Oregon Coastal stretch of Highway 101

Oregon's stretch of Highway 101 has been designated one of America's Scenic Highways. The Oregon Coast Visitors Association puts out tens of thousands of brochures about it. It's certainly a beautiful road and one of the "signature" landmarks of the Oregon Coast, but I have to wonder about the "byway" part. It's our main highway. It doesn't go "by" anything, except of course the Oregon Coast. When it was built in the 1920's and 1930's, it wasn't just to be scenic, although it had the effect of tripling the state's tourism trade. The intent was to improve America's ability to defend its coastline, which is why it was called the "Roosevelt Military Road." For whatever the purpose, it's worth travelling the 350 miles of this scenic byway.