US-6 - Part 5 - Cleveland to Providence, Rhode Island
/
Almost there, but a few segments still need to be done
When we left Cleveland it was snowing and cold. Back on US-6 the roads were wet, but not slippery… yet. We drove past marinas along Lake Erie’s coast. All the boats were out of the water and buttoned up for winter.
In Chardon, we took a short detour to Mentor to visit the James Garfield National Historic Site. We confess we knew very little about our 20th president. In fact, we didn’t even remember that he’d been assassinated. Shame on us! Luckily, Garfield’s Visitor Center provided the education we were lacking. It’s no wonder we didn’t know much about him; he only served 200 days in office from his inauguration in March 1881 to his assassination in July 1881 and death a couple months later in September. From what we learned, it seemed as if he might have done a good job if he’d lived to fulfill his term.
He was the last ‘log cabin’ president hailing from the Ohio frontier from an impoverished farming family. A clergyman and staunch abolitionist, he was instrumental in “ending the "spoils system" of political patronage and implementing a merit-based civil service. His wife, Lucretia Garfield, helped establish the first presidential library to preserve his papers and legacy.”
Cold and hungry, we stopped at a nearby Cracker Barrel in hopes of having a hot bowl of soup. Their one hot soup offering, chicken noodle, was the only item on their voluminous menu that even hinted at being healthy. Sorry, Cracker Barrel!
Ohio, by the way, was particularly good about noting US-6’s historic significance
Shortly after, we were over the state line to Linesville, “Gateway to Pennsylvania”. Hanging banners announced that we’d missed the annual tractor parade the weekend before.
We were in for a treat at Conneaut Lake. The Ice House Fest was in full swing at Ice House Park.The Ice Harvesting Industry began in 1880 at Conneaut Lake on the southeastern shore of the lake. From the town’s website “The Conneaut Lake Ice Company built large wooden ice houses for storing, packing, and shipping ice harvested from the lake. In winter the industry employed some 200 men and transported 100,000 tons of ice by railroad from Conneaut Lake.”
the Ice House Park ice sculpture exhibit was an unexpected surprise.
Despite the cold, we wandered through the park admiring all the ice sculptures created by local vendors to pay homage to the town’s illustrious ice harvesting history.
We stayed the night in Meadville awakening to 12F cold, but clear blue sunny skies which, in our minds, beat gray skies and snow! It was only after a few miles that I noticed a small ‘Do 6’ sign posted atop all the mile markers. I learned later ‘Do 6’ is a Pennsylvania marketing campaign to promote exploring the state’s longest highway, historic US Route 6 across 403 miles of the state's northern tier known for its "PA Wilds" scenery and small towns.
‘Do 6’ Mile Markers in Pennsylvania
The roads were dry, but deceptively slick in tree-shaded areas. We passed through small towns with stately old houses separated from the next town by snow-covered fields. Smoke curled from farmhouse chimneys. The two-laned highway threaded its way through forested areas with snow laced trees.
Through small towns and forests we threaded our way along US-6
We followed US-6 as it wandered and weaved its way across the state. To me, it is each of these little towns that represents the epitome of Main Street America. Hailing from the little town of Leicester, Massachusetts (pronounced Les-tah) with a population of 4,500 when I grew up, I could feel at home here. I’m a small town girl at heart. My Mom worked in a textile mill and my Dad worked in a steel mill. My graduation class from high school had 100 kids and I knew them all by name. Now I’m a city girl, but I remember my upbringing well.
We passed through Mount Jewett, “Gateway to Kinzua Brige”. We’ve visited this area before… in the summer. Access to the bridge was closed and since it was freezing cold, we were happy to give it a pass.
Another hotel night, another very cold morning (7F) and we continued on our way under a solid, cloud-filled ‘agreeable gray’ sky. The route followed the serpentine path of the Susquehanna River.
Over the New York State line with little fanfare and not even a welcome sign. Here the 78 miles of US-6 had multiple names: Long Mountain Parkway, Palisades Interstate Parkway and the best for scenery, the Bear Mountain Parkway.
The Bear Mountain Parkway is a narrow, beautiful 2-lane stretch of US-6 and runs alongside the Hudson River far below with steep granite cliffs on the other side.
View of Hudson from a turnout on the Bear Mountain Parkway
We stopped at the historic toll house, a Tudor-style building which collected tolls for the bridge and road built in the 1920s. It currently serves as a seasonal Tourist Info and Welcome Center. This was not the ‘season’ and we were not welcomed, but it gave us a chance to stretch our legs.
The historic toll house was closed, but it was a good place for a snack and a leg stretch.
From the historic, scenic parkways we passed through multiple New York towns. People were double-parked in front of little bodegas. White-spired churches stood solemnly in town squares. We were in the East!
We crossed the state line into Connecticut for 116 miles of ‘same as’ New York. There was not one single sign in Connecticut that mentioned Historic U.S. Route 6 - Grand Army of the Republic Highway. Bah! The route seemed to wander more wantonly than previous routes, first north, then south, but finally joined with I-95 in Rhode Island. Whew!
Finally!
We followed US-6 as far as we could then detoured to Pawtucket for Lin’s house. Let the holidays begin. So much to do… so little time.
Next time? I have no idea. We’ll go where the spirit and the road takes us. But join us anyway, we’ll all be surprised!