The Intriguing Interstate 40

Interstate 40, though not the longest interstate running east to west, is a stunning cross-country roadway spanning eight states and incorporating famous highways such as Route 66 and the Beale Wagon Road. Over 2500 miles long, the interstate is known for its sprawling desert landscapes and mountain beauty.

Route 66 (decommissioned in 1985), one of the original U.S. highways, was lovingly dubbed the "Mother Road" and "Main Street of America." The route connected Los Angeles to Chicago and was memorialized in song and writing by such as Nat King Cole, John Steinbeck, the Rolling Stones, and The Eagles (to name a few).

Beale Wagon Road was built in 1857-59 by a team led by Lt. Edward Fitzgerald Beale using camels as pack animals. I-40 now follows about 1000 miles of the route Beale carved out from Arkansas to California.

Stretching from The Golden State of California to the Atlantic seaboard, I-40 introduces the traveler to majestic views:

 

·       In Arizona, The Grand Canyon State, I-40 passes just south of one of the most famous canyons in the world.

·       The huge, open-sky views of Oklahoma, once the final frontier state to the Wild West.

·       The contrasts of flat, fertile Texas plains in The Lone Star State with the stark beauty of California's Mojave Desert and the colorful, low mountains of Arizona and New Mexico.

·       The smoky, blue ridges of the Smoky Mountains along the North Carolina-Tennessee border.

I-40 truly personifies the famous opening lyrics of the song America the Beautiful by Katherine Lee Bates:

O beautiful for spacious skies,                                 America! America!

For amber waves of grain,                                       God shed His grace on thee,

For purple mountain majesties                               And crown thy good with brotherhood

Above the fruited plain!                                           From sea to shining sea!