A Few More Denver Road Shots

An odd mile marker, but at least it has the correct shields

A few posts down, I showed a mile marker on Interstate Highway 76 that incorrectly bears a U.S. 76 shield. I see my buddy, R-Dub thought the mistake was worthy of his road geek blog as well, so I am glad he was able to get a picture of it too. You never know how long such goof ups will stand before they eventually get corrected. A few miles before the one in the previous post, there is this odd one. The shields are correct, but this one bears what seems to be tenths of a mile numerals, but rather than matching the white type on green, the tenths are black on white.


An unusual sign for a sweeping loop exit

This 30 mph exit sign caught my eye, but even more unusual is the exit number. It is more clearly caught in the closer photo below. The first exit on a highway is usually Exit 1, but here we have Exit 0. Almost sounds like a good title for a sci-fi story . . . Terror Off Exit Zero!


Seldom seen Exit 0

Lots of freeways now have the high-mast lighting with an array of beams to cover large areas of the highway or interchange. These are so high that the typical man in a cherry picker can't change the bulbs. How do they do it? They bring the bulbs down to the man.

This bulb array was lowered, but no crew was in sight. Still, it afforded the rare opportunity to capture the array at near ground level. In the background are the same arrangement with the beam array fully elevated to the top of the mast.


Low Beams!

Finally, here it the answer to how the tolling authorities differentiate between free carpool traffic and tolled single-occupancy vehicles when a HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) Lane is also made into a HOT (High Occupancy - Toll) Lane. These are also commonly known as "Lexus Lanes", as they give a class distinction in that those who can afford to avoid traffic tie ups can use them, while the rest of us stay stuck in traffic.

On I-25 on the north side of Denver, single occupant cars may now make use of the old HOV lanes by paying a toll. There are no toll booths, but require a transponder to decrement the toll amount from the driver's account. I have wondered if someone with a transponder who happens to have an extra occupant ends up paying a toll anyway. Apparently the problem is solved by signs directing HOT traffic to a transponder-reading lane under the structure in the photo below, while free HOV traffic goes through on a lane that doesn't read the transponder. Skeptic that I am, I am not sure I would trust it not to charge me anyway!


HOV/HOT Tolling Gantry

So, what better way to finish off the month of August than with yet another road geeky post! Now, it's on to September!

Where is This Sign? Not Where You Might Think.

Today was a beautiful day, so I decided to take a short road trip. During this little Saturday jaunt I saw this mile marker sign, and a few others that were the same except for the mile number. Now, you can take a look at a U.S. road map and try to find this highway. Or just CLICK HERE to find out about U.S. 76. You will see that it is a 548 mile long highway that stretches from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina; traversing parts of Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas.

Yet here I am in the Centennial state of Colorado, many miles from these eastern states. So what's up with the U.S. 76 highway shields? Well, CDOT's clueless sign makers are at it once again. These markers are actually along the western version of Interstate 76, and should carry a red, white, and blue interstate shield, or none at all. Instead we have the wrong highway denoted for several miles along the freeway, showing U.S. 76 in a state where the highway doesn't exist!

This highway, I-76 is a bit of an anomaly anyway, as it has two distinctly separate highways with that designation, and both were once known as Interstate 80S. The eastern I-76 goes from Lodi, Ohio; through Pennsylvania (largely as the Pennsylvania Turnpike); and ends in New Jersey.

The western I-76 is almost entirely within Colorado. This is perhaps fitting, as Colorado is known as The Centennial State, as it was admitted to the union in 1876, the centennial year of the United States. This highway begins as a split from I-70 just west of Denver, Colorado; and heads northeast toward Nebraska's panhandle, where only about a mile or so is actually in that state. The highway ends as it merges onto Interstate 80 near the northeast corner of Colorado.

A Small Town Diner

Well, life has seemingly been so busy lately that I haven't been posting to the blog quite as often as I would like. So here is the first post for the month of August.

The lovely spouse and I decided to take my new car out for a short spin on the Interstate to give it a quick exposure to what a road trip might be like. We didn't go far, but headed east on I-70 and exited at the small town of Strasburg, Colorado. There seems to be a bit of a housing boom going on in Strasburg, as one homebuilder is apparently cashing in by building homes a little cheaper than you can get them in the Denver area. The catch is that the approximately 40-to-50 mile, each way trek into town makes it not worth the price difference. Just the gasoline alone would add to the cost of living there.

That said, Strasburg is a nice little town out on the prairie. It is so flat out there that you would not think you are in the same state as Estes Park or Aspen. The terrain is more akin to our neighboring state of Kansas than it is to the Rocky Mountains for which Colorado is known.

It was getting into the afternoon hours and we were getting hungry, so we looked at the handful of choices in Strasburg for lunch, and saw there were quite a few cars at an establishment called the Nifty Fifties Diner. We have this rule when looking at unknown places to eat. That rule says that if the parking lot is empty, the food is probably not very good. With the traffic at the diner, we decided it would be a safe bet.

The first thing I noticed is that Strasburg time is slower than Denver time. It took a while for everything, from getting water, to the arrival of our food. Not an inordinately long time, but longer than I usually wait in Denver. The menu had a great variety of food, from meatloaf to chicken fried steaks to burgers to malts. We each decided to get a malt with our meal. Too bad we didn't take a closer look at the price before ordering. More on that later.

My wife had a grilled meatloaf sandwich, and I had the Heartbreak Hotel Hot Dog. The meatloaf was over an inch thick slice, grilled and put into a sandwich that looked delicious. My hot dog was also quite the feast. It was split butterfly fashion, and grilled; put in a foot-long bun and smothered in a chunky-style chili, with cheese, mustard, onions, and jalapeno slices topping it off. It was served with waffle fries. The dog was delicious, but was also so big that I could not finish it all without making myself overstuffed. I got about two-thirds of the way done and had to stop. I also ate about a third of the fries.

The only surprise came when we go the check. The total after tax and before tip was about $34! The big gotcha was the price of the malts. They were $4.99 each! Yikes. I might have settled on something else had I looked at the price. The malts were really good, but not overly big. They were thick and tasty, but at five bucks, I think they are a bit pricey. But then again, you are in Strasburg. Don't like the price, drive to Denver.

Bottom line, the Nifty Fifties Diner had tasty Americana diner fare. While the price is a bit on the upper end for this type of food, it is a good stop for non-chain road food when traveling across Colorado. And while this type of food is good once in a while, I would not recommend it as a steady diet if one expects to live a healthy life. I think it's time for some granola and yogurt!

The "Show Me the Passing Lane" State

European passing lane, from
http://international.fhwa.dot.gov/humanfactors/chapter_two.htm

The Associated Press is reporting that the State of Missouri is getting ready to try an experiment with one of its highways. The state's chief highway engineer, Kevin Keith, saw the way that many European countries have implemented the concept of a passing lane. Unlike in the United States, where only the occasional passing lane is built, Europe builds three-lane highways for many of its non-controlled access roads. The idea is that the middle lane alternates every mile or so as a passing lane for each side of the roadway. This will allow the highway to carry nearly as much traffic comfortably, as a four-lane highway.

The experiment will be first played out on Missouri Highway 5 between the towns of Lebanon and Camdenton, a stretch of about 16-miles. This highway connects the popular tourist destination, The Lake of the Ozarks, to Interstate 44, the main highway from St. Louis to Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Lawton, and Wichita Falls. The cost of upgrading the highway is estimated at $50-million dollars.

Traffic engineers at The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is closely watching the MoDOT project, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation. If it proves as successful and safe here as in Europe, you may soon see this concept in highway design coming to a road near you.

1957 Chevys

A beautiful, black 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air.
Notice the black rubber cones on the bumper.

The 1957 Chevrolet is a classic icon of mid 20th Century American automobile manufacturing. From the chrome grill and bumpers to the tail fins, this car was uniquely different from the 1956 model before it, and the round rear-ended 1957 that followed. In fact, it seemed that Chevy made significant styling changes every model year from 1956 through 1960. It is hard to believe that this beloved and much collected car is celebrating its 50th birthday this year!

The 1957 Chevy has a prominent place in my childhood memories. Sometime around 1960 or so, my dad traded our old 1950 Ford Custom in on a white 1957 Chevy Bel-Air at a Chevy dealership in Pasadena, Texas. What a car it was. No center column between the front and rear windows made it unlike any other I had ever ridden in. We had that car when we moved to California in 1962, and kept it until it was traded on what was the first brand new car my dad ever bought . . . a 1964 Chevrolet Impala station wagon that served us for many years.


Inside the black '57 Bel-Air

The black Bel-Air and the yellow one below were parked today alongside some other vintage cars on Mainstreet (yes, spelled as one word) in Parker, Colorado at the weekly Farmer's Market. While both were fantastic vehicles, the interior of the black one had upholstery of the original design, while the yellow one had been altered significantly.


Yellow 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air in Parker

There were some other cars parked on Mainstreet as well, and I may share some photos of them in another post. Still, after I left the Farmers Market I ran across yet another 1957 Chevrolet in Parker. This on had a "For Sale" sign in the window, and was parked in a lot along Parker Road (Colorado 83). This one wasn't as sweet as the other two, as it wasn't fully restored, and is a more spartan model, featuring window columns and no rubber cones on the front bumpers. A sign in the window said the car was worth $18,000 NADA, but would be sold for $9,100 or best offer.


For Sale - 1957 Red Chevy

If I had the financial resources, I think I could really get into collecting old cars. Since that is not the case, I will just continue to take pictures of those I see that interest me.


1957 Chevy for sale - rear view

A Mini-Rant & A Road Food Burger

For about the last week or so, I have been steaming over the latest blatant disregard for the law by the Bush Administration. What's more, it seems that the very crowd who was calling for the impeachment of President Clinton over lying to a grand jury want to give a pass to "Scooter" Libby for doing the same thing. Well, not quite the same thing; Clinton lied about a personal sexual affair, while Libby lied and obstructed justice over a matter of national security and putting the life of a covert CIA agent in danger for politics. Still, as each day brings another way for the administration to use the desecrate the Constitution they pledged to uphold, I don't really want to go off on a rant today. So instead, let's talk food!

As any road geek will tell you, drive through burgers are a staple along the highways of America. Along the Colorado Front Range and a few other western locations, Goodtimes Burgers and Frozen Custard has introduced their version of the midwest classic White Castle burgers. Goodtimes calls theirs the Bambino Burger.




The Bambino Burger 3-Pack Sack

The Bambino comes alone, or in a 3-pack sack or 5-pack carton. Last week, I tried this little tasty burger and it was immaculately assembled and tasted great. Goodtimes makes its burgers from all-Natural, hormone free Coleman beef. So Friday night, I decided to grab a 3-pack and head home to enjoy another set of these minute morsels of beefy goodness.

Now the standard Bambino comes with meat, pickle slice, and a dollop of thousand-island type dressing. You can also add cheese. I like them best without the dressing, so I have them hold that and put the piece of cheese on mine. The meat is thicker than your standard White Castle slider. White Castle is not available in Colorado by the way, except as a frozen and boxed grocery store purchase. Unlike the slider, the Bambino also doesn't have the smattering of minced onion. Still, I think I prefer the Bambino over the White Castle product (yes, a heretical statement I know).

The Bambinos I got this round were just as tasty, but were a bit of a sloppy stack. They obviously were just thrown together, as they didn't have the professional and neat appearance of the ones from last week. Here is the best looking one of the trio I brought home with me. It was noticeably misshapen and one side of the bun was mashed a bit. These are very soft buns, but this one looked like it had been handled just a bit too roughly.


Bambino fresh from the bag!

Flipping the mini-sized treat open for inspection yielded this view of a bun toasted nicely on the inside, a ripple-cut pickle slice, a severly off-center piece of processed cheese, and a piece of hamburger meat that is not the uniform square cut of a White Castle. Since the cheese was somewhat melted from the heat of the meat, it stayed right where it was. To heck with aesthetics!


The Bambino laid bare.

Two and a half burgers and half a small pack of fries later, I was full. Molly the dog benefited with the last bite of Bambino and a couple of french fries. She gave it two paws up and seemed to thoroughly enjoy her share in the bounty.

An Interesting Bridge

Wood & steel suspension bridge on Apple Valley Road

There are many interesting sights along the highways and roads of Colorado. This is one I noticed at the intersection of US 36 (North St. Vrain Road) and Apple Valley Road (County Road 71N), just west of Lyons, Colorado. This view looks to the north from Apple Valley Road with US 36 crossing just on the other side.

This bridge doesn't appear to be very old. The construction is a combination of layers of bent wood for the suspension arches, and steel rods to hold up the road surface. I wonder though if it is truly a suspension bridge, or just an aesthetic addition to an older bridge, given the apparent age of the road surface. Yet, as you can tell from the close up below, there appears to be substantial bracing in the construction, more so than you would expect to find if the bridge structure wasn't truly supporting the road. This is why I think it is a real suspension bridge. In any case, it did catch my attention.


Close up of the bridge's steel and wood construction

The next picture shows the reason for the bridge's existence. This is the creek that the bridge crosses. This particular creek flows alongside US 36 as it makes its way down the mountain and onto the prairie east of Lyons.

The Stanley Hotel

US 36 approaching Estes Park, Colorado

One of my favorite towns is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. Estes Park, Colorado is an interesting town that caters to tourists visiting the area. One landmark of note in the town is The Stanley Hotel, an historic venue that has played host to many dignitaries over the years; from Teddy Roosevelt to Steven King. It was staying at The Stanley that inspired King to create the fictional Overlook Hotel for his novel, "The Shining". The television miniseries of the same name was shot at The Stanley.


The magnificent Stanley Hotel sits by the Colorado Rocky Mountains

Driving into Estes Park, The Stanley is the largest man made structures you see. If it weren't for the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains, the Stanley would overpower everything else in sight. Yesterday, I managed to get the shot above of the hotel complex from a distance, with the mountains and approaching storm clouds in the background. While the photo doesn't do the view justice, as with all of my pictures, you can click on them for a larger version.


The main building at The Stanley Hotel

The main building at the hotel is a huge structure featuring Georgian architecture. The hotel was founded by F. O. Stanley, inventor of the famed Stanley Steamer automobile. Stanley came to Estes Park to have a healing climate for his tuberculosis, and ended up building the hotel as a summertime resort, one of the first to have electricity and plumbing. An actual Stanley Steamer is displayed in the main lobby, and is a beautiful piece of early 20th Century transportation history.

As an sidebar, one thing that occasionally gets my attention is the cultural knowledge differences between people of different ages. My 17-year-old nephew and his same-aged buddy heard the rest of us talking about the Stanley Steamer. They couldn't figure out why we were so excited about seeing a vacuum cleaner! (For those who don't know, Stanley Steemer is a carpet cleaning franchise in the United States that advertises heavily on the television). So this turned into an educational moment for them.


An original Stanley Steamer

While the hotel has had a revival of interest since The Shining became popular, it is truly a piece of history. If you visit Estes Park, it is worth a stay. Barring that, at least be sure to visit this beautiful hotel just for the spectacular views and classic architecture. If you are lucky, you will be able to stay for one of the evenings of ghost stories presented by the hotel staff. Who's that wispy figure standing on the staircase?


Main Lobby staircase and elevator at The Stanley Hotel

Drive with care, and buy Sinclair!

The title of this post is an old advertising slogan for Sinclair gasoline. That is one of the brands that I remember from my childhood. I can remember the round Sinclair signs that had "H-C" in the middle. I seem to recall that the H-C stood for "High Compression", but I also have seen on the Internet that it was for "Houston Concentrate", its high octane motor fuel.

The Sinclair brand also plays a prominent role in another childhood memory. My family went to the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, where Sinclair sponsored a pavilion about dinosaurs. My sisters and I got plastic dinosaurs there that were injection molded on the spot by a machine the company had set up to dispense them. I wish I still had one, as I imagine they may have some collectible value today.

Many Sinclair outlets were rebranded as either ARCO or BP after the company was acquired by Atlantic-Richfield in 1969. In the 1970s, the brand and its apatasaurus logo made a resurgence in many western states, and today can be found once again along the American highway. Once in a while, one of the stations will still have a large dinosaur standing out front. Here is one that happens to have two of them!

Over the Independence Day holiday, my mom, sister, nephew, and a friend came up from Texas for a visit, that included a trip to the always stunning Garden of the Gods. Just outside the park lies the town of Manitou Springs, Colorado, home to the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. It was in Manitou Springs where two of the Sinclair dinos watch the traffic go into and out of this great little municipality.

The first one you notice is a bright green dinosaur looking out at the street. To his left and positioned sideways and in a stand of trees is a darker green version. These guys, like other advertising icons, have become more rare as time has taken its toll on them, along with the occasional theft of one from the front of a gasoline station. Still, I am glad to see that these two are still around.

Oklahoma Highways

US Highway 66, the legendary route from Chicago to Santa Monica went through 8 states, and was a major route to the west coast from the Midwest and points east. It entered Oklahoma in the far northeast part of the state after just a few short miles in Kansas. It paralleled the current Will Rogers Turnpike (I-44) to Tulsa; the Turner Turnpike (I-44) from Tulsa to Oklahoma City; and I-40 west to the Texas Panhandle. This road has special memories for me, as my maternal Grandparents lived three blocks off of Route 66 in the OKC suburb of Bethany, where the highway was on NW 39th Expressway. For a short time during my childhood, I lived in a house whose backyard was on a hill overlooking Route 66 in Cucamonga (now Rancho Cucamonga), California, where it was Foothill Boulevard.

During the 1990s, I spent two-and-a-half years living in Tulsa, where "The Mother Road" had taken several alignments during its time as a US Highway. Today, the old highway is Oklahoma 66, but is marked with historic US 66 signs in many places. This most well known historic route is on 11th Street, but further north and closer to Tulsa International Airport is the alignment from 1926-1932, as indicated by this sign.

On the newer alignment (11th Street) near the University of Tulsa campus, I found the marker below in the pavement. It isn't all that old from what I could tell, but it is well worn.


Get your kicks on Route 66!


In the last year or so, Oklahoma has begun replacing its state highway shields with a new design. The old one was a simple white circle with black numerals. The new one features an outline map of the Sooner State with the route number below the map. While it is nicer looking than the old design, I think they could have done better than this.

This photo is an oversized reassurance shield for OK 11, a partial loop on the north side of Tulsa that is a main route to and from the Airport. Ultimately, the old design will be totally switched out with the new one statewide.

Oklahoma is the land of turnpikes, and nearly every major route in and out of Tulsa is a tolled road. One bypass route on the south and east side is the Creek Turnpike. This highway used to extend from US 75 near Jenks to S. Memorial Drive, but now connects the Turner Turnpike south of the city to the Will Rogers Turnpike on the northeast side. This photo shows the entrance to the Creek off of Memorial northbound.



Below is a close up from the above photo. I lightened it up a little to make the Creek Turnpike shield more visible.

It also happens that Oklahoma is the first place I ever saw electronic toll transponders, those devices that let you zip through special lanes equipped with readers that automatically charge you the toll. Oklahoma's version is called Pikepass, and I actually had one when I lived there. In Houston, they are called EZ-Tag, and in the Denver area, ExpressToll. Maybe someday they will be interoperational between jurisdictions, but so far this type of capability is very limited.

I do know that Dallas and Houston have an agreement to let their transponder customers use them on each other's toll facilities. I also saw in Houston last month that the EZ-Tag can also automatically be charged for parking at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. What a novel idea!

Even More From Houston

Caroline Street in the Downtown Historic District

Let's take a look at a few more photos I took a couple of weeks ago during my visit back to Houston. This is a photo that shows a couple of things about how downtown has been coming back to life. First take a look at the street sign. As I have mentioned in earlier postings, Houston's various neighborhoods have been going to their own unique style of street signage. The type you see here is used in most of downtown, but vary the wording to denote Historic District, Theater District, etc. This photo also shows two styles of street lights that have been installed in the area, both with an older and more elegant look than the former ones, which were strictly utilitarian. Here we see a lower, single light on a pole, as well as a double overhanging light. There were also quite a few of these banners you see in the picture hanging around the area. These are obviously inspired by the Lone Star state flag of Texas.


Crosswalk arches in Uptown Houston

The next picture show the shiny arches that mark the location of crosswalks along Post Oak Road in the Uptown District. You can also see a second, distant set further down the road. These arches soar above pedestrian crosswalks, and match the shiny chrome-colored street lights, traffic signal masts, and the large circular street signs I have previously posted pictures of.


Houston's City Hall at night

My last night in Houston, I went out to get a few photos of the buildings downtown lit up. Much to my disappointment and puzzlement, the city was not lit very well that evening. Therefore, I got few usable pictures. It was actually quite eerie. Still I will share a couple here. The photo above is Houston's City Hall, built in 1938-1939. Similar city halls abound around this part of the country, all of about the same vintage. I am sure that when it opened, it was a grand building, but it is now diminutive by comparison. It is surrounded by soaring skyscrapers on three sides, along with the Houston Main Library. The building faces a reflecting pool and small park to its east side (shown here), and the west face is visible in front of the skyline if you are west of Downtown. Compared to Denver's grand city and county building, it seems amazing that this modest structure is the seat of government for the nation's fourth largest metropolis, until you realize that most city functions are housed at over 500 other buildings and annexes. Still, it is an icon of city government, and the place where many municipal ceremonies are held.


Houston's nighttime skyline - Click for a larger view

Like I have already mentioned, the city was not well lit that night, and I had the further frustration of not having a tripod with me. Still, this photo, while not the best, is acceptable. I used my sister's shoulder for a tripod as we stopped to the side of Memorial Drive approaching Downtown to get this view. The lights from the cars in the foreground are westbound traffic on Allen Parkway, on the other side of Buffalo Bayou from my vantage point. I suggest clicking the photo to get a better view.

A Saturday Drive

Colorful Colorado Wildflowers - Click to see large version

Yesterday, my wife and I took a short drive down to Elizabeth, Colorado in Elbert County. It was an absolutely beautiful day, albeit a bit cool for June, but that's how it can be here in the Centennial State. Our intention was to go to the Elizabeth Stampede, a rodeo held there. Once we arrived, we decided not to go in to the rodeo, but instead to just enjoy a walk and drive. I guess I am just not one who likes to be in crowds.

In any case, one thing that was very enjoyable was the abundance of wildflowers in bloom. In many parts of the country, it is past the time when wildflower blooms are at their peak, but since we have a fairly short warm season, it is still cool enough that the flowers are out. The picture above is too small to really take in the color, so I suggest that you click on it to see a larger version.

The sad story behind this picture is that we took this particular route home because Colorado 86 was shut down by a very bad accident just a couple of miles or so east of Franktown. We had to veer off the main highway and down some country backroads to get around the wreck. Where the police had the highway closed was a few hundred feet from the accident site, and it was so bad that the fire department and a Life-Flight helicopter was on the highway. I hope that whoever was involved is doing okay.

The sign in the photo below was unusual. This was taken in a parking area for the Elizabeth Stampede. I think it must be for the cowboy who was thrown off of a raging bull or bucking bronco one too many times. I have never seen a sign with the universal handicap symbol wearing a cowboy hat before.

A WildBlue Sign

WildBlue on the Highway - Photo courtesy of Michael T. Williamson

The Internet touches our lives in many ways, and over the last decade it has become ever more integrated with our daily activities. Here is yet another way, one that I had never thought about until I saw this photograph, which also fits in very well with the road geekiness of this blog.

This is a picture taken by Michael T. Williamson, who works for the same company as I, but who lives in the great state of Washington. Michael shot this interesting picture in a remote area in the southeastern part of that beautiful state. At first glance, we see a standard Variable Message Sign (VMS) installed along the highway. Upon closer inspection, there is a small satellite reflector antenna attached to the top right of the sign.

That antenna happens to be an installation for service from WildBlue, a satellite-based Internet service sold to customers in remote areas who cannot get other terrestrial broadband options such as cable or DSL. WildBlue is based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, a Denver suburb that is not far from where I live and work. As a matter of fact, my employer resells WildBlue service under a combined brand. Therefore, this picture was of double interest to me.

It is apparent that the sign's message must get updated over the Internet. It makes me wonder how long it will be before someone hacks into the signs and has them display a message not sanctioned by the Washington Department of Transportation. The photo also gives us a sense of direction. Since it has to point toward the southern sky, this view is looking primarily in a westward direction.

I also notice the guardrail between the sign and the highway's lanes of traffic. I guess they wanted to try to prevent a wayward car or truck from taking out this VMS (which is certainly not cheap to purchase or install).

This is a great catch, Michael. Thanks for letting me share it with other road geeks out there.

Street Signs & Flying Saucers

Standard Street Sign Installation

On the way home from work today, I noticed something at the intersection of Parker Road (Colorado 83) and Lincoln Avenue. Take a look at the picture above. Notice that the Town of Parker's backlit street signs are prominently displayed at this crossroads. This one is installed the way I have always seen them; hanging from the traffic signal arm. But then I looked diagonally across the street from this one and saw a sign mounted in a totally different manner (see next photo below).


An extra arm for the street sign.

I don't know if there was a problem and the street sign had to be remounted, or if it was just an alternate way of hanging it. Still, it is odd that there are two methods at the same intersection.

Now for you UFO nuts out there, here is one to get you going. I noticed in one of the photos that there was an object in the sky. Now I figure it is just a reflection on the lens or on the windshield of my car.


Look! Up in the sky!

But lets take a closer look at the mysterious object. It seems to have a glowing white dome with a saucer surrounding it. Could this be an alien spaceship? No, but it does show how such things can get started.


The UFO over Parker

I must add however that I am still sore from the alien probe! ;)

License Plate Triviality

I tend to notice trivial things. For example, below are two examples of Texas license plates currently in use. The top one is a newer version than the one below it, and has a few changes from the older style below. First notice the shape of Texas in the middle of the plate. On the older edition, the state is colored red. On the new one a piece of the Texas flag is superimposed on the map. Then notice the space shuttle in the upper left corner. On the new version, the shuttle sports a United States flag, and has seven distinct stars above it that are missing from the previous version. These represent the lost astronauts of the shuttle Challenger.

Also over the years, the format of the license number has been revised to insure enough unique numbers were available. I can remember formats that included two alphabetic characters and four numbers, three alphas and three numbers, three numbers and three alphas, and an alpha with two numbers followed by three alphas.

That last format is on the second plate below. But on the new plates, Texas has gone back to the three number/three alpha format.


The "new" Texas plate


Previous edition Texas plate

I remember a legislative and public relations brouhaha a few years back when I still lived in Texas. It involved a proposed and approved design for a new license plate. It was to be powder blue and carry the official state motto, "The Friendship State". Well what an uproar that caused! Powder blue and friendship? Too wussified for a state known for cowboys and manliness! The plan was quickly revised, and a plate that had just the state name and flag was adopted.

There is one more thing. The person who owns the second plate is at risk of being arrested. There is a new law in Texas that no attachment (such as a frame) may obscure the state name, motto, or other design elements on the tag. This frame from a dealership covers up part of the bottom design, including the phrase "The Lone Star State". In effect, this gives police a reason to stop and harrass a motorist who has committed no other infraction, even if the plates digits are clearly visible.

Here are two links about this insanity foisted upon Texans by Governor Rick Perry and the state legislature.

• A blogger talks about it
• Another news report about it
  

Speed Traps, or "Here's the 10-20 on the Smokeys"

In an earlier post, I mentioned the notorious speed trap known as Estelline, Texas. Well, it isn't just small towns that entrap motorists. The National Motorists Association has come out with its list of the top speed traps cities in the U.S. Here are the top ten worst places to speed:

1. Detroit & Suburbs
2. Colorado Springs
3. Houston
4. Orlando
5. Nashville
6. Ann Arbor
7. Albuquerque
8. Washington
9. Denver
10. Virginia Beach

The NMA gets reports of speedtraps on its web site, www.speedtrap.org. While these are the places that top the reports, they say that many other places have arbitrarily low limits and heavy enforcement, so motorists should beware. Obviously, public safety is not the primary reason for such traps; rather revenue and harrassment seem to be the motivating factors.

Just another reason to watch your speed. And while many cops are good citizens and public servants, too many others are in the business as a legal way to bully others. Who needs that hassle?

Galveston, oh Galveston

Rocky shoreline

Not much to say in this post; just sharing a few more pictures I took last Thursday in Galveston. The rocky shoreline above is on the eastern end of Galveston Island, near the site of the former Fort San Jacinto. Since this point of land is at the entrance and exit to Galveston Bay from the Gulf of Mexico, it was an important defense position. This is why the fort used to be here.

There is a large concrete base for large artillery remaining at this far eastern part of the island. This is where the unidentified woman in the picture below chose to relax for a few moments and watch the ships heading in and out of the Ports of Galveston and Houston.


A woman enjoys the sound of the surf and the view of the ships

Here are some more ships coming and going. This is how we get much of our petroleum, as well as all of the cheap junk made in China and sold at Wal-Mart.


Busy shipping lanes at the entrance to Galveston Bay

Further to the west, I saw this lone seashell resting on the sandy beach on the part of the island where there is no seawall. Shortly after I shot this, my sister-in-law laid claim to this former mollusk home.


She sells seashells down by the seashore

In town near the Opera House, I saw the side of a building painted with layers of old advertising. The Wrigley's Spearmint Gum ad still remains visible . . . "Buy it by the box. The flavor lasts."


Old advertising on a brick wall

You can also see the Uneeda Biscuit ad that once graced the wall. A painted ad for Coca-Cola is to the right, but has been repainted more recently. The rubble below indicates that perhaps an adjacent building was demolished, exposing these old advertising signs.