The American road trip is a powerful idea, but Americans often choose speed over the journey.

Cheap airfare makes flying easy, and drivers usually stick to interstates.

They rush past the small towns they claim to admire.

Historian Susan Rugh argues the family road trip peaked after World War II.

It declined before the 1970s oil crisis.

More families joined the middle class, and many had paid vacation for the first time.

Car ownership also grew quickly.

The government invested in highways, which made long drives more comfortable.

Many veterans wanted to show their children what they had fought to preserve.

Washington, D.C. became a popular destination.

Families also visited historic sites and battlefields.

Attendance at national parks rose by more than 650% between 1946 and 1966.

Rugh writes that these trips strengthened family bonds.

She says they also taught children to be citizens.

But the open road did not mean freedom for everyone.

Black families faced segregated facilities, even outside the South.

Professor Allen Pietrobon says their experience was not carefree.

A gas station might refuse to serve them.

Some national parks still discriminated, with separate campgrounds for Black families.

Guidebooks like the Green Book listed places that would welcome Black travelers.

Rugh writes that these obstacles helped build support for the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Entrepreneurs built motels, restaurants, and roadside attractions to serve these travelers.

Route 66, which turned 100 this year, was one famous example.

The interstate system later pulled traffic away, and many small towns disappeared.

Richard Ratay says Americans traded unexpected discoveries for speed and convenience.

Still, experts say travelers can take older highways and find those experiences again.