Think about this: In 1908, the U.S. only had 18,000 miles of paved road. We’re up to two million miles of asphalt now—highways and backcountry roads criss-crossing America, some with vestiges of the past (like Route 66’s giant roadside dinosaurs) and a growing number charging us toward the future, literally. Electric cars will change the way we plot our course, sure, but the modern American road trip might be less about the actual driving (thanks, autonomous vehicles) and more about what you see from the passenger’s seat. We may all be passengers at that point, sharing shape-your-life memories—of truck stop BBQ and torrential rain in Texas, or the way the Pacific rises like a mirage as you hug that curve on the PCH—that are the reason we hit the highway in the first place.
Here, we look back—sometimes nostalgically, sometimes not—at our road trips of the past; share our favorite itineraries from California to Minnesota to Maine; and think about what it means to not be behind the wheel in 2030. Hey, it could happen.
