Skip to main content

Great Lakes Road Trip Day 1 Part 2; San Francisco to Detroit

Eventually after sitting at the airport in San Francisco for a good solid three and half hours I did get underway towards Detroit.






At first I thought the flight path was going to head directly over CA 108 via Sonora Pass given that I could see the city of Sonora below in the Sierra Foothills.  Sonora is the location of CA 108 and CA 49:




Instead the flight path basically took a direct shot east via Yosemite National Park and the Tioga Pass Road:






Before exiting California Nevada the flight took a pass over Mono Lake which is traversed on three sides by; US 395, CA 167, and CA 120:




My flight path followed US 6 through the state of Nevada which meant passing some notable features like the White Mountain Range just over the state line and the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project near Tonopah:





Entering Utah the flight path followed mostly I-70 which allowed decent views of three National Parks starting with Capitol Reef and the Water Pocket Ford:


The Canyonlands via the Green River:





Along with Arches with US 191 seen traversing the Moab Fault:





Unfortunately there was heavy cloud cover over the Rockies and in particular the Front Range which prevented much from being seen that was noteworthy.  Really there wasn't much worth looking at out the window until downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan:





My destination was at Metro Airport in the old terminal building which has had a surprisingly nice remodel since I've visited last.  I saw the traffic was bad on I-96 and I-275 so I decided to try US 23 to Brighton instead.  US 23 was actually undergoing heavy construction due to a lane expansion project from Ann Arbor to I-96.  The US 23 freeway was way busier than I remember it but it has probably been at least 2001 since I've used it to go through Ann Arbor.












Comments

Nick said…
To clarify, you didn't fly into a remodeled terminal in Detroit; it was the new North Terminal that was built in 2008 (assuming you flew on a non-Delta flight). The old terminals (Smith, Berry, and Davey) are no longer used for passengers. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Metropolitan_Airport#North_Terminal

Popular posts from this blog

North Carolina Continues to Move Forward with Rail

2023 and the first half of 2024 have seen continued growth in North Carolina's passenger rail system.  From increased daily trains from Raleigh to Charlotte, federal funds for studying additional corridors, and receiving a historic grant to begin the construction of high-speed rail between Raleigh and Richmond, the last 18 months have been a flurry of activity at NCDOT's Rail Division.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg. As ridership and routes increase - the engine of North Carolina passenger rail trains will become a more common sight. (Adam Prince) Increased Passenger Train Service: On July 10, 2023, a fourth Piedmont round-trip rail service between Raleigh and Charlotte commenced.  The four Piedmont trains plus the daily Carolinian (to Washington, DC, and New York) bring the total of trains serving the two cities daily to five. The current daily Piedmont and Carolinian schedule between Charlotte and Raleigh (NCDOT) The result was over 641,000 passengers utilized pa

The Midway Palm and Pine of US Route 99

Along modern day California State Route 99 south of Avenue 11 just outside the City limits of Madera one can find the Midway Palm and Pine in the center median of the freeway.  The Midway Palm and Pine denotes the halfway point between the Mexican Border and Oregon State Line on what was US Route 99.  The Midway Palm is intended to represent Southern California whereas the Midway Pine is intended to represent Northern California.  Pictured above the Midway Palm and Pine can be seen from the northbound lanes of the California State Route 99 Freeway.   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 history of the Midway Palm and Pine The true timeframe for when the Midway Palm and Pine (originally a Deadora Cedar Tree) were planted is unknown.  In fact, the origin of the Midway Palm and Pine w

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