TALLAHASSEE FL trip
Dec. 29 2012-Jan. 1 2013
PART 1
I went on a jaunt to Tallahassee, compiling this 4-part photo shoot covering 6 states (some only minimally). Nothing major was sighted, but Scholarin' diehards should ogle 'em nonetheless...
This set's only Kentucky photo is this twilight-shrouded view of the rail bridge over I-75 south of Walton. This isn't a great view, but you can see the snow-coated surroundings. The span predated I-75 as it crossed McCoys Fork Creek.
I-75/640 bypasses Knoxville, Tenn., on the northwest. This sign that tallies the state's highway deaths risks boosting this statistic by being such a distraction.
On a ramp from I-75 to US 321 in Lenoir City, Tenn. The SUV in front of us has a New Jersey temporary plate that was expired for 4 months. I bet Tennessee just loves it when people from New Jersey come to their state driving gas-guzzling SUV's with expired tags.
US 321 here in Lenoir City also carries TN 73 and 95. Does anybody else think the guy on the fireworks sign looks like Boss Hogg or the trigger-happy oilman on The Simpsons?
I-285 is a 64-mile complete loop around Atlanta. It's also the "secret" GA 407, and reportedly opened in 1969. What's striking here is that traffic for Atlanta's huge main airport is split between international and domestic.
I-185 is a spur from I-85 to Columbus, Ga. Notice the distinctive trees on the hill in the background. I-185 is also the "secret" GA 411, and there have actually been proposals to extend it to I-10 near Tallahassee.
It's my beloved Big Two-Seven! That's right, my little woocap, it is, it is, it is! Aren't you excited?! This is southwest on US 27/GA 1 in Columbus as it uses Veterans Parkway.
A view of downtown Columbus. Columbus is the hometown of musician Robert Cray and far-right Texas senator Phil Gramm. The cityscape is partly blocked by the preachy billboard placed by the Knights of Columbus at right.
Driving through downtown Columbus.
West on 13th. Up ahead is the bridge that crosses the Chattahoochee River to Phenix City, Ala. - where it remains 13th.
West on 13th in Phenix City. Phenix City is actually in a different time zone from Columbus despite being directly across the river. Phenix City was once known for vice. It was also the childhood home of country singer Freddie Hart ("Bees in the mailbox...Got stung again...").
Looking north from the 13th Street bridge between Columbus and Phenix City. You can faintly see some sort of structures over another bridge. That's probably the 14th Street bridge - which was built in 1921 and is now a pedestrian and bicycling bridge.
Driving about Phenix City. Aren't you getting tired of seeing those spy cams menacing us from the traffic light arms? Every time we see one staring down at us, it's like it's laughing in our faces.
East on the near-freeway US 280 in Phenix City. It has an exit to Gen. Colin L. Powell Parkway. (The former Secretary of State is from New York.)
US 27/280 is also GA 1/520 as we enter Fort Benning Military Reservation, which is partly in Columbus. The road is known as Victory Drive. This is at the junction with I-185, which ends here and becomes an unnumbered freeway into the military base. What's interesting here are the columns along the road.
US 27/280 at the exit to Custer Road in Fort Benning. It's weird how the ramp on the left is elevated. Even weirder is the closed ramp at right.
Of interest here is the road on the right, which is alternately known as Old Cusseta Highway or Columbus-Cusseta Road. It was very likely the old US 27/280. It looked as if it may now be inaccessible to civilians.
Continuing on US 27/280 in Fort Benning. Notice the row of trees on the left that seem to be cut vertically in half.
Fort Benning overlaps into Chattahoochee County, which consolidated with the town of Cusseta in 2003. This is about where we leave the base. This sign looks like a Lite-Brite without the hanging chads! (Somebody on the Internet claims that once, as a child, they got their Lite-Brite taken away for loudly passing gas at the dinner table.)
Did you know this trip took us to Florida? Sure! Sure you did! In this nighttime video, we take US 27 as it enters the Sunshine State. We enter Gadsden County - the only county in Florida that Michael Dukakis carried in the 1988 presidential election. I mention McCraville, Ga., but that's a road name, not a town name. Also, I missed Grady County, Ga., by only a few feet.
Finally, we're in Tallahassee - Florida's capital city. In the 1960s, Tallahassee was known for a mayor who participated in a bubble gum blowing contest with Miss Florida. This is heading into downtown on Monroe Street - US 27 still!
Downtown Tallahassee! By this time, we've picked up FL 61.
Still on Monroe Street!