The Interstate – Part 2
In a previous post I commented on the Mississippi River being the early version of the interstate highway. Lots of people say “Don’t travel on the interstate it all looks the same.” Mostly these people haven’t travelled very far on the interstate. I-40 in northern Arizona certainly looks different with its wide-open spaces and endless sky then the tree-lined tunnel of I-95 in South Carolina (see photo). And the road surface varies from silky smooth to some of the worst pavement we have driven on anywhere. And when it comes to covering distance in a vehicle there really is no other option than the interstate.
That being said, when we can, we like to get off the big interstates. Rural America does look a lot alike in some ways: small communities interspersed with generally open space (even in the east), schools with football stadiums and ball fields, lots of little businesses, all linked together with roads and an occasional railroad. This is a lot like northeastern California in many ways. We’ve travelled a long ways but we still feel close to home. Oh – and if you want to know the worst roads: I-40 east of Flagstaff and US-90 in southern Louisiana win the ribbon for roughest.
Boyd