A Personal Amateur Photography Blog
Park City is only a 35 minute drive from downtown Salt Lake City if you take the freeway. It is a much longer trip taking the road up over Guardsman Pass, but well worth every minute.
As with other high altitude drives on this trip, once you got up over 8000′ in elevation the trees were spectacular with their fall foliage.
Eventually you drop down into Park City.
With the acquisition of a high clearance vehicle it was time to hit one of the ‘off pavement’ routes I have been looking forward to, Montezuma Canyon Road through Coronado Pass.
This route took us past Parker Canyon Lake and up to the pass, with an extensive view of the San Pedro River valley and the multi billion dollar boondoggle fence. This route was 24 miles of dirt and gravel road up over the mountain pass, resulting in the dustiest car I have ever had (which of course I forgot to take a photo of before washing)
One of the more interesting features is the riparian desert features of the San Pedro River. Retaining water year round (a bit), you are instantly in a wooded area with huge trees, literally next to the dry grasslands.
The day ended with a beautiful ‘Blood Moon’ lunar eclipse.
The Boyce Thompson Arboretum is located about 60 miles east of downtown Phoenix near the town of Superior. It has a great collection of regional plants, cactus and trees.
With minimal travel we had a weekend hiking close to home that gave a few photo ops of downtown Columbus, as well as nearby Licking County.
The trip to Licking County included a hike in Blackhand Gorge Park. Named for a (now long gone) Native American petroglyph the hike goes through a small ravine along a creek. The sandstone cliffs have a variety of vegetation growing on them.
The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering the backroads of the county.
We came across this fantastic abandoned schoolhouse. As I approached for a closer look the bird came flying out adding to the excitement.
Bonjour de la Louisiana. Our trip today takes us to the bayou.
1977 – Bogue Chitto River. This river is 65 miles north of New Orleans in a park with more than 1,000 acres.
1979 – Bayou. Much of southern Louisiana is made up of bayous and swamps.
2005
The residents of these parts are very proud of their alligators.
The bayous have a unique beauty.
1981 – Acadia. This area of Louisiana has the strongest French culture. In Louisiana the counties are known as parishes. Some of the parishes in this area are over 25% French speaking (although not a French someone from Paris or Montreal would likely easily understand).
We passed through this area in 2019, making a stop at the Tabasco Factory on Avery Island.
Acadia is rice growing country.
In New Ibiera is the Conrad Rice Mill, America’s oldest.
1984 – Mississippi River. The river is the economic driver for Louisiana.
Bridges in New Orleans.
Many overseas freighters come up the river to New Orleans to dock and offload.
The tourist sternwheeler leaves for a tour.
Upriver at the crossing from Vicksburg, Mississippi to the town of Delta, Louisiana.
1986 – 1992 – 2001 – Music
New Orleans is music, food and partying.
1990 – Flowers
With the warm weather and abundant rain, Louisiana has amazing flora and fauna.
1998 – State Capitol. While New Orleans is the center of the world for all things Louisiana, Baton Rouge is the capital.
2002 & 2007 – Food
Louisiana is known for food, primarily (photos from Wikipedia)
Crawfish
Po-boys
And Beignets
2003 – Louisiana Purchase (historic New Orleans)
New Orleans was the center of the French owned territory in the new world. The Cabildo is beside St Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter.
The French Quarter is representative of the city at that time (except for all the dive bars).
2018 – Birds
Avery Island, Louisiana has a very impressive bird sanctuary.
The Hoosier State – Indiana.
1946 – Dedicated to James Whitcomb Riley, Indiana’s Poet.
His boyhood home in Indianapolis is now a museum.
1953 – Intersection of Highway 52 and 136 in Indianapolis.
1957 – Tri State Express. This is the same freeway featured on the Illinois 1959 map.
Today that freeway is 10 lanes wide
The Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond has a statue from the movie Christmas Story. It was set in Hammond, but filmed in Cleveland.
1970 – Indiana State Capitol. Dating from 1888 it is the 4th building to be the Indiana Capitol.
2015 View.
1971 – The map as a map cover. Columbus, Indiana is shown on the right.
Columbus has a fantastic collect of modern architecture. Irwin Miller was the Chairman of Cummins Engine Company, and a fan of this type of architecture. His leadership resulted in a town known around the world for the quantity and quality of architecture.
1972 – Indiana Highway 37 near Bloomington.
Bloomington, home to Indiana University, is a small city in south central Indiana. (Photo from Bloomington Tourist Office)
1973 – A collection of signs.
1976 – Indianapolis – The Return Home on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is the center of Indianapolis. Rising to a height of 284′ (87m) this obelisk has numerous statues surrounding it and an observation deck near the top. (photo from Wikipedia)
1978 – Unidentified country scene.
1979- Whitewater Canal State Memorial. In the early 1800s canals were built all over the country, and Indiana was no different. The route of the Whitewater Canal was unique in that it had a drop of almost 500′ at a rate of 6.4′ per mile, compared to the the Erie Canal at 1.7 feet per mile.
Located in the historic town of Metamora, the canal and the accompanying buildings give a sense of life in the early 1800s.
1986 – Indianapolis
Indianapolis, as the state capitol and largest city in the state. Highlights of the city include:
The Ruins of Holiday Park are remnants from an old building in New York City sitting in the middle of a park in Indiana.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway & Museum.
Indiana War Memorial Building
The former baseball stadium is now apartments.
Indianapolis Museum of Art. The time we were there they were having an exhibit on prototype automobiles.
The current baseball stadium
Lucas Oil Stadium – Home of the NFL Colts
Skyline view (Photo from Pintrest)
1991 – 175th anniversary of Indiana.
1994 – Indiana State Highways 75th Anniversary
1995 – Indiana Countryside. The tourist bureaus in Indiana play up the country life quite a bit.
Shipshewana is the largest tourist center for this ‘country life’. With some Amish residents it is common to see horse and buggies on the roads. In addition their flea market is one of the largest in the country. (Photo from Tourist Office)
1997 – Generic map
2001 – Transportation in Indiana. The Indianapolis Airport is the 5th largest air freight center in the country.
Indiana is the capital of RV production. Elkart has the RV Museum, as well as a number of manufacturing faciities.
2003 – As with the other states in the path, this year is a celebration of Lewis and Clark.
On October 26, 1803 Merriweather Lewis meet William Clark across the river from Louisville, Kentucky and set sail down the Ohio River. That spot is now known as Clarksville, Indiana. That meeting is celebrated at the Falls of Ohio State Park.
This park has a nice view of Louisville.
2004 & 2016 – Indiana State Museum. The current building pictured here was completed in 2001.
The building is over 40,000 square feet, and covers the natural and civil history of the state. Also included is the ’92 walk’ – a collection of sculptures representing each of the 92 counties in the state.
   
2005 – Wildflower.
A few of the the Indiana State Symbols include: (Photos from Wikipedia)
State Flag – 19 stars, representing Indiana being the 19th state.
State Motto – Crossroads of America.
State Seal – Depicts a setting sun, sycamore tree, a woodsman and a bison.
State Bird – Cardinal
State Flower – Peony
2009 & 2012 – Unidentified Road Construction Projects
    
Lincoln Highway construction in Indiana in the early 1900s.
2014 – Southern Indiana Hills
The largest city in Southern Indiana is Evansville. We made a stop there on Road Trip 2019.
Vanderburgh County Courthouse
Restored Art Deco Greyhound Station – now a hipster hamburger place.
Bosse Field – One of the oldest baseball stadiums in the country.
Primary filming location for the movie League of Their Own.
2015 – Bristol, Indiana – Bonneyville Mill. This mill is the oldest in the state. It was built by Edward Bonney in 1833.
2017 – Brown County State Park, Hesitation Point. This is the largest state park in Indiana, covering more than 15,000 acres. It is known for it’s scenic vistas.
2018 – Williamsport Falls. This 90′ high falls is the 2nd highest in the state.
The flow of the falls is very seasonal.
2019 – Berne, Indiana – Settled by Mennonite immigrants in 1852. The town has been built by Swiss and German immigrants, resulting now in a small town of 4,000 residents.
It is known for it’s picturesque town square.
Our virtual travel tour takes us back to east to Connecticut. The oldest map in the collection is from 1964. The cover is a nondescript view of an early Interstate with the State Police posed in the median strip with minimal traffic.
In Connecticut the traffic has changed but the roads are the same.
The flip side has a collection of tourist attractions of the state.
For 1965 a colonial church is featured. The European history of Connecticut started in 1636 as a Puritan settlement known as the Connecticut Colony. In the famous Charter Oak incident this group refused to surrender local authority to the Dominion of New England, one of the first acts of self government in the country.
Connecticut Yankees have a history of having great ingenuity. There is no better example of this than Mystic Seaport.
The Mystic Seaport is the largest maritime museum in the United States, with a large collection of ships and buildings in a complete town.
The transportation modes of Connecticut is featured on 1972. Located between New York and Boston, Connecticut has always been a commuter state with a large rail network for getting into the larger cities surrounding it.
New England is known for it’s impressive fall foliage. While most visitors head to Vermont and New Hampshire, Connecticut offers some scenic fall countryside views. as shown on this 1983 map
Connecticut’s one major airport, located between Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts is on the cover of the 1987 map.
The next in the series from 1989 is a scene from the Long Island Sound.
The Long Island Sound separates Connecticut from Long Island. There are a number of ferries that cross the water thus bypassing the need of going through New York City.
We once took the New London – Orient Point ferry providing great views leaving New London and crossing the Sound.
Since the late 1990s the maps have featured non identified scenes.
     
     
We leave Connecticut with a postcard view of a small coastal town.
Today we make our way to the Golden State – California. As most people know California is known for, among other things, their car culture. That culture apparently never translated to CalTrans, who never seem to have published maps.
Instead most Californians have relied on the auto club for their travel tools. The state has two major auto clubs – The Auto Club of Southern California and the California State Automobile Association, which covers Northern California.
The auto club maps rarely featured photos, mostly just graphically interesting maps.
For this posting we will mix together vintage Auto Club maps with photos from various years of the highlights of the state.
The map below dates from the 1950s and covers the entire state.
A view of the map itself shows the famed freeways of the state still a few years away. This view has the area from the coast around San Francisco to the mountains and Yosemite National Park, going south as far as Santa Barbara.
Our tour will start in San Francisco….
The view back toward downtown from Twin Peaks on a cloudy day.
While most of San Francisco streets are in a grid system, the area directly around Twin Peaks have streets with curves resulting in a haphazard look to the houses.
The Golden Gate bridge with the tops of the towers obscured by the low clouds.
The cool, weirdness of Haight Asbury.
Isotope Comic Book Shop and their artistic toilet lids.
San Francisco from Angel Island.
An evening at the Santa Cruz Beach.
San Luis Reservoir as we head towards the central valley.
Yosemite! One of the best National Parks.
The Central Valley is the produce capital of the country.
Sequoia National Park.
Kings Canyon National Park.
Let’s move on to Northeastern California.
Lassen National Park
Lava Tubes
Hieroglyphs in far northern California
Northwestern California is home to some amazing coastlines and forests.
Our tour of Northwest California starts out with the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geysersville.
Lake Sonoma.
The Mendocino County coast.
Fort Bragg, California (not to be confused with the actual U.S. Army Fort Bragg in North Carolina).
One of the ultimate tourist traps – the Drive Thru Tree in Leggett, California.
Redwood Forest.
Eureka, California
We were lucky enough to be in Arcata, California for one of the coolest festivals we ever saw – the Kinetics Festival.
Trinity Lake
Shasta Dam and lake with Mount Shasta in the background.
This 1927 map is the Circle Tour of Southern California. Leaving downtown Los Angeles it takes you east past San Bernardino to Palm Springs, before heading south through the desert, finally returning to the coast at San Diego.
We will recreate the highlights of this tour 90 years later…
The Bradbury Building in downtown Los Angeles was there when this map was published.
Driving through the desert to Palm Springs.
Palm Springs from high up on Mount San Jacinto.
San Diego – This late 1940s map shows a San Diego that was just becoming a major city.
By 2012 it was a beautiful city by the bay.
Petco Park – Home of the San Diego Padres (trivia time – the Padres are the only major league sports team whose name is entirely in non English)
And finally back in Los Angeles – although this 1920s map is missing LAX (among other things).
Today’s stop on the virtual tour of the United States is Arkansas. Located in the south central part of the country it is a state I have only visited a couple of times, and then very briefly. I have however managed to collect 34 different years of state highway maps.
The only photo I have taken with Arkansas actually is 1/2 Texas – Texarkana Post Office and Courthouse – literally split down the middle by the two states.
We start today’s tour with a 1958 map highlighting a freeway interchange in Little Rock. While there have been limited access highways in the United States since the 1930s, the U.S. President in the 1950s, Dwight Eisenhower, was a strong proponent on the improvement of the road system in the country. As a result the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was passed.
This act authorized the construction of 41,000 miles of limited access (no crossroads, etc) freeways. While some states had made some significant progress by 1958, in Arkansas it was limited – the exit shown was one of just a handful in the state.
We move ahead 10 years to 1968 and find the cover with a nice view of the Ozark Mountains. The Ozarks aren’t particularly high, reaching a maximum elevation of 2,560.
While the Ozarks reach into Missouri, they are best known as part of Arkansas. As this photo shows the terrain is tree covered with numerous rock outcroppings. In addition there are a number of scenic rivers and lakes.
The 1970 map starts an amazingly long period where the look of the maps do not change. The maps are consistently basic, with the inside being the statewide map, and the backside having a few city maps. Unlike most states there is little in the way of tourist information like guides to parks.
The covers continue to highlight the natural scenery with this view of the Ouachita Mountains. Much like the Ozarks they are relatively small, tree covered mountains. As the map notes this view is overlooking the Hot Springs National Park. Situated next to the city of the same name Hot Springs has long been an attraction.
The town has famous and infamous periods, including being an attractive location during prohibition for people like Al Capone to come hang out. The town has a collection of historic bathhouses and many other architectural significant buildings.
This checkered history is celebrated with a statue of Al outside the Ohio Club in Hot Springs. (photo from Dayton Daily news website).
By 1972 the Interstate System was nearing initial completion. This view features Crimson Clover for ground cover.
More than just a 1960s pop song, Crimson clover is a winter annual and herbaceous legume. The leaves and stems of crimson clover resemble those of red clover, but the leaves are round-tipped with more hair on the stems and leaves. Seedlings grow rapidly from the crown forming a rosette. This rosette enlarges as weather becomes favorable. In the spring, the flower stems develop rapidly and end their growth with long, pointed conical flower heads comprised of 75 to 125 florets. Florets are a bright crimson color and open in succession from the bottom to the top
This image (from the internet) gives a nice closeup of Crimson Clover.
The 1973 map has a view of Little Rock, the largest city and capital. With about 700,000 people in the area it makes up about 20% of the states population.
With it’s location near the Ouachita Mountains, the city is made up of some rolling hills, along the Arkansas River.
This photo from the internet shows that the skyline has changed little in the 40 + years since this map was published.
For the American bicentennial the cover is a tribute to the early pioneers.
The eastern border of Arkansas is the lower Mississippi River. This area is known as the Arkansas Delta, which has geographic similarities to their neighbors in Mississippi. It is the region where cotton is grown.
The area is dotted with lakes, many of them as a result of the river changing course over time. The bald cypress tress shown here are typical of the area.
The area is also known for their music, including blues and country. The most famous person from this area is Johnny Cash.
The Arkansas State Capitol is featured on the 1979 map. As with the vast majority of state capitol buildings in the country it is built in the Neoclassical style. This building is much newer than many other state capitols, having been completed in 1915.
For 1981 the photographer chose a view of a small river (the Spring River), a two lane road and a train.
The Interstate 40 bridge linking West Memphis, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee is featured on the 1982 cover. Covering a distance of 9400 feet, and rising over 100 feet above the river, the official name for this bridge is Hernando de Soto Bridge. The two arches of the bridge are to represent the letter ‘M’ (for Memphis), hence the nickname of the structure is the M bridge.
This photo from the internet shows the bridge at night with the ‘M’ lit up. Photo by Trevor Birchett.
The photo for the 1984 edition shows the early fall scene in Garland County. With Arkansas being located in the south this scene likely dates from late October or early November.
Garland County is the home of Hot Springs.
Another year (1985) another two lane road in the woods. This time we are in Yell County. Strangely this relatively small county, in both population and square miles, has two county seats. In addition it is a ‘dry’ county, with no alcohol sales. Perhaps that is why they Yell.
The Interstate 430 bridge over the Arkansas River at Little Rock is shown on the 1986 map. This freeway bypasses the city to the west.
The 1987 map has a radical departure on the look of the title on the cover, but not much else. More bridges and roads through the countryside.
Once again in 1989 the scene goes unidentified. But good news – there is a bridge involved.
For 1990 we get a return of the red backgrounds for the titles, along with descriptions of the scene. This view is from Highway 7 in Perry County, with a dogwood tree in full bloom in the foreground.
Perry County is home to a huge Goat Festival (photo from KARK TV station). The festival attracts 4000 people to the small town of Perrysville.
Big changes for the Arkansas map in 1993 – Bill Clinton, a native son was elected president. Unfortunately they have returned to photos of generic scenes without descriptions. This pattern continued for the next few years.
1994
1995
1996
For 1998 the descriptions have returned. This mountain scene is U.S. Highway 65 near the Buffalo National River in Searcy County.
Searcy County is known as the Chocolate Roll Capital of the World. A chocolate roll is a crust filled with chocolate. A recipe found on the internet could be a good thing to fill some time today….
Searcy County Chocolate Roll
Pastry:
1 c. flour
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
1/4 c. cold water
dash of salt
Filling:
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1/3 c. butter or margarine
1/3 c. sugar
Incorporate all pastry ingredients into a pie crust-like dough. Roll out. Cream together cocoa powder, sugar and butter and spread on surface of pie crust. Roll from one end, tucking in sides like you would a burrito. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden and molten. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
In 2001 we visit Beaver Lake Dam in Carroll County. The dam has created a large lake that provides recreation as well as drinking water for much of Northwest Arkansas.
A Corvette and a country road back in Perry County. Since this county is dry too, they are likely headed to the next county to buy a bottle of wine for dinner.
In 1803 the United States purchased a massive area (828,000 square miles) of land from France for only $15 million dollars. What seems like a good deal was likely a better deal for France as they really didn’t control most of the land – it was still inhabited by Native Americans. The U.S. was buying ‘preemptive’ rights to obtain the Native lands by treaty or conquest (steal).
The entire state of Arkansas was included in this deal.
To get your Kicks on Route 66 in Arkansas you have to go to Stone County and take the state highway with that number, since the famed U.S. highway of the same number did not go through the state, although it went nearby in southwest Missouri.
The 2005 map shows the field of daisies at an Interstate interchange. Given the view you would think that the daisy would be the state flower but it is not. The state flower is the apple blossom, a tribute to the time when Arkansas was a large apple producing state, which it no longer is.
The 1956 Interstate Act 50th anniversary is celebrated on the 2006 map. Ironically neither of the two freeways shown here are interstates, they are both state routes.
The tunnel shown here is the Bobby Hopper Tunnel. It is the only vehicular tunnel in Arkansas.
For 2009 the cover shows the recently completed Greenville Bridge, a cable stayed design over the Mississippi River. Construction of this bridge took 16 years.
The new bridge replaced one built in 1940.
Hot Springs National Park is the scene again for the 2010 map.
As noted previously there are numerous bathhouses in Hot Springs, including one that was in the park itself. The Ozark Bathhouse was closed in 1977 and restored as the National Park Visitor Center. (photo from NPS site)
Another two lane road in 2011 – this time in Pope County. Located in the north central part of the state it is home to the town of Russellville. It is yet again another dry county.
Logan County is featured on the cover of the 2013 map. This county was originally called Sarber County, after John Sarber, when it was formed in 1871, but the locals felt Mr Sarber was a carpetbagger, so they renamed the county for an early settler James Logan.
Like most of the scenes in the series of Arkansas maps, it is located in the Ozark Mountains.
The theme continues in 2015 with this scene from Stone County.
The historic Lawrence County Courthouse is featured on the 2016 map. The courthouse is part of the Powhatan Historic State Park. And yes Lawrence County is like most of north and west Arkansas in that the county is dry. Lets move on to California so we can have a beer!
Dating from the late 1800s, the Carlos Thays Botanicall Garden is a beautiful setting for the plants, trees, sculptures and buildings that make up the 17 acre urban oasis. It is located just off the Plaza italia.
RDZ Photography 