Season's Greetings and what a great 2019 it's been!

Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, Season's Greetings, Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day, Joyous Kwanzaa, Happy New Year and a Festivus for the rest of us! Whichever holidays you decide to celebrate, or not celebrate, we here at Gribblenation want to wish you and yours the best and happiest holiday possible, whether you are hitting the road or staying at home.

We also want to thank our fans and readers of Gribblenation, which now total over 1000 likes on Facebook alone. Thank you for your continued support of our blog, our Facebook page and our Instagram account. It has been a great 2019, with such things like the addition of our account on Instagram, being picked up by the San Juan Bautista Historical Society for a feature on Rocks Road/Old Legislative Route 22, articles for Old CA 120/140 Yosemite Entrance Road, the battle to build the I-95 bypass through Fayetteville, North Carolina, and going back to the future with “Where the Hell is Hill Valley US 8/US 395”.

What's on tap for 2020, you may ask? We have some material from Mexico, British Columbia and Alaska coming down the pike, along with more great features from all over the map. There will also be a recurring themed article or post on the 20th of each month for a highway with the number 20 in order to celebrate the year 2020. This could be for US 20, Autoroute 20 in Quebec, or any other highway with the number 20 anywhere. Plus there will be some other surprises along the way.

Once again, season's greetings to all!

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2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley. To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker. Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa. The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language. The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246. CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County. CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward. South of CA 127 ...

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...

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