Mount Hood from the air

On the way home from Washington State my flight path took me directly over Mount Hood in northern Oregon.

Mount Hood is a Stratovolcano of the Cascade Range and the tallest mountain in Oregon at an elevation of 11,249 feet above sea level. Mount Hood is located approximately 50 miles east of Portland and is considered to be one of the most likely mountains in the Cascade Range to erupt. Much like other high peaks in the Cascade Range Mount Hood is covered by glaciers with Eliot Glacier being the largest.

The Mount Hood Scenic Byway is largely on the southern slopes of the mountain. The Byway Route largely follows US Route 26 and Oregon State Route 35. A PDF of the Mount Hood Scenic Byway can be found here.

Mount Hood Scenic Byway PDF

Comments

Interstate 5; the West Side Freeway

The past four years I've frequently driven the entirety of Interstate 5 in San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento Valley. I-5 from Wheeler Ridge north to a segment near of Woodland is known as the "West Side Freeway."

The West Side Freeway segment of I-5 refers to an approximately 330 mile portion of the highway from the split with CA 99 at Wheeler Ridge north to the convergence with I-505 near Woodland.

Part 1; the history of the West Side Freeway and the split of I-5W/I-5E

In the 1947 Interstate plan I-5 was to be routed up US 99 where it would have split into I-5W and I-5E in Modesto. I-5W was to planned to use the following current state highways:

- Modern CA 132 west to I-580.
- Modern I-580 west to I-80.
- Modern I-80 east to I-505.
- Modern I-505 to I-5.

As the second Interstate System was being drafted the path of I-5 was shifted to the western part of San Joaquin Valley which was planned as Legislative Route 238. I-5W was planned to split from I-5 at the p…

Old Stage Road; the "real" El Camino Real and predecessor route to US Route 101 on the San Juan Grade

This past month I stopped in San Juan Bautista to hike the Juan Bautista De Anza Trail on the closed Old Stage Road. Old Stage Road as part of the Spanish El Camino Real to cross the Gabilan Range between San Juan Bautista and Salinas Valley.

Part 1; the history of El Camino Real and Old Stage Road

The Gabilan Range between what is now San Juan Bautista and Salinas Valley was first explored during the second Juan Bautista De Anza Expedition of Las Californias. While the De Anza expedition likely crossed very close to the present alignment of Old Stage Route their exact path isn't clear. Juan Bautista De Anza noted the following in his journal while passing near present day San Juan Bautista on March 24, 1776:

"In the valley we saw many antelopes and white grey geese. In the same valley we found an arroyo...and then came to a village in which I counted about twenty tule huts. But the only two people we saw were two Indians who came out to the road and presented us with thr…

Abandoned Interstate 95 - Newburyport, Massachusetts

What is now a popular recreational trail in the northeastern Massachusetts city of Newburyport was once a northbound alignment of Interstate 95, and before that, part of a relocated US 1. A trip down this 1.1 mile long abandoned section of highway shows a road that was left mostly intact, complete with the original pavement, curb cuts and pavement markings. But there is a story about how this highway became a trail...

Originally conceived to be part of a relocated US 1, the stretch of road that is now the abandoned section of I-95 in Newburyport was part of a highway that was constructed between 1951 and 1954 from modern day US 1 in Danvers, Massachusetts and ended just south of the state border between Massachusetts and New Hampshire in Salisbury, Massachusetts. The highway was originally constructed with three 12-foot wide lanes in each direction, although the rightmost lane eventually became a hard shoulder for the road. The highway was not Relocated US 1 for long, as it became I…

Gribblenation

Search This Blog