“I’m a road runner, baby,” goes the old rock lyric, one we took to heart and lived as much as we could. Like most American teens, we sought freedom and liberation, a wide variety of old rusty clunkers our admission ticket to fame and fortune. The precise pathways were many, but I’d say none more frequently utilized than Route 22.
NY Route 22 meanders through all sorts of early settlements, many if not most going back to Colonial times, some much larger today, but quite a few not changed all that much over the past 100 years or more. Although at one time or another I’ve traveled over most of it, the section between Salem and Hoosick Falls comes first to mind, so indelibly etched I could almost navigate it blindfolded.
Some 22 sections almost invite high speed driving while other parts bend and twist so severely that passing even a slow moving tractor is insanity. The highway goes right through the heart of Cambridge and Washington County, the crossroad with NY 372 hosting our only traffic light, something outsiders frequently found amusing. Continue reading “Tales of Route 22”