MICHIGAN, LATE AUGUST

Year after year, I’m surprised at how early autumn begins.

If you can avoid the Labor Day mayhem on the roads, think about a two-lane trip soon. I'm recently back from a two-lane route of about 150 of the 200 miles from western Michigan to the Detroit suburbs,


and every leg of the 150 was a barge of relief from contemporary hustle, crowding, and obnoxious drivers. The patches of forest and the endless, rolling farm country were magnificent, though I worried about the dessicated corn crop in central Michigan, as if I knew what I was looking at.


Then came the last leg, into the suburbs--a re-immersion, a dunking, in suburban hellfire. Do people honestly think they’re so important that they need to, deserve to, rush like that--to crowd me like that? Who’s going to care if they take an extra five minutes or an hour? Maybe the boss, of course, but I wonder.

Are there any good songs about the joys of the freeway? Did the Wabash Cannonball need eight lanes? Is anybody crowding her? Here’s an oldie I used to worship, maybe still do. It’s about the journey. You can get the destinations on TV.

YouTube - Ian and Sylvia - Four Strong Winds (CBC TV 1986)

Well, if anybody wants some recommendations for routes in southern Indiana, central Ontario, or western Michigan, give me a buzz. I’ve lucked into some this summer. And yes, I planned well, if I say so myself.


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Two-Lane Roads

Soon enough, spring will feel real, even in the upper Midwest. Can you recommend any two-lane scenic routes in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania?

Here's one from me, a day's pleasure drive: in southeastern Ohio, take Rt. 78 from Woodsfield to to Glouster. I'd say take your time, but the road will insist upon that. As a footnote, how many are aware that parts of southeastern Ohio are included in Appalachia?

Consider staying at Burr Oaks State Park near Glouster or one of the other state park lodges (which are also present in Indiana and Kentucky). They are no longer a secret, but if you haven't tried one, you might consider it. They're a welcome change from chain motels on the interstates or pricier places in more glamorous resort areas. You're not as isolated as you could be if you backpacked, but you can find peace and quiet within a few steps of the lodges or cabins. Rooms and restaurants in the lodges tend to be at least average, compared to chains like Comfort Inns or Holiday Inns, though you'll pay a little extra for the scenery at the state parks.

I don't know how these spots fare financially, but they seem well-attended. So I've long wondered why Michigan and Pennsylvania don't create them. I've recently noticed that Georgia has a few, but I haven't tried them yet.