The National Road, Victory highway, the road less traveled, my street are all names that could be given to US Highway 40. I have traveled along portions of this road nearly every day for the past 31 years. The sun rises and sets along that road and can be very irritating especially if you haven't made it to your destination by the sun it is eye level coming up and going down. I have experienced some of the most magnificent sunrises and sunsets however and cannot really complain about those brief interludes of sun blindness. I have always wondered where the road led in its meanderings and what there was to see along the way. I found myself in many ways on US Highway 40. It was on this road my husband and I bought our first home, we raised our three children, I spent many hours traveling to various destinations.
In November of 2014 I decided to apply for a Teacher creativity fellowship from the Lilly Foundation to travel US Highway 40 as a photojournalist and record the disappearing America of my youth. I spent in excess of 30 days traveling, photographing, remembering, hiking, and discovering much of what I thought was gone. To my surprise there was much to see, to remember, to discover, and mostly to photograph. Most interesting is what I learned about myself by what I found essential to document, to share. I hope you have time to see a little of what I saw and journey with me through my photos.