Road Trip 2026 - First leg reflections

The first leg of the journey is complete. While I did not travel exclusively along US-11, I did drive some extended portions of that route. As a reliable source for popular culture, Wikipedia has an excellent article on the highway, with links to specific descriptions of each state's section.

Wikipedia article 

Here are some of my observations based on a data set of one, and a journey of approximately 1,700 miles -- so far.

Roads 

Because these highways go from community to community, they do not always take the shortest route, and as a result mean that the travel takes longer. This is the way we (as a nation) navigated around the country after the development of the automobile and prior to the construction and completion of the Interstate highway system which so many of us take for granted.

Traveling these routes have some important reminders:

• There is still a great deal of rural America where it is more than a 5 - 10 minute drive to the nearest commercial establishment.
• There is still a great deal of agriculture going on -- even in places where you do not expect to see it. The agriculture will vary with region. (I started in the warm South where cotton and sugar cane are grown, and ended in the north of corn, soybeans, and other vegetables.

The roads themselves are not monolithic. There are a variety of styles/structures:

• Two-lane (double yellow line), small shoulder, often curving highways through agricultural and forest areas;
• Four-lane with median, often through agricultural areas, and connecting larger communities;
• Four-lane limited access highways, these can be with limited cross-traffic and with no cross-traffic; 
• Four-lane, double yellow line roads often through spread out commercial areas, the edge of an urban area;
• Two-lane roads through a community, often with housing and commercial establishments on the side of the road, and often with parking (usually parallel) along the road; normally these also have sidewalks.

Any given highway can shift from one style to another in a very short distance - and with corresponding changes in speed limits.

Institutional Names 

In each of our communities there are institutions whose names are family and symbolize certain attributes or products. One thing I noted was the changes over the geography. Some national brands were not geographically dependent. For example, Target and Walmart in the store category, MacDonald's and Burger King in the fast food area. In the South, Waffle House is a familiar and reliable site while Dunkin' is spread across the north. (They are both favorites of mine, and unfortunately for me there seems to be only a small sliver of geography which has both.) Gas stations are an interesting arena. There are the national brands (Exxon/Mobil, Shell) and then there are others which seem to be large but regional in nature (RaceTrac is a Southern one which comes to mind). Banks are a different anomaly. While there are some which claim to be national in service and scope, there are parts of the country where any given bank can be under- or un-represented. There seem to be many local and some regional banking systems. I suspect that this is an area of flux.

Hotels, generally the major chains are reasonably well-represented along the Interstates, and less so in the smaller communities. Areas that have longstanding travel destinations also seem to have fewer national chains and more local establishments.

Personal reflection 

Driving the "old roads" takes longer. Between the lower speed limits, and the drop in speed limit for more heavily developed areas, and the longer distances, it simply takes longer. It can be a wonderful view and a great opportunity, but when time is of the essence, the Interstate is the way to go.

 

I also noted that my fuel efficiency was better on the "old road." I was regularly getting 30-31 mpg when traveling exclusively on the US highway, and 27-29 mpg on the Interstate. I wondered why...but I think I know. Back in the days of the first gas shortage (late 1970s) speed limits were dropped to "force us" to improve our fuel efficiency. It seems that automobiles are engineered for maximum efficiency at a certain speed, and that speed is less than what I drive at on the Interstate. [Again, please remember that this is a data set = 1 ... and technically is an anecdote, and not even "anecdata"!]

 

I have greatly enjoyed this part of my journey ... I recently picked up a brochure on the Great River Road, which I am committed to drive all or part of over the next year or two!