North from the Crossroads
Day 1
NR to LH on the DH
Day 2
Motor City Drive Through
Day 3
Almost UP
Day 4
Locking and Unlocking
Day 5
Keep On Locking
Day 6
A Day on the Island
Day 7
Another Pie
Day 8
Mostly Indiana
Day 9
Connecting Connectors
Many of my trips owe big thank yous to Robert Droz and his US Highways website but Dixie Highway trips are even more indebted than most since I rely so heavily on his route descriptions. I also got some big help from Gary Gilmore on this trip. We narrowly missed connecting as I passed through Detroit but Gary offered up more motel and restaurant suggestions than I could use. I did get to try the Lock View and Clyde's in Sault Ste Marie and Vitek's and Bessie's in St Ignace and every one was a hit. Many thanks.
I'm betting Gary and I will connect some day. Jim Grey and I had a few near misses before getting together for lunch in Indianapolis. Jim helped me out directly on an earlier outing on part of the Dixie Highway Northern Connector and his Michigan Highway web pages get referenced now and again by me.
With this trip I clinched the Dixie Highway Eastern Mainline and the Northern Connector. There is, however, plenty of DH that still needs doing. The Western Mainline above Louisville, KY, awaits as do several connectors and loops. Someday.
September 4, 2011 (day 9)
I finished off the Northern Connector, did a drive-by of a big lady with a
sword, and met an old friend for the first time. Then I did the entire
Midwestern Connector (again) for no good reason at all.
September 3, 2011 (day 8)
I got inside a mansion, ate dinner in my car, and took a carousel ride.
Ain't that America?
September 2, 2011 (day 7)
Today had both rain and expressway so the pictures are few. Basically
just one pie pan and one town.
September 1, 2011 (day 6)
I figured I'd never have a better opportunity to visit Mackinac Island so
that's just what I did. And I even had time to drive a little of the
Dixie Highway Northern Connector before the day ended.
August 31, 2011 (day 5)
I did get into Canada for a few hours then headed back to St Ignace for my
first pastie.
August 30, 2011 (day 4)
After watching the sunrise from my front row seat, I finally reached
Michigan's UP then the northernmost point of the Dixie Highway. Adding a ride
through one Soo and one Sault lock and a whitefish dinner made for
a pretty good day.
August 29, 2011 (day 3)
After visiting a Lake Huron lighthouse, I had a slightly late breakfast
then headed for the beach.
August 28, 2011 (day 2)
I saw lots of road work sites today and a few detours but I managed to
make it through Detroit on almost to Saginaw. A blog entry associated
with this trip now exists as a place for comments. It is
here.
August 27, 2011 (day 1)
I started at my personal favorite "Crossroads of America"
and headed north on the Dixie Highway. I got overfed at The Spot and
lucked into a theater visit and a cruise-in before ending the day with
Michigan still about a dozen miles away.
Prelude - August 26, 2011
Since I'm starting this trip tomorrow, this isn't so much a prelude as a
hurried explanation why. It's all Irene's fault.
I had plans to start a drive home from Plymouth, Massachusetts, on Tuesday with departure from home on Saturday to give me time to get in position and do a little sightseeing. With Hurricane Irene targeting that exact same area, those plans hardly seemed prudent. But I was all psyched up for a road trip and decided to get in some Dixie Highway miles. I'll start in Vandalia, Ohio, where the Dixie's eastern mainline crosses the National Road and head north. My sights are set on the Canadian border though I haven't thought about this thing enough to commit to getting there. Sault Ste Marie -- or somewhere in that direction -- here I come.