Getting Around Phillips County: Towns and Highways
There is a definite difference in the way directions are given in a rural area versus in a city, especially if a farmer is giving them. Growing up in a city environment, I can tell you that for the first twenty years of my life I only gave directions in terms of street names or highway numbers, number of blocks or minutes to travel in a given direction, and whether you should turn right or left. In the country, directions are given by local features ("so-and-so's" place), miles to travel, and by north-south-east-west. So I thought I'd do a quick tutorial to help new residents familiarize themselves with navigation in our county . . . As I got to writing this quick tutorial, I realized it will take a few blogs to cover everything, so this is number one in the series: Towns and Highways!
Here's a basic map of Phillips County and the surrounding area. The county border is that pea green line. As you can see, Haxtun is on the western edge of the county. Holyoke, 20 miles east of us, is the biggest town in our county with about 5,000 people and is the county seat (meaning it has the court house and county offices). Amherst (on Hwy 23 east of Holyoke) and Paoli are the two other towns in the county with very small populations, probably less than 100.
The layout around here is really pretty basic once you get used to it. When you're trying to orient yourself, especially when talking to a local, you should keep a picture in your head of the two highways that pass through Haxtun, 6 and 59, and the cities that they connect us to. Highway 6 runs west to Sterling and east to Holyoke. Highway 59 runs north to Sedgwick and south to Yuma.
It's also helpful to be familiar with the highways that connect the surrounding cities. This is what I picture in my head:
Anyone who has looked at a real map should be laughing now because my drawing is OVERLY simplistic. Most of these highways run at diagonals and have large turns at correction lines (I'll explain that in another blog), but my quick-and-dirty map can help get you where you're going.
Now, let me describe the towns in the neighboring counties quickly for you.
Sterling and Fleming (just west of Haxtun on Hwy 6) are in Logan County. Sterling is a larger city than any in our county. It is a bit of a shopping hub for northeast Colorado because it has Walmart, Home Depot, and lots of fast food. It's also on the interstate, which is always handy. Fleming is a very small community that has put forth a lot of effort to keep its town alive with a nice downtown and school. It is home of the locally famous Bully's Restaurant (hmm, their website appears to be down, but check back later for more info on their rocky mountain oyster and steak nights!).
Sedgwick, Ovid and Julesburg are north of us in Sedgwick County. Julesburg is the county seat (if you haven't guessed, this is a very big deal in rural counties because the county seat has more services available and a better chance of surviving the years). It's on the interstate and has a few nice shops downtown and restaurants. Sedgwick and Ovid are both very small with little services to offer. However, they each have restaurants worth sampling. Lucy's just off the interstate by Sedgwick is a greasy spoon that is a favorite in the county. The Stockade in Ovid is similar, but with a little more variety, including a full bar. There is also a mexican restaurant in Ovid, but I've never tried it.
Yuma and Wray are in Yuma County. Both are thriving communities. They have very different characters, but plenty of services and shops to offer in both towns. I would especially recommend taking a walk down Wray's main street.
Stay tuned for my next segment on "Getting Around Phillips County: County Roads and Rural Addresses"!
Here's a basic map of Phillips County and the surrounding area. The county border is that pea green line. As you can see, Haxtun is on the western edge of the county. Holyoke, 20 miles east of us, is the biggest town in our county with about 5,000 people and is the county seat (meaning it has the court house and county offices). Amherst (on Hwy 23 east of Holyoke) and Paoli are the two other towns in the county with very small populations, probably less than 100.
The layout around here is really pretty basic once you get used to it. When you're trying to orient yourself, especially when talking to a local, you should keep a picture in your head of the two highways that pass through Haxtun, 6 and 59, and the cities that they connect us to. Highway 6 runs west to Sterling and east to Holyoke. Highway 59 runs north to Sedgwick and south to Yuma.
It's also helpful to be familiar with the highways that connect the surrounding cities. This is what I picture in my head:
Anyone who has looked at a real map should be laughing now because my drawing is OVERLY simplistic. Most of these highways run at diagonals and have large turns at correction lines (I'll explain that in another blog), but my quick-and-dirty map can help get you where you're going.
Now, let me describe the towns in the neighboring counties quickly for you.
Sterling and Fleming (just west of Haxtun on Hwy 6) are in Logan County. Sterling is a larger city than any in our county. It is a bit of a shopping hub for northeast Colorado because it has Walmart, Home Depot, and lots of fast food. It's also on the interstate, which is always handy. Fleming is a very small community that has put forth a lot of effort to keep its town alive with a nice downtown and school. It is home of the locally famous Bully's Restaurant (hmm, their website appears to be down, but check back later for more info on their rocky mountain oyster and steak nights!).
Sedgwick, Ovid and Julesburg are north of us in Sedgwick County. Julesburg is the county seat (if you haven't guessed, this is a very big deal in rural counties because the county seat has more services available and a better chance of surviving the years). It's on the interstate and has a few nice shops downtown and restaurants. Sedgwick and Ovid are both very small with little services to offer. However, they each have restaurants worth sampling. Lucy's just off the interstate by Sedgwick is a greasy spoon that is a favorite in the county. The Stockade in Ovid is similar, but with a little more variety, including a full bar. There is also a mexican restaurant in Ovid, but I've never tried it.
Yuma and Wray are in Yuma County. Both are thriving communities. They have very different characters, but plenty of services and shops to offer in both towns. I would especially recommend taking a walk down Wray's main street.
Stay tuned for my next segment on "Getting Around Phillips County: County Roads and Rural Addresses"!
Posted by Susan at August 29, 2010 
Categories: New Residents
Tags: yuma county sterling sedgwick wray yuma northeast sedgwick county phillips county amherst holyoke map paoli fleming haxtun ovid colorado interstate 76 julesburg
Categories: New Residents
Tags: yuma county sterling sedgwick wray yuma northeast sedgwick county phillips county amherst holyoke map paoli fleming haxtun ovid colorado interstate 76 julesburg
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