US Route 6 used to go from Provincetown, Massachusetts, to Long Beach, California. It's the road that Jack Kerouac thought he would take across the country when he wrote On The Road; he hitchhiked it for just a little bit. It's the loneliest road, lonelier than US 50, which was designated so in the 1960s by Life magazine. That's because US Route 6 was so lonely that no one even knew about it, I think. Then, in 1963 or thereabouts, the decision was made to end US Route 6 in Bishop, California, 300 or so miles north of Long Beach, because, from Bishop, US Route 6 shared the road with other numbers, so it got the boot. This sign is in Bishop where the highway now ends.

I took this photograph in 1996 when I drove the highway from coast to coast, including from Bishop to Long Beach.

1 comment:

Twila Grace said...

Interesting. I've never seen an "end of road" sign. Actually never thought of it before, but I guess all roads must end somewhere. You have an interesting collection of photos.