Skip to main content

Richmondville...and I-88

Headed southwest to our Richmondville store this afternoon. It was for a store visit and I was overseeing a product reset.

Route:
NY 7 West, I-88 West, NY 7 East/NY 10 North.

Notes:
To most this is an uneventful trip, a 30 minute drive down I-88 to a rural store. And it is just that, an uneventful 30 minute drive from my office down I-88 to a rural store. But I figured this would be a great time to just comment on one of my favorite Interstate drives, I-88.

I've never traveled in the Mountain West (with the exception of a weekend in Alberta in 1996) but for some reason, Interstate 88 is what I would think how the Interstates in the Rockies would look. I-88 is rural...desolate..and (not as high as the Rockies of course) mountain scenery. One of the more spectacular views is heading west on I-88 approaching Exit 23 (NY 7/30/30A) The interchange is at the bottom of a valley so both the east bound and west bound approaches to the exit is down hill. However, heading westbound the road rises and curves thruogh a mountain pass. What is also visually appealing is on the south side of the highway is another mountain range that shoots southwards towards Schoharie. The mountain that is on the southbound side is called Terrace Mountain and Schoharie creek runns at the base of the valley.

It is also a great view from NY 7, which runs parallel on the north side of the highway. A few weeks ago while on lunch, i drove down to this point. Lake effect snows were going through the area and you can see the effect of low clouds mixed with a blue sky with mountains poking through the low clouds. A pretty impressive site, no camera oh well. It's a little spot of country that looks great no matter the season.

Here's a photo by Chris Jordan from an overpass before the entire valley comes into view.

If you have travelled I-88, and specifically through the area I just described..what are your thoughts of it?

Comments

Anonymous said…
I took I-88 from Richmondville to I-90 as part of my daily commute for a few months last year, and have travelled other parts of I-88 quite extensively as well. I do favor I-88 east of Oneonta because of the abundance of hills, particularly the stretch between Worcester and Richmondville.

I-88 going across the Schoharie Creek is majestic, but it can be a pain to ascend the corresponding hills.
Anonymous said…
I must agree that Interstate 88 is a beautiful drive, especially now that I have seen it during the day. Carter Buchanan and I traveled it during this past Summer, and the vistas along the rural freeway are striking as the highway cuts across the Catskills.

However when comparing it to the Rocky Mountains, there are some similarities, but the mountain peaks are so high along Interstate 70 for instance, that you rarely get a wide open view like you do in that photo taken by Chris Jordan. Also many of the mountains in the west are devoid of any trees, especially those toward Grand Junction in western Colorado. A lot of that has to do with the more arid climate that you get out there.
Georgia Road Geek said…
Nice picture of I-88 in New York State. :)

Popular posts from this blog

Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80.   This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.  Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range.  The first documented wagon crossi...

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced...

The William Flinn (not Flynn) Highway - Pittsburgh's Misspelled Street

For decades if you traveled along PA Route 8 in Pittsburgh's North Hills suburbs, you would have noticed signs that read "William Flynn Highway" at every intersection.  Even today, many businesses and residences have their addresses listed as XXXX William Flynn Highway.  However, it's not William Flynn Highway, it is William FLINN Highway - and the gentleman who it is named for has a long and storied past in Pittsburgh's infrastructure history. William Flinn was born in England in 1851; however later that year, his family emigrated to the United States and would settle in Pittsburgh.  A 10-year-old school dropout, Flinn grew interested in politics and would join the Allegheny County Republican Party in 1877 as a ward commissioner and a seat on the Board of Fire Commissioners.  Flinn would serve in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives and Senate from 1877 to 1902. (1) Flinn along with James J. Booth would found the Booth and Flinn construction firm ...