New Travels and Stats Discussion

[mapmikey]

Got to venture a little further afield yesterday, and was able to grab some new primary mileage...

Clinches:  WV 45, WV 51, WV 901
Re-clinches after recent expansions: VA 37, WV 115

Other: WV 9 from VA line to US 340 and new freeway from Kearneysville to Baker Hghts.

WV 115 is still not posted at WV 9 at the VA line.  But it is now posted on War Admiral Blvd (which is where the HB runs it) which was signed as CR 9/50 at first and there was a gap in how to follow a posted WV 115.

[dave1693]

Since my last update, I had one trip back in early March (for a memorial service) before the stay-at-home orders went into effect.

New segments: PA3, PA23, PA320.

Even with the stay-home orders for this area expected to be lifted by early-to-mid-June, I don't expect to be adding any new mileage until at least July.

[mapmikey]

Had an opportunity to get more primary routes not so far from home yesterday...

New clinches:  MD 206, MD 210, MD 229, MD 260, MD 262, MD 381, MD 382, MD 521, MD 953, Suitland Pkwy

Reclinch: MD 5 (Hughesville Bypass)

New mileage: MD 193, MD 201, MD 212

[panda80]

Managed to do a PB in terms of continous driving (just with stops for toilet and tank) yesterday. I had to bring someone to the hungarian-romanian border (I chose Battonya-Turnu), there were 1930km go and back, in 21h 30min (normally you can do it quicker, but I lost about 1h 30 at the austrian-hungarian border and chose another route in Austria and Bavaria, other than classical A4-A1-A8, went on B4-B38 through north Austria, than took some secondary roads in Bavaria to reach my home). At the end I think I clinched some 500km of new roads.

[mapmikey]

Was supposed to go to Montreal this week...since that did not pan out, I took another extended Maryland ride...

New Clinches: MD 34, MD 57, MD 62, MD 66, MD 68, MD 77, MD 94, MD 99, MD 125, MD 144 (Cookesville), MD 201, MD 212, MD 383, MD 418, MD 459, MD 491, MD 494, MD 550, MD 615, MD 632, MD 650, MD 804, MD 844, MD 845, MD 847, MD 851, MD 910, Park Center Rd (Catoctin Mtn Pk)
Re-clinches:  MD 85 (ext past I-70)

[oscar]

I took a somewhat longer trip in May, through eight states and including overnight stays. That included overall clinches of US 76 (had been missing parts of the route in SC, GA, and TN), and US 25 (had been missing one segment in KY). I also clinched US 23 in KY, though I'm still missing parts in MI, and some short portions in GA that were closed by road construction during my early March trip down there just before the pandemic started shutting things down. In addition, I clinched US 27 in TN, after a re-visit to Dayton TN (site of the Scopes trial, and people there seem to still think Scopes' conviction was deserved).

This should push my total coverage of the U.S. route system (both mainline and bannered routes) over 80%. I say "should" only because I'm adding together my statistics for usaus (112179.97 miles traveled out of 137816.66 miles total) and usausb (4519.89 miles traveled out of 7775.42 miles total), for 80.2% combined. But while each number removes duplicate mileage within each system, I can't figure out how to remove duplication between usaus routes I traveled and concurrent usausb routes.

Part of the reason for that relatively short trip, aside from getting out of my cage after more than two months of lockdown, was to gauge whether I should go forward with longer trips this summer, with the inconveniences of traveling post-lockdowns. The most annoying inconvenience I encountered was hotels that previously offered hot breakfasts are now handing out bagged "breakfasts" which really work better as mid-afternoon snacks, so I have to get a real hot breakfast at a fast-food drive-thru right after checking out. That's no fun, but I can live with that.

But there are bigger obstacles out there I'd have to navigate around, including some states still putting out-of-state visitors into quarantine or forbidding hotels from renting rooms for non-essential travel. Also, many of the hot springs I usually work into my travels out west are closed right now and might not reopen this summer, and don't lend themselves to social distancing anyway. The closure of the Canadian border to non-essential travel blocked the trip to Toronto I had planned for April, and that too might be extended for awhile.

I'll probably do at least one extended road trip this summer, bringing my full arsenal of face masks and taking other precautions (driving solo is a good way to minimize contact with others, almost as good as staying home). But that will require more planning than usual for my road trips.

[si404]

people there seem to still think Scopes' conviction was deserved

Given the town's folk are going to know more than most about the actual facts of the publicity stunt trial, rather than relying on the '50s fictionalisation, then that's rather woke of them! 

If Scopes went into a school today and taught the banned chapter that he said he did 95 years ago, he'd be seen as a bigoted racist and, almost universally, people would say that it should not be legal to teach that in schools - but white supremacy and eugenics were 'progressive' and popular in the 1920s - the polar opposite of now in the 2020s.

Scopes went to the police and confessed. His defense made no effort to disprove he did it (even though he probably didn't given the trial was all an elaborate and successful plan by businessmen to put the town on the map) and even asked the jury to convict him. He actively consented to being convicted.

[Duke87]

The most annoying inconvenience I encountered was hotels that previously offered hot breakfasts are now handing out bagged "breakfasts" which really work better as mid-afternoon snacks

What has typically been the contents of these bags?

But there are bigger obstacles out there I'd have to navigate around, including some states still putting out-of-state visitors into quarantine or forbidding hotels from renting rooms for non-essential travel.

I've been following this and the number of states that have actually closed hotels off for travelers is pretty small. Arkansas is the only state outside of the northeast that has done so. Within the northeast it's hodgepodgy - CT will begin allowing non-essential hotel stays again on June 17th. NY and NJ never disallowed them.

Quarantine requirements as best I can tell only still exist in the continental US outside of the northeast in AZ, NM, OK, and AR. And even then, applicability is limited - NM only cares if you arrive in the state by air. AR and OK only care if you're from certain areas. AZ only cares if you're from certain areas and arrive by air. (you're not affected by AR, AZ, and OK's rules, though I am).

And then of course there's Alaska and Hawaii... no one is going on vacation to either of those for a while, they are using their natural isolation to their advantage.

[oscar]

The most annoying inconvenience I encountered was hotels that previously offered hot breakfasts are now handing out bagged "breakfasts" which really work better as mid-afternoon snacks

What has typically been the contents of these bags?

Apples, muffins, sometimes granola bars.

But there are bigger obstacles out there I'd have to navigate around, including some states still putting out-of-state visitors into quarantine or forbidding hotels from renting rooms for non-essential travel.

I've been following this and the number of states that have actually closed hotels off for travelers is pretty small. Arkansas is the only state outside of the northeast that has done so. Within the northeast it's hodgepodgy - CT will begin allowing non-essential hotel stays again on June 17th. NY and NJ never disallowed them.

CA seems to be on the list too, though that might be hodgepodgy within the state.

Quarantine requirements as best I can tell only still exist in the continental US outside of the northeast in AZ, NM, OK, and AR. And even then, applicability is limited - NM only cares if you arrive in the state by air. AR and OK only care if you're from certain areas. AZ only cares if you're from certain areas and arrive by air. (you're not affected by AR, AZ, and OK's rules, though I am).

MT seems to be on that list as well.

There are also tribal restrictions, for those seeking to travel US or state highways. Some parts of western SD have that issue, though I clinched last year the US highways where the tribal checkpoints have gone up this year (some of them reportedly turning away vehicles with out-of-state plates). The Navajo Nation is also a worry, though it's unclear whether its stringent stay-at-home/curfew restrictions affect through travel by non-Navajo citizens (some Navajo-controlled tourist attractions are closed, reportedly including the much-overrated Four Corners monument). I-40 does not cross Navajo lands (except clipping the SE corner of Navajo Nation territory), but several US and state highways do.

[Duke87]

Quarantine requirements as best I can tell only still exist in the continental US outside of the northeast in AZ, NM, OK, and AR. And even then, applicability is limited - NM only cares if you arrive in the state by air. AR and OK only care if you're from certain areas. AZ only cares if you're from certain areas and arrive by air. (you're not affected by AR, AZ, and OK's rules, though I am).

MT seems to be on that list as well.

Montana lifted their quarantine requirement effective June 1st.

There are also tribal restrictions, for those seeking to travel US or state highways. Some parts of western SD have that issue, though I clinched last year the US highways where the tribal checkpoints have gone up this year (some of them reportedly turning away vehicles with out-of-state plates). The Navajo Nation is also a worry, though it's unclear whether its stringent stay-at-home/curfew restrictions affect through travel by non-Navajo citizens (some Navajo-controlled tourist attractions are closed, reportedly including the much-overrated Four Corners monument). I-40 does not cross Navajo lands (except clipping the SE corner of Navajo Nation territory), but several US and state highways do.

The Navajo Nation definitely would prefer you not travel across their territory right now, but I haven't been able to find any reports that they are actively blocking through travel on state and US highways.

This is in contrast to the Sioux Nation, which has done exactly that on their territory in South Dakota. My interpretation of this however is that it is a political move more than anything else, taking aim at the state government for, in the tribe's opinion, not taking the situation nearly seriously enough. It succeeded at raising the state's ire, as it was designed to.

I'd anticipate your likelihood of encountering trouble on any native reservation is probably proportional to how negative their relationship with the state/provincial government currently is.

[mapmikey]

Yet another Maryland ride yesterday...

New Clinches: US 40 Scenic, US 220 Truck, MD 35, MD 47, MD 53, MD 55, MD 61, MD 144 (Flintstone), MD 546, MD 638, MD 735, MD 736, MD 743, MD 807, MD 894, MD 903, MD 935, MD 936, MD 937, MD 942, MD 946, MD 949, MD 951, MD 956
Also Clinched: WV 28 ALT, PA 416, WV 956, PA 995
Reclinch: MD 355 (Urbanna new routing from several years back)
Picked up new mileage: MD 36 (stupid closure in Mt Savage prevented clinch); PA 75, PA 160

Also clinched some former MD state highways:
Old MD 44 (Ft Frederick SP)
Old MD 45 (Frostburg)
Old MD 657 (Lonaconing)
Old MD 717 (Frostburg)
Old MD 732 (east of I-68/US 220 north split)
Old MD 738 (near US 40/MD 57)
Old MD 739 (Wilson)
Old MD 740 (Wilson)

I can confirm that MD 935 and MD 937 still have no shields, although MD 935 is explicitly in text on truck restriction signs on both directions of MD 36.

I also found a MD 61 shield but believe it was installed by construction contractors (Sept 2019 GMSV doesn't show it).  We'll see if it remains or if permanent 61 shields will be installed as part of the work.

[Markkos1992]

I actually clinched PA 416 today and picked up quite a bit of mileage of PA 75 and a little of US 40 in Hagerstown.  I added mileage on PA 16 due to concurrencies with PA 75, PA 416, and PA 997.

I also clinched MD 58, MD 64, PA 17, PA 274, PA 696, PA 850, and PA 997. 

[mapmikey]

Continuing to stay close to home...

Maryland Trip #4:

Clinched: MD 38, MD 39, MD 42, MD 117, MD 135, MD 219, MD 495, MD 560, MD 669, MD 742, MD 825
Also clinched: WV 9, WV 45 Alt, WV 46 (ugh!), WV 72 Alt (double ugh!), WV 90, PA 669

Picked up new mileage: WV 7, WV 26, WV 28, WV 42, WV 72, PA 281

[clong]

Took a trip to Kansas City to visit in-laws.

The trip there only yielded the new I-70 bridge at St Louis.

While there, I got new mileage on US24, US40, US50, US69, US169, K7 and MO45.

On the way back, got I-44 inside of I-270 in St Louis, some US61 mileage in Festus and Cape Girardeau, MO, US412 mileage in TN and US45 mileage in TN and MS.

[clong]

Finally finished the last state route in the county I grew up in. There was a short 10 mile section off the beaten path to anywhere I went growing up.