The Lincoln Highway

Everyone knows about Route 66, but I'm pretty sure unless you were the 10 yr old kid studying the Rand McNally in the back of the car, you have no idea what the Lincoln Highway was or that it was the nation's first transcontinental highway. Starting in New York City it went to San Francisco, going straight through Nebraska (well, mostly straight, or as straight as can be for a road that kind of asked towns along the way to build their own sections independent of one another because there was no federal funding back then). It has a fascinating history, including a bet and some help from the Boy Scouts of America. If you're looking for it now on your map, look for US 30 :-)

July 1, 2013 was the 100 year anniversary of the road and the Lincoln Highway Association hosted some pretty awesome events along the route for history buffs. I found out about it from my local paper the week before the tours were to end up in Kearney, Nebraska and didn't even immediately register that this was something I should be going to as someone who likes road trips and has more free time than the average Joe. But I got there, both in my mind and physically!

Saturday afternoon my aunt and I started out from Omaha on the search for the original brickwork that was supposed to be on the way to Elkhorn. The directions on the association's website were not the most helpful, especially since they included turning left off Dodge which is now an expressway in most of Omaha with exits and on-ramps, no left turns. But we found the road basically by accident and were able to drive down it and see the 500th historical marker in Nebraska, and meet some other road enthusiasts.

After the awesomely serendipitous start to our trip, it just got better from there. If you ever have a chance, I definitely recommend taking a trip on some part of the Lincoln Highway. Obviously, I've only been on one small part of the roughly 3000 mile road, but what I've seen is worth the trip. And I can only think of all the other small towns and historically significant sights on the rest of the highway! So here are the pictures you guys are all waiting for, and I'll stop babbling about history :-)

With my aunt at the new historical marker

Nailing a Lincoln penny into the centennial
bench between Omaha and Elkhorn.

Visitor's Center in Shelton, NE. It was
closed when we drove through.

My favorite signs along the highway

We played groupies in Grand Island and
stalked the tour participants to their dinner
site along the highway. This is an old
Tucker.

A car in the parade on Sunday in Kearney.
The sticker shows that it was part of the
tour that drove from one of the coasts
to Kearney over the course of 10 days.