Is this what GM and Chrysler are enjoying?

Yes, I think the trenches are dug to see who gets most of the tranches.

trench c.1386, "track cut through a wood," later "long, narrow ditch" (1489), from O.Fr. trenche "a slice, ditch" (1288), from trenchier "to cut," possibly from V.L. *trincare, from L. truncare "to cut or lop off"

tranche(AWAD)
MEANING:noun: A portion, especially of money, investment, etc.
ETYMOLOGY:From French tranche (slice), from trancher (to cut).

I wish my tranch would get dug, or my ship come in.

It has been nearly a century & a half since trenches were dug in America -- not nearly as long for the lands of Europe -- but there are even older trenches which were dug not with shovels or trenching tools, but with wagon wheels. The Natchez Trace might be the most well-known; but there are traces & pikes from the 18th & 19th Century all over the USA. &, interestingly these trenches were also cut for tranches. Some portions of the Trace have been preserved in Mississippi & in places are as much as 15 or 20 feet below the surrounding terrain. Surely there are similar tracks in Europe & others in the world.

In Randolph County, Illinois, where I grew up, there is a preserved early 19th Century Covered Bridge that was part of such a trace that was only about 15 miles in length. Little of the trace remains because the way was laid with "planks" (halved logs) for the most part. It connected the Shawnee Trail to the Mississippi River at the County Seat.

I've read about those Southern Traces or trails, the famous and infamous ones. I always prefer the naturally grown trails to the straight ones concieved on designers' tables and bulldozer made.
I've found it more difficult to find walking roads in North America than in Europe, but then I've never been beneath the Chicago- Monterey line.

Well, then, you have a very large portion of the USA left to explore. Illinois alone extends over 500 miles south of Chicago. There are two trails in Illinois that I've long intended to hike. The Lincoln Trail goes from New Salem to Springfield. The Boy Scouts award a ribbon to those who complete the hike. I was scheduled to go with my scout troop but missed the trip due to illness. There is also a hiking/riding trail that extends east-west across southern Illinois from the Ohio to the Mississippi south of Carbondale. It is maintained by the Alpha Phi Omega chapter at Southern Illinois University. The service fraternity hikes and cleans-up half the trail every summer.

IMO, trails are on the increase in part because of the decline of the American railroad industry. Rights of way are being converted into trails. I recently read of one such that follows the New River Valley in Virginia. BTW, the New River Bridge on Interstate 77 is a sight to see. It was until recently the tallest single arch highway bridge in the world. Those guys who parachute off building, cliffs and bridges have an annual competition there.

As long as you don't ask for your trench to get dug.

I guess I meant little roads where all kinds of people go. Not just hike trails.

rail trails in the U.S.

Just! That kind of roads. Some nice pictures there! The Minute Bike Path. This connects to a letter that came in today (link) from a pianist friend, announcing the fundraising acts for the celebration of the 100th birthday of Alan Hovhaness.(2011)

memorial run
His pilgrimage to Mount Monadnock will start on Saturday, May 2, crossing the New Hampshire border to Massachusetts along highways 124, 119, 225. The final miles in Massachusetts will be run on the Minuteman Bike Path from Bedford, through Lexington, and to the Hovhaness family home at 5 Blossom Street in Arlington. Arrival at Blossom Street is planned for 4:00 PM, Wednesday, May 13. He gives concerts in places along the way.

I know Lexington from the bus ride New York- Great Barrington where I used to stay. In fact you can walk and bike there.
In California I find it hard to find good walking/biking roads.

A resource for such roads might be county plat books. Having grown up in Randolph County, Illinois, I know of several rural roads, most of which are black-topped today, that once were trails that date to the early French and English colonial days. One mentioned previously, the Shawneetown Trail goes from Shawneetown on the Ohio River to Fort Kaskaskia/Fort Gage on the Mississippi. There is an ironic historical link between the two terminals as well as the geographical. Kaskaskia was one of the earliest French settlements in southern Illinois, while Shawneetown was one of the earliest English/American.

Thank you, I will have a lot to explore in my next life.

I knew we had discussed the origin of trace before: link

Branny, don't overlook the Appalachian Trail. Only a select few have hiked its full length.

MERCY it's good to be back on-line--my computer's been in the shop for a week! [twitching e]

Welcome back.
Ha! The only trail we did a little tranche of wás the Appalachian. In White Mountain National Park. With our under-ten childeren; it was glorious. Only as we camped 'in the wild' the tent lines had to be attached to trees. The loose forest ground would't hold. And bugs, Jackie, lots of bugs. Fluorescent and invisible little creepers. You'd have loved it too.
Would there be things you have not discussed yet?

Ick--according to Who's Online, I'm sharing this view with seven spiders right now!

Right now I see 9 spiders looking for a place to bite.
Bugs are part of camping. Love to camp. Lots of places
here in the plains, if it would stop raining.

Just jumped to 13 spiders.

Never mind the rain but do they have tornado-proof tent pegs? How many tents have ever been parashooted up to the sky?

Actually more than I care to mention.
Some sites have tornado shelters, but most do not. It was only
a year ago this week that a tornado passed over the city
and landed in a Boy Scout camp a few miles away, killing four
boys in their early teens (13-14). This week the camp has been
rebuilt with their families on hand for the re-dedication. It
is really a sad site, but they say they are re-vitalized. They
were in a cabin near a stone fireplace which fell on them, killing them. They say if you are out in the open, find a ditch
to lie down in. I've seen tornados, and been in two of them,
but luckily had a basement to hide in. One school where I taught
was levelled to the ground and oh, the stories from that one.
It put this city out commission for weeks.