenery.  I-80 scenery is quite a bit different from the two-laners.  Lincoln's old town is a cool neighborhood.  The area around Valentine has some good camping and canoeing opportunities.

[NE2]

"Besides," said the man, "there's no traffic passes through 6

I've always wondered about that quote.  what did all the trucks take across northern Pennsylvania?  no Turnpike in 1937... did they choose US-20 instead?

He was at the Bear Mountain Bridge, where 6 west is closed to trucks. For a longer distance, US 20 has significantly better grades. And don't forget NY 17.

[agentsteel53]

He was at the Bear Mountain Bridge, where 6 west is closed to trucks. For a longer distance, US 20 has significantly better grades. And don't forget NY 17.

why so many trucks on US-6 in Pennsylvania to this day, then - even with the existence of US-20, NY-17/I-86, and a new corridor in I-80?

[NE2]

Who knows. Maybe there are fewer but it seems like more because it's two-lane.
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_analysis/nat_freight_stats/nhsmajortrkrts2007.htm shows it to be the least-traveled of all the NHS routes there.

[agentsteel53]

Who knows. Maybe there are fewer but it seems like more because it's two-lane.
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_analysis/nat_freight_stats/nhsmajortrkrts2007.htm shows it to be the least-traveled of all the NHS routes there.

or I probably just thought "good grief" because I-80 and I-90 are right there, so why would anyone in their right mind take US-6?  the reason I was taking it was because I had hoped no one else would.

[hbelkins]

Steve A. just loooooves US 6 in PA. 

[Ned Weasel]

That's probably why more than a few roadgeeks like the northern segments of the New Jersey Turnpike, even though Looking for America on the New Jersey Turnpike asserted that it is "so bad that it's good," making specific reference to the petroleum processing operations in Carteret and the general "look and feel" of Elizabeth (a large swath of which was condemned when the Turnpike was constructed) and past Newark Liberty International Airport.

Another attraction of the New Jersey Turnpike is the great contrast in landscapes from south to north.  There's not much in the way of hills and dales along the Turnpike, but the landscape of Salem County is about as extreme in its rural appearance as the industrialization that's present as the motorist drives further north.

The New Jersey Turnpike is actually my favorite road, but mostly for the design of the quad-carriageway configuration, where seemingly no expense was spared in building the ramps necessary to serve each carriageway at every interchange.  I also agree that the scenery provides a unique sense of mood and contrast.  I might pick up that book sometime.

[wphiii]

I'd say I do that too to a degree- once I've gone every reasonable route between two places once, I typically start taking the faster route exclusively.

I do so typically, but not exclusively.  there will be times when I drive up to the Bay Area and elect to take 101, instead of 5-580, even though I've done both dozens of times.  (probably literally - I've done the trip between San Francisco and Los Angeles, in one direction or the other, at least 100-150 times.)

Unless I'm really pressed for time, I'll almost always elect to take the more interesting/scenic route. For example, between Pittsburgh and Washington I'll get off the PA Turnpike in Somerset and take U.S. 219 down to I-68, maybe stop for a meal in Frostburg or Cumberland. Exponentially more enjoyable to me than having to go through the unholy abomination that is Breezewood and paying more on the Turnpike.

Likewise, I'll often take Ohio 32/U.S. 50/WV 2 to get from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh or vice versa, even though it's probably about 2 hours longer of a drive when you factor in things like being able to go 85 mph nearly the entire time on I-70, etc.

[huskeroadgeek]

And that's the problem- people assume there's nothing to see in Nebraska so they make it a state they want to get through as quickly as possible.

You know what- I'm OK with it because Nebraska is one of the most underratedly scenic states in the country and there are basically zero tourists.

I love Nebraska.  The Sand Hills, US 75 north of Omaha...and I haven't been west of US 183.

It's interesting you mention having seen the Sandhills without having been west of US 183, because most of the Sandhills is west of US 183. Driving NE 2 from Grand Island to Alliance is a great way to experience the Sandhills.

[cpzilliacus]

I see "watch your step" signs on the transit bus that I use, as well as "pise con cuidado", the Spanish phrase that means "tread carefully" in English.  "Tread carefully" sounds odd if you are not familiar with it as well.

Not nearly as good as Mind the Gap.

[kphoger]

Not nearly as good as Mind the Gap.

As if one might injure the gap while stepping over it.

[flowmotion]

Nebraska has some good scenery.  I-80 scenery is quite a bit different from the two-laners.  Lincoln's old town is a cool neighborhood.  The area around Valentine has some good camping and canoeing opportunities.

True, I-80 is nestled down into the Platte River valley so you can see very little of Nebrasaka's scenery on the trip.

I really appreciate that Wisconsin intentionally added extra curves to some of their interstates so that drivers would have sweeping views of their scenery.

[bugo]

I really appreciate that Wisconsin intentionally added extra curves to some of their interstates so that drivers would have sweeping views of their scenery.

Cite?  I'm not saying I don't believe you, but I've never heard this.

[flowmotion]

Cite?  I'm not saying I don't believe you, but I've never heard this.

Sorry, it could just be an urban legend I picked up somewhere. Drive I-90/94 to see.

[bugo]

Cite?  I'm not saying I don't believe you, but I've never heard this.

Sorry, it could just be an urban legend I picked up somewhere. Drive I-90/94 to see.

I've driven I-94 from the Illinois line to Tomah, and I-90 to the Minnesota border, and it didn't seem any curvier than any other freeway I've driven on with similar terrain features.  However, much of the trip was very scenic, with the picturesque farms with the big red barns and the hills of western Wisconsin.  I went into Wisconsin expecting nothing, and left it thinking it was one of the prettiest states that I've visited.  And I barely got off the interstate.