Skip to main content

A Southeastern North Carolina Run

Ok, So I have been lazy the past few weeks...but hey. Two weekends ago, I took a roadtrip with Joe Babyak around Southeastern NC. I picked up a few new miles on highways and also crossed the Cape Fear via the Fort Fisher/Southport Ferry for the first time.

The Trip route: River Road in Wilmington, US 421, NC 211, I-95, NC 20, NC 87, NC 11, NC 53,US 117, NC 210, I-40.

The entire Flickr set with over 154 photos is here.

Now some have commented that I don't take sign photos anymore. So lets get this out of the way first.

It's the national southern end of US 421 at Fort Fisher State Park. That sure is a long way from Michigan City, Indiana isn't it.

The Fort Fisher/Southport ferry is a nice trip over the Cape Fear. The southern most route of the NC Ferry System, the cost to cross is $5 for most vehicles. The ride is certainly not uneventful as on many days you will pass numerous sailboats, pleasure craft, and freighters along the Cape Fear.


Near the Southport landing is an abandoned lighthouse.

This is the former Price's Creek Front Range Light. It was in operation from 1849 to the Civil War; however, it's been dark ever since.

Next up, was a stop at Southport. Southport is a great coastal town and boasts to being the home of the North Carolina July 4th Festival.




Also from Southport a few unique signs:

It's kinda hard to see this NC 211 shield from the road...and

how's that for a street name.

The next stop was the abandoned Super 6 Gas Station and Food Mart in Bolton. You may have seen a feature about this store in Carolina Lost.



NC 211 is a Scenic Byway and early November the fields are lined with cotton.



At NC 410's East End at NC 87 in Dublin, it appears that folks from Michigan installed the sign.

Finally, we stopped at a small Pender County town of Atkinson. Just off of NC 11/53 is the former Atkinson High School, and with a late afternoon setting sun, it made for some great photos.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D

Patterson Pass Road

Recently on a day trip to the San Francisco Bay Area I traversed the Diablo Range eastbound via Patterson Pass Road. Patterson Pass Road is an approximately 13 mile roadway which starts at Mines Road in Livermore of Alameda County.  Patterson Pass Road eastward ascends over the approximately 1,600 foot namesake Patterson Pass into San Joaquin County where it ends at Interstate 580 near Tracy.  Patterson Pass Road has an infamous reputation as being a dangerous roadway due to the lengthy one-lane section and heavy rush-hour commute traffic. Patterson Pass is one of the earliest documented European paths of travel over the Diablo Range as it was explored during the 1775-1776 Spanish Expedition led by Juan Bautista de Anza.  The 1775-1776 Spanish expedition charted out much of San Francisco Bay which led to the founding of the Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asis.  Patterson Pass Road between Cross Road east to Midway Road is part of the Juan Bautista de Anza

Highways in and around Old Sacramento; US 40, US 99W, CA 16, CA 24, CA 70, CA 99, CA 275, and more

This past weekend I was visiting the City of Sacramento for a wedding.  That being the case I decided to head out on a morning run through Old Sacramento, Jibboom Street Bridge, I Street Bridge, Tower Bridge, and path of US Route 40/US Route 99W towards the California State Capitol.  My goal was to retrace the paths of the various highways that once traversed the Old Sacramento area. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page The old highway alignments of Sacramento The City of Sacramento lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and American River in Sacramento Valley.  Sacramento Valley was discovered by Spanish Explorer Gabriel Moraga in 1808.  Moraga referred to the fertile Sacramento Valley akin to a "Blessed Sacrament."  By 1839 John Sutter Sr. settled in Mexican held