Denny's Back to Cruisin' Again-- Part 4: Western Terminus of US-20 and Those Mom and Pop Motels

On Day 26, July 1, Denny dropped down from Washington state and picked  up the western terminus of US Highway 20.

In Newport, Oregon, there is a sign marking it as the western terminus reading "US 20 East  Boston, MA  3,365 miles.  I wish all U.S. and state roads would have terminus signs like that.  Most people driving them have no clue where the roads actually end up going.  I have never met a person who knows the ends of US-12.  They are always shocked when I tell them.  And, US-12 is a major road around northeastern Illinois.

And, US-20 is of particular interest to us because that is the road we take from Marengo, Illinois, when we go out to Galena, Illinois.  Liz and I spent out honeymoon in Galena before it got as popular as it is today.

One thing I was amazed at was how Denny Gibson kept finding all those nice mom and pop motels for most of the trip.  We prefer mom and pop motels because they are the underdogs competing with the huge chains and usually family owned.  Not to mention also that they are generally a bit cheaper.

But, you have to be careful about the mom and pops as some of them are a bit more than a little seedy to put it nicely.  But, generally you can tell by the outside premises if it is a good place or not.

--RoadDog