JHA 2018 Conference at DennyGibson.com

Postlude - May 13, 2018
This trip was about as smooth as a trip of this length could be. That length, by the way, was 4955 miles home-to-home. My plotted route of the Jefferson Highway was 2276 miles long but I actually drove 2650 miles getting between the two termini. Some of those extra miles were racked up driving to motels and restaurants and some were accumulated getting to and from attractions not directly on the Jefferson Highway. A few came from driving alternate alignments. The rest came from missed turns and wrong turns. I drove 1293 miles getting to the northern terminus and 1012 miles getting home from the southern one. Missed and wrong turns accounted for a fair amount of those miles, too.

Most miles were paved but not all. In fact, about 207 miles, or roughly 9% of the plotted Jefferson Highway route, was unpaved. Missouri, with 68.8 miles of gravel or dirt, contributed the most. Minnesota was second with 60.5. The rest of the unpaved miles were in Manitoba (32.6), Iowa (10.9), Kansas (5.9), and Oklahoma (27.9). Everything I drove in Texas and Louisiana was paved.

As I've mentioned, several sources were used in planning my route, but the full length Jefferson Highway map recently completed and shared by JHA VP Mike Curtis was the linchpin of the whole thing. I know Mike will be improving it, and that he and JHA map coordinator David Sterns will continue to work toward an official JHA map but at this instant it is possible for anyone to drive all or any part of the route without the risk of encountering huge gaps along the way.

This was an uncommon for me international road trip. It was the longest continuous north-south trip I've ever taken. There were huge piles of snow at one end balmy breezes at the other. I drove through the edges of a blizzard in Iowa and the edges of a big-time lightening storm in Texas. The timing was right for attending the conference in Saint Joseph but it was a little early in the year for some sites in the north. Some parks and other seasonal attractions were not yet open and others were still operating on a reduced wintertime schedule. I encourage everyone to drive any piece of the Jefferson Highway anytime you want but suggest targeting the northern bits during the summer. That's especially true if your plans include wading across the Mississippi headwaters at 47 degrees north latitude.

May 10, 2018 (day 24)
I thought the trip was over but, thanks to a couple of friends and Facebook's marketing acumen, I put in some overtime. With the voice in my head again using the "you'll never be closer" line, I returned to Nashville to see some old guitars and used clothes.

May 9, 2018 (day 23)
After reaching the northern end of the Natchez Trace Parkway, I celebrated in the traditional (Well, I did do it once before.) way then headed to the north edge of Nashville. It was another totally dry full length run that included a stop at a place I've wanted to return to for years.

May 8, 2018 (day 22)
I decided to use at least part of the Natchez Trace Parkway to get home which allowed me to eat at an iconic restaurant for the first time (on my third visit) and check in on a favorite tavern and an old acquaintance "under the hill".

May 7, 2018 (day 21)
After a really good breakfast, I spent just over four hours at the National World War II Museum. Then I made it as far north as Jackson Square before connecting with my son for a Tiki evening.

May 6, 2018 (day 20)
Even though I didn't know precisely where to look for it, I lucked out and got a shot of JH's southern terminus marker on the first pass. I also found my son's house on the first try and spent the evening with him.

May 5, 2018 (day 19)
I drove some old skinny sections of highway and did a walkabout in Natchitoches. And I was wrong about that mistake.

May 4, 2018 (day 18)
I saw a pair of magnificent courthouses -- and not much else.

May 3, 2018 (day 17)
I saw Ike's birthplace and Mr. Sam's home and plenty of water. But I dodged the big storms.

May 2, 2018 (day 16)
I again found some new things to see in previously visited territory. After reaching the edge of Oklahoma, I slipped over the line to end the day in Texas.

May 1, 2018 (day 15)
I drove a Jefferson Highway alignment all the way through Oklahoma in 2015 which means that part of yesterday and all of today were in previously visited territory. But things like new bridge location clues and disappearing gates put some new sights on my path.

April 30, 2018 (day 14)
I got a guided tour of the many recent additions Lowell Davis has made to the Carthage landscape as well as some delightful conversation with the artist. I eventually made it out of Missouri, all the way through Kansas, and far enough into Oklahoma to EAT.

April 29, 2018 (day 13)
I left Saint Joseph and made it all the Way to Carthage. There was an annoying detour but great 'burger, cool trees, a paw built dam, and bridges of all sorts made up for it.

April 28, 2018 (day 12)
The day started with a bus tour through some of the area I'd driven through on Thursday with both familiar and completely new stops. It ended with the awards banquet at the Pony Express Museum.

April 27, 2018 (day 11)
After Saint Joseph's mayor proclaimed this Jefferson Highway Recognition Day, we learned about -- surprise! -- history, roads, and maps.

April 26, 2018 (day 10)
I stopped by a single elephant early in the day then saw several more, who were hanging out with dinosaurs and cows, later on. I drove more gravel and some very interesting concrete before ending the day at the conference site in Saint Joseph.

April 25, 2018 (day 9)
You just can't beat starting the day with good friends, a good breakfast, and a good story. The balloons came later.

April 24, 2018 (day 8)
The day started with a couple of unusual "gardens", then proceeded to a one of a kind barn and a one of a kind corner.

April 23, 2018 (day 7)
I relented at the last minute and drove into Minneapolis to see the Mary Tyler Moore statue. Then I visited a 1939 diner, a nineteenth century bank, a 1931 ice cream shop, and a place made famous 1959. I did not visit any breweries.

April 22, 2018 (day 6)
I didn't get into much dirt today and I didn't get into a 1935 gas station but only because it was closed. I did get into a 1959 'burger joint that was different than anything I'd seen before.

April 21, 2018 (day 5)
I got a little dirtier visiting Paul and Babe and the start of the Mississippi River.

April 20, 2018 (day 4)
NOLA here I come. I buzzed the Jefferson Highway start point, stopped by some markers, and quickly restored the dirt I had removed yesterday. There will be no international dirt imbalance because of me.

April 19, 2018 (day 3)
In Winnipeg I checked out The Forks and some mugs and left behind some of the dirt I'd imported.

April 18, 2018 (day 2)
All I did today was drive. At first it was to get away from the snow, then it was to get close to Canada. Both were successful.

April 17, 2018 (day 1)
I actually left home yesterday but this was the first day with something worth sharing. For lunch I had a breaded pork tenderloin in a Valentine diner and for dinner, and for contrast, I had shrimp in a Frank Lloyd Wright hotel.

Prelude 2 - March 14, 2018
Using all those sources mentioned in Prelude 1, I've produced a planned route for the drive. I have also, with some help from Mike Curtis, figured out how to get my Garmin BaseCamp plot (needed to feed the GPS) into Google Maps without manual intervention. So I'm sharing it here and through the 'G' map button at the top of this page. It defines a purely southbound route believed to be drivable on currently existing roads. I made no attempt to stick with a particular version or year or to even identify the version of the alignment chosen. The result is far from a definitive trace of the full Jefferson Highway in all of its variations. It is simply the way I have chosen to get from one end to the other following, as near as practical, roads that were, at some time or another, part of the Jefferson Highway.

Prelude 1 - January 16, 2018
I didn't make it to last year's Jefferson Highway Association conference which could be one of the reasons it's the first major road fan event I'm committing to for 2018. I also didn't see my oldest son in 2017 (or 2016 or 2015) which is definitely one of the reasons I'm planning on doing more than just attending the conference. He lives in New Orleans at the southern end of the Jefferson Highway so thoughts of driving that portion of the highway occurred rather naturally when I thought of attending the conference. From there, it didn't take much for me to think about driving the whole thing.

Even the timing for driving the entire Jefferson Highway seems pretty good as more knowledge of the route becomes generally available. Prior to the 2015 JHA conference in Muskogee, Jane Ballard produced a guide to the highway in Oklahoma. In 2016 Lyell Henry published a book on the Jefferson Highway in Iowa. Last year the Lincoln Highway Association followed their annual conference with a tour to the highway's northern terminus. In support of that tour, LHA map guru, Paul Gilger, charted a route from Colo, Iowa, to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Also last year, Mike and Sharon Curtis visited the southern terminus and documented their drive through Louisiana and Texas. The only modern full length Jefferson Highway drive that I'm aware of is the one Lynda and Jerry Alger made in 2014. They had a great time and saw lots of roadside attractions but had to do a fair amount of guessing when it came to the route. I may have to do a little guessing, too, but nowhere near what the Algers did, and one of the reasons is that Lynda is sharing her notes with me. I really appreciate folks like Lynda, Mike, Paul, Lyell, and Jane who make it possible for folks like me to drive down old roads as if we know what we're doing.

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