ALABAMA trip
Feb. 26-27 2011
PART 1
I went to Alabama with the Eyewitness Cam on my knee! Fact-finding mission #63 yielded almost 70 photos, and you're gonna peep 'em all!
West on the always congested I-40/75 that runs west from Knoxville, Tenn. Those appear to be just suburban office buildings up ahead.
I-75 crosses the Tennessee River near Loudon, Tenn.
I-75 near Ooltewah, Tenn. Ooltewah was the county seat of the now-defunct James County, which went bankrupt in 1919 and was absorbed by Chattanooga's Hamilton County. This may be where I-75 carries US 11/64, though the road on the right is probably not the old US 11/64.
I-75 in Chattanooga. Here this road is preparing to sprout I-24, which in turn births I-59.
I-24 in Chattanooga. The overpasses up ahead are Seminole Drive and Crest Road.
I-24 rounds the curve through the ridge here.
It's...Chattanooga!
I-24 experiences another tight curve near 4th Avenue.
A view of east central Chattanooga.
And another! This is just outside downtown.
I-24 picks up the Tennessee River in Chattanooga.
You can see I-24 following the river.
Georgia was on my mind, but it's a shame Nathan Deal was on theirs. This is I-24 entering Georgia. This freeway dips into Georgia only briefly before reentering Tennessee. It's in Georgia where I-24 finally coughs up I-59.
I-59 entering Alabama. While Georgia had to deal with Nathan Deal, Alabama was getting bent out of shape over Robert Bentley. See, we didn't have it so bad in Kentucky.
AL 211 near Gadsden, Ala.
Downtown Gadsden!
Celebrity look-alike time! The man on this billboard in Gadsden may be some local luminary, but you know who he looks like? That's right, folks! Put some sideburns on him and he looks like the Gum Fighter from the old Hubba Bubba commercials! (He even has the hat!) When you get closer to the billboard, you notice he also looks like another famous bubble gum devotee: Pete Rose!
Southeast on US 278/431 (Meighan Boulevard) in Gadsden. The rather old BGS's show there's a ramp to US 411. Up ahead, US 278/431 crosses the Coosa River.
A view of the Coosa River showing several bridges. The road along the river is US 411. (You can also see the ramp to it.) The bridge with the framework is for rail. The viaduct-like span behind that carries Broad Street and has become sort of a symbol for the city of Gadsden.
South on US 431 approaching Anniston, Ala. The mountain up ahead might be Cheaha Mountain, the highest point in the state. Cheaha Mountain is the home of Bunker Tower (not Bunker Blast Tower, just Bunker Tower).
South on US 431/AL 21 in Anniston, near where the town of Blue Mountain was disbanded in 2003.
Continuing on US 431/AL 21 past the world's most kick-butt McDonald's sign.