A road trip can be as short as an afternoon drive, or as long as a cross country ramble. The best road trips follow secondary highways, so getting off the Interstate should always be a priority. Often I will ramble along an old highway all day, finding myself still hundreds of miles from where I need to be that night. So I do use Interstate highways, but only to get somewhere when needed. My preferred route is riding on two lane blacktop, stopping in little towns, and pulling over when a whim strikes me. Most of my road trips are between Detroit and Albuquerque, and this first post shows some of the sights encountered on my first drive west back in August, 2006. I was driving a VW Toureg, the most comfortable ride I have ever taken. There and back again was 4343 miles, passing through parts of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. I followed parts of old US 40, and parts of old Route 66, among many other beckoning back roads. I've made a similar journey 8 or 9 times, and hope to do it again someday. Here are some images of the roadside adventure of that first summer drive.
ROAD TRIP 1: DETROIT TO ALBUQUERQUE 2006
Courthouse clock, Napoleon, Ohio. Courthouses make a great road trip sub-theme, and I have seen many beautiful ones on my voyages. It's worth a stop along US 24 to see this one.
Restored storefronts, Napoleon, Ohio. Across from the courthouse is a small but worthwhile collection of historic downtown buildings. Just a few steps away is a bridge over the Maumee River. Spenglers is a very old fashioned diner. Make sure you stop in.
Small town charm comes in many different styles and colours. This village sportsplex is in Indiana, just east of I 69.
Another great sub-theme for back road travellers concerns rivers and their bridges, including the old fashioned kind. This one now sits in a county park in SW Indiana, not far from Terre Haute. The same park also boasts Indiana's highest waterfall.
Courthouse, Terre Haute, Indiana. I always seem to pass through town on a weekend, or after hours, so I have never been inside this magnificent building.
Storm clouds, US 40, Illinois, SW of Terre Haute. I hate driving in the rain on Interstate highways, but rainy days on back roads are a whole other story.
US 40 passes through downtown Greenville, Illinois, with its unusual balconies above the stores. Their little courthouse is right across the street, and is a real charmer.
The first state capitol of Illinois was in Vandalia, along US 40. The elegant building remains in top condition, and can be visited. The loudest cicadas I have ever heard were in those trees on my evening visit.
Old Route 66 crosses Spring River, just over the Missouri border and into a small chunk of Kansas, west of Joplin, MO.
The historic Colman Theatre in downtown Miami (pronounced Miamah) Oklahoma, stopped me in my tracks. I had to park and get out to see this wonderful sight. It was open, and I was invited inside to look around. Incredible place!
Upstairs balcony lobby at the Colman, downtown Miami, OK. This historic theatre is just too amazing!
A favourite image! Beorn The Taureg sits on an original single
lane paved strip of Route 66. The road was originally just a single
paved lane across most of America, between Chicago and LA. When two
cars met, they each pulled halfway off the pavement to pass. And those
white lines aren't lines, but actual raised curbs! This stretch is in
Oklahoma, southwest of Miami. I drove this span for about ten miles,
even passing beneath the busy Interstate highway at one point. I was
all alone for the entire ride. What a rush!
If you are fortunate, your two lane road will also follow close to a main railroad line. Sometimes the only company I have on these lonely roads is a passing train.
Built in 1935 with CCC funds, this building in Claremore, OK is currently disused.
Many towns along old Route 66 were bypassed by newer and faster highways, and Depew, OK among others, has fallen into a pretty bad state of affairs. Which doesn't stop the locals from trying to show a better face to the passing roadside tourist.
Local museum, downtown Chandler, Oklahoma. These kind of small palaces of wonder are great places to stop and stretch your legs, and learn a bit about local history. There is always something fascinating to see in little museums, from barb wire and bottle collections to local art and artifacts. I try to stop in whenever I have the time.
New Mexico sunset. It usually takes me three or four days to get to NM, and there is always something special about my arrival in this sacred land. Taken from US 70, a two lane highway east of Roswell. Yes, THE Roswell.
Shallow salt lakes add humidity to 100 F temperatures in Texas. Looking back towards the highest point in Texas, in the Guadalupe Mtns., and adjoining mountains in New Mexico. Taken from US 62, east of El Paso.
Water over the road, The Catwalk, New Mexico. 2006 saw an incredibly heavy monsoon season in NM.
A washed out forest road that usually joins New Mexico and Arizona. Pueblo Creek Campground, NM. We stayed one night, lulled to sleep by rushing water. We didn't get to Arizona.
Abandoned house in Reserve, New Mexico.
Church in Quemado, New Mexico. It sits alongside US 60. The interior is all dark wood and low light, a wonderful escape from the hot brightness outside.
Roadside flowers along New Mexico Highway 117, south of Grants.
New Mexico Highway 53, passing beneath El Morro National Monument.
Thus ends the photo show from voyage number one. Come back in a month or so to see some more images, from the 2nd journey.
Small town charm comes in many different styles and colours. This village sportsplex is in Indiana, just east of I 69. 
The first state capitol of Illinois was in Vandalia, along US 40. The elegant building remains in top condition, and can be visited. The loudest cicadas I have ever heard were in those trees on my evening visit.
Built in 1935 with CCC funds, this building in Claremore, OK is currently disused.
