Friday, October 10, 2014

How far does Rt. 519 go?



I've always wondered how far CR 519 (pretty much a main route here in Warren County, NJ) will take you. I've looked at it on maps, in disbelief... can you really drive this road all the way to Sussex County? The Rt. 519 that you see up by Space Farms, which seems so far away: is that really OUR 519??

The answer is yes. Yes, you can drive from Warren to Hunterdon, and from Warren to Sussex, via county road 519. It's a lovely ride. The trail becomes decidedly more rocky and mountainous once you get into Sussex County. And the fall colors, and the winding turns, and the cornfields, and stone buildings, and fields of cows and horses, and pumpkin farms, are pretty all the way.

The other day I was trying to get my kid to nap in the car, so I hopped on 519 in Warren County. I went through Hope, Johnsonburg, Frelinghuysen, and possibly some other name of a town that I've never heard of in my life. Wouldn't you know it, after many miles of winding road, I hit Rt. 94 in Newton. And at that point, I didn't know where I'd end up... so I turned around and drove back home.

This probably seems pretty silly to all you GPS people out there. Well, I'm old-school. I refuse to plug in and use our GPS. Me, I prefer a good old-fashioned map to guide my way. When I got home, I consulted with a trusty online map, and realized you can in fact take Rt. 519 all the way to New York. Imagine that! Then it turns into a NY route, maybe 33 or 35 (I'm forgetting the number, but you can Google-map it if you're curious).

How long would it take to take the 519 scenic route to Newton? Uh, maybe 45 minutes. I'm sorry to say that I lost track of time eventually. My son woke up, we stopped at a farm stand... you know how it goes.

For some reason, I am a map weirdo who enjoys finding out where roads go. Honk if you are, too!