There's much talk of route clinching and county collecting here. What other road-related goals or accomplishments do people pursue, seek, or keep count of?
Route clinches within a state and system clinches within a state are two I can think of.
For instance, I have the US and interstate systems clinched in Kentucky and West Virginia, and interstates clinched in a few other states. I also have West Virginia's state primary system clinched.
Since clinching Kentucky's state route system is virtually impossible due to the sheer number of routes, I've set a goal of clinching routes between 1-100. I only need a short segment of KY 61 in Louisville and much of KY 8 along the Ohio River to accomplish this.
I also have a goal to cross all Ohio River crossings. I have every bi-state crossing, but need most of the intrastate bridges in Pennsylvania to accomplish this goal. I'm looking to do that later this summer.
What other goals or targets are out there?
I'm currently working on clinching the NY touring routes. I have that further subdivided based on Region/County (Regions 1, 2, 4, 7, and 9 are done, as are Oswego, Yates, Chemung, Columbia, Ulster, Orange, Rockland, New York, and Richmond Counties). I'm also looking to get the signed reference routes (done), the MTA crossings (mostly done, still missing Cross Bay and Marine Parkway), the state Parkways (see my TravelMapping once I get it updated tonight), and the truck routes (mainly because TravelMapping is indecisive about whether they should be in or not). I was also tracking the PANYNJ and Bridge Authority crossings before I finished them.
I have the complete interstate system for NY, VT, NJ, MD, DC, and DE. I hope to work on CT, MA, and RI soon; NH and NE will likely get done as part of a trip to see the Maritimes. I hope to work more on PA, VA, WV, and FL when my roadtrips next bring me through those areas. Also hope to get the Quebec Autoroutes and Ontario 400-series (well, minus 407, 412, and 418, because I don't do toll by plate) some day too.
I also hope to someday clinch US 7, US 5, I-90, I-95 (recently accomplished the southern part, so now all I need is in New England), I-8, western I-84, and parts of I-10. Already have I-81. Would like the Trans-Canada mainline and PEI loop too. Maybe someday even the Trans-Labrador, QC 138, the Alaska interstates, and the Dalton.
I'd like to get all the California and Arizona State Highways all on photo albums. I don't necessarily need a clinch of each one, just find something of interest. I tend to enjoy tracking down old alignments whenever possible. US Route are of interest to me but clinching them is obviously far more difficult, so I tend to select sections that I might enjoy. Freeways generally don't do much for me unless they are in my direct path or have some sort of interesting tinge to them all CA 99 does with old right-on/right-off ramps and weird center medians.
Aside from road stuff I have several other hobbies I frequent in which tend to intersect with roadgeek related stuff. I have a couple hundred ghost town albums, I've been to 46 of the National Parks and in general I'm a fan of interesting engineering. All of those carry some weight in terms of finding interesting roads to cover. My goal ultimately is to get to all 59 National Parks but I have to consider how to tackle Alaska primarily not to mention some extremely remote island locales. Basically no matter what I try to get out to do something every other week at minimum.
One small goal that I finished last year that I thought was cool was completing every traverable mountain pass by car in the Sierras. That's actually a pretty difficult accomplishment considering that some skill is needed for Sonora, Ebbetts, and Sherman Passes.
I also keep track of system clinches within a state. I don't have very many of those; just the Interstates in GA and DC, US routes in DC, and technically my clinch of DC 295 also counts as a system in and of itself. I'm still annoyed with myself for failing to pick up the segment of I-70 between I-68 and the PA border when I still lived in Maryland, as that's the only piece of Interstate I'm missing in that state.
I've also been keeping track of Georgia state highway system clinches by county. Right now I have Spalding, Butts, Jasper, Newton, Henry, Rockdale, Clayton, Fayette, DeKalb, Walton, and Gwinnett.
My main interest is maps; especially ones that have highways that were never completed. I picked up three recently from a local antique shop; a Bicentennial map of Massachusetts, a Gulf roadmap of greater Boston from 1972 or 1973, and an 1979 Exxon map of New Jersey. I'm not finished.
A garage near where I work has some old Texaco maps stashed somewhere along with a ton of other petroliana. I asked them to dig them out for me and may buy some.I also found some other petroliana buffs online. One is into gas pumps, but he stumbled across a bunch of 70s era maps from Gulf and Texaco. They were a byproduct of his collecting, so he sold them to me for a reasonable price. They're en route now and look like they're in way better condition than the ones I found locally.
A new initiative of mine is to explore more of the secondary road system in my region. Secondary roads get very short shrift on roads forums, of course they are so many that it takes a lot of work just to seriously explore the system in your own region of say 50 miles radius or so, and given that readers are all over the country, very few readers will have any experience on your secondary road system in your region, so posting about them is not very feasible.
I recently explored the 7 Appomattox River secondary road bridges east of the headwaters near Farmville. I needed the VDOT county maps to find several that were not on the statewide map. Very interesting, 2 had been replaced in recent years, several are in the 1958 to 1970 age and need some rehab work, and one is a 1930s-ish truss bridge with a 5 ton weight limit and needs replacement but it is on a gravel road that carries about 50 AADT. Nothing flashy about secondary roads, but they are 80% or more of the public road mileage and are very important to those who live there and have farms there.
When I started my cross-border commute, it occurred to me: I think I would like to visit all of the official border-crossings between Canada and the Lower 48.
Interstate systems clinched: MN (2015), WI (2017). I'm not particularly interested in going out of my way to clinch other states' systems. Iowa will probably happen eventually since I'm over halfway done with it.
I would like to do the entire MN system (a hair under 50% as of now), but that's not a high priority. Getting the US 59/71/75 trio will be a terrible grind.
Quote from: MikeTheActuary on June 26, 2018, 10:28:53 PM
When I started my cross-border commute, it occurred to me: I think I would like to visit all of the official border-crossings between Canada and the Lower 48.
The dinky ones in northern NY are cute and more numerous than you'd think.
I have been working on a personal photo collection of route numbers from 1-1000 for a few years, and have accomplished that. I still like to get some variety, and even go beyond to 1100, 1200...who knows?
Clinching all the state roads in Florida and Alabama. I'm likely 50-60% completed in the former, and perhaps 25-30% finished for the latter.
County collecting, counting airports, recording the basic airline/aircraft data, are also things I record. I doubt I will ever complete these tasks, although the first one is a bit more realistic. Airports change and gain/lose commercial service, and flying on every aircraft is impossible. But I like to get a photo of the ones I've ridden on.
One odd thing I do is go to a state's beach and have a swim, or try touch the shoreline (if too cold, or unable to swim due to time constraints) for states with access to the ocean.
Quote from: MikeTheActuary on June 26, 2018, 10:28:53 PM
When I started my cross-border commute, it occurred to me: I think I would like to visit all of the official border-crossings between Canada and the Lower 48.
I've done all five of the land crossings between Canada and Alaska (plus the one ferry crossing requiring clearing customs, between Prince Rupert BC and Ketchikan AK), and all the crossings between Canada and the lower 48 where Interstates or U.S. routes end at the border, as well as some of the other crossings. I've done some such crossings between Mexico and the U.S. (including the handful where Interstates end at the border, rather than stopping short like I-19, I-35, I-69W, and I-69E), but don't have much interest in completing that checklist.
Quote from: Rothman on June 27, 2018, 12:20:16 AM
Quote from: MikeTheActuary on June 26, 2018, 10:28:53 PM
When I started my cross-border commute, it occurred to me: I think I would like to visit all of the official border-crossings between Canada and the Lower 48.
The dinky ones in northern NY are cute and more numerous than you'd think.
I just about have Vermont finished. :)
The guards at the low-volume crossings tend to be confused about my interest.
I would love to clinch every state Highway in Louisiana, but that's a nearly impossible task. I'm trying to just track and figure out the percentage of LA routes I have traveled. I do have all the state routes in my home parish of Rapides. Trying to get pieces of the ones I'm missing in neighboring parishes.
Still missing all of I-59 and a bit of I-510 in LA. I will be able to clinch the last piece of the newest I-49 portion in north Shreveport this weekend.
As for US routes in Louisiana, I'm missing a few good chunks. I need lots of US 90 and US 51.
I've almost got all of the LA/TX bridges and routes that cross the state line.
iPhone
Quote from: MikeTheActuary on June 27, 2018, 07:52:33 AM
Quote from: Rothman on June 27, 2018, 12:20:16 AM
Quote from: MikeTheActuary on June 26, 2018, 10:28:53 PM
When I started my cross-border commute, it occurred to me: I think I would like to visit all of the official border-crossings between Canada and the Lower 48.
The dinky ones in northern NY are cute and more numerous than you'd think.
I just about have Vermont finished. :)
The guards at the low-volume crossings tend to be confused about my interest.
How often do you pass north/south?
Lately I've been trying to clinch some of Michigan's state highways that are shorter and I haven't been able to clinch. Right now I have M-52 started from the northern terminus to Owosso.
Specific roads - Lincoln Hwy (1998-2002); Old State Rd (Central Ohio); Great River Rd (this was a passing interest for me when I was living in Louisiana). Some point in the immediate future I'm going to investigate the 'Old Port Washington Road' in Holmes & Tuscarawas Counties, because the locals there have declared it to be the "First state road in Ohio." :hmm:
http://www.experience-ohio-amish-country.com/port-washington-road-trip.html (http://www.experience-ohio-amish-country.com/port-washington-road-trip.html)
I guess I must be the strange one in this group.
I have no real goals in mind. I mean, yeah, I like going back and seeing what I have done so far whether that be route clinches, county clinches (etc). I like keeping the lists of those things. But I don't look at the list and say "I just hafta' go to________ so I can clinch that next".
All of that said, two things I would like to do is I-70 in the Rockies, and the Pacific Coast Highway. I guess I'll have to wait until I retire to do those, I can't get enough time off in one block to do it now.
Quote from: slorydn1 on June 28, 2018, 11:53:31 AM
I guess I must be the strange one in this group.
I have no real goals in mind. I mean, yeah, I like going back and seeing what I have done so far whether that be route clinches, county clinches (etc). I like keeping the lists of those things. But I don't look at the list and say "I just hafta' go to________ so I can clinch that next".
All of that said, two things I would like to do is I-70 in the Rockies, and the Pacific Coast Highway. I guess I'll have to wait until I retire to do those, I can't get enough time off in one block to do it now.
I would have to go back 50 years to figure all of that out, but I did start a county list on mobrules.
I'm trying to get all national and regional roads in my home region of Aragon, Spain. So far I've managed to get all freeways (and I stress 'free', also in the sense of no cost to the user), but that won't last long since on Monday a ca. 2.8 mile section is opening not far from me; and also all national roads in Zaragoza province (one of the three provinces making up Aragon along with Huesca and Teruel).
Quote from: froggie on June 27, 2018, 10:04:23 PMHow often do you pass north/south?
Every 3-4 weeks, all too often with little notice. ("Hey, can you attend this meeting tomorrow?" "Let me book a hotel, and I'll get on the road.")
Pity. Because I'm right along your theoretical primary route of travel, now that I work in St. J.
I keep track of counties mainly. The chances of me getting all 3,142 (?) of them are minute, because of resource limitations, but I have a goal of 1,500. I have roughly 600 collected already. I haven't really been on a trip since 2015, because of said resource limitations, but I am working on changing that. I'm thinking Texas next February or March (I need to get out of Michigan winter for a week or so). It is also difficult because I no longer own a vehicle (long story).
Kind of travel related, but not really, but another one of my goals is to travel to all 30 major league ballparks. I have five so far, was going to get number six this summer, but the money situation just didn't work out.
Other than that, I don't really have much. I do a lot of "travelling" on Google Earth.
I have been working on expanding the number of countries from which I have successfully obtained pattern-accurate sign panel detail sheets for highway construction projects. Since the beginning of this year, I have found sheets from Argentina, Chile, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Asia and Africa are still largely closed books to me, though I have hopes of progress with Japan.
I'd like to try to clinch all of the interstate system. I also want to clinch one US highway and then at least one state highway in each state, if possible.
I've been keeping track of the counties I'm in too. So far I've been in 76 of Michigan's 83 counties, the 7 I haven't been in are all in the western U.P. so the chances of clinching Michigan anytime soon is probably not going to happen. Only state I've clinched every county in is Connecticut. For Michigan though I'm quite surprised that I've never been to Marquette, the other ones are Keweenaw, Houghton, Baraga, Iron, Ontonagon and Gogebic. Next closest is Rhode Island and I only have Newport County to clinch there. I do want to get Ohio done one of these days, I still have 30 counties to clinch in Ohio, mostly in the eastern and central parts of the state. I'm planning on doing the four counties that I haven't clinched in Ohio that are surrounded by counties that I have clinched (Putnam, Van Wert, Mercer and Darke) and doing that within the next couple of months I'll probably also clinch a few Indiana counties that I haven't clinched.
2DIs. All of them.
An oddball one -- every university that is in the FBS. I'm probably at 85%+.
I would say major league ballparks, but those are clinched. :)
I have a friend whose goal was to hit every bar in Connecticut. I doubt that he has succeeded, but I know he put a pretty big dent in the list over the years.
Thinking this over, maybe the Washington-Rochembeau Revolutionary Route (WR3) might be a worthy goal. I work right off of it.
^ Bring hiking shoes. Following some of the route in northern Virginia requires walking through parkland.
My, admittedly humble, goal was to clinch the contiguous forty-eight states. (Map follows)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.tinypic.com%2F25quqtz.jpg&hash=d0ddb8b71a73f74e39e674edb94ac3e7b0c0170d)
That said, since I completed these clinches in 2016, I've been halfheartedly clinching counties, mostly since I didn't know what else to do, but now that someone's brought up the idea of clinching an Interstate, a US Route, and a state route in each of them, I think I might do that instead.
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on June 30, 2018, 03:40:22 PM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.tinypic.com%2F25quqtz.jpg&hash=d0ddb8b71a73f74e39e674edb94ac3e7b0c0170d)
Why is that map in French?
Quote from: 1 on June 30, 2018, 04:36:49 PM
Why is that map in French?
I think that's how I have the language settings set in Google.
My primary travel goal is counting counties. Beyond that I keep track of state highpoints, MLB ballparks, golf courses, and airports that I've been to. I would also like to travel (not necessarily clinch) every 2DI, climb every US 14er, and hike the Appalachian Trail.
Needless to say I've got a long way to go.
As you can probably guess I've had my heart set pictures of a lot of rest areas, weigh stations, unusual road signs and other road features. As much as I like Old US 17 in Jasper County, SC, and Emporia, VA, I think I've had my fill of them. One that has been nagging me for 19 years is the old Four Oaks, NC partial interchange along I-95. On my previous trip, I was lucky enough to capture the northbound truck scale in Carson, VA, but not the southbound one. Sunsets really screw up pictures, so I'm going to have to make a detour and a U-Turn between Exits 37 and 41.
Another thing I wouldn't mind is clinching NY 100. I don't know if I'm going to be able to do that on this trip.
I really have no interest in clinching or mileage based exit renumberings. I know the latter gets tons of response on here. I sometimes wonder why.
But basically I just like to get old signs and expressway stubs.
It's a diverse hobby. I like maps and commercial signage. Lately, I've been focusing more on old gas stations and cars when I drive (I saw a DeSoto on Saturday! But I was even more excited to see some non-LED gas pumps.)
From attending a roadmeet a decade ago, I knew that others liked DOT signage. I had no idea that some others were into traffic lights and other road furniture like barrels.
Quote from: jon daly on July 09, 2018, 02:51:10 PM
It's a diverse hobby. I like maps and commercial signage. Lately, I've been focusing more on old gas stations and cars when I drive (I saw a DeSoto on Saturday! But I was even more excited to see some non-LED gas pumps.)
From attending a roadmeet a decade ago, I knew that others liked DOT signage. I had no idea that some others were into traffic lights and other road furniture like barrels.
Speaking of Desotos, I found this one while driving the Everglades Loop Road south of the Tamiami Trail through the Pinecrest ghost town In 2013:
https://flic.kr/p/SBX1TK
Speaking of ghost towns, holy crap can you get some great photos of old school signage at some of those places. Florida and the West Coast in general of chock full of derelict roadways that lead to abandoned places. Usually I go out of my way to include ghost towns on my highway albums if there are any. Tracking down the history of an abandoned place often provides a huge amount of insight as to why infrastructure was developed in particular places.
Sign photos -- route shield assemblies and BGSs. The more, the merrier.
My clinching goals:
1) Every county in Indiana - finished
2) All interstates in Indiana - missing about half of 469 and then of course the rest of 69 when it opens
3) All US Highways in Indiana - about 2/3 done
4) All state highways in Indiana - just recently cracked 50%
5) All signed, numbered highways in Jefferson County, KY - completed
6) All signed, numbered highways in Cook County, IL - about 2/3 done
If I'm fortunate enough to complete all of those, then my next goal would be to get as much of the interstate system as possible. Currently at 40% so I'm off to a good start but that's a lot of time and miles to accomplish.
A non highway related goal I used to have was see at game at every MLB stadium, but due to the rapid building of new ones, my count of unvisited stadiums started increasing instead of decreasing so I've given up on that.
Quote from: cabiness42 on July 09, 2018, 04:45:14 PM
6) All signed, numbered highways in Cook County, IL - about 2/3 done
Yikes, you must have a lot of patience to sit through all that traffic.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 09, 2018, 04:26:32 PM
Quote from: jon daly on July 09, 2018, 02:51:10 PM
It's a diverse hobby. I like maps and commercial signage. Lately, I've been focusing more on old gas stations and cars when I drive (I saw a DeSoto on Saturday! But I was even more excited to see some non-LED gas pumps.)
From attending a roadmeet a decade ago, I knew that others liked DOT signage. I had no idea that some others were into traffic lights and other road furniture like barrels.
Speaking of Desotos, I found this one while driving the Everglades Loop Road south of the Tamiami Trail through the Pinecrest ghost town In 2013:
https://flic.kr/p/SBX1TK
The one I saw was in better condition.
I'm thinking of watching some of these Car Week shows, but I find History to be a hit and miss channel. On The Cars That Built America, I swear that they misplaced the Arab Oil Embargo a few years too early when explaining the reason small cars manufacturing started here in the US.
Quote from: csw on July 09, 2018, 06:30:00 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on July 09, 2018, 04:45:14 PM
6) All signed, numbered highways in Cook County, IL - about 2/3 done
Yikes, you must have a lot of patience to sit through all that traffic.
Almost all of it done outside of rush hour.
I'd like to drive at least one segment of every 2di.
I'd also like to visit every state, or at least the lower 48.
My mob-rule.com map, linked below, is the only thing travel/road related that I am actually tracking at this point. Tracking roads I've driven sounds cool in theory, but also kind of like a big, time-consuming headache to orchestrate. I find it easier and more encouraging to look at my travels (literally and figuratively) from a macro point of view.
Other than the standard county and route clinching, I've also been trying to ride as many transit systems I can, particularly local light rail/metros (and clinching every line if possible). I've tracked the routes extensively (https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1oxn4Zh08XB1DwESIUEdso8lxE4I) and marked down general maps (red checks for full clinches, blue circles for partial):
(https://i.imgur.com/pZ9Yn1A.png)
Also, I've walked across both termini of Interstate 5 as a pedestrian within the same calendar year (but on separate trips). Rode the train all the way to San Ysidro, got out of the car and walked across the Peace Arch.
^ Just like a friend of mine in DC. Though he is also including all the commuter rail systems in his rail transit clinch quest.
Of those LRT/Heavy Rail systems, the only one I have a full "clinch" of is Norfolk. Never even finished the DC Metro, and I lived there for 4 years...
Quote from: csw on July 09, 2018, 06:30:00 PM
Quote from: cabiness42 on July 09, 2018, 04:45:14 PM
6) All signed, numbered highways in Cook County, IL - about 2/3 done
Yikes, you must have a lot of patience to sit through all that traffic.
If you live within a metro area long enough, that area can reasonably be accomplished in anywhere from a month to a few years' time, depending on how much spare time one has or how complex the route system is.
Quote from: Bruce on July 11, 2018, 03:46:33 PM
Other than the standard county and route clinching, I've also been trying to ride as many transit systems I can, particularly local light rail/metros (and clinching every line if possible). I've tracked the routes extensively (https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1oxn4Zh08XB1DwESIUEdso8lxE4I) and marked down general maps (red checks for full clinches, blue circles for partial):
(https://i.imgur.com/pZ9Yn1A.png)
Also, I've walked across both termini of Interstate 5 as a pedestrian within the same calendar year (but on separate trips). Rode the train all the way to San Ysidro, got out of the car and walked across the Peace Arch.
Hey, where's the Spadina Subway extension in the Toronto diagram....it opened on Dec 17, 2017.
The original set hasn't been updated in while, since the original creator passed away. It's also missing eBART in SF and the Evergreen Extension in Vancouver, among others.
I want a photo of a route marker for every 2di, every US highway, and 3 state routes from every state, plus a few extras so I can make a 5x11 collage of distinct route signs numbered from 1-54. I need about 422 photos, and I'm about 56% done.
Quote from: Bruce on July 11, 2018, 03:46:33 PM
Other than the standard county and route clinching, I've also been trying to ride as many transit systems I can, particularly local light rail/metros (and clinching every line if possible). I've tracked the routes extensively (https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1oxn4Zh08XB1DwESIUEdso8lxE4I) and marked down general maps (red checks for full clinches, blue circles for partial):
I also like to do that! Sometimes I park in the outskirts of a city and reach the city center by streetcar (tram) or bus. I can claim part of a bus route thanks to that.
Also btw--My first objective was to snap a photo of every state, Interstate, and US route marker, so I can prove I've been on every marked highway in Illinois. Since I completed that challenge several years ago, I've expanded the objective to include Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan. Thinking about possibly adding Ohio and Minnesota to the mix too. That explains the primary list of albums on my flickr page (https://www.flickr.com/photos/138603251@N02/albums); the albums of shield cutout photos are the displays of which routes I have checked off of the list. Here's the album of Indiana shield cutouts (https://www.flickr.com/photos/138603251@N02/albums/72157669661614025), as an example, that I'm 1 away from finishing
I clinched every bus route in Saginaw, Michigan.
I'm aiming for 100% of Oregon, including the ORH set.
I've done a large swath of I-35 in my trips from Fort Worth, TX to St. Paul, MN and back. perhaps next time I'll clinch the last bit of MN that I haven't done and get the rest of TX that I haven't. I've also done bits of the Eastern half of historic 66 coming back down to Texas from Michigan last time I went back to my home state, and plan to eventually do the whole thing in two halves.
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 13, 2018, 05:03:58 PM
I clinched every bus route in Saginaw, Michigan.
Hey, that's where I grew up! Is there still a route that goes out near Bagshaw Dr. and Outer Dr.? I used to see that one pass my grandma's house all the time and always wanted to try the buses there, but didn't ride until I moved to Grand Rapids. STS for life!
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on June 30, 2018, 03:40:22 PM
My, admittedly humble, goal was to clinch the contiguous forty-eight states. (Map follows)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.tinypic.com%2F25quqtz.jpg&hash=d0ddb8b71a73f74e39e674edb94ac3e7b0c0170d)
That said, since I completed these clinches in 2016, I've been halfheartedly clinching counties, mostly since I didn't know what else to do, but now that someone's brought up the idea of clinching an Interstate, a US Route, and a state route in each of them, I think I might do that instead.
I worded my first post badly. I do want to clinch the whole interstate system and do at least one state route in every state. I don't plan on trying to clinch a US highway in every state. I just want to clinch one US highway in the whole country.
Here are some goals for me.
* Interstates: I have WI, MN, IA, KS, AZ, DE, AR, NE, RI and MO and am <10% away from IL (I-70), CO (I-25), FL (I-10, I-295; and I-795 when it's added) and CA (I-5).
* Counties: I have WI, RI, DC, AZ, NJ, and DE. An overnight drive will likely finish IL at some point.
Both of these are considerably lofty given the cost in both time and $$$ so they are distant (getting the 50 states in Interstates and probably getting all counties but some AK boroughs/CDPs since I would have to do multiple flights to get them. Less of an issue for HI Counties as it would take 3-4 hops and a mule ride AND/OR a cruise.
* Wisconsin's highway system down to the state level. It will take one overnight to get a handful in the northwestern part of the state and another to get some in the western part. Easy finish. I don't see myself getting any other states finished unless I moved there - and moving became a non-option due to job longevity.
The Helsinki summit just past inspired me to see if there were Russian online tendering platforms where I could find signing plans. I was very pleasantly surprised to find over 100 pattern-accurate sign panel detail sheets from just one job, a major expansion of the Moscow-Arkhangelsk highway (M-8) just north of its interchange with Moscow's second ring road. I don't read Cyrillic, though, so finding the signs among thousands of other files in a 98-part RAR archive was a bit like hunting for a needle in a haystack.
One goal I've been thinking about is designing a diorama that captures an intersection at a certain place and time; Exit 66 on the Wilbur Cross Parkway, October 28, 1962.
As the Cuban Missile Crisis was winding down, NY Giant fans were driving up to the Yale Motor Lodge to hold watch parties. Due to blackout rules, the games at Yankee Stadium weren't shown in NYC, so fans would have to chase the closest signal, which was WTIC (CH 3) out of Hartford. I think there were some places in Fairfield County that had large enough antennae to pull the signal in, but I definitely remember the Yale as a destination. Plus the Penn Central ran nearby, so I might have a chance of getting a model railroader to buy into this project.
My goal is to clinch all of the Interstate highways before I can no longer drive! :mrgreen:
I'm wanting to clinch all US Routes 1-99 in my lifetime. Possibly, I could see about clinching Tennessee State Routes. I also want to clinch a route in Japan.
I don't know about the rest of you, but starting today, I've considered a detour onto US 301 at the North Carolina-Virginia State Line. I just wish I could get a clear view of the warning sign at the intersection with VSR 662.
Quote from: wanderer2575 on July 09, 2018, 04:40:46 PM
Sign photos -- route shield assemblies and BGSs. The more, the merrier.
Past few weeks I've really been active capturing pictures of current projects (focus on new NC Toll Projects) around me (I live in NC)
Those projects include
Monroe Expressway
I-77 Express Lane Project
Previous project includes Segment4 of I-74 around Winston-Salem (my hometown). It's going at a snails pace, I go semi-annually up there and get disappointed about how much doesnt change lol.
Quote from: davmillar on July 16, 2018, 10:11:43 AM
I've done a large swath of I-35 in my trips from Fort Worth, TX to St. Paul, MN and back. perhaps next time I'll clinch the last bit of MN that I haven't done and get the rest of TX that I haven't. I've also done bits of the Eastern half of historic 66 coming back down to Texas from Michigan last time I went back to my home state, and plan to eventually do the whole thing in two halves.
Quote from: Flint1979 on July 13, 2018, 05:03:58 PM
I clinched every bus route in Saginaw, Michigan.
Hey, that's where I grew up! Is there still a route that goes out near Bagshaw Dr. and Outer Dr.? I used to see that one pass my grandma's house all the time and always wanted to try the buses there, but didn't ride until I moved to Grand Rapids. STS for life!
Wow I never thought anyone would notice my post. Actually last year Saginaw redesigned the entire bus system. And yes actually there is a route that still goes to Sheridan Park use to be route 10 back in the day, now it's part of route 8. STS is going back in the day a little bit too it's been called STARS for probably about 20 years now it stands for Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Services. Saginaw's changed quite a bit in even the last two years, downtown actually has life to it and they have been demolishing abandoned buildings over the past several years.
I actually like getting on the buses sometimes and just riding around for something to do even though I can get anywhere the bus can take me by car. They have a connection to Bay City's bus system at Saginaw Valley State University but don't have anything connecting to the Flint MTA.
I have done I-70 across both Kansas and Missouri which was in part on my bucket list. I have also done I-335 finally clinching the entire Kansas Turnpike.
I even got I-35 all done from Kansas City (the split of it with I-29) down to the I-35E & I-35W split! Getting as much as both I-70 and I-35 are accomplishments I hope to achieve. Still missing I-70 in CO from Denver to Limon, and from Vandalia, IL to Indy, and from Indy to Columbus as well as from Breezewood to Baltimore for that route to be done. On I-35 I need from San Antonio to the split, then part of I-35W from the split to like south of Fort Worth. I-35E from the split into Dallas, and north of I-635 to the other split, and north of Kansas City to have that one done.
I have done US 31 north of Indy to its end, but now with the freeway upgrades that needs to be reclinched. As I was on it in 08, the Kokomo and Plymouth to South Bend freeways were not even conceived, so I never got them.
My ultimate goal is to do all of TX interstates especially I-10 from border to border and US 2's western from end to end. I have not yet started on this, but hope to soon.
CPZ did I-70 end-to-end a couple of years ago. Myself, I've done it all the way west to one of the Grand Junction exits.
I think it would be an interesting accomplishment to clinch all the interstates and US routes that run through Kentucky. I've knocked off I-64, I-71 and I-24 off that list, as well as US 68, US 25 and its split routes, US 150, US 119, US 421 and US 460.
Quote from: hbelkins on August 09, 2018, 09:18:01 PM
I think it would be an interesting accomplishment to clinch all the interstates and US routes that run through Kentucky. I've knocked off I-64, I-71 and I-24 off that list, as well as US 68, US 25 and its split routes, US 150, US 119, US 421 and US 460.
You would think it wouldn't take long to clinch all the Interstates in your state. I have lived in Virginia for 46 years, but didn't clinch my last sections until the 2017 eclipse trip (I-81 Fort Chiswell to Radford, and I-381).
Quote from: Beltway on August 09, 2018, 10:02:05 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on August 09, 2018, 09:18:01 PM
I think it would be an interesting accomplishment to clinch all the interstates and US routes that run through Kentucky. I've knocked off I-64, I-71 and I-24 off that list, as well as US 68, US 25 and its split routes, US 150, US 119, US 421 and US 460.
You would think it wouldn't take long to clinch all the Interstates in your state. I have lived in Virginia for 46 years, but didn't clinch my last sections until the 2017 eclipse trip (I-81 Fort Chiswell to Radford, and I-381).
I have clinched all US routes and interstates in these states: SC, VA, MD, DE, NJ plus DC
I am only missing US 30 from adding WV to the list and very close on NC and PA.
I've driven the entire state highway systems (including secondaries) in WA, WY, AZ, ID, DE, and MT. I have one state highway left in Oregon (242, which got closed by fire when I was trying to get it last year and is only open seasonally) - that I plan to get in a couple weeks.
Working on California and Nevada right now.
I've clinched most of southern New England (including I-684,) but I think I still have sections of US-3, I-95, and I-93 near Boston that I've never driven. State routes are still a work in progress.
Quote from: Mapmikey on August 10, 2018, 01:42:42 PM
Quote from: Beltway on August 09, 2018, 10:02:05 PM
You would think it wouldn't take long to clinch all the Interstates in your state. I have lived in Virginia for 46 years, but didn't clinch my last sections until the 2017 eclipse trip (I-81 Fort Chiswell to Radford, and I-381).
I have clinched all US routes and interstates in these states: SC, VA, MD, DE, NJ plus DC
I am only missing US 30 from adding WV to the list and very close on NC and PA.
I have never had a plan or practice or goal to 'clinch' highway systems. I just thought it interesting that there were some Interstate segments in VA that I had not driven. I have driven every mile in MD.
Quote from: Beltway on August 09, 2018, 10:02:05 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on August 09, 2018, 09:18:01 PM
I think it would be an interesting accomplishment to clinch all the interstates and US routes that run through Kentucky. I've knocked off I-64, I-71 and I-24 off that list, as well as US 68, US 25 and its split routes, US 150, US 119, US 421 and US 460.
You would think it wouldn't take long to clinch all the Interstates in your state. I have lived in Virginia for 46 years, but didn't clinch my last sections until the 2017 eclipse trip (I-81 Fort Chiswell to Radford, and I-381).
I may have not been clear. I have clinched all the mileage of the interstate and US routes in Kentucky. I need huge chunks of I-75 in Michigan and Florida, and a few portions in Georgia; plus all of I-65 south of I-459 in Alabama, to completely clinch those routes. That's what I was getting at. I have completely clinched all the US routes I mentioned, but need major chunks of the other routes that run through Kentucky to finish them.
My clinch of Virginia's interstate system was completed when CPZ came to get me at my Annapolis conference a few years ago and took me on a drive around the area. I finished I-395 that day.
I enjoy exploring new roads, and clinching highways and counties came as a result!! All of my logs are out of date...but I know that I'm at around 700 counties (DC plus 5 states completed - CT, DE, MD, NJ, VA) and have all of the interstates and US highways clinched in at least Maryland and Delaware. The only states that I'm seriously tracking state highways are the Mid-Atlantic states. Naturally I have the most in MD and DE.
I also collect maps, again mostly Mid-Atlantic. I do need to go through them at some point and curate my collection because I have way too many. Other things I keep track of include state high points, MLB stadiums, sections I've hiked of the Appalachian Trail, and transit systems. The main subway system that I'd like to clinch is NYC, which I slowly am tackling with each trip there.
I'm not in a rush to clinch things, but I love how they give me an addition reason to explore new places!!
iPhone
If my calculations are correct....after a 16-hour marathon trip today, I've clinched the entire New Hampshire marked route system.
Quote from: cabiness42 on July 09, 2018, 04:45:14 PM
My clinching goals:
1) Every county in Indiana - finished
2) All interstates in Indiana - missing about half of 469 and then of course the rest of 69 when it opens
3) All US Highways in Indiana - about 2/3 done
4) All state highways in Indiana - just recently cracked 50%
5) All signed, numbered highways in Jefferson County, KY - completed
6) All signed, numbered highways in Cook County, IL - about 2/3 done
If I'm fortunate enough to complete all of those, then my next goal would be to get as much of the interstate system as possible. Currently at 40% so I'm off to a good start but that's a lot of time and miles to accomplish.
A non highway related goal I used to have was see at game at every MLB stadium, but due to the rapid building of new ones, my count of unvisited stadiums started increasing instead of decreasing so I've given up on that.
Finished Cook County today. I've now clinched all Interstate, US and state highways in the most populous counties in Illinois and Kentucky, and the two most populous counties in Indiana.
Quote from: slorydn1 on June 28, 2018, 11:53:31 AM
I guess I must be the strange one in this group.
I have no real goals in mind.
I'm with you, bro.
Just finished the Lake Tahoe Highway circle in one shot which included former CA 188...thought that was kinda neat.
I've clinched the state highway system in the following counties in MI:
Benzie
Lake
Livingston (disputed depending on status of old M-155, which I haven't been on)
Manistee
Mason
Oceana
Ottawa
Washtenaw
Wexford
Counties I'm mostly complete with:
Clinton (missing M-21 west of St. Johns as well as the part of BL I-69 in the county)
Grand Traverse (missing M-72 east of Turtle Creek Casino)
Leelanau (missing M-22 from Leland to Suttons Bay as well as all of M-201)
Missaukee (missing two portions of M-66 [north of M-42 and south of M-55])
Muskegon (missing M-120 from US-31 to Holton)
Newaygo (missing M-82 east of Newaygo)
Osceola (missing all of M-66)
Recently mapping out the Dutch Flat & Donner Lake Road from Donner Pass to Donner Lake then backing it up with photos and historical context was pretty rewarding. Personally I find a lot of vintage road lore to be way more interesting than current stuff, especially when it requires research and getting out specific locations to find the answers I want. A good chuck of what I do on Surewhynotnow relates to abandoned or former highways. I don't really have a specific goal per se, I usually just look into what I find interesting.
https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2018/10/donner-pass-hunting-dutch-flat-donner.html
What I'm finding since moving to California is that bulk of the State and Signed County have something historically interesting about them. Arizona had a similar feel to it but when I was living out east it was kind of dry aside from roadways in Southern Florida.