Skip to main content

Richmondville...and I-88

Headed southwest to our Richmondville store this afternoon. It was for a store visit and I was overseeing a product reset.

Route:
NY 7 West, I-88 West, NY 7 East/NY 10 North.

Notes:
To most this is an uneventful trip, a 30 minute drive down I-88 to a rural store. And it is just that, an uneventful 30 minute drive from my office down I-88 to a rural store. But I figured this would be a great time to just comment on one of my favorite Interstate drives, I-88.

I've never traveled in the Mountain West (with the exception of a weekend in Alberta in 1996) but for some reason, Interstate 88 is what I would think how the Interstates in the Rockies would look. I-88 is rural...desolate..and (not as high as the Rockies of course) mountain scenery. One of the more spectacular views is heading west on I-88 approaching Exit 23 (NY 7/30/30A) The interchange is at the bottom of a valley so both the east bound and west bound approaches to the exit is down hill. However, heading westbound the road rises and curves thruogh a mountain pass. What is also visually appealing is on the south side of the highway is another mountain range that shoots southwards towards Schoharie. The mountain that is on the southbound side is called Terrace Mountain and Schoharie creek runns at the base of the valley.

It is also a great view from NY 7, which runs parallel on the north side of the highway. A few weeks ago while on lunch, i drove down to this point. Lake effect snows were going through the area and you can see the effect of low clouds mixed with a blue sky with mountains poking through the low clouds. A pretty impressive site, no camera oh well. It's a little spot of country that looks great no matter the season.

Here's a photo by Chris Jordan from an overpass before the entire valley comes into view.

If you have travelled I-88, and specifically through the area I just described..what are your thoughts of it?

Comments

Anonymous said…
I took I-88 from Richmondville to I-90 as part of my daily commute for a few months last year, and have travelled other parts of I-88 quite extensively as well. I do favor I-88 east of Oneonta because of the abundance of hills, particularly the stretch between Worcester and Richmondville.

I-88 going across the Schoharie Creek is majestic, but it can be a pain to ascend the corresponding hills.
Anonymous said…
I must agree that Interstate 88 is a beautiful drive, especially now that I have seen it during the day. Carter Buchanan and I traveled it during this past Summer, and the vistas along the rural freeway are striking as the highway cuts across the Catskills.

However when comparing it to the Rocky Mountains, there are some similarities, but the mountain peaks are so high along Interstate 70 for instance, that you rarely get a wide open view like you do in that photo taken by Chris Jordan. Also many of the mountains in the west are devoid of any trees, especially those toward Grand Junction in western Colorado. A lot of that has to do with the more arid climate that you get out there.
Nice picture of I-88 in New York State. :)

Popular posts from this blog

The 1915-era Teilman Bridge (the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge in California)

The Teilman Bridge is a semi-abandoned structure over Fresno Slough west of Burrell siding near the intersection of Elkhorn Avenue and Elkhorn Grade.  This structure is the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge constructed in California and was designed by Ingvart Teilman.  Teilman's Bridge would open in late 1915 when the Elkhorn Grade was the primary road between Fresno and Coalinga.  The structure would be replaced in 1991 but was left standing as it carries pipelines over Fresno Slough.  Part 1; the history of the Teilman Bridge In the early Twentieth Century the most direct highway between Fresno and Coalinga followed the Elkhorn Grade.  The Elkhorn Grade began at Fresno Slough a short distance west of Burrell siding.  From Fresno Slough the Elkhorn Grade followed a generally southwestern course through San Joaquin Valley into the Kettleman Hills towards Coalinga.   The Elkhorn Grade can be seen on the  1914 C.F. Weber map of Fresno Coun...

The Dummy Lights of New York

  A relic of the early days of motoring, dummy lights were traffic lights  that  were  placed  in the middle of a street intersection. In those early days, traffic shuffled through busy intersections with the help of a police officer who stood on top of a pedestal. As technology improved and electric traffic signals became commonplace, they were also  originally  positioned on a platform at the center of the intersection. Those traffic signals became known as  " dummy lights "  and were common until  traffic lights were moved  onto wires and poles that crossed above the intersection.  In New York State, only a handful of these dummy lights exist. The dummy lights  are found  in the Hudson Valley towns of Beacon and Croton-on-Hudson, plus there is an ongoing tug of war in Canajoharie in the Mohawk Valley, where their dummy light has been knocked down and replaced a few times. The dummy light in Canajoharie is currently...

Prunedale Road (Monterey County)

Prunedale Road is a short 2.6-mile-long frontage corridor of US Route 101 in the namesake Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Prior to 1932 US Route 101 bypassed Prunedale in favor of the San Juan Grade to the east.  Prunedale Road along with nearby Moro Road served as an alternative connecting highway between Salinas and San Juan Bautista.  Following the realignment of US Route 101 onto the Prunedale Cutoff the former through route along Prunedale Road would be rendered as a western frontage.   Part 1; the history of Prunedale Road Prunedale Road is located in and is named after the Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Said community was founded near the junction of San Migeul Canyon, Langley Canyon and Echo Valley.  Watsonville settler Charles Langley (namesake of Langley Canyon) was one of the prominent early community settlers.  The Prunedale Post Office would open for the first time in 1894 but would close by 1908.  Early agricu...