The Road Sign That Made Me Want to See America
February 15th, 2016
Growing up, a road sign in Wilmington, North Carolina, fascinated me and sparked a lifelong curiosity about distant places and the open road.
At the beginning of Interstate 40, leaving Wilmington, a simple green sign read:
BARSTOW, CALIFORNIA 2,554 MILES.
Long before I stood in Barstow staring at a sign for Wilmington, I stood in Wilmington staring at a sign for Barstow
As a kid growing up in a small town near the North Carolina coast, I had no idea what Barstow looked like. I couldn't have told you anything about it. Yet my desire to see it grew over the years.
It wasn't only Barstow that captured my imagination. It was the distance.
Two thousand five hundred and fifty-four miles.
That sign reminded me that there were entire landscapes beyond anything I had ever known. Deserts, mountains, small towns, truck stops, lonely highways, and places with names I'd never heard before.
Every time I saw it, I wondered what was out there.
Years later, after moving to Arizona and spending much of my time exploring the American Southwest, I still remembered that sign. I often wondered if somewhere in Barstow there might be another sign pointing back towards Wilmington.
So I packed up and drove from Arizona to Barstow, California for one very specific reason:
To find the sign.
Entrance to the Route 66 Motel
After several hours on the road, I made it to Barstow and checked into the Route 66 Motel, a pretty fitting place to stay while traveling along Route 66. Before settling in my room, I spent some time dilly dallying around with my camera taking pictures of the relics. The property was scattered with vintage automobiles, old signs, and Route 66 memorabilia that perfectly matched energy of the Mojave Desert.
Vintage road signs are the best
Love this Route 66 stuff
That evening I had dinner at Canton Chinese Restaurant, one of Barstow's longtime local restaurants. I had the eggplant with tofu, and of course I had extra sides of the spicy chili sauce. So good!
Afterwards, I returned to the motel, watched a movie, and settled in for the night excited for the next morning which held the real reason for my visit.
Before searching for the sign, I stopped at the Route 66 Mother Road Museum inside Barstow's historic Harvey House. The museum offered a glimpse into the history of Route 66 and the communities that grew alongside it. Outside, I explored that trains on display while active freight trains rumbled away in the distance.
The Route 66 Mother Road Museum inside the Historic Barstow Harvey House
Train Station Outside of the Historic Barstow Harvey House in Barstow
As I explored the museum and station grounds, my mind kept thinking about the sign that I was hoping to see… the Barstow sign pointing back to Wilmington. For years I had wondered about it. If Wilmington marked the eastern end of Interstate 40 and Barstow marked the western end, then there had to be a matching sign somewhere right?
Eventually, it was time to find out…
Aaaand I found it!
I felt that wild with adventure feeling that I love.
Yay!
Standing in Barstow and seeing Wilmington, North Carolina displayed on a road sign brought back that old feeling of wonder and adventure, the same feeling the Barstow sign had sparked in me all those years earlier.
The sign itself was simple. Just another highway sign to most people. But for me, it represented years of curiosity, daydreams, and a lifelong desire to take off and see what lay ahead, miles and miles down the road.
With the mission accomplished, I put on Sheryl Crow's "Leaving Las Vegas." I'd heard the song countless times over the years, but had to play it now to hear her mention Barstow while actually driving through Barstow. I’m cheesy, I know.
I then spent a little more time exploring some of the quieter roads around Barstow. Along stretches of old Route 66, I stopped to photograph a few desert scenes before beginning the drive back toward Arizona.
This trip wasn't about checking attractions off a list or crossing another destination off a map. The entire journey revolved around a single road sign.
Sometimes the places that stay with you the longest are not the famous landmarks or attractions. Sometimes they're silly little things like this.
After all these years, I finally got to see what was waiting 2,554 miles away from Wilmington, NC.
PS. One of my favorite travel traditions is sending postcards to loved ones from the places I visit. I picked up this postcard in Barstow and wrote a note to NC, but in the excitement of the trip, I forgot to mail it before skedaddling to my next destination.
The postcard traveled with me to Desert Center, California, where I found the post office closed and no postage machine either. Not wanting to carry it out of California, I left the postcard with a few coins and a handwritten note hoping that some kind soul would mail it for me.
And someone did!
Sometime later, I got word that the postcard arrived in North Carolina. I'll never know who sent it, but thank you! Little moments like that add to the excitement of being on the road.
