Route 60 Journal

Rob Easterling

Cedar Crest, NM

Introduction.

In April 2004, I had a lunchtime visit with and heard a talk by Spencer Wilson, history professor emeritus from New Mexico Tech. The talk was about US Highway 60, known at one time as the “ocean-to-ocean highway.” From (at least) 1933 – 1966 this highway ran from Los Angeles, CA, to Virginia Beach, VA. (A paper by Wilson and Turner indicates the informal designation of an “ocean to ocean” highway, though not the present Highway 60, dates to 1914.)

Presently, the western terminus of designated US route 60 is in western Arizona, near Quartzsite. (Would you believe there is a website dedicated to identifying the terminal points of US highways?) West of there it has been replaced, first by I-10 (with old Route 60 as an occasional frontage road, I would guess from a CA map), then CA 60, which I assume is so-numbered in homage to US 60, as it is sucked into the LA freeway system. Elsewhere, portions of various interstates are co-designated US route 60, but for the most part it still exists on its own all the way from Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean. (Note: If California is ever detached from the US and set adrift into the Pacific Ocean, as some have suggested, Route 60 can again become ocean-to-ocean.) Eastbound, 60 angles gently and steadily to the northeast from SW Arizona across New Mexico (going through Socorro, home of New Mexico Tech) and the Texas Panhandle to north central Oklahoma. It then runs generally eastward across NE Oklahoma and southern Missouri, crosses the Mississippi at Cairo, IL, then arches eastward across Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia, dipping to its east-coast terminus at Virginia Beach in SE Virginia.

Route 60 interests me in part because my hometown of Tonkawa, OK is on it. I recall in the 1950s or ‘60s that my Dad, who was President of a Northern Oklahoma Junior College in Tonkawa and who was an inveterate promoter of many (often lost?) causes, was involved in the Highway 60 Association, established to promote travel and commerce along that corridor. (NM interest: Spencer and Turner report that the association met in the Val Verde Hotel in Socorro in 1957.) I suppose the attention given to “Historic Route 66,” even then, was a stimulus for this effort. I don’t know that this effort had any success (and haven’t yet, in limited searching, found internet reference to it –). But, it’s not too late. From the Great Southwest to the Upper South, Route 60 has a heritage worth preserving and celebrating.

When I heard Prof. Wilson’s talk in April, we (Susie and I) had already planned a spring motorhome trip to the East Coast on which it would be convenient, well, possible, to return via Route 60 westward from Virginia Beach to Tonkawa, OK. So, I resolved to do this, not for the purpose of historical research, but just to get a feel for this slice of the country. We invite you to fasten your seatbelts and join us on this trek.

Day 1 (June 8, 2004). Virginia Beach to Powhatan, VA.

Highway 60 apparently begins at the NE tip of Virginia Beach, where Atlantic Ave. turns west to become Coast Drive – at least that’s where I saw the first Route 60 sign (one website writer includes Coast Drive as part of 60). There’s no billboard or VA historical marker (such as are thickly scattered across the state proclaiming, e.g., Stonewall Jackson camped near here one night) to mark the site. In fact, the Route 60 shield has to share a pole with a Route 13 sign, but at least it gets top billing. [Note to self: Contact the Virginia Beach Chamber of Commerce and suggest they do something to designate the Route 60 eastern terminus.] This location is near the landing point of the first Jamestown settlers, so right away we’re on historic ground. The road proceeds along the Northern shore of Virginia Beach and Norfolk, an area of beach houses and businesses. And here’s another familial connection: Some time in the 1950s my Dad, who was in the Naval Reserves, brought the family with him when he did two weeks of Reserve duty in Norfolk (maybe we even drove a lot of Route 60 on that trip). We stayed in a Norfolk beach house, no doubt along this stretch of US 60. I remember catching crabs with bacon tied to a string, then being grossed out by my Dad’s effort to cook and eat our catch. At any rate, Route 60 soon joins I-64 for the tunnel under Hampton Roads, where the James River empties into the Chesapeake Bay. Then things get interesting.

Route 60 exits from I-64, makes a couple of jogs then runs southwest through Hampton, then suddenly turns 90 degrees to run northwest through Newport News, thus forming a reclining L. Trees obscured the sign for one jog and when you’re in a 37-ft. motorhome, pulling a car, it’s hard to recover nimbly from missed turns. We saw a few jaws drop as we trundled through residential neighborhoods searching for a return to 60. We generally were able to follow the route, but at one point 60 seemed to have become VA highway 143. Well, as belatedly looking at the map revealed (I was operating under the theory that one should be able to follow a US highway via road-signs, just as modern software can be used without a manual -- user-friendly, transparent, self-instructing, etc.), these two routes run parallel along both arms of the L and in part apparently form a one-way pair, 60 being eastbound, 143 westbound. By doggedly following 143, and seeing no viable alternatives, we eventually and fortuitously encountered some To-60 signs that got us back on track. Much of this route is residential with light commercial businesses and industry, lots of traffic, and is slow-going, but we persevered, while coming once again to graphic realization of what the interstate highway system enables us to do. Thank you Dwight Eisenhower (I enjoy back roads a lot, but sometimes you just want to get somewhere conveniently and quickly). We guessed that many people who came up behind us (or gave us a break when we needed to change lanes quickly – and it’s great how helpful people are in those situations) and saw our New Mexico tags remarked, “Wow, those dudes are really lost!”

We eventually escaped the Norfolk metropolitan area and approached Williamsburg through pastoral countryside. Now, I don’t have any intent to slavishly follow every existing inch of Route 60 roadbed, so, after consulting the map, we bypassed the congestion of Williamsburg and caught up with 60 again for a scenic approach to Richmond. Made a late and enjoyable lunch stop just beyond Williamsburg – the Welcome South restaurant out in the country at an intersection where 60 jogs left in the vicinity of Toano. (Of course, this area, with Williamsburg, Jamestown, and the James River plantations, offers much to see and learn about, but these are well known. If we have any objective, it’s to find little-known sights of interest. However, we’ll settle for just seeing the land, the farms and towns, churches and houses – and finding a few good places to eat.)

After lunch we continued toward Richmond, then made a long, slow, south-side rush-hour loop around Richmond and again rejoined 60 for the trip west. With the help of the Trailer Life campground guide, we found the very pleasant Cozy Acres Family Campground west of Powhatan, hooked-up, slid out (the motorhome’s slide-outs), and settled in. Distance traveled: about 180 miles (forgot to note the starting mileage – I told you this wasn’t serious research). Elapsed time: 7 hours. At this rate it’s going to take a long time to reach Tonkawa (and some might say, “So what?”).

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