One of Route 28's funkiest attractions: A '47 Dodge-turned-rocket-ship from Steve Heller's Fabulous Furniture in Boiceville. Photo by Flickr user reclaimedhome; published under Creative Commons license.
Route 28 may not be an official scenic byway (yet?), but it carries plenty of sightseers along its winding route from the Hudson River to the Adirondacks.
Last week, the New York Times polled ten of its national correspondents to find out which of America's roads were their favorites. Our own Route 28 -- and the Andes Hotel -- got some love from San Francisco bureau chief Jesse McKinley, who writes:
After crossing Interstate 88, Route 28 becomes a drive made for drivers: rolling and pitching as mountains and valleys vie for the road. Part of the pleasure is not knowing what’s around the next bend. One surprise is the Andes Hotel, which was founded in 1850 and still offers lodging and liquor, with modern-day drinkers happily occupying the hotel’s spacious front porch.
Route 28 traces much of its final stretches along Esopus Creek, a Hudson tributary that is far more muscular than its name suggests. Like the route that follows it, it is both beautiful and powerful, an open secret known to locals and those willing to take the long way around.
In February, Imprint writer Gail Anderson slowed down to get a look at another side of Route 28: Those corny roadside arrow signs that are as much a part of the Route 28 landscape as its sparkling creeks and rolling hills. Once she started noticing them, Anderson couldn't stop thinking about them:
I fantasized about owning a portable sign of my very own, and made mental lists of what it would say. In the end, the beauty of the sign was in its flexibility. I could advertise a pancake breakfast one week and a yard sale the next. Maybe I’d post words of wisdom, or raise philosophical questions. I could keep it in the yard as an art installation of sorts, or hitch it to my car and drag it to the end of the driveway to alert the fire department. It seemed like an investment that would pay for itself.
