Road Trip! Time To Hit The Road! Let’s Rock & Roll! Part I

The historic "Ced-Rel Motel" sign on the Lincoln Highway in Iowa.  The
The Ced-Rel opened in the early 1900s as a supper club.  The restaurant and
motel are still open for business. All images in this post, with the exception
of the weather screenshot, were made with a Nikon Z8.
(click any image to enlarge)

It’s time for me to hit the road!  My road trip to Montana to meet with two other photographers is now underway.  My plan is to take my time, make the 2500 mile westbound trip out to Montana in six leisurely days and with the exception of Day 1 (600 miles to Dayton, OH), and drive no more than five or six hours per day.  That will leave time to photograph along the way in places I plan to pass as well as things I may discover.  

My Honda Pilot is packed.  I have all the photo and safety gear I think I’ll need (and more!).  So let’s go!  If you want to read about which gear I am taking and why, see my post here.

Day 1 took me to Dayton, Ohio from my home in southeastern Virginia.  Six hundred miles.  Traffic was surprisingly light and the West Virginia mountains were beautiful as usual.  Since this was my longest day, purposefully to give me a psychological boost of getting far away from home quickly, I wanted that separation and feeling of progress.  I didn’t plan on stopping or photographing on Day 1 unless I saw something interesting.  I arrived in Dayton to severe thunderstorm warnings!  Is that an omen?  I hope not.  Indeed, there was a severe thunderstorm in Dayton that evening  but it was followed by a beautiful blue, red, orange and pink sky.

I've been a fan of railroads since a child.  My friends and I
would 'hop' trains home from school! Yikes!

Day 2 took me west on I-70.  It was the worst interstate highway I think on which I’ve traveled when it comes to road surface and potholes that I can remember.  

Luckily, I was into Indiana quite quickly, but then another unusual issue was encountered.  Traffic slowed and started to rapidly back up.  What had happened?  Traffic slowed to between 35-45mph for miles.  Finally, being close enough to see ahead at a sweeping curve, four Indiana State Troopers were escorting a very wide load.  They had both lanes blocked.  This went on for at least 10-15 miles, then the troopers and load all moved into the left lane and we were able to pass.  Why didn’t they do that earlier as traffic must have been backed up 10 miles.  Go figure?  I think the load must have been nuclear in nature or Defense Department related to have four troopers escort it as well as block both lanes for that extended period of time.  Just my speculation.

Later in the day, I made a planned stop in Galesburg, Illinois for some railroad photography.  You all know that I’ve loved railroads since my childhood.  Galesburg hosts several Amtrak trains each day as well as both the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific Railroads.  I didn’t get to see and photograph any Amtrak trains (bad timing) but I did photograph a couple of BNSF freight trains.  A nice break from the highway.  Galesburg seems like a place I’d like to revisit in the future.

Peck Park in Galesburg, IL

My day ended as I crossed the Mississippi River in Davenport, IA and checked into a Hampton Inn.  Nice day, easy drive.  Good day.

My location is the blue dot. This is what I found when I awakened
on Day 3.  The weather forecasters kept referring to the bulge and
how that was a predictor of extreme danger!  Are you kidding me?

Day three had me waking up in Davenport to loud sirens and tornado warnings!  Not a watch but warning!  Are you kidding me?  That immediately gets your attention.  The Weather Channel showed a huge bulging weather front approaching from the west with ping pong ball sized hail possible.  I quickly dressed and went downstairs and asked the person at the front desk as to where we go for safety.  The kitchen.  Additionally, I walked outside to  40-50mph winds.  I decided pull my vehicle underneath the canopy in front of the entrance.  I didn’t want a destroyed SUV with broken windows.  I still had a long way to drive.  I have to admit, my police emergency response/safety instincts as well as being very nervous about it, kicked in.  After the worst of it passed, I left the hotel and headed north to pick up the Lincoln Highway, U.S. Route 30.  In a similar manner to my previous Route 66 trips, I wanted to see what Americana I could find and photograph on that historic highway.

The kids remained ominous for hours even though the worst of the storm passed.  I wouldn’t see sunshine until that afternoon.

The historic Ced-Rel Motel just west of Cedar Rapids, IA.  Still operating on this very stormy day.
I made this photo just after the tornados passed to the east, which is the direction you are viewing.

As it turned out, the Lincoln Highway was my biggest disappointment on the trip.  It is now almost all a divided highway with a wide grassy median.  Almost all of the towns are off the new highway.  There were very few cues as to which little towns that are now bypassed have anything worth photographing.  I drove though a few and saw nothing reminiscent of the old cross-country road.  Additionally, it rained until almost 1 in the afternoon which complicated photography.  I did manage to find a couple of subjects, the historic Ced-Rel Motel & Supper Club and the old early 20th century cement Lincoln Highway Bridge in Tampa, Iowa. Unfortunately, the bridge had been damaged in a flood and was surrounded by construction barrels and yellow tape.  Oh well.  I made a few record shots anyway.

This is the old 1905 Lincoln Highway Bridge in Tama, Iowa.  Unfortunately, it had been damaged
and was inaccessible as well as really not conducive to photography.  It happens.

As you can see, the name of the road is molded right into the bridge railings.  Very cool!

Along the Lincoln Highway, looking for a place to eat lunch, I ventured into Marshalltown, Iowa.
Very neat 'throwback' of a town.  It reminded me of my youth.  Also, it seems to be thriving.

I couldn't help but make an exposure or two of the Orpheum Theater.

I finished the day in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  The day started of very stormy but as I drove west, it turned out to be pleasant.  Again, light traffic and an easy drive.  I'll note here that I thought I would tire easily driving day after day for those long periods of time.  But I didn't.  I surmise that it was because I was on an adventure looking for everything I could find that was interesting.  That held my attention.

Day four started early.  In fact, each day I was getting up earlier and earlier as well as going to bed earlier.  Two reasons.  First, I was moving from Eastern Standard Time to Mountain Standard Time and second, as I anticipated when reaching Yellowstone and the Tetons I would be arising at 4:30-5:00 a.m.  If you want to photograph large grizzly bears, etc., you need to get out to where they are very early.  After all, these animals are crepuscular. (look it up).  

The speed limit on the interstate highways in  South Dakota (and in Wyoming and Montana, for that matter) is 80mph.  I don’t need to drive 80mph.  So, I settled back and drove between 72-75mph.  Fast enough, especially when not out in a hurry.  The scenery, as you would expect, is totally different from the East Coast.  A nice change.

In South Dakota I was kicked back, relaxed, just cruising along I-90 when I spotted a small wooden church sitting by itself in the middle of the prairie!  At first I just found it interesting but then I thought, “I’ve got to photograph that church!”  At that moment there was an exit off the interstate and I took it.  When I roamed the area, I couldn’t find the church.  How could that be?  As I headed back toward I-90, a bit disappointed, I saw a tourist attraction which turned out to be a conglomeration of 19th century buildings that had been brought together in what the proprietor called “1880 South Dakota Town.”  Not a re-creation but actual old 19th century buildings brought together to show us what a late 1800s South Dakota town would have been like.  I spent over an hour photographing there.  Stay tuned.  I’ll show you those image in my next post.

The most remarkable aspect of the trip so far is how light traffic has been each day.  Maybe I’m just lucky but I’ll take it.

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

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