The Lincoln Highway

It's Thursday night...  July 12th

We are in Shawnee State Park in Pennsylvania.

Our drive from our last stop in Indiana was 485 miles and took 

about 9 hours with stops.

Shawnee is a very pretty campground...  I wish we had more time to spend here

The change from the pine forests of the west to the lush deciduous forest here in

the east is a bit of a culture shock when it happens so fast.

Our ride today took us down about 30 miles of the Old Lincoln Highway.

The lincoln highway was the first coast to coast highway.

It was a patchwork of trails and roads and was created in a time when

 some people believed that it was not the job

of government to build highways....   sound familiar?

On Sept 1 1928, Boy Scouts from across the country placed 3,000

stone markers... Custom designed cast concrete with a bronze head of Lincoln,

 the highway logo, and a blue directional arrow one every mile.... 

to mark the entire length of the Lincoln Hwy.

9 years before the Boy Scouts marked the road,

in 1919, a caravan of Army Vehicles struggled to cross 

the US from coast to coast as a demonstration of military preparedness.

It took them about 2 months with many mishaps along the way.

Their struggles were widely publicized and helped shape public opinion

that good roads were needed.

Ironically, a young officer in this 1919 caravan had the opportunity 20+ years later

 during World War II to see the German Autobahns first hand.

Upon his return to the US after the war, using the Autobahns as his inspiration,

 he was able to create and sign the Interstate & Defense Act of 1956 

that created our Interstate Highway System.

That young officer was Dwight Eisenhower.

Today the Lincoln Highway, like route 66 -  is just a memory.

There are some reminders however...

If you travel the side roads of America they are waiting for your discovery.

The Lincoln Highway...

Not Forgotten.