#Backroads February 26

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

Dealing with days in February where it is too cold or wet to play golf has left me with a block of time on my hands. I discovered a series of documentaries on Amazon called BACKROADS USA

I have it on my travel “wish list” to drive much of the United States. I am not interested in all of the driving taking place on Interstates but traveling on BACKROADS. Those would be the paths that would scratch my travel itch. I have made some memorable drives in my life. Driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway, US 1 from Homestead to Key West FL. driving around Lake Tahoe, and following US 2 from New Sharon ME to St. Johnsbury VT as it winds along the Androscoggin River.

I watched the first episode on BACKROADS USA and it was titled “The Mohawk Trail Across New England”. I was intrigued because this episode educated me to the fact that the trail is the oldest designated tourist and scenic automobile route in the country. Native Americans long before the horse, wagon, or car created a path of travel thru New England. Years later that path became the foundation for automobile traffic. The documentary takes you from North Adams MA to Buffalo my interest was piqued on the portion of the documentary shot in Massachusetts.

The Mohawk Trail is officially a 63-mile portion of Massachusetts Route 2 between Millers Falls, MA and the New York border. The scenery was beautiful and it is hard to phantom that this “scenic tourist route” opened on October 22, 1914 for the sole purpose of tourism. The road was originally gravel.

Here is some history on a BACKROAD I hope to drive one day. Preferably not on a cold, rainy, or snowy day.