Dennis Dixon is heading West!: US Hwy 20 in Massachusetts

Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020 - Last year I learned that "our highway" US Hwy 20 (that runs through Watertown and Waltham, Weston and Wayland) actually starts in Kenmore Square, runs across the United States of America, and ends at the Pacific Ocean in Newport, Oregon:

Continuous, except for the stretch going through Yellowstone National Park, where the road loses its "20" designation.

Well, being the "road-trip junkie" that I am (or maybe just in my imagination), this looks SO COOL - small towns, a real destination just following a single highway as it unfolds before me, away from the Interstates. Traveling pre-1955.

I followed it on Google Maps, entertained thoughts of branching north along Glacier National Park, and up into the Canadian Rockies, and then back down to rejoin Hwy 20 and continue my drive to the Coast. I let it sit for a month or so (these winter days are the appropriate time for all these thoughts and hopes and dreams - let them percolate and brew, and watch what rises to the surface), and then I went to the library and took out a copy of Blue Highways, a 1982 book by William Least Heat Moon (William Trogdon).

It is the story of a man leaving his home in central Missouri and following only the "Blue Highways", which was how Highways were drawn on pre-Interstate maps. He drives through small towns, eats at roadside diners, and talks with all the people he encounters.

Um, I don't really need that - I talk with enough people already, I like the food I eat and don't need to experiment, and I really can't imagine doing that for 3,000 miles (and however many days it would take).

So I thought that I would just take some random Thursday, start in Kenmore Square, head west on US Hwy 20, and see how far I got (and how enjoyable/painful it was). At 3 PM I would stop, make my way to the Mass Pike and head home.

Well, TODAY is that Thursday. After my breakfast in Boston, I passed the CITGO sign in Kenmore Square at 9AM:

and I was heading west out US Hwy 20:

Um, it took me half-an-hour just to get out to the Post Office in Watertown:

And another 10 minutes to reach Waltham:

Keep following signs for 20:

That last one is a bit of a misnomer - HARTFORD CT is not on US Hwy 20, but this is the way to I-84, which will take you down to Hartford.

It has taken me 1 and 1/2 hours to get out to the Sunoco (coffee stop) just before my intersection with Route 9:

The next hour-and-a-half took me along the south side of the Mass Pike - past I-84 with its road to Hartford:

Past the Super 8 in Old Sturbridge Village:

At least the speed limit gets over 35-miles-per-hour:

and finally past the Very Impressive Post Office in Palmer at 11:45

There sure are a lot of stop lights out here.

You keep heading west/southwest, taking a sharp right in West Springfield at 12:30

30 minutes later, you are OUT IN THE COUNTRY - just about to pass under the Mass Pike, heading into Russell:

It is still winter, out here in Huntington, past Springfield and the Connecticut River:

Passed through Chester at 1:20

Hey - I'm on one of "Massachusetts Scenic Byways"!

I've got Wendy's car because mine is going in the shop tomorrow.

You wind your way around beautiful frozen "Greenwater Pond" - 20 is on its north-side, and the Mass Pike is on its south-side:

I hit the Lenox town-line at 1:48

and downtown Pittsfield at 2 PM:

where 20 takes a sharp left, heading for ALBANY NY.

I crossed the State Line at 2:13

I took a left/south in New Lebanon, NY:

and got to the Mass Pike at 2:30

The whole trip out on US Hwy 20 took 5 hours 19 minutes (158 miles):

The trip back home took 3 hours 7 minutes (172 miles):

Today's spreadsheet:

Thoughts on today's adventure -

1. When I'm out on the road, I usually want to get from point A to point B. I know that a big part of the journey is appreciating the travel itself, but when all is said and done, I like getting to where I am going.

2. I appreciate "Local Roads" when they are part of my journey - let's just not make the whole adventure about "Local roads".

3. I like to think that I "pad" my itinerary a little, so that when I come across a sign for "Scenic View", I can take a few minutes and check it out. I think one problem with last August's trip was that I kind-of had my driving nailed down to the minute. But then again, that trip wasn't about the drive - it was about hiking in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.

I'm very glad I did today, but I don't need to repeat it. Thank You God for a Great little adventure!!

Audio today:

On my morning drive into Boston, I listened to my favorite jazz cd (these days) - Miles Davis - The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965, released 1995 [an eight-CD set]:

My favorite right now is the 4th cd: December 22, 1965 — third set (69:19)

The naming convention for the cds is a little weird (like Miles gets later in the decade) - cd 1 is "disc 1", but cds 2 and 3 are "disc 2-a" and "disc 2-b", respectively. Which is why this cd [the fourth cd] is titled "disc 3".

When I started on US Hwy 20 it was time for some live Bob Marley:
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Easy Skanking In Boston '78, recorded live in Boston 1978:

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - 2012/09/22 East Rutherford, NJ, this was on his 62nd birthday:

EXCELLENT versions of "We Take Care of Our Own" and "My City of Ruins". 34 songs in all.

the Eagles - Eagles Live, double live album, released 1980: