49 Fun Facts About Road Trips

Route 66's nickname 'The Mother Road' comes from which 1939 novel?

John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath (1939) christened Route 66 'the Mother Road' as the Joads fled the Dust Bowl; boosters had also sold it as 'The Main Street of America'.

What 1969 film follows Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper as bikers on a cross-country road trip?

Easy Rider (1969) follows Wyatt (Fonda) and Billy (Hopper) as they ride from Los Angeles to New Orleans, becoming a landmark counterculture film that captured the spirit of freedom on the open road.

Which president signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, launching the freeway network that bears his name?

Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the 1956 act, which authorised $25 billion for the Interstate System; his gruelling two-month 1919 Army drive across the country and his wartime look at German autobahns shaped his support.

What is the surname of the family in the National Lampoon vacation movies?

The Griswold family, led by Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase), stars in National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) and its sequels. Their chaotic road trip to Walley World became one of the most beloved comedy franchises.

Which Amarillo, Texas art installation, created by the group Ant Farm in 1974, has ten cars buried nose-first beside Interstate 40?

Cadillac Ranch's ten Cadillacs, from 1949 to 1963 models, are half-buried in a field, and visitors are encouraged to spray paint them.

Which 1957 Kerouac novel, typed on a 120-foot scroll, defined the Beat Generation?

On the Road (1957) was typed single-spaced on a 120-foot scroll over three weeks in April 1951; Kerouac based Dean Moriarty on his friend Neal Cassady.

What does the abbreviation RV stand for in the context of road travel?

RV stands for Recreational Vehicle, a category running from truck campers to full motorhomes, typically with a kitchen, a bathroom and at least one bed.

Which South Dakota roadside attraction is famous for its hundreds of billboards?

Ted Hustead bought the store in 1931 and business only took off when his wife Dorothy thought of advertising free ice water to travellers bound for Mount Rushmore; it now draws some two million visitors a year.

Under the U.S. Interstate numbering scheme, even-numbered primary routes run in which direction?

East-West routes take the even numbers and north-south the odd; numbers rise from south to north and west to east, so the lowest odd numbers hug the West Coast.

The Blue Ridge Parkway connects which two national parks?

The Blue Ridge Parkway's 469 miles link Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the North Carolina–Tennessee line; construction began in 1935.

Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon star in which 1991 Ridley Scott road-trip film that ends as a flight from the law?

Thelma & Louise became a cultural landmark for its portrayal of female empowerment and its Grand Canyon ending.

The Trans-Canada Highway stretches approximately how many kilometers from coast to coast?

The Trans-Canada Highway runs roughly 7,800 km from Victoria, British Columbia, to St. John's, Newfoundland; John Diefenbaker opened it at Rogers Pass in 1962, though construction was not finished until 1971.

Which Interstate, running from Seattle to Boston, is the longest in the United States?

I-90 runs about 3,020 miles across 13 states from Seattle to Boston; its final link, a viaduct bypassing the last stoplight in Wallace, Idaho, only opened in 1991.

Which Australian coastal drive, built by returned soldiers 1919–32, is the world's largest war memorial?

The Great Ocean Road's 240 km between Torquay and Allansford in Victoria were built by returned servicemen between 1919 and 1932 as a memorial to the First World War dead, passing the Twelve Apostles.

Which Steppenwolf song, with rock's first 'heavy metal thunder' lyric, became the anthem of a 1969 biker movie?

Mars Bonfire originally wrote it as a ballad; Steppenwolf's sped-up version made it shorthand for biker attitude.

On American roads, a red, white and blue shield sign marks which kind of route?

Interstate highway shields match the flag's colours; the design is a registered trademark of AASHTO, and the 1957 original came from a Texas Highway Department employee's contest entry.

The Darién Gap breaks the Alaska-to-Argentina road in which Central American country?

The Darién Gap, some 60 miles of roadless rainforest between Panama and Colombia, is the only break in the roughly 19,000-mile road from Alaska to Argentina.

Which Los Angeles-area landmark carries the sign marking the symbolic western 'End of the Trail' for Route 66?

Santa Monica Pier's sign is a modern nod to journey's end; the route's official western terminus was actually the corner of Lincoln and Olympic boulevards a few blocks inland.

Which car brand produced the Wagoneer, often considered one of the first luxury SUVs?

The Jeep Wagoneer launched in November 1962 as a 1963 model, built by Willys Motors (renamed Kaiser Jeep in 1963). With automatic transmission and independent front suspension, it became a progenitor of the modern SUV.

Which U.S. National Scenic Byway runs through Monument Valley on the Utah-Arizona border?

U.S. Route 163 crosses Monument Valley between Kayenta, Arizona, and Bluff, Utah; a viewpoint near Utah mile marker 13 is nicknamed Forrest Gump Point, where fans re-create the spot Gump stops running.

The Autobahn, known for sections with no speed limit, is the highway system of which country?

Germany's Autobahn network has no limit on most of its length, only an advisory Richtgeschwindigkeit of 130 km/h; the first stretch, Cologne to Bonn, opened in 1932.

What 2006 Pixar movie follows a race car stranded in a small town on Route 66?

Cars (2006) grew out of a 2000 road trip John Lasseter took with his family; its working title was Route 66 until Pixar changed it to avoid confusion with the 1960s TV series.

The 1925 Milestone Mo-Tel, source of the word 'motel', stood in which California city?

Arthur Heineman's Milestone Mo-Tel opened in San Luis Obispo in 1925; he squeezed 'motor hotel' into one word because 'Milestone Motor Hotel' would not fit on the roof sign.

In what year was Route 66 officially decommissioned from the U.S. Highway System?

Route 66 was removed from the U.S. Highway System on 27 June 1985, the Interstates having bypassed it; many original sections survive as state or local roads.

Which Willie Nelson song from the 1980 film Honeysuckle Rose won him a Grammy for Best Country Song?

On the Road Again, written for Honeysuckle Rose (1980), became Nelson's ninth country No. 1 that November, won the Grammy for Best Country Song and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

The Tail of the Dragon, with 318 curves in 11 miles, runs from Deals Gap, North Carolina, into which state?

The Tail of the Dragon is US 129 crossing from Deals Gap into Blount County, Tennessee; its corners carry names like Copperhead Corner and Brake or Bust Bend, and Tennessee cut the speed limit to 30 mph in 2005.

Which classic American roadside restaurant chain, begun in 1925, was known for its bright orange roofs?

Howard Johnson's, begun in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1925, topped its restaurants with bright orange roofs; by the 1960s it was the largest restaurant chain in the U.S., feeding more people than anyone but the Army.

Which Interstate runs the length of the East Coast, from Miami to the Canadian border in Maine?

I-95 runs about 1,900 miles from Miami to Houlton, Maine, at the Canadian border; it is the longest north–south Interstate and passes through 15 states, more than any other.

Which actor headlined the 1981 ensemble comedy inspired by the outlaw coast-to-coast Cannonball Run, alongside Dom DeLuise and Roger Moore?

Burt Reynolds led a cast that included Dom DeLuise, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Jackie Chan, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin; writer Brock Yates had created the real race.

The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 originally authorised roughly how many miles of Interstate?

The 1956 act authorised some 41,000 miles of Interstate, paid for through a new Highway Trust Fund fed by fuel taxes; 'Defense' in the system's title reflected its role in moving troops and evacuating cities.

The Going-to-the-Sun Road crosses the Continental Divide in which national park?

Going-to-the-Sun Road crosses the Continental Divide at Logan Pass in Glacier National Park, Montana. The 50-mile road took 11 years to build (1921-1932) and is a National Historic Landmark.

Which Texas travel-center chain, fronted by a cartoon beaver, won Cintas's 'Best Restroom in America' in 2012?

Buc-ee's founder Arch 'Beaver' Aplin blended his childhood nickname with that of his Labrador, Buck; the 2012 Cintas award went to its New Braunfels, Texas store, which opened that year.

In U.S. Interstate numbering, what does a three-digit number starting with an even digit signify?

An even first digit marks a loop or beltway that returns to its parent route, like I-285 around Atlanta; spurs that never come back get an odd first digit, and the last two digits match the parent.

Which 1971 Spielberg TV movie has a businessman terrorized by a mysterious tanker truck on the highway?

Richard Matheson adapted his own short story, and Spielberg picked a 1957 Peterbilt 281 because its long hood and round headlights gave the truck a menacing 'face'.

Which roughly 30,000 km network of roads runs from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia at the southern tip of Argentina?

The Pan-American Highway is interrupted only by the Darién Gap, a stretch of roadless rainforest between the two continents.

Which budget lodging chain, founded in 1962, took its name from its original nightly room rate?

Motel 6 charged $6 a night when William Becker and Paul Greene opened the first one in Santa Barbara on June 1, 1962; the chain later added the extended-stay sister brand Studio 6.

Which wartime supply road, finished in 1942 at about 1,700 miles, runs from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, via Whitehorse to Delta Junction?

The Alaska Highway, originally the ALCAN, was finished on October 28, 1942; decades of straightening shortened it to 1,387 miles, and it only opened to the public in 1948.

Which American author wrote the 1962 travelogue 'Travels with Charley'?

Steinbeck drove a GMC pickup fitted with a custom camper that he named Rocinante, after Don Quixote's horse, on a loop of nearly 10,000 miles.

The Overseas Highway, carrying US 1 through the Florida Keys to Key West, is roughly how long?

The Overseas Highway runs 113 miles from the mainland to Key West; much of it sits on the roadbed of Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad, which the state bought for $640,000 after the 1935 Labor Day hurricane wrecked it.

Which 1919 U.S. Army expedition, joined by young Eisenhower, took two months to drive across the country?

The Transcontinental Motor Convoy logged 3,250 miles in 62 days at an average of about 5.7 mph, with Lt Col Dwight Eisenhower riding along as an observer; the ordeal helped convince him America needed real highways.

The Karakoram Highway, one of the world's highest paved roads, connects China with which country?

The Karakoram Highway (KKH) runs 1,300 km from Kashgar, China to Abbottabad, Pakistan via the Khunjerab Pass at 15,397 feet. It took 20 years to build and over 800 workers died during construction.

Which Kansas town has the giant sisal twine ball begun by Frank Stoeber in 1953?

Cawker City's ball held about 1.6 million feet of twine when Frank Stoeber gave it to the town in 1961; the rival ball in Darwin, Minnesota is the one rolled by a single person.

Which Icelandic highway, circling the whole island, is the country's classic long-distance drive?

Route 1, the Ring Road, runs about 1,320 km around Iceland; it was only completed in 1974, when the Skeiðará bridge, then the country's longest, closed the last gap in the south-east.

How long did Erwin 'Cannonball' Baker's final official cross-country driving record in 1933 take?

Baker drove a Graham from New York to Los Angeles in 53 hours 30 minutes in 1933, his last official transcontinental record run. The feat later lent its name to the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash.

Who was the primary promoter of the Lincoln Highway, one of the first US transcontinental auto highways, in 1913?

Carl G. Fisher, who also built the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, conceived and promoted the Lincoln Highway, calling for it at a September 1912 dinner. Henry Ford declined to contribute, believing government should build America's roads; Thomas Edison, a friend of Fisher, sent checks.

Which road trip movie has a family driving a yellow VW bus to a children's beauty pageant in California?

Little Miss Sunshine (2006) sends the Hoovers 800 miles from Albuquerque to Redondo Beach; the film won Oscars for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin).

Which All-American Road winds 123 miles through Utah's red rock between Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon?

Utah's Scenic Byway 12, also marketed as 'A Journey Through Time', runs 123 miles across Garfield and Wayne counties over high plateaus and slickrock between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef.

The concept for the Volkswagen Type 2 bus is credited to Ben Pon, a VW importer from which country?

Pon sketched the idea after seeing an improvised parts-mover on a Beetle chassis at the Wolfsburg factory in 1946; production began in 1950.

Which small New Mexico Route 66 town is home to the Blue Swallow Motel, a preserved neon-era motor court?

Built in 1939, the motel inspired the Cozy Cone in a 2006 Pixar film, and the town's 'TUCUMCARI TONITE!' billboards line I-40 for many miles in both directions.