Byways Great American Roads 2017

Featuring North America’s Leading Travel Destinations

Great American Roads U.S Route 89, the National Park Highway Lombard, World’s Most Crooked Street The Great River Road in Iowa Road Tripping on Virginia’s Eastern Shore Edmundston, Along the Trans-Canada Highway

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Byways Magazine

ŠCopyright 2017 by Byways, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be duplicated in any form without express written permission of the publisher.

For more than 34 years, Byways has been covering the leading destinations along the highways and byways of North America. Some of the most well-known, and least known, destinations to discover in the United States and Canada.

Byways is published in three versions. They is the Turn-Key edition on the web for viewing on Computers, Android, iOS (iPhone and iPad). There is an Apple App Store edition. There is also a Byways Magazine Channel in Apple News.

For advertising rates, editorial deadlines, or to place advertising insertions, contact: Byways Magazine 502-785-4875 http://bywaysmagazine.com

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PREVIEW

By Steve Kirchner, Editor & Publisher

elcome to the annual Great saltwater cowboys and the book, Misty of Chincoteague.

Bill Graves takes us on a journey along the TransAmerican Roads issue of Byways. Each year we fea- Canada Highway, in eastern Canada, all the time trying ture a number of highways and byways to figure out the routing numbers along the way!

He finds his way to Edmundston in New Brunswick, throughout North America, some wellwhere 91 percent of the population speaks French. If known and well-traveled. And others language is the criteria, it’s the most foreign as any place that are less so. he has been in North America.

Our journey begins in Arizona, where we pick-up U.S. In Hartland, he discovers the world’s longest covered Route 89 in Flagstaff. This route is known as the bridge.

Set on seven cement pilings, it was built in 1901 National Park Highway, because it links seven national parks and 14 national monuments across five states in and covered in 1921. With snow falling from November through March, it’s not surprising to learn that covered the Mountain West region.

For most of its nearly 2,000 miles, it is a two-lane road. bridges were invented in New Brunswick!

In Michigan, we You are kept close to the visit Ypsilanti, to Burlington, Iowa on the Mississippi River scenery providing ample learn the remarkable opportunities to stop and expestory of the Willow rience the best America has to Run Bomber factooffer. ry. In the run-up to In San Francisco, we visit World War II, Lombard Street, The famous America’s ability to one-block section, claimed as produce aircraft, “the most crooked street in the especially bombers, world.” was limited. But the Most of the street’s western Pentagon had an segment is a major thoroughidea.

What if Henry fare designated as part of U.S. Ford’s assembly line Route 101. production techBut the street gains its fame niques could be used from a steep, one-block section to manufacture airplanes? with eight hairpin turns.

The rest is history, as you will discover in this amazing Next, we’re off to the Great River Road in Iowa. This story. road is one of the oldest, longest, and most unique scenic Our final stop is in What’s Happening, where we visit byways in the North America. A 3,000-mile-long netCupertino, California and Apple’s new Apple Park camwork of federal, state, and county roads, the Great River Road stretches the length of the Mississippi River from pus.

Nicknamed by the media as the Spaceship, the 2.8 milLake Itasca in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. lion square foot building is one of the most unique office The Iowa Great River Road is a 326 mile-long byway structures in the world. designated by the State of Iowa. It parallels the west bank Although few of us will ever be allowed inside due to of the Mississippi River in eastern Iowa between the Apple’s reputation for secrecy, there is a way to view the Missouri and Minnesota state borders. campus, experience Apple products, buy Apple branded It’s no surprise that water-based activities dominate gear not available anywhere else, and enjoy a meal in an Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Enjoy the action in this quiet, Apple cafe. relaxed, and beautiful shoreline scenery.

It’s Apple’s new $108.00 million Apple Park Visitor We travel U.S. Route 13, which runs from Norfolk Center, located across the street from the main campus. through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel, and along And it’s expected to be one of Silicon Valley’s top the entire Eastern Shore, connecting with U.S. Route 50 tourism attractions by the end of this year. in Maryland.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Byways.

Here you can share the beach with descendants of the wild Chincoteague Ponies made famous by the town’s Byways • 4

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Volume 34, Issue No. 5 2017

On the cover. Zion National Park, Utah. For more on traveling Route 89, the National Park Highway, turn to page 8. Photo courtesy Utah Office of Tourism.

Features

Great American Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 U.S. Route 89, the National Park Highway. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Lombard, World’s Most Crooked Street . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 The Great River Road in Iowa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Road Tripping on Virginia’s Eastern Shore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Traveling to Edmundston, Along the Trans-Canada Highway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 The Remarkable Story of Willow Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Yankee Air Museum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Rosie the Riveter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Henry Ford’s Tax Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Departments

Byways Instant Connect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Byways Preview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Traveling the Highways & Byways with Bill Graves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Advertisers Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

What’s Happening

Apple Park Visitor Center Set to Open by Years End. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Coming in future issues of Byways ..... Top North American Tour Destinations, Great American Railroads, Mountains & Valleys and much more!

Next Up: Discover North America’s top tour destinations in the next issue of Byways.

Cherry Blossoms in March at the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. Photo courtesy Wendy Harman.

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Great American Roads

U.S. Route 89 at the border of Arizona and Utah, near Page, Arizona. Photo courtesy Adam Kliczek. adam.kliczek@gmail.com

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U.S. Route 89, The National Park Highway

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The Colorado River at Horseshoe Bend, Arizona, a few miles below Glen Canyon Dam. Photo courtesy Paul Hermans.

magine, traveling a highway that traverses seven Montana, ending at the Canada–U.S. border.

Unnumbered roads through Yellowstone connect the national parks and 14 national monuments through 5 two sections. Before 1992, U.S. Highway 89 was a states. That stretches from the Canadian border to the Canada to Mexico, border-to-border, highway that endMexican border.

You would think that’s a roadway that most Americans ed at Nogales, Arizona, on its southern end.

Often called the National Park Highway, U.S. 89 links would be familiar with. seven national parks across the Mountain West. In addiExcept, U.S. Route 89, while serving as Main Street for many American cities, large and small, is a road that few Americans Salt Lake City Skyline. have heard of. © 2011 Douglas Pulsipher.

U.S. Route 89 is a north–south highway featuring two sections, and one former section.

For most of its nearly 2,000 miles, it is a two-lane road. You are kept close to the scenery providing ample opportunities to stop and experience the best America has to offer.

The southern section begins in Flagstaff, Arizona and runs for 848 miles to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The northern section runs for 404 miles from the northern entrance of Yellowstone National Park in 10 • Byways

tion, fourteen other national park areas, mostly national monuments, are also reachable from this backbone of the Rockies.

Arizona

Today, U.S. 89 begins at Flagstaff, Arizona. The highway proceeds north passing near Grand Canyon National Park and through the Navajo Nation. Near the Utah state line, the highway splits into U.S. 89 and U.S. 89A. The Alternate is the original highway; what is now the main highway was constructed in the 1960s to serve the Glen Canyon Dam. The two highways rejoin in Kanab, Utah.

The main branch passes over the Colorado River just south of the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, and then it enters Utah.

Prior to 1992, the southern terminus of U.S. 89 was at Nogales, Arizona, and the highway proceeded to Flagstaff, along what is now I-19.

Just north of the Mexican border in Arizona is the Tumacacori National Monument. Saguaro National Park is the first national park, in Tucson. Short links from Highway 89 take motorists to the Casa Grande National Monument and the Hohokam Pima National Monument, before reaching Phoenix.

Approaching Flagstaff there are four national monuments, including Tuzigoot National Monument, Walnut

Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell.

Photo courtesy Adam Kliczek adam.kliczek@gmail.com

Canyon National Monument, Sunset Crater National Monument, and Wupatki National Monument. North of Flagstaff is the Grand Canyon National Park, the second of the seven national parks along this highway.

Utah

From Kanab U.S. 89 proceeds north passing by Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park. It even-

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Sunset at Cape Royal Point, Grand Canyon National Park, North Rim. 12 • Byways

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Bryce Canyon National Park.

Photo courtesy Tom Till. ŠUtah Office of Tourism.

tually enters Sevier County, Utah, and the Sanpete Valleys. The highway then passes by Thistle, Utah, a ghost town that was destroyed by a lake resulting from a landslide in 1983. The highway then enters the Wasatch Front where U.S. 89 becomes the main street for many of the largest cities in Utah.

In Ogden, the highway is Washington Blvd. From Ogden the highway runs north until it reaches Brigham City, Utah, where it turns east to serve the Cache Valley and Logan, Utah.

In Logan, U.S. 89 forms the southern portion of Main Street before splitting off to the east, passing by the campus of Utah State University.

The highway next proceeds up Logan Canyon to Bear Lake where the highway exits Utah.

Two sections of U.S. 89 in Utah have been designated 14 • Byways

Scenic Byways. The Kanab to Mt. Carmel and Long Valley Scenic Byway is a designated Utah Scenic Byway.

Utah is dominated by the Colorado Plateau. Along The Mountain Goat is the official symbol of Glacier National Park.

Photo courtesy Dave Grickson.

U.S. 89 are Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Cedar Breaks National Monument.

Although not readily adjacent to U.S. 89, the Capitol Reef National Park is accessible from U.S. 89.

U.S. 89 leaves northern Utah wellnorth of Salt Lake City and Timpanogos Cave National Monument and the Golden Spike National Historic Site.

Idaho

In Idaho, the highway partially circumnavigates Bear Lake which straddles the Utah-Idaho state line.

Bear Lake boasts sandy beaches, great water sports, fishing, boating, and the famous Bear Lake State Park. The lake has been called the Caribbean of the Rockies because of its distinctive turquoise waters.

In Montpelier, visitors can learn about the great migration west at the National Oregon-California Trail Center.

Soda Springs Geyser. Photo courtesy Visit Idaho.

There are 13 Oregon-California Trail sites identified in the Soda Springs area. Soda Springs is also home to the world’s only captive geyser, timed to spout into the air every hour.

The John Moulton Barn on Mormon Row at the base of the Grand Tetons, Wyoming. Photo courtesy Jon Sullivan.

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The upper end of St. Mary Lake and Wild Goose Island, Glacier National Park, Montana.

Photo courtesy Ken Thomas.

Wyoming

National Park. Here, U.S. 89 is the backbone visitor highway for two U.S. National Parks.

In Wyoming, U.S. 89 passes through many scenic sites Leaving the Tetons, the road enters a lesser known including Grand Teton National Park, the Jackson Hole park, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway, before valley, the Snake River Canyon, and the Star Valley.

Passing northward along the western border of ending at the South Entrance of Yellowstone National Wyoming with Idaho, U.S. 89 enters the Grand Teton Park. A park road connects the two sections of U.S. 89 through Yellowstone.

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Snake River Canyon.

Photo courtesy Joe Tordiff.

Zion National Park. Photo courtesy ©Utah Office of Tourism.

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Montana

U.S. 89 enters Montana at the North Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. It traverses the width of the state before approaching Glacier National Park. At St. Mary, Montana, U.S. 89 is the access highway to Glacier Route One, also known as the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

The Kings Hill Scenic Byway passes through the Little Belt Mountains in the Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana. The route is home to a wide variety of wildlife and provides many recreational opportunities for travelers on the route.

The byway is a 71-mile route that begins on U.S. 89 at its junction with U.S. 12. From the junction of the byway, it travels north through the Lewis and Clark National Forest through the communities of Neihart and Monarch.

The route offers access to the Showdown Ski Area and Sluice Boxes State Park. The route travels over the Kings Hill Pass which snow removal crews work to keep open throughout the winter season.

Alberta

The northern terminus of U.S. 89 is at the Canada– U.S. border. There, the highway continues into Canada as Alberta Highway 2, a core route in the National Highway System of Canada.

From there it proceeds to Calgary and Edmonton, and then on to Northern Alberta.

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United States Naval Academy

Undergraduate College of the U.S. Navy

Guided Walking Tours include the Naval Academy Chapel, Crypt of John Paul Jones, Statue of Tecumseh and the history and traditions of the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD. HISTORICAL, EDUCATIONAL, JEWISH CHAPEL AND MILITARY REUNION TOURS

Naval Academy Gift Shop, Restrooms, Exhibits, Film U.S. Naval Academy Campus.

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Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center (410) 293-8112 Scheduling (410) 293-3365 (fax) www.usnabsd.com/for-visitors Visitor Center Hours January-February: 9 am - 4 pm March-December 9 am - 5 pm Photo ID required, ages 18 and over

Welcome to Needles, where Historic Route 66 and the Colorado River meet in California.

Best Western Colorado River Inn

Free Hot Breakfast @Juicy’s Famous River Cafe Right Next Door!

2731 W. Broadway (Route 66) (760) 326-4552 Needles, California 92363 www.coloradoriverinn.com

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San Francisco’s Lombard, Worlds Most Crooked Street 20 • Byways

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Lombard Street is paved with red brick.

Photo courtesy Érico Andrei.

ombard Street in San Francisco is famous for a downhill and paved with red bricks.

The Powell-Hyde cable car stops at the top of the steep, one-block section with eight hairpin turns. block on Hyde Street nearby.

Stretching from The Presidio east to The Embarcadero (with a gap on Telegraph Hill), most of the street’s western segment is a major thoroughfare designated as part of U.S. Route 101.

The famous one-block section, claimed as “the most crooked street in the world,” is located along the eastern segment in the Russian Hill neighborhood.

Lombard Street is known for the one-way block on Russian Hill between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets, with eight sharp turns.

The design, first suggested by property owner Carl Henry and built in 1922, was intended to reduce the hill’s natural 27% grade, which was too steep for most vehicles.

The crooked block is some 600 feet long, one-way

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The Mississippi River Overlook in Bellevue, Iowa.

Photo courtesy Iowa Tourism Office.

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Effigy Mounds National Monument Harpers Ferry.

Photo courtesy Iowa Tourism Office.

the River; upland woodlands and floodplain forests; various parks, preserves and conservation areas; agricultural, small farms and rural countryside; small-town main streets; diverse and distinctive architecture; metropolitan centers; and, most importantly, river life.

The majority of the route is paved two-lane roadway managed by the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Follow the Mississippi River between Iowa’s southern and northern borders on the Iowa portion of the Great River Road National Scenic Byway.

You will find world-class vistas, charming river towns, magnificent limestone bluffs, and so much more. The views of the river are ever changing along the route in Iowa. You may be looking down from the bluff at a Iowa's 326-Mile Great River Road The Iowa Great River Road is a 326 mile-long byway panoramic scene or be right on the riverfront where you designated by the State of Iowa. It parallels the west bank can dip your toes in the water. One constant as you travof the Mississippi River in eastern Iowa between the el this world-renowned route, is the stories.

The Mississippi River, which defines this byway, is the Missouri and Minnesota state borders. The byway passribbon of life for people, plants, and animals that call the es through 10 Iowa counties and numerous towns and river home.

As you travel the Great River Road you are several urban centers. Travelers along the route experialso following the Mississippi Flyway, a major corridor ence a variety of settings including magnificent vistas of 24 • Byways reat River Road is one of the oldest, longest, and most unique scenic byways on the North American continent. It offers respite to millions each year for a day’s drive or for an extended vacation.

Part of a 3,000-mile-long network of federal, state, and county roads, the Great River Road stretches the length of the Mississippi River from Lake Itasca in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Great River Road is not a single road but a designated route along connected segments of named and numbered highways and streets maintained by state, county, or local jurisdictions.

for migratory birds. Two national wildlife refuges on the Mississippi River in Iowa offer safe resting and feeding habitat to ducks, geese, and other birds making their way to Canada, Mexico, and beyond.

The tug of the river also affects businesses you’ll find along the byway. Bed and breakfasts, hotels, and guest cabins are often situated with a view of the water. Restaurants feature catfish and offer outdoor Modern Woodman Park on the decks for warm weather Mississippi River in Davenport. dining. Local artists are Photo courtesy Iowa Tourism office. inspired by the natural beauty. You can visit galleries and studios along the way to purchase works from along the Great River Road by actually getting on the watercolors and photographs to pottery and jewelry. water. Luxury cruises, leisurely environmental tours and Whether it’s history, recreation, scenery, art, or even lively speed boats allow visitors to experience the shopping, the river takes center stage on your journey Mississippi by floating along it. The Celebration Belle is the largest non-gaming riverboat on the Upper along the Great River Road National Scenic Byway.

The river has also changed over the years as people Mississippi River. It offers day-long, themed cruises out have tried to tame it, mainly for transportation. A stop at of ports in Le Claire and Dubuque.

Riverboat Twilight offers one and two-day Mississippi one of the 11 lock and dam systems is worth your time.

River cruises aboard an authentic, Victorian-era riverSome offer tours and at others you may happen to see boat.

Sightseeing cruises (1.5 hours) depart from barges carrying their loads of corn or coal. Learn more LeClaire every third Saturday from June through about transportation at one of the riverboat museums in Dubuque and Keokuk. Today, you are as likely to see October. www.iowagreatriverroad.com recreational boats as working vessels. You may spot canoes, kayaks, sailboats, fishing boats, and jet skis on the water.

It’s hard to escape history on the The Celebration Belle is the largest non-gaming Great River Road because people riverboat on the Upper Mississippi River. have inhabited the Mississippi River valley for thousands of years. You’ll find evidence of prehistoric Native Americans at Effigy Mounds National Monument in northeast Iowa and Toolesboro Indian Mounds about 7 miles east of Wapello.

You’ll also be following in the footsteps of the first Europeans to visit Iowa, French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet. Later, immigrants from Germany, Ireland, France, and Scandinavia settled into the beautiful spaces along the byway.

Sixteen national interpretive centers and countless museums along the byway retell the histories of the people who have lived here.

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Road Tripping on Virginia’s Eastern Shore

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Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island, Virginia showing the Assateague Channel with the Assateague Light in the distance. Photos courtesy Leonard J. DeFrancisci. irginia’s Eastern Shore encompasses the scenic spit of land – along with numerous islands — dividing the Atlantic Ocean from Chesapeake Bay. Long on water, it is no surprise that water-based activities dominate the action in this quiet, relaxed, and impossibly beautiful shoreline scenery.

U.S. Route 13 runs from Norfolk through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel, and along the entire Eastern Shore, connecting with U.S. Route 50 in Maryland.

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A host of national wildlife refuges dot the Eastern Shore, namely Chincoteague refuge. These refuges provide venues for hiking, biking, wildlife watching, and beach combing — or even visiting a lighthouse.

Assateague National Seashore is famed for its Atlantic beach, wild ponies, and back-to-nature vibe.

Assateague Island National Seashore

Stretching 37 miles from Virginia into Maryland is one of the world’s best beaches for communing with nature.

Chincoteague Ponies

Walk along miles and miles of powdery, white sand and share the beach with descendants of the wild Chincoteague Ponies made famous by the town’s saltwater cowboys and the book, Misty of Chincoteague.

The Chincoteague Pony, also known as the Assateague horse, is a breed of pony that developed and lives in a feral condition on Assateague Island in Virginia and Maryland.

Legend states that Chincoteague ponies descend from Spanish horses shipwrecked off the Virginia coast on their way to Peru in the 16th century. Another story holds that they descend from horses left on the island by pirates. Both of these theories are unlikely, as no documentation has been found to show horses inhabiting the island this early.

Evidence points, however, to their ancestors actually being horses brought to the islands in the 17th century by mainland farmers.

While horse-like, they are commonly called “ponies”.

This is due in part to their smaller stature, created by the poor habitat on Assateague Island.

The feral ponies actually live on Assateague Island.

Although the entire Island is owned by the federal government, Assateague is split by a fence at the Maryland/Virginia state line, with a herd of around 150 ponies living on each side of the fence.

Virginia Seaside Water Trail

Paddlers can ply the 100-mile Virginia Seaside Water Trail, winding its way through some of Virginia’s most stunning seaside scenery – coastal marshes, wildlife refuges, and beaches. Multiple launch sites offer beginner, intermediate, and advanced routes for paddlers.

Camping is somewhat limited on the Eastern Shore but gorgeous Kiptopeke State Park and private campgrounds make up for that.

Here you’ll find windswept beaches, maritime forest, coastal bay waters and nature at its best on one of America’s last fully functioning barrier island ecosystems.

From the little island town of Chincoteague, Virginia, a short causeway leads into the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and to its Atlantic Ocean beach at Assateague Island National Seashore.

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Annual Chincoteague Pony Swim features more than 200 wild ponies swimming across the Assateague Channel into Chincoteague, Virginia. Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard.

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Misty of Chincoteague statue in Chincoteague, VA. Photo courtesy Leonard J. DeFrancisci.

Fishing, crabbing, and clamming are time-honored Paddling Adventure pasttimes. Bicyclers can try out the paved Southern Tip Leave Chincoteague Island and work south toward Hike & Bike Trail. State natural area preserves add more Assateague Island. Paddle east into Toms Cove, potenwildlands and hiking opportunities. tially landing at the historic U.S. Coast Guard Station (worth a visit) on the bay side of Assateague Island. Hop Hiking Adventure out and do some beachcombing and wild pony searching Visit Savage Neck Dunes Natural Area Preserve. along the Atlantic Ocean before paddling back to Known for sand dunes rising 50 feet high from Chincoteague Island.

Chesapeake Bay — an unusual situation for bayfront Virginia — the almost 300-acre Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge. preserve boasts a mile of wild frontage on the Chesapeake Bay, with stellar vistas from Photo courtesy U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. the sandy shoreline.

Heading inland, the big dunes give way to lesser dunes, then pines, oaks, and cedars.

Loblolly pines rise to impressive proportions in the protected interior. The dunes are among the highest points on the Eastern Shore. Visitors accessing the preserve can trace a ¾-mile trail through the dunes to the beach, then explore the beach.

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Camping/RV

Kiptopeke State Park features a little over a mile of bayfront. The park campground is fine for tent and RV campers. The campground is divided into two areas, putting like-minded RV campers together and tent campers together.

The RV area has electric, water, and sewer campsites. The tent sites do not have water, electricity, or sewer, but are cheaper. Two large bathhouses serve the campground.

Reservations are highly recommended at Kiptopeke during the summer. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, the park is full every weekend and some nice weather weekdays, so make reservations far in advance during this time.

Biking Adventure

Old Assateague Coast Guard Station.

Photo courtesy Virginia Tourism Corporation.

Head over to Eastern Shore National Wildlife Refuge near Kiptopeke and jump on the paved Southern Tip Hike & Bike Trail. The path follows an old railroad grade for 2.6 miles, and presents an opportunity for wildlife observation while bicycling. Add to your bicy-

cling by pedaling quiet refuge roads, some open to autos, other closed to all but refuge personnel. Looking for more bicycling? Try the trails at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.

For more information on visiting Virgina, https://www.virginia.org

Eastern Shore National Wildlife Refuge near Kiptopeke State Park. Photo courtesy Virginia Tourism Corporation.

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Traveling the Highways & Byways with Bill Graves he Trans-Canada Highway runs along side the Saint John River when it’s in New Brunswick. The highway begins at Glace Bay at the eastern tip of Nova Scotia, takes an “L” shaped trek through New Brunswick before exiting into Quebec.

Here it’s called Highway 2. When the Trans-Canada enters Quebec, unlike U.S. Interstate Highways, it picks up a different number. And in Nova Scotia, it’s numbered something else again. It takes a minimum of intellect to adjust to this. Still, it’s a reminder: things are done differently here, which is one reason why I like visiting Canada.

Tracking the river, Highway 2 swings north when it reaches the western edge of New Brunswick, near where the traffic off Interstate 95 flows in from the upper reaches of Maine. It continues north for about 200 miles. Just before entering Quebec, it skirts Edmundston, a city of

Traveling to Edmundston, Along the Trans-Canada Highway

10,800 that’s big in the production of pulp.

Of the eight cities in New Brunswick, Edmundston is the most Francophone — 91% of its people speak French; 13% speak only French. Most everyone speaks English, of course, with 62% being bilingual. As you might expect, it has highest percentage of bilingualism of any city in the province.

Edmundston is where I am headed. If language is the criteria, it will be the most foreign as any place I have been in North America.

New Brunswick is Canada’s only province that is officially bilingual; meaning everything governmental must be in French and English. Heading up Highway 2, I see signs in both languages. I plan to exit/sortie at Hartland, where my official map/carte routiere indicates there is an information center/information aux visiteurs.

Hartland has the world’s longest covered bridge. Set on seven cement pilings, it was built in 1901 and covered in 1921. A lady at the information center – a life-long resident – told me that covered bridges were invented in New Brunswick. This is one of five in the county. The The world’s longest covered bridge.

Photo courtesy Bill Graves.

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Bridge over the Saint John River, connecting Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada and Madawaska, Maine. Photo courtesy P199 at Wikimedia Commons.

mother of this invention was snow, which starts covering the ground here in November and does not go away until March or April.

Aside from the obvious — assuring that the bridge is passable in the winter, even if the roads are not — covering it reduces maintenance: Clearing snow from it is never a concern and there are no repairs due to rot or snowplow damage. Covered, a wooden bridge may last indefinitely. An uncovered bridge around here only lasts 10 or 12 years And if some farm animals are being walked across the bridge, when a few feet below a river is rushing, it’s less traumatic for all concerned if the bridge is enclosed. “That’s why they look like barns. It puts the animals at ease,” the lady explained.

“Years ago, these bridges were called ‘kissing bridges,’ because young men and women did so when their horses just happened to stop while inside.” She paused, apparently considering what she just said. “I remember thinking as a school girl that the horses probably didn’t even have to stop in this one; 1282 feet is a pretty long bridge.

“The Saint John River has been significant in our history. It’s how the first settlers got here. As early as 1813 troops moved on the river from the Maritimes to Upper Canada, especially in the winter when it’s frozen solid.”

U.S. “greenbacks” are happily accepted most everywhere here. But using them often sends a clerk in search of a calculator, as the exchange is not one for one.

Saint John River at Hartland, New Brunswick.

Photo courtesy Jean-Philippe Béland.

Byways • 33

The Seal Island Bridge, the largest bridge on Cape Breton Island, connects the more urban and popu on the eastern side of the Island, to the rural Victoria County . It is located below Kelly's Mountain on the Great Bras d'Or channel of the Bras d'Or Lake. It is the 3rd longest bridge in Nova Scotia. Photo

The Canadian dollar is not a bill; it’s a coin. With the likeness of Queen Elizabeth on one side and a loon on the other, it’s nicknamed the “Loonie.” And then there’s the “Toonie.” It’s a coin worth two dollars, engraved with a bear and the Queen respectively. The rest of the money is paper, with each denominated bill having a distinctive color.

New Brunswick is 75% forest. Since most of its population is spread around the southern half of the province, this is where the trees are. And the business here is the cutting, growing and the processing of them.

No place is this more obvious than in Edmundston, 34 • Byways

ulated Cape Breton Regional Municipality n the Trans-Canada Highway and spans courtesy Grmike.

Route 2 eastbound, west of Edmundston.

where the tall smokestack of the Fraser Papers pulp mill defines and punctuates the center of the city. From that mill a giant, green tube twists its way along the river, through town, and into to the busy Fraser paper mill, located across the border in Madawaska, Maine.

Maine has been a major player on the world’s stage of paper makers for 270 years. It’s the second largest paper producer in the United States. Here we see that Maine paper may be made in the USA, but much of what it’s made from comes from Canada.

The pipe, perched on stanchions, has U-turns built into it allowing it to adjust for expansion and contraction. Contrary to popular belief, this pipe carries steam to the Madawaska plant and not pulp. The pulp – 98% liquid and 2% fiber – travels in three cast-iron pipes that run in trenches under the two cities and under the river, a distance of a mile and a half.

Although physically located in different countries, the two plants operate as one.

At the plant in Edmundston, the logs arrive on trucks, are stripped of the their bark, run through a giant wood chipper, dumped into a vat of boiling water and simmered until it all reaches the consistency of oatmeal. In other words, cooked to a pulp.

Then it’s piped across the river to Maine, dried, pressed and rolled out into paper.

About the author: After seeing much of the world as a career naval officer, Bill Graves decided, after he retired, to take a closer look at the United States. He has been roaming the country for 20 years, much of it in a motorhome with his dog

Rusty. He lives in Rancho Palos Verdes, California and is the author of On the Back Roads, Discovering Small Towns. of America.

He can be reached at Roadscribe@aol.com.

Byways • 35

The Remarkable Story of Willow Run ideo V r o f k c i Cl

I

At full production, a B-24 Liberator rolled off the assembly line every 59 minutes.

n 1941 the winds of war were approaching, and America’s military was ill prepared to fight if drawn into the conflict.

One of the militaries most glaring deficiencies was the time it took to build a single bomber: 30 days.

In 1941 the Pentagon sent generals to Detroit to meet with Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company. To see if it was possible to take the assembly line approach to aircraft construction. While the aviation industry scoffed at the idea, Ford said it could be done. But not on existing assembly lines for automobiles.

Ford said he would need to build a new factory from scratch to build a bomber. The Pentagon agreed, and Henry Ford set out to build a bomber factory.

Ann Arbor.

At this time Ford Motor Company was under the direction of Henry Ford’s only son Edsel. Although officially retired, Henry Ford still had a say in the company’s affairs and refused government financing for Willow

Henry Ford’s Farm at Willow Run

He picked a farm he owned at Willow Run near Ypsilanti in Washtenaw County as the site of the plant.

Since he already owned the land, there would be no problems purchasing land. The farm at Willow Run was an ideal location, about 35 miles west of Detroit connected by main roads and rail lines between Detroit and 36 • Byways

42,000 men and women were on the job at Willow Run.

Run, preferring to have his company build the factory and sell it to the government, which would lease it back to the company for the duration of the war. Ford Motor was to have first option on the plant after war production ended.

It took six months to complete the factory, which was designed by Architect Albert Kahn. When completed it was the largest manufacturing plant in the world, with more that 3.5 million square feet. The plant began production in the summer of 1941, six month before Pearl Harbor.

At first the plant initially built components; Douglas Aircraft and the plane’s designer Consolidated Aircraft assembled the finished aircraft. Remote assembly proved problematic, however, and by October 1941 Ford received permission to produce complete B-24 Liberator bombers.

Willow Run Airport was built as part of the bomber plant, in next door Wayne County.

The Willow Run Plant had many initial startup problems, due primarily to the fact that Ford employees were used to automobile mass production and found it difficult to adapt these techniques to aircraft production. The plant at Willow Run was also beset with labor difficulties, high absentee rates, and rapid employee turnover.

The factory was nearly an hour’s drive from Detroit, and the imposition of wartime gasoline and tire rationing had made the daily commute difficult.

But when these problems were resolved, the results were truly remarkable.

8,685 Bombers, One Every 59 Minutes!

Between 1942 and 1945, Willow Run produced 8,685 B-24 Liberators. At its peak, the plant employed more than 42,000 people and produced a B-24 every 59 minutes.

Many historians believe that Detroit’s ability to mass produce not just aircraft, but tanks and military hardware of all kinds, was a key to the Allied victory in World War II. The aircraft manufacturing industry would never be the same.

Post War

Although Ford had an option to purchase the plant once it was no longer needed for war production, the company declined to exercise it, and ended its association with Willow Run. Eventually, the plant fell into the hands of the company’s archrival, General Motors.

Over the years, GM expanded the bomber plant by roughly half, to nearly 5 million square feet. The GM Powertrain factory and engineering center was there, and a parcel of land to the south of Powertrain was set aside for assembly operations that began in 1959, including a Fisher Body plant that built bodies for the Chevrolet models assembled there, including the Corvair and Nova.

In addition to making automatic transmissions, Willow Run Transmission also produced the M16A1 rifle and the M39A1 20mm autocannon for the U.S. military during the Vietnam War.

A World War II era C-47 at Willow Run Airport.

Yankee Air Museum offers visitors the opportunity to fly in the plane. Byways photo.

ideo V r o f k Clic

Byways • 37

The 175,000-sq. ft. future home of the National Museum of Aviation and Technology at Historic Willow Run is all that remains of the former Willow Run Bomber plant.

Yankee Air Museum

In 1981, a group of aviation enthusiasts came together for the purpose of preserving objects related to the aviation history of the Detroit area. The result was the Yankee Air Museum.

Unfortunately, in 2004, the museum, housed in a historic World War II era hangar, was largely destroyed by fire; the fire destroyed the hangar and most of the collection of documents and objects.

Volunteers managed to save the restored B-17, C-47, and B-25 flyable aircraft.

The Yankee Air Museum immediately began rebuilding the collection. In 2009, after fund raising, they purchased a building on the Willow Run airport property and in 2010 opened The Yankee Air Museum Collections & Exhibits Building to the public.

Yankee Air Museum Steps Up

In 2014 Yankee Air Museum succeeded in raising $8 million to purchase a portion of the building. The RACER Trust sold the remainder of the property and demolished the rest of the building.

The 175,000 sq. ft. portion of the original bomber plant that Yankee acquired is less than 5% of the massive facility. However, it comprises the end of the former B-24 assembly line at the far eastern edge of the property, which contains the two iconic bay doors from which the finished Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers exited the plant during World War II. The Yankee Air Museum is now engaged in a fund

Willow Run Plant Closes

In 2010 General Motors closed the Willow Run plant during the period the company was in bankruptcy. Title passed to the RACER Trust, which was created by GM to dispose of the company’s abandoned real estate as part of the bankruptcy proceedings.

RACER announced plans to demolish the bomber plant and repurpose the property for other uses.

38 • Byways

In the cockpit of a C-47, a WWII era transport plane. Byways photo.

raising campaign to restore the portion of the bomber plant they acquired and build exhibits.

The museum will move into this building and become the National Museum of Aviation and Technology at Historic Willow Run.

Open for Business

In the meantime, the Yankee Air Museum is open to the public with exhibits and educational programs.

The flyable aircraft are available to the public for rides.

These include the Yankee Warrior, one of only two B25C/D Mitchell aircraft still flying; the Yankee Lady, a World War II B-17G bomber which is one of only 10 still flying; and the Yankee Doodle Dandy, a C-47 transport plane which served as the backbone of troop transport from WWII through Vietnam.

The museum also offers rides on its Biplane.

The museum tells an important story that is often overlooked. “The Greatest Generation” included not only the men and women who fought in Europe, Africa, and Asia in World War II. It also included the story of the people who produced the material that made effective fighting possible.

For more information, and to contribute to the fundraising effort, visit: www.YankeeAirMuseum.org

Thunder Over Michigan

The Thunder over Michigan Air Show is an annual event presented by Wayne County Airport Authority. In 2018 it will feature the United States Air Force 'Thunderbirds and much more on August 25-26, 2018.

Thunder over Michigan is one of America’s leading air shows and is considered the best “warbird” show in America. Held every summer at Willow Run Airport near Detroit, the show features world-class entertainment, unique static displays, and fun for the whole family. http://yankeeairmuseum.org/airshow

Rosie the Riveter

The iconic Rosie the Riveter may seem to be simply a fiction from the past but she has a name – and an important history.

Rose Will Monroe moved from her home in Pulaski County, Kentucky as part of the great migration to Ypsilanti, Michigan to participate in the greatest national cause of the 20th century, the defense of freedom and liberty in World War II. She worked as a riveter at the Willow Run Aircraft Factory building B-24 bombers for the U.S. Army Air Forces. Monroe was asked to star in a promotional film about the war effort at home.

She and thousands of other men and women rolled up their sleeves with the “can do” attitude necessary to bring victory to America and her allies.

While Henry Ford had reservations about using women on the line, there was little alternative available

at the time. Thus, Rose Will Monroe and her co-workers came to southeast Michigan. Rose was singled out to become the symbol for this newly diverse workforce, and became the emblem for wartime production. And so, “Rosie the Riveter” was ideo born.

V r o f k c i Having women employ- Cl ees helped stabilize the workforce as well. Between the draft, enlistments, and a general shortage of skilled workers, many of the male workers either could leave for other opportunities or be made to leave for the war effort. In the end, women, who collectively became known as “Rosies” not only at Willow Run, but throughout the country, were strongly recruited and appreciated, to the point that “Rosies” made up 36.5 percent of the assembly workers in the aircraft industry.

Henry Ford’s Tax Problem

Henry Ford selected his farm in Washtenaw County, Michigan as the site of the Willow Run Bomber plant for several reasons.

First, he already owned the property. And second, its taxes were much lower than neighboring Wayne County.

But as the building footprtint continued to grow as new manufacturing lines were added, the plant grow closer to the Wayne County line each day.

When it became inevitable that every bomber coming off the end of the straight production line would end up in Wayne County, that county announced it planned to tax Ford for every plane it produced..

Henry Ford was furious. He was also cantankerous and rigid in his ways.

So Ford had a large turntable installed along the assembly line, allowing the B-24 production line to make a 90° turn before continuing to final assembly, and exiting into Washtenaw County.

According to legend, this arrangement allowed the company to pay taxes on the entire plant (and its equipment) to Washtenaw County, and avoid the higher taxes of Wayne County.

Byways • 39

Apple Park Visitor Center Set to Open by Year’s End

O

ne of the most exciting visitor attractions in Silicon Valley is set to open by the end of the year. It’s expected to draw thousands of visitors daily, from every state in the Union, and from countries across the globe, large and small.

Visitors will be drawn by the opportunity to view — an office building!

The Spaceship

But it’s not just any office building. It’s Apple’s new Apple Park, featuring a 2.8 million square foot ringshaped main building, an underground parking garage, a 100,000 square foot fitness center, and a 120,000 square foot 1,000-seat auditorium for hosting events, named the Steve Jobs Theater.

40 • Byways

Apple’s new “Spaceship” campus and the Apple Park Visitor Center, lower left.

Its circular design and extreme scale have earned a media nickname of “the spaceship”.

Steve Jobs wanted the whole campus to look less like an office park and more like a nature refuge. Eighty percent of the site consists of green space planted with drought-resistant trees and plants indigenous to the Cupertino, California area.

Apple Secrecy

Apple is known for its secrecy. Which means apart from the 12,000 Apple employees who will work there, and selected Apple developers, members of the media, and Apple business partners, few members of the general public will ever have access to Apple Park.

Apple realized it needed a way for its many customers and Mac fans to experience Apple Park from close up, but not too close! And it chose to build the Visitor Center

across the street from the new campus.

With new studies showing 64 percent of all Americans own an Apple product, interest in viewing Apple Park is expected to be substantial.

The Visitor

g n i n e p p a H s ’ t a h W

Center is divided into three parts: the retail store, a cafe and a space for an augmented reality experience.

Next to the retail store is a topographical scale model of Apple Park. It will come to life through an augmented reality iPad app. Employees will hand visitors special iPads with the app, and once they point the iPad camera toward the map, it comes alive with information detailing Apple Park and its many structures.

Stairs and elevators will take visitors to the roof level of the Visitor Center which will serve as the official observation deck to view Apple’s new spaceship like campus. Here visitors can use their iPhone and Pad cameras to take photos and video of Apple Park.

The retail store in the middle looks like any Apple Store around the world with some specialized merchandise. However, visitors can buy Apple branded tote bags, t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts and postcards. No other Apple store offers these items for sale.

Parking

The Visitor Center features an underground parking facility for nearly 700 cars. Apple has not yet announced plans for motorcoach drop-off and pickup points, nor for motorcoach or RV parking.

The Visitor Center cost $108 million to construct, and Apple CEO Tim Cook says it will open before the end of the year.

There will be no charge to visit the Apple Park Visitor Center.

The new $108 million Apple Park Visitor Center will be open to the general public.

Video r o f k c i l C

Byways • 41

Byways is published bi-monthly by Byways, Inc. and distributed electronically throughout North America.

Byways is emailed to more than 4000 tour operators /Travel Trade through the Internet. Subscriptions are complimentary. An iPad & iPhone version is available for consumers in iTunes in the App Store. An Android browser version is available at www.issuu.com/byways.

Byways’ distribution includes motorcoach companies, tour operators, selected travel agents, bank travel managers, school band and athletic planners, meeting planners and the travel trade. For advertising rates, editorial deadlines, or to place advertising insertions, contact: Byways Magazine at 502-785-4875. ©Copyright 2017 by Byways, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be duplicated in any form without express written permission of the publisher.

Editor and Publisher Stephen M. Kirchner

Advertising Director 502-785-4875

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