Historic Highways
RVing America's Historic Highways - The Road Ahead
By Jerry (RiverGuy) Brown

Welcome to RVing America’s Historic Highways. Join me and my canine companion Timmy as we explore our fabulous country. Inspired by Steinbeck and Kuralt among others, this series will be part history, part adventure, a little nostalgia and hopefully, all fun. Before we head down that first road, let's take a brief detour to explain what we mean by "historic highways" and why they are great for RV traveling.

In this column a Historic Highway is any road that was part of the US numbered highway system in 1956 or had been earlier. Why 1956? That was the year that the Interstate Highway system was launched. It marked the heyday of the original US highway system, which has been in decline ever since.

The US highway system was created in 1926 to replace the old color-coded, named-trail road network. Automobile travel was increasing in popularity and new roads were being created to connect America's towns and cities. It was clear that identifying each highway by name and marking it with colored stripes on fence posts and rocks just wasn’t going to work much longer. Mapping was crazy. Honey, do we turn on the red and green road next?

The numbered highway system was born, but it wasn't created from scratch. Initially it was the same network of roads, cobbled together with a new and systematic numbering system: even numbers went east-west, odd went north-south, higher numbers in the south and west. In theory at least.

It worked. Road travel boomed, especially in the postwar '40s and prosperous '50s. Roadside businesses thrived: gas stations, motels, diners. The country was on the move. But long haul travel was something of a hassle, because the highway network connected towns and cities. You didn’t pass by, you passed through, sometimes taking a lot longer than you might wish. The country needed a true interstate system and President Eisenhower gave it to us. 

And, "Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything. From the Interstate, America is all steel guardrails and plastic signs, and every place looks and feels and sounds and smells like every other place." -- Charles Kuralt, On the Road with Charles Kuralt

It's not that many interstates don't pass through some of America's scenic areas or by some great attractions. The problem is that at 70 miles an hour, it's not really safe to enjoy the scenery too much. And it's not that easy to stop when you do see something you might like to check out. It comes down to this: If you really need to get somewhere and time is important, you can’t beat an interstate route. But you sure can miss a lot along the way.

Which brings us back to the historic highways. Timmy and I are going to turn back the clock. We’re going to drive the old highways and look for their stories and their attractions: What they were, what they have meant over the years, and what have they become? What do they have to offer the traveler who relishes the journey as much as the destination?

So join us in our quest. We're going to start by exploring a 120 mile lost section of America's most famous historic highway.

Route 66: Lonely Planet Road Trip Get your RV kicks on Route 66. Most of it is easily negotiated by RVs of all sizes. This pocket-sized book is crammed full of useful information plus maps and more.	Blue Highways Join William Least Heat-Moon on his 13,000-mile journey along the back roads of America. First published in 1982, the author’s account of his journey has become a classic, an inspiration to all who love to travel the back roads of America.	The New Roadside America This is it! The guide to goofy America. Learn what’s along the back roads – giant statues, huge balls of twice, flying pigs, live rattlesnakes, muffler men, mermaids and much more.