Traveling the blue highways
Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 09:46AM 
Methodist Church, Menlo, Iowa
On the old highway maps of America, the main routes were red and the back roads blue. Now even the colors are changing. But in those brevities just before dawn and a little after dusk - times neither day nor night - the old roads return to the sky some of its color. Then, in truth, they carry a mysterious cast of blue, and it's that time, the pull of the blue highway is strongest, when the open road is a beckoning, a strangeness, a place where a man can lose himself. William Least Heat-Moon, Blue Highways.
I spent the day yesterday on blue highways coming home to Minneapolis from Kansas City. I had been in the KC area visiting my daughter, her family, and my sister since last Friday. As news of the Corona virus became worse and worse, I decided to end my visit and my hiking trip in the Missouri Ozarks with the grandsons a few days early.
But there was nothing, really, to rush home for. My calendar was empty since a dentist appointment, Rotary meetings, subbing jobs, and even volunteer work were all canceled. With the YMCA, public library, movie theaters, and restaurants all shut down, I recognized I'd be spending a lot of time in my house. So I extended my trip by a few hours. I figured it would also be easier to avoid crowds in Skidmore, Missouri, than in Des Moines, Iowa.
Both my daughter's family and I live only a few miles from Interstate 35. When I want to get to KC or back in a hurry, it's less than a seven hour drive.
Yesterday it took eleven hours. I got off the interstate and wandered through Weston, St Joseph, Mound City, Skidville, Maryville, Bedford, Corning, Menlo, Stuart, Panora, Jefferson, Eagle Grove, Goldfield, Rowan, and Belmond before finally heading back to 35 just south of the Minnesota border. It was an overcast, rainy sky and spring had not yet sprung, but I loved my day spent on these blue highways. A few observations:
You actually have to drive on blue highways. Hills, curving roads, reduced speed limits, slow moving vehicles make this an actual driving experience. No setting the cruise control and mentally drifting off. This kind of driving is actually fun.
The economic diversity is in your face. Along these small roads were trailer homes sitting within a mile of million dollar mansions. Yards full of rusted cars and other junk were as common as homes with manicured lawns and brick entrance gate pillars. It made me wonder if we are all the same species.
Small towns are fascinating. I don't think I drove through one town that did not have an interesting building or two - an old hotel, strange church, ornate municipal building, or towering courthouse. Most of these buildings were old, of course, but were reminders of when rural life was more vibrant. Sadly, much of these old towns also look awfully worn down.
Paper road maps still work. I needed reading glasses instead of sun glasses for my drive yesterday.
You can't go home again. I lived in Menlo, Iowa and taught at the high school in Stuart, Iowa, from 1976 to 1978. The old houses (decrepit even in the 70s) I lived in were gone. My wing of the school where I taught was gone. The gas station I moonlighted in was gone. However, the movie theater in the small town of Greenfield where I remember watching the first Star Wars movie was still there - although closed because of the pandemic.
Dollar Stores and Caseys dominate the retail choices. Nearly evey small town had one of these junk food dealers. No wonder there is a rise in obesity in this country.
The country is still a beautiful place. Even in its early spring bareness, the countryside of Missouri and Iowa was stunning in its own way. Countless rivers, streams, parks, and just small stands of trees combined with rolling hills made the drive a living National Geographic special. (OK, maybe that's a little over the top - but it was pretty.)
I don't know the fate of rural America. The towns look and feel old, along with the residents. It looks to be economically struggling. Family farms are being replaced by corporations. But driving it is still a fine experience. Next time you're going somewhere, try leaving the interstate.
Reader Comments (1)
Loved Blue Highways. I am now reading River Horse.