RAMANAM
In the Name of The Father, and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit, Amen.

Countrymen,

Fridays at Power Line, Ammo Grrrll contributes a popular humor/human interest post named Thoughts From The Ammo Line.  Readers look forward to it as they do to Steven Hayward’s This Week In Pictures on Saturdays.  As a modestly experienced road tripper, I commented, with edits here, at Ammo Grrrll’s post today — on road tripping — as follows:

Looks like you took I-10 to I-20 to I-35 to MN. Pretty direct. Probably you were time-sensitive so took interstates, sensibly. When you are not time-sensitive, consider the old but surprisingly well-maintained US Highway system, augmented by state and county roads per exploratory impulses. This will give you an even deeper view into American beauty and character. Definitely slower and for that reason definitely in among the fellow countrymen, who are more than a little delightful in their native haunts.

Also, lodging and food are half at least the cost of interstate industrial accommodations and, for food, if you do not carry your own, with ice chest, look for the mom-and-pop restaurants with lots of cars parked outside in the small towns. That is where the locals eat and so the cooking is good by local standards and, most importantly, the turn-over of food is high and therefore the food on your plate is reliably fresh.

The several apps that carry ratings and comments on mom-and-pop motels are pretty reliable. And those beds are half or less the cost of industrial chains and just as clean at least (most of them, and the apps are a reliable guide) and far more interesting with respect to ambiance and owners.

The legendary US Route 66 road-trip is still available even though most of US Route 66 is not. And the scenery on the US Highway system, built to connect small towns and not to facilitate rapid military movements on interior lines (i.e., the interstates), surpasses that of the interstates by orders of magnitude, especially with respect to rivers, canyons, gorges and agricultural and wild-life vistas and contact opportunities.

My road trip last year was US 2 between St. Ignace, MI and Everett, WA. Utterly delightful.  Fall and early spring (off-seasons) — when kids are in school and parents minding them and occupations, and temperatures are moderate — are my favorite times for road trips.

And unless in emergent travel, I stick to US Highways and state and county roads. The upgrade in scenery alone is worth the extra time and modest increase in fuel cost. Food and lodging at mom-and-pops is far less costly than industrial chains on interstates, and for my taste far more interesting and enjoyable. And one is free to move with one’s own conveyance! So far, we still can do that! 🙂

AMDG – VICTORY