Great Lakes Road Trip Day 12; to Hell and back

I didn't have much to do on the 28th given that all had done well with the loop of the Great Lakes and knocking out two additional National Parks. That being the case I decided to go to Hell which was pretty might right around the corner on County Route D32, you might say it is a "highway to Hell."

Of course the Hell I'm referring to is Hell, Michigan. Hell is located in Livingston County a couple miles southwest of Pinckney to be exact. The community traces it's origins back to a saw mill that operated on Hell Creek in 1841. Supposedly the name "Hell" according to local lore was either what German immigrants referred to the location as or it was called as such due to the swath of mosquitos that early saw mill operators had to deal with.

Really Hell is nothing but a collection of themed buildings designed to capture the interest of bikers and passerby's like me who are bored. The only other community called "Hell" that I'm aware of in the United States was in California along US 60/70 in the Sonoran Desert. The Californian Hell was razed during the building of Interstate 10 and about as close as you can get to the site is Chuckwalla Valley Road.

Incidentally the movie Santa's Slay was set in what was called "Hell Township." Really they don't depict the rural nature of the real Hell, Michigan accurately but it still is one of my favorite holiday themed slasher movies.

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The Vague Original Southern Terminus of US Route 91 in the Californian Mojave Desert

One of the more intriguing mysteries of the early US Route System in California is where the original south terminus of US Route 91 was intended to be located in the Mojave Desert. This blog is a little different than my usual behind the wheel fare and explores why US Route 91 ultimately ended at US Route 66 in Daggett instead of Bannock. What ultimately became the US Route System was first discussed during the American Association of State Highway Officials ("AASHO") during their annual 1924 meeting. Ultimately the AASHO recommended to the Department of Agriculture to work with the States to develop a system of Interstate Highways to replace the many Auto Trails in use. The Joint Board on Interstate Highways was ultimately commissioned by the Department of Agriculture and it's branch agency the Bureau of Public Roads in March of 1925. The Joint Board on Interstate Highways first met in April of 1925 and decided on the new interstate road network would be known a

Where the hell is Hill Valley? (US Route 8 south/US Route 395 east)

Recently I made a visit to Universal Studios near Los Angeles. While on the back lot tour I came across a piece of infamous movie-borne fictional highway infamy; the location of town square of Hill Valley, California on US Route 8/US Route 395. The above photo is part of the intro scene to the first Back-to-the-Future movie which was set in 1985. To anyone who follows roadways the signage error of US 8 meeting US 395 in California is an immediately notable error. For one; US 8 doesn't even exist anywhere near California with present alignment being signed as an east/west highway between Norway, Michigan and Forest Lake, Minnesota. To make matters worse US 8 is signed as a southbound route and US 395 (a north/south highway) is signed as an eastbound route. At minimum the cut-out US 8 and US 395 shields somewhat resemble what Caltrans used in the 1980s. Assuming Hill Valley is located on what would have been US 395 by 1985 what locales would be a viable real world analog?

Legend of the Ridge Route; a history of crossing the mountains between the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley from wagon trails to Interstates

Over the past two decades I've crossed the Interstate 5 corridor from Los Angeles north over the Sierra Pelona Mountains and Tehachapi Range to San Joaquin Valley what seems to be an immeasurable number of times. While Interstate 5 from Castaic Junction to Grapevine via Tejon Pass today is known to most as "The Grapevine" it occupies a corridor which has been traversed by numerous historic highways. The most notable of these highways is known as the "Ridge Route." This article is dedicated to the Ridge Route and the various highways that preceded it. The Ridge Route is a 44 mile section of highway which was completed in 1915. The Ridge Route originally stretched from Castaic Junction north over Liebre Summit and Tejon Pass to the tiny community of Grapevine. In spite of a roadway that once utilized nearly 700 curves the Ridge Route is generally considered far ahead of it's time and one of the first modern highways constructed for automotive use.

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