Howdy
I am looking for some guest bloggers for the aaroads blog. I am in Texas, and Alex and Brent are in Florida so our posts tend to be pretty regional. My goal for the blog was always that it be fairly well rounded in terms of road news and information from around the United States and to a lesser extent internationally. We try to get around with the posts but it would be helpful to have others post, too. Of course, I'm specifically looking for people who are not in the Southeastern US or TX.
Blog topics include news about signage, new large projects, transportation legislation and planning, and fun offbeat items. Road tours can be posted about too, as well as posts about roadtrips and your observations.
Blog posts should include at least one photo that you have taken or that someone else has taken and you have permission to use. Anything from 1-8 paragraphs is ideal. If you are familiar with wordpress, I will make a guest blogger account for you. If not, you can email me your post and I will upload it for you with your name attached.
If you are interested, please post your ideas here or PM me and I'll send more information.
The blog is located at https://www.aaroads.com/blog (https://www.aaroads.com/blog)
I don't know how it happened, but the comments settings were switched to requiring users to be registered with an account on the blog. Unfortunately this has been the case since May 22nd. Thankfully I corrected the issue tonight and now anyone can leave a comment.
KY-IN-MI-OH Trip Day 1 (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/?p=230)
Posted a few photos and some notes on construction projects Brent and I saw on our recent trip to northern Michigan.
The Blog should load fast again; it was also a victim to some php code injection that I just cleaned up...
KY-IN-MI-OH Trip Day 2 (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/?p=232)
can you upload a bus loop 196 shield to the gallery? thanks!
I have three BL-196 shots that will eventually be added to the Shield Gallery...
In the meantime, I have posted KY-IN-MI-OH Trip Day 3 (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/?p=233) covering our drive northward to the Mackinac Bridge, Sault Ste. Marie, and Interstate 75 back south to suburban Detroit.
I'll add the three BL-196 shields sometime this weekend, along with some more shields from our trip...
I am upgrading the Blog tonight; the pages are currently down but will be back up soon.
The Blog (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/) upgrade is complete. It will still look and function the same, but internally its much different. Let us know if you encounter any problems.
Posted KY-IN-MI-OH Trip Day 4 (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2009/11/17/ky-in-mi-oh-trip-day-4/) covering the Interstate 75 corridor southward from Detroit to Cincinnati.
And KY-IN-MI-OH Trip Day 5 (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2009/11/17/ky-in-mi-oh-day-5/) is also posted. It's a shorter post covering a couple of roads in the Cincinnati area and a small portion of Interstate 40 in Knoxville, namely the Smart Fix portion.
https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2009/12/24/iowa-trip-day-1-ms-to-mo/
Some photos and notes from our two-day holiday drive northward to Iowa.
https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2009/12/26/iowa-trip-day-2-mo-to-quad-cities/
Photos and notes from day 2 of my drive to the Quad Cities.
https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2009/12/27/great-river-road-tour-quad-cities-to-dubuque/
Took a day trip up to Dubuque, Iowa and southwest Wisconsin from the Quad Cities last Monday. It did not snow on the drive, but there was plenty of it on the ground already!
https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/01/04/snowy-drive-quad-cities-to-paducah/
Took us four and a half hours to travel 200 miles... The forecast called for less snow than what fell and had we had more flexibility with our schedule, we would have postponed the drive for a day. Nonetheless it had to be done, and the ride was both exciting and nerve racking. Also netted 55 new miles of Interstate 39 and clinched I-24 overall and added I-57 mileage from I-72 to I-24.
Went to Quad Cities to attend a wedding this past weekend. Had a couple of days to go roadding ahead of the event. Spent Thursday driving east from the QC to Chicago via Rockford and back via I-55 south through Bloomington and Lincoln. Posted some photos and notes at https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/05/11/qc-trip-day-1-rockford-chicago-bloomington-lincoln/
QC Trip Day 2 (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/05/17/qc-trip-day-2-i-74-i-72-i-172/) - drive east on I-74 to Champaign, and west on I-72 to MO and north via I-172 and various state and U.S. highways.
Added entries for days 1 through 3 of a six-day trip we took to Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia this past week.
Day 1 - photos/notes from the drive between Dothan and Canton, Georgia. (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/10/05/wv-oh-ky-trip-day-1-dothan-al-through-canton-ga/)
Day 2 - photos/notes from the drive northward from I-26 in NC/TN to I-77 at Canton, Ohio. (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/10/05/wv-oh-ky-trip-day-2-hendersonville-nc-to-canton-oh/)
Day 3 - photos/notes from the drive around Cleveland's Interstate system, I-90 northeast to I-79 and Erie and southward to Pittsburgh. (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/10/06/wv-oh-ky-trip-day-3-cleveland-erie-pittsburgh/)
Quote from: AARoads on October 06, 2010, 12:52:50 AM
Day 3 - photos/notes from the drive around Cleveland's Interstate system, I-90 northeast to I-79 and Erie and southward to Pittsburgh. (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/10/06/wv-oh-ky-trip-day-3-cleveland-erie-pittsburgh/)
Alex, one comment about the Warrendale I-76 mainline toll plaza. It's had the High Speed EZ-Pass Express Lanes for a few years. So, your comment about them being an "addition" is incorrect. They are just closed at this time for the widening. So, you might want to fix that little section of your blog post. ;)
Quote from: rickmastfan67 on October 06, 2010, 01:33:57 AM
Quote from: AARoads on October 06, 2010, 12:52:50 AM
Day 3 - photos/notes from the drive around Cleveland's Interstate system, I-90 northeast to I-79 and Erie and southward to Pittsburgh. (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/10/06/wv-oh-ky-trip-day-3-cleveland-erie-pittsburgh/)
Alex, one comment about the Warrendale I-76 mainline toll plaza. It's had the High Speed EZ-Pass Express Lanes for a few years. So, your comment about them being an "addition" is incorrect. They are just closed at this time for the widening. So, you might want to fix that little section of your blog post. ;)
The westbound ones were open incidentally. Thanks for the correction, I will amend that now!
Posted photos/notes from Day 4 (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/10/06/wv-oh-ky-trip-day-4-youngstown-oh-to-louisville-ky/) and Day 5 (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/10/06/wv-oh-ky-trip-day-5-mt-sterling-ky-to-western-nc/) of our WV-OH-KY trip.
Rounded out the trip report with Day 6 - Columbia, SC to Montgomery, AL (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/10/07/wv-oh-ky-trip-day-6-columbia-sc-to-montgomery-al/)
Quote from: AARoads on October 06, 2010, 01:39:41 AM
Quote from: rickmastfan67 on October 06, 2010, 01:33:57 AM
Quote from: AARoads on October 06, 2010, 12:52:50 AM
Day 3 - photos/notes from the drive around Cleveland's Interstate system, I-90 northeast to I-79 and Erie and southward to Pittsburgh. (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/10/06/wv-oh-ky-trip-day-3-cleveland-erie-pittsburgh/)
Alex, one comment about the Warrendale I-76 mainline toll plaza. It's had the High Speed EZ-Pass Express Lanes for a few years. So, your comment about them being an "addition" is incorrect. They are just closed at this time for the widening. So, you might want to fix that little section of your blog post. ;)
The westbound ones were open incidentally. Thanks for the correction, I will amend that now!
Heh. Anyways, a little more info on that, I should have originally mentioned that that Toll Plaza has had them from the beginning. ;)
Quote from: rickmastfan67 on October 07, 2010, 10:16:11 PM
Quote from: AARoads on October 06, 2010, 01:39:41 AM
Quote from: rickmastfan67 on October 06, 2010, 01:33:57 AM
Quote from: AARoads on October 06, 2010, 12:52:50 AM
Day 3 - photos/notes from the drive around Cleveland's Interstate system, I-90 northeast to I-79 and Erie and southward to Pittsburgh. (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/10/06/wv-oh-ky-trip-day-3-cleveland-erie-pittsburgh/)
Alex, one comment about the Warrendale I-76 mainline toll plaza. It's had the High Speed EZ-Pass Express Lanes for a few years. So, your comment about them being an "addition" is incorrect. They are just closed at this time for the widening. So, you might want to fix that little section of your blog post. ;)
The westbound ones were open incidentally. Thanks for the correction, I will amend that now!
Heh. Anyways, a little more info on that, I should have originally mentioned that that Toll Plaza has had them from the beginning. ;)
My last time on the PA Turnpike in western PA was 2001! It has been since 2005 since I was on the PA Turnpike at all otherwise. The part of it that I have always been most familiar with is the NE Extension, having gone up that many times on family trips growing up and then in the 1990s on roadtrips.
Quote from: AARoads on October 07, 2010, 03:35:03 PM
Rounded out the trip report with Day 6 - Columbia, SC to Montgomery, AL (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2010/10/07/wv-oh-ky-trip-day-6-columbia-sc-to-montgomery-al/)
Saluda!! I will never forget that crazy town from my days of covering it for the Greenwood paper. McCormick too.
The new Florida 293 (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2011/05/22/the-new-florida-293/)
Photos and observations from the Mid-Bay Bridge north from Destin to Niceville and the new Mid-Bay Connector.
Indiana-Michigan Trip Day 1 (Montgomery, AL to Cincinnati, OH) (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2011/11/10/indiana-michigan-trip-day-1-montgomery-al-to-cincinnati-oh/#more-1320)
Trip report of day 1 of our recent trip to Indiana and Michigan.
Indiana-Michigan Trip Day 2 (Cincinnati, OH to Coldwater, MI)
(https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2011/11/12/indiana-michigan-trip-day-2-cincinnati-oh-to-coldwater-mi/)
A look at downtown Cincinnati, the Interstate 74 corridor west to Interstate 57 and the return trip to Indiana. Had daylight through to Elkhart but stopped the report at the end of the Tri-State.
Indiana-Michigan Trip Day 3 (Coldwater, MI to Port Huron, MI)
(https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2011/11/13/indiana-michigan-trip-day-3-coldwater-mi-to-port-huron-mi/)
Interstates 69 north to Interstates 96 west to 196 to 94 east with stops at Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Battle Creek.
https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2011/12/22/indiana-michigan-trip-day-4-port-huron-mi-to-indianapolis-in/
Still catching up from last month, wrote most of this from the back seat of a car. (:
Are there really TWO I-69 shields on that one overhead BGS? Strange! :)
https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2011/12/27/indiana-michigan-trip-day-5-jeffersonville-in-to-montgomery-al/
Report and an assortment of photos from the final day of the trip to southern Michigan.
Mid-South Road Trip — May 19 — Pensacola, FL to Shreveport, LA (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2014/05/27/mid-south-road-trip-may-19-pensacola-fl-to-shreveport-la/)
Mid-South Road Trip — May 20 — Shreveport, Texarkana, Little Rock, Clarksdale, MS (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2014/05/29/mid-south-road-trip-may-20-shreveport-texarkana-little-rock-clarksdale-ms/)
Summaries and photos of a two-day whirlwind roadtrip from Pensacola to Lake Charles, Shreveport, Texarkana, Little Rock, Clarksdale and back.
Quote from: Alex on May 29, 2014, 11:05:06 AM
Mid-South Road Trip — May 19 — Pensacola, FL to Shreveport, LA (https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2014/05/27/mid-south-road-trip-may-19-pensacola-fl-to-shreveport-la/)
Dear LADOTD:
This
(//www.aaroads.com/wp-content/uploads/blog_images/southeast/i-012_wb_exit_001c_01_sm.jpg)
Is
(//www.aaroads.com/wp-content/uploads/blog_images/southeast/i-010_eb_exit_159_01_sm.jpg)
NOT(//www.aaroads.com/wp-content/uploads/blog_images/southeast/i-010_wb_exit_155b_01_sm.jpg)
OKAY!
(//www.aaroads.com/wp-content/uploads/blog_images/southeast/i-110_sb_exit_001e_01_sm.jpg)
...ahem. Other than those
fugly signs, great photos otherwise!
QuoteShields painted on the I-10 viaduct at I-110 resemble shields that a knight would use versus those for an Interstate highway.
LOL!
What's wrong with these? Perfectly legible signs, good use of font height (unlike some older Clearview font applications in Pennsylvania that had bad proportions) and nice spacing on the arrows that actually correspond to the lanes.
Quote from: Sherman Cahal on May 29, 2014, 11:44:47 AM
What's wrong with these? Perfectly legible signs, good use of font height (unlike some older Clearview font applications in Pennsylvania that had bad proportions) and nice spacing on the arrows that actually correspond to the lanes.
Some people feel strongly about the use of Clearview numbers because the FHWA didn't authorize it in their interim approval for the use of that typeface, although the FHWA's guidelines have been widely ignored.
What I find ugly on those signs is:
–On the first sign shown, the I-10 shield seems disproportionately small.
–But on the signs in the I-12/I-10 assembly, the shields look disproportionately big.
–The "Exit Only" arrows on the I-12 sign look too big because of how they jam up close against the top and bottom of the yellow area (compare to the downward-pointing arrows in the next photo).
–I find it illogical to use a space between the digit and the fraction ("1 ½ MILES" instead of "1½ MILES"–you don't put a space before a decimal point, for example, like "1 .5 miles").
–The pavement-marking shields look more like Quebec Autoroute shields than Interstate shields.
I don't think the Clearview numbers look bad on those particular signs at all, and they've certainly done a better job than some agencies that make the uppercase letters way too big (almost like they're using a drop capital).