Perhaps there’s nothing more symbolic of the west than the images of the wagon trains stretching out over the plains or climbing the mountains. Starting in the 1840’s, nearly half a million Americans hit the road — jumping off the river boats and onto the Oregon and California Trails. They were looking for gold, looking for land,  really looking for a new life. The days of the wagon trains began disappearing as the railroads spread across the nation in the 1870’s and 80’s — but the romance of the trail remains strong in the imagination of Americans.

So in 1949 — a hundred years after the first wagons climbed over Echo Summit near South Lake Tahoe, California, a new wagon train was organized to celebrate the anniversary. They traveled over Highway 50 — once known as the Lincoln Highway. Diane Newborn’s father started the new train, and now she and her husband Rick Newborn and many others,  keep The Highway 50 Wagon Train rolling. They just celebrated the 74th anniversary this past June. Back in the day, the trail was called the “Roaring Road,”  for all the noise and traffic of the early freight wagons.  It’s still just as busy and noisy, but this classic bit of Americana lives on — a rolling history lesson running down the highway.