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| The red line indicates Route 2 (click to enlarge) |
Quite a while ago, well before President Eisenhower decided to build the Interstate Highway System, all of the important, and some not so important roads were numbered as U S Routes. East-West roads had even numbers, with the lowest number in the North (US Route 2), and North-South roads had odd numbers with the lowest numbers in the East (US Route1). So U S Route 2 is the northern most East-West highway, it's unusual because it starts and stops twice, it goes from Houlton, Maine, crosses Lake Champlain at the Vermont/New York border and stops in Upstate New York; it starts again near Escanaba, Michigan and ends in Everett, Washington. It seems to be a favorite of groups that tour by motorcycle (in the summer).
So, you ask, why do I care about Route 2, and the answer would be: How the hell should I know. I have been interested in those highways ever since I can remember. I learned as a young teen how and why the numbers are the way they are, and after the Interstates were built I learned that system too, it's the opposite of the U S Route system.
If I had the time, energy and money I'd try to drive the full distance of a lot of them, U S Route 202, for example, I have lived near that one a number of times, it runs from Bangor, Maine to Lewes, Delaware (didn't even have to look that up).
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| Route 1 near Williston, Vermont |
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| The Eastern Terminus of the Western Section of Route 2 near Escanaba, Michigan |
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| Through the Big Sky country of Montana |
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| Everett, Washington at the Western end. |
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