pamclawson

Driving I-70

I left Columbus on my Arkansas/Oklahoma/Texas/New Mexico trip on Tuesday afternoon. Driving though Indiana on I-70 would have been a total nightmare if I had been heading east instead of west. I think the entire length of I-70 in Indiana is under construction and to make traveling worse, I-70 through most of Indiana is only two lanes in each direction; whereas, Ohio has almost finished widening its length of I-70 to three lanes in each direction. When one lane is closed then all traffic is constricted into one lane. Then when I got to Indianapolis part of its outer belt that could have carried through traffic around Indianapolis was closed so all I-70 westbound traffic had to go through Indianapolis. Arrrgh!

  • Great day to drive – in Ohio – I-70 is mostly three lanes in each direction
  • Leaving Ohio…
  • for Indiana
  • Indiana’s I-70 is under construction down to one lane in many locations, mostly EB thank heavens!
  • Notice how many trucks on I-70! Here traffic that has been constrained into one lane finally gets into two lanes again.

I stopped for the night at a hotel somewhere between Indianapolis and Terra Haute. This morning I crossed into Illinois and my GPS suggested I detour off I-70 and onto USR-40, the National Road. We in Ohio know the National Road. It was the first major improved highway built by the US government. It started in Cumberland, Md. in 1811 and pushed west to Vandalia, Illinois where it ended in 1837 due to a funding shortage. I enjoyed the scenic, winding drive much more than I would have liked crawling through a construction zone.

  • Crossing into Illinois
  • I-70 detour onto USR 40
  • USR-40 runs from Cumberland, MD. to Vandalia, Ill.
  • Peaceful, scenic, fun-to-drive I-40
  • A roadside attraction on I-40. Note the skeleton flying behind the motorcycle.
  • I used Historic USR-40 as a detour for part of I-70 due to construction

When I got back onto I-70 I passed a billboard advertising “Foot-Hi Pies” it was nearing lunch time, I was getting hungry, pie sounded good. The Blue Springs Cafe was in an old Stuckey’s – remember those? I’ve included a picture of it when it was a Stuckey’s in the 1970’s for those of you who remember those pecan rolls and want to reminiscence.

  • Got my attention
  • Blue Springs Cafe in an old Stuckey’s
  • Remember Stuckey’s
  • They are known for their meringue pies but I had a cherry pie.

Prior to the highlight of the meal: the cherry pie, I had walleye, green beans and a salad. All of their lunch plates, and there were about 15 options, plus two sides were $7.95. Great spur of the moment choice!

Now back on the road.