Based on some suggestions that I have received on this forum, I've decided to create my own blog. The new blog is called "Autotrails to Yesterday" (https://autotrailstoyesterday.blogspot.com/). Please feel free to check out my first post about the "North Missouri Cross State Highway" & also feel free to leave some comments. Thank you.
I like the layout of your blog, and the first article looks good. It actually got me thinking on what if the Northern KC-STL routing got kept in the US routes era. There were 3 alignments, the southern is presumably US 50 via Jefferson City, and the central is US 40 via Columbia, now I-70.
Part 2 (https://autotrailstoyesterday.blogspot.com/2021/04/blog-post.html) of my series about the "North Missouri Cross State Highway" has been uploaded.
Part 3 (https://autotrailstoyesterday.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-north-missouri-cross-state-highway_0381633089.html) of my series about the "North Missouri Cross State Highway" has been uploaded.
I've updated Part 3 (https://autotrailstoyesterday.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-north-missouri-cross-state-highway_0381633089.html) to include more about the "Wakenda Creek covered bridge", which the autotrail crossed over in Carrollton, MO.
Parts 4 (https://autotrailstoyesterday.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-north-missouri-cross-state-highway.html), 5 (https://autotrailstoyesterday.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-north-missouri-cross-state-highway_01688336546.html), 6 (https://autotrailstoyesterday.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-north-missouri-cross-state-highway_16.html) & 7 (https://autotrailstoyesterday.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-north-missouri-cross-state-highway_01634422011.html) have since been uploaded.
Parts 8 (https://autotrailstoyesterday.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-north-missouri-cross-state-highway_01090239232.html),9 (https://autotrailstoyesterday.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-north-missouri-cross-state-highway.html),& 10 (https://autotrailstoyesterday.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-north-missouri-cross-state-highway_13.html) have been uploaded.
I've done off and on research into the Yellowstone Trail, too. It is fascinating tracing these old roads. Easy on-line availability of high resolution aerial images has been a total GODSEND for this work. Yes, the 'Automobile Blue Books' of the early 20th century, with their turn-by-turn directions for navigating early roads for 'automobilists', are very important for this work, and a lot of the research fun is in the translating those century+ old directions to the modern-day maps and air photos. Those 'Blue Books' (*NOT* to be confused with modern-day Kelly Blue Books) were *EXPENSIVE* when new (either $2 or $3 each in pre-1933 money, that's about $200-300 each in 2021 money!), were aimed at the SERIOUS automobile tourist of the day. This was back when automobiles had not yet begun the transition from rich mans' toys to a practical transportation option.
Enjoy!
Mike