The Lincoln Highway: Across America on the First Transcontinental Motor Route
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- čas přidán 6. 06. 2024
- This is a video travelogue about the first ever coast-to-coast highway in America: The Lincoln Highway. The video traces the history and the path of much of the original 1913 route across 14 states, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, by way of a road trip in a somewhat-restored 1978 Ford Thunderbird. Instead of a vlog or a documentary, it is written and produced as an old-school travelogue, which incorporates both opinion and nonfiction into one unified narrative. It is not meant to be viewed in one sitting-- like a nonfiction book, you can pick it up or put it down at your leisure and also browse by chapter. However, like the Lincoln Highway, I wanted it to be a continuous experience from coast to coast, illustrating the landscape and its history all the way from the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, to 42nd and Broadway in New York City, and beyond. I hope it's a trip you enjoy.
CONTENT WARNING: Scenes of animal suffering as part of a vintage news report from 1:50:49 to 1:53:24.
____TABLE OF CONTENTS____
1) Intro-- 00:00
2) The Lines of History-- 00:21
3) Roads Before the Automobile-- 03:45
4) A Name With Which to Conjure-- 10:23
5) A Fixed Perspective-- 15:54
6) Border of the Unfamiliar-- 20:53
7) Let Me Tell You About My Boat-- 26:21
8) Final Preparations-- 32:00
9) Western Terminus -- 35:28
10) The Hills of Altamont-- 40:28
11) The Air-Conditioned Nightmare-- 42:26
12) California Legacies-- 47:36
13) The Pioneer Branch-- 51:33
14) The Three Goals-- 59:33
15) National Automotive Museum-- 1:02:11
16) Shore of Lake Lahontan-- 1:04:26
17) The Loneliest Road in America-- 1:07:37
18) Effie's Hamilton-- 1:20:41
19) Ely, Ike, and the 1919 Army Convoy-- 1:23:57
20) Highway to the Danger Zone-- 1:27:51
21) Fruit of the Poisoned Tree-- 1:36:06
22) The Stubbornest Cuss Who Ever Lived-- 1:44:42
23) The Dugway Sheep Kill Incident-- 1:49:44
24) Gael Hoag's Final Vigil-- 1:59:43
25) Mormon Propaganda Pleasure Palace-- 2:02:30
26) Echo of the Past-- 2:07:05
27) Greetings From Eagle Rock!-- 2:10:10
28) The Bones of Piedmont-- 2:13:33
29) From the Petroleum Wasteland to Trucker Heaven-- 2:17:19
30) The Great Work of Degradation-- 2:22:58
31) Human-Skin Shoes-- 2:28:28
32) Refined Tastes-- 2:34:09
33) Relics of U.S. 30-- 2:37:25
34) 8800 Feet (The Height of Ambition)-- 2:40:28
35) Giza of the Rockies-- 2:44:38
36) The Plains of Cheyenne-- 2:49:32
37) A Discomfort with Space-- 2:53:21
38) The Denver Disagreement-- 2:59:02
39) The Big Flat & North Platte-- 3:06:34
40) The Geometry of America-- 3:12:27
41) Seedling Mile-- 3:24:49
42) Middle America-- 3:29:49
43) Rolling Out the Red Brick Carpet-- 3:33:41
44) Iowa Welcome Center-- 3:36:54
45) Manufactured Eden-- 3:41:24
46) Winds of the Derecho-- 3:51:36
47) Henry Ostermann & The Diamond of a Life-- 3:56:21
48) The War on Mud-- 4:02:53
49) We're at Now, Now-- 4:07:03
50) Intersection With Route 66-- 4:12:16
51) Indiana Dunes National Park-- 4:15:52
52) Downtown's Changin'!-- 4:23:06
53) Final Days of the Packard Plant-- 4:27:28
54) Notes From Piquette Avenue-- 4:37:13
55) The Symbols of Station-- 4:42:02
56) Ford, Freedom, and Framing History-- 4:44:58
57) Ticket to the Moon-- 4:49:53
58) 1st Circle of Mansfield, Blood Prison-- 4:55:28
59) 2nd Circle of Mansfield, Bible Walkin'-- 5:05:39
60) 3rd Circle of Mansfield, Vitiated Judgement-- 5:12:38
61) Wind of the Open Road-- 5:15:19
62) Porcelain Empire-- 5:24:09
63) Kind of Like a Strand-Type Travelogue-- 5:29:50
64) One-of-a-Kind Kind of Days-- 5:34:46
65) Into the Alleghenies-- 5:40:48
66) The Lincoln Highway Experience-- 5:46:10
67) The Turn of the Pike-- 5:51:25
68) Tower of Voices-- 5:56:22
69) Roadside Pennsylvania-- 6:01:25
70) Ghost Freeway-- 6:08:56
71) National Battlefield-- 6:14:26
72) Seat of the American Revolution-- 6:24:10
73) Boner Forever-- 6:39:17
74) The Roads Washington Travelled-- 6:44:11
75) Skyscraper Shoreline-- 6:49:36
76) End of the Road-- 6:54:33
77) American Tourist-- 6:58:50
78) The New York I Know From Television-- 7:06:03
79) Zero Milestone-- 7:11:07
80) Reflecting Pool-- 7:14:36
81) Credits-- 7:19:47
____CONTENTS BY STATE___
Introduction: Chapters 1-8
California: Chapters 9-13
Nevada: Chapters 14-20
Utah: Chapters 21-26
Wyoming: Chapters 27-36
Nebraska: Chapters 37-43
Iowa: Chapters 44-48
Illinois: Chapters 49-50
Indiana: Chapter 51
Michigan: Chapters 52-56
Ohio: Chapters 57-62
West Virginia: Chapter 63
Pennsylvania: Chapters 64-73
New Jersey: Chapters 74-75
New York: Chapters 76-78
District of Columbia: Chapters 79-80
___Other Creators___
Reed Piernock's Blog: www.lincolnhighwayjournal.com/
Trip and video a collaborative effort between Nate Greene and Noah Caldwell-Gervais, with mechanical assistance from Mitty McVay.
========================================
If you enjoyed this video and want to contribute to the production of others like it, please consider donating through the crowdfunding website Patreon: / noahcaldwellgervais
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The absolute THRILL of hearing Noah revealing that the Lincoln highway is a strand game
Omfg xD
How did I know you would be a NCG fan? 😂 Glad to see you here!
Real recognizes real
I love you, Jacob
Insert spider man pointing image here HEY
Noah - I just watched your video. Absolutely wonderful. My best and warmest regards. Paul Gilger, Chair, Lincoln Highway Association National Mapping Committee.
Hey Noah, I had the pleasure of meeting you while on this trip (at the top of a particular monument) and I cannot thank you enough for putting up with me geeking out over meeting you, when you were perhaps trying to get footage of the view and museum. This video was as amazing as I had hoped. The threads of this highway are long and thin, and you've traced them well.
I meant every word I said to you about how much your work means to me. The sense of place, context, and continuity your videos bring is second-to-none. You've made me laugh, made me think, made me feel sad and hopeful and awed and all of the things great works of writing and cinematography do. I'll be heading west to a new position soon, and it will be your work I will be thinking of as I travel there. Always looking forward to what you do next, and always willing to wait as long as you need to get it done as you see fit. Thank you - John
caldwell-gervais' perspective on history and reality is honed by fiction and play and vice-versa . even any one conversation is an immortal event , also like this video . i will be sharin it for days and weeks .
Im glad you got to be our voice.
@@mitchellradspinner4491 Well said. Thank you, GortysProjekt.
You got the me the homie Noah? That's awesome! I totally would have geeked out as well
"The problem with history is that it's full of too many jokes that take too damn long to set up." This is my favorite line in the whole piece. What a fantastic video.
Here, have my random thoughts about that quote:
History might be a rambling train of thought that you might interpret as jokes at some points, sounds like what happens to a chat bot fed with vtubers and streamers.
Have you looked at Neuro-Sama? That's pretty much the same "history" but about gaming and slice of life commentary.
We legit need a place to gather all the great Noah quotes.
@@michimatsch5862 A decent amount would come from the Death Stranding and Cyberpunk videos.
Holy shit he said this the exact time i read this comment, 3:06:27. Such timing
@@somethingscott Same, tis was glorious.
This is the only channel where you can find both a 7+ hour video about Resident Evil, and a 7+ hour video about the first transcontinental highway, and I think that's badass.
I mean to be fair, this is likely the only channel where you can find either one of those
As a European who is fascinated by the natural beauty of the rural and mountainous USA, I can't get over all the shots of you driving through towns and cities that show literally zero people on the sidewalks. Its so eerie
Cause most towns built after the 1940's were built under the assumption that you were going to drive everywhere.
@@josejaimes-ramos1546 Why bother with the massive sidewalks then?
@@ileutur6863 bad infrastructure and urban planning pretty much
@@ileutur6863 Americans with disabilities act sets requirements for the width of sidewalks generally
@@LoneGh0ste The Soviet Union also has this in the towns built during Stalin's era. They all have these grand squares and wide streets for parades and cars because cars were the future. Today a lot of the towns built in this era look rather depressing because a lot of them experienced population decline, the wonderful socialist future never arrived. Truly, 20th century hubris.
I'm an Illinois native from outside of Chicago. I sat patiently watching this wonderful video, listening to Noah paint the landscape with his beautiful prose for hours... And the entire time I was waiting. Waiting for him to hit Illinois. My terrible, grey little state with its amazing ability to seem run down and exhausted to the very bones of its buildings. I wanted to see if the sky would cloud over the minute he crossed the state line (as it always does for me) as if the viewer is approaching an ominous "Final Boss" area in a video game. And it did. And I was delighted.
The fact that the state broke you in the metro area's endless wall of constant traffic made me cackle out loud. (The state has been broke for literal years because the toll roads are privatized and, to my knowledge, no successful significant construction has been completed within 50 miles of my birthplace for the last decade.)
Seeing you take a detour to the 94 in Indiana, which I was JUST trapped on in order to make it to the airport I'm currently sitting in, only for you to find yourself in the same position, was a sort of icing on the cake for me as I got to wave my "ILLINOIS IS AWFUL" flag from the bleachers.
Also, I actually grew up about a block away block of the part of Route 66 that passes through Illinois, so it was cool to see you go through Joliet.
I live off of I-94 and when he described his "penance", me and my buddy genuinely burst out laughing! Such a small comment, but it meant so much to us as locals.
@@broadcaststsatic God I hope we get a Real-Life Landscapes of Fallout: Chicago someday and get the chance to take in our city. Me and the roommate are big fans!
Jello grew up in the Chicago suburbs?!
This is too funny.
joliet mentioned!!
“The closest I got to the Dugway Proving grounds is also the closest I’ve ever seen to a toxic swamp.”
And this is a man who has not only played most of the Fromsoft games but has also interacted with the worst of their communities.
I’m not an American, but I studied American studies in Germany (at Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, to be precise). I have been to the US, multiple times, and I have experienced several major cities as well as rural areas. This video encapsulates what I find fascinating about the US and it mirrors the wonder I experienced roaming its endless roads and infinite skies. It entertains just as it educates, it makes me think and reflect upon my past journeys through this truly remarkable country. Thank you.
I'm also european and despite never having been to the USA I'm also fascinated by the country. Often horrified by it but also captivated by its landscapes and contrasts and history. I feel the same regarding this video. Maybe one day I'll go and roam there myself
Polluted nuclear wasteland full of demons and vampires...
american studies gang! i did my bachelors at university of manchester - so again, a foreign look in at a country nevertheless so dominant in the cultural sphere, perhaps even more so by virtue of living in the other major anglophone nation
i’ve been a noah fan for a while and i think his writing, especially the travelogues and his red dead video, offer such great insights into the sublime contradictions of the united states. i can honestly say a lot of my postgraduate research now was first catalysed by noah making me think more deeply about the role of landscape to american culture
@@elilass8410 as someone that lives here, I can confirm it is also fascinating and absolutely horrifying
Oh hahahaha I'm also doing North American Studies in Bonn University!
You're one of the greatest American writers. There aren't words I have to describe how well you define the American experience.
His videos are basically audio books at this point.
The quality of writing is what makes NCG stand out far beyond the other video essayists. That and him tackling things from a more literary analysis point of view. Makes people like the Salt Factory seem brainless
It's so surreal to hear Noah talk so poetically about the places i worked so hard to leave
Absolute masterpiece, as a foreigner, I never even stopped to consider the amount of history buried beneat something as commonplace as roads.
Thank you.
Most anticipated video of the year. Congratulations on this huge project Noah!!
I am so excited for this. Your video game coverage is generally good, but the travelogues you have done so far have been above and beyond your best content.
Honestly I am surprised you havent written a book.
He's working on a book! According to patreon
Same, a least every few months I have t o relisten to his travel videos.
I love the video game content too, best reviewer in the business.
He did write a book. He just read it to you
this basically is a book
God damn it. I legit started crying at the final “thanks for watching”. What a masterpiece of research, wit, and earnest humanism.
Noah, I have never been so proud to be a patron of yours.
As a gleefully unrepentant ex-mormon, I cannot describe the joy at hearing what I’m guessing is the Salt Lake City Temple referred to as “the mormon cathedral.” I’m sure plenty of mormons would bristle at that label, and that brings a little laughter to this rebellious girl.
42:50 Stockton born and raised here, these are the kindest words we've heard about the city in years 🙏
I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve lived 10 minutes away from the highway on the east coast side for my whole life, yet never knew it was a cross country road. That’s amazing!
Admittedly the road is so meekly presented that it's unsurprising you never batted an eye at it. Various clips show the road to be barely large enough for even one lane.
Same here. Grew up vaguely aware that the "old route 30" was also called "Lincoln Highway East" - but nothing further.
"The better part is to acknowledge that the allure of nostalgia is actually in creating context within the present. To mourn something that we never really had a chance to know. To highlight what was built in it's place, to feel connected to the past through its faint traces in the present." Beautiful, Noah.
I see a lot of effort going to praising Noah, and It's well deserved, but I also wanted to thank Nate Green for editing this masterwork. Great work guys!
Well, I know what I'm doing for the next 7.5 hours. I'm from friggin Norway and Noah got me feeling that Americana in my bones. Thank you sir, and may all your wishes come true.
Honestly Noah, how do you even go about putting a video this massive together? Seems like such a daunting task.
It took three years!
We are all grateful for the dogged, relentless effort you put into both the journey and the video. Thank you so much!
I'm a historian who wanted to say that "A Fixed Perspective" is one of the smartest ways to discuss what it means to create history and how limited our perspectives truly are. I can't wait to finish this journey across the country with you.
"All roads in America simply lead to more America." You've made an excellent travelogue, Noah - but you've done more than that too. This is an epic saga of a journey and a meditation on what it means to be American, in the best sense. I hope we can live up to the ideals you discovered on the road. Thanks for sharing.
It feels insane to me that it's been a year since your RE video, this current era of isanely large, insanely high quality videos has been amazing. This is my favorite channel on youtube, and every upload is an event I put down everything for. Thanks for being you Noah!
Holy shit, I just looked and realized it's been 7 months since the elden ring video. Time is fuckin crazy and I don't understand it
Well, if you need something else in the meantime, be sure to check out The Nth Review! www.youtube.com/@NthReview
It’s an event that I am grateful to experience in audio while not setting a single thing down :) Gervais is truly for the people 😊
i remember him like a year ago saying he MIGHT get a better microphone but he didnt know how to use it. now i cant believe this content is free
Your segment on wyoming absolutely destroyed me. I was born in Evanston, raised in Lyman, I spent summers working and living at little America to pay my way through college in Rock springs. Every year since I graduated high-school I have said this is the year I finally leave wyoming for good. 15 years later and I'm back living in Evanston. I'm so close to the border, so close to escape, yet every year something comes up that causes me to stay. I've spent my whole life basically living on the Lincoln highway. One of these days I'm going to get on that highway, pick a direction, and never look back.
Finally finished the video after taking it in chunks and I have to say, this was an absolute masterpiece from start to finish. I've never really watched a travel log before so I really didn't know what to expect going into it. For me this was equal parts entertaining, thought provoking, and educational. A great way to spend seven and a half hours.
as a norcal native the first hour or so of this video made me embarrassingly emotional. i, too, have no idea why anyone chooses stockton. i have driven many hours back and forth on the beautiful rolling hills of central california. i have taken the winding road to dublin, spent time in downtown folsom, have passed through placerville more times than i can count, have spent many weekends at a family house in strawberry, have done that exact hike. still, though, so much of this history is entirely new to me. like growing up with the highways, living in a place can make you take it entirely for granted. i love this video, and this style of storytelling. you can live in a place your whole life and never really understand it-- or you can take a cross country road trip on side roads and reach towards and understanding of the entire nation. big fan of choosing the latter.
The next time someone asks why I watch CZcams instead of normal TV I'll send em here, fantastic film. All the best from Yorkshire
You pass through two places I used to live! At 6:53:13 those aren't sculptures, those are actual beams recovered from the WTC on 9/11. They stand on the Port Imperial promenade in Weehawken that leads north into West New York. They're one of many recovered pieces that were shipped all around the country and you can find several in the immediate area standing as memorial sites.
Amazing video!! :D Thank you for highlighting the importance of New Jersey!
How'd you get nearly 7 hours into a video uploaded 2 hours ago? I'm impressed
@@dangetty3624 Bro I'm living in 2024
Lmao I've lived right next to that highway twice so I wanted to see it again
I'll admit I immediately jumped to my state too. Working through the video in order now that I got that out of the way lol.
1:37:18
> Mormons had moved into the "Too-Lee" Valley by 1855.
Ha! I love it. It never fails. People whiffing the pronouncing of Tooele is among my favorite Utah shibboleths behind handing someone an Arctic Circle fry sauce and seeing if they can open it without making a mess.
It's pronounced "Too-Will-Ah."
Cheers. _Loving_ this so far. 'Master of your craft.
If I was a U.S. high school or even middle school civics or American history teacher, I would devote a portion of each week to watching segments of this and discussing it
one of my dad’s college friends is part of the current lincoln highway association! i’m gonna email this video to him, i think he’ll appreciate it
Words cannot express how happy I am to see another travelogue from you. The combination of your voice and the exploration of places I almost could not be further from are delightful and soothing in ways few other videos compare to. I've listened to your other travelogues more than any other of your works, and am eagerly looking forward to making my way through this one.
My hometown is Mansfield, Ohio and honestly you are 100% spot on with your observations on its weirdness. Despite all its flaws and oddities, I am very proud to be from Mansfield.
Also as for which hell is preferred, I'm always amendable to the industrial hell variety. All the rusted out factories were fascinating to me as a kid. Seems fitting to be stuck in one for eternity.
Hello from Mansfield, UK! 👋🏻
I earnestly believe that to transcribe this video's script, section headers, and footage into a book would be to create one of the greatest works of American retrospective/commentary available. The way you shift between intimate vignettes of current and bygone American life to descriptions of the equally silly and sordid history which played out around the highway is a genuine joy to experience. It's an adventure, historical account, and philosophical masterpiece all in one, and every second is a delight.
Thank you for making this, Noah. The quality of your writing and research is unparalleled, and I am absolutely barefacedly honest when I say my greatest wish right now is that I could hold it in my hands to keep for whenever I need to laugh, gasp, and cry in equal measure.
It's been over a year since the video was published. I watched it in short instalments here and there when I found the time - and just today finished the last of it. Just wanted to say thanks, Noah, for all the crazy, amazing shit that you do and for taking us along for the ride.
in this commenter's humble opinion, these travelogues are the absolute best content on this platform. Really great stuff
I am currently halfway through this, and I keep being amazed by how awesome the whole thing is. Noah's commentary is practically a 7 hour long non-rhyming work of pure poetry, you can't find a one minute section of this that is not genuinely quotable, profound, philosophical, or entertaining. Thanks for this Noah!
This has become a massive comfort video for me, both literally and figuratively.
I used to love the History/Discovery channels as a kid (back in the good ole cable days when they weren’t absolute garbage lol), and your voice reminds me of the narrators on those shows, in the best way of course 😆
Not to mention the brilliant writing, because man!
Gonna be checking out your gaming reviews too, already know they’re gonna be awesome.
I guess I just wanna thank you for this vid. Life has been a bit weird lately so having this to go back to at night makes me grateful for creators like you!
This comment connected with me I feel the same way!
I deeply respect every part of this work, Noah. This was heartfelt, enthralling, and deeply satisfying. As a person with a perspective very different from mine, it was worth the time to travel along with you and your friend, and hear your thoughts about America, both the admirable and the reprehensible. Congratulations on getting to do it, getting through it, and getting it done and presented for the world to partake in.
I hope that every positive response resonates with you and affirms the value of what you've done. I hope every detractor and negative comment sloughs off you like rain off the hood of the Thunderbird. Here's to another 10 years of great content. Long may your internet be stable!
It used to be an art to curse people who did you wrong in very heartfelt and thorough ways. I can't say I've seen someone compliment someone else in such a comprehensive and heartfelt way. If I ever earn a compliment like this during my life, I think I will have done a good job of it.
It took nearly 2 weeks of intermittent watching, but I was determined to complete it, not dissimilarly to your dogged determination to complete this route.
WHAT an INCREDIBLE video and now something I have as a goal in my lifetime.
Thank you for this.
The grandest work yet from one of the great modern American storytellers.
Noah, you have a gift. Your video game commentary is second to none, but you truly shine with these travelogues. I echo the sentiments of some other commenters on this video and other videos. If you put out a book, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
Thank you for continuing to put out this exceptionally high quality content. You have made many a day suffering in my office much more bearible.
There is nothing I want more than Noah to write a book, if only so I can listen to the audiobook and get another 10-20 hours of his prose and his voice. Of course, to be fair, this is basically an audiobook in itself.
I know my comment will be drowned out by the others but I spent the weekend watching this video, in different snippets and times (it is long) but I have to say: You are so inspiring. the passion that exudes off of your words, both in the way they are written and in your narration, it is so inspiring. I was always inspired by your work, throughout all of your videos, you have such a careful, attentive eye to the human touch that we leave on the world. This human perspective is found in how you play and talk about your games, but it is beautiful to see that similar attention to humanity extended to the real human world. Your work is endlessly inspiring to me and I have been writing my own essays and fiction thanks to you. I will never reach your heights but I have been greatly touched by your work. Keep doing these travelouges please, I want one every 2 years, or every 3, or however much longer it takes you to make one. But please don't stop them. I don't have enough money to visit america, but this makes me feel like I am there in such a way that is impossible to describe. I love them.
My god Noah. I finally finished, and this was so brilliant. Your section on Independence Hall and the Constitution made me tear up, and my eyes didn't stop watering until about 20 minutes after the video was over. Thank you for articulating, in this whole video, everything that is confusing, ugly, frustrating, inspiring, absurd, horrifying, and beautiful about being American.
You truly are my favorite non fiction author of this century, as it stands.
As somebody who works in a cubicle all day with minimal human interaction, this video, like all your videos, has been immensely comforting and insightful. It reminds me there is a whole world outside my tiny box. Thank you for everything Noah. Drive on.
This video is a magnum opus, this is a masterpiece in travel journaling that I cannot imagine being outdone.
This is my 3rd time coming back to watch this. I really wish we could pluck this video from the internet and send it back to the original Lincoln Highway Association for them to see how their world has transformed over the last century.
My 18th birthday is today. This is better than anything I planned today. Thank you for the indirect suprise, Noah. You truly are the greatest dude on this site.
I work in a county clerks office, and was listening to this.
When you go to the "Dear sir" part about old men in boardrooms dictating letters filled with passive aggressive BS I laughed so hard i had to step outside for a few minutes; and then immediatly played that part again for everyone else in the office to hear too.
We still write those same latters here in room E the Jefferson county clerks office. But you make it sound so soooo much more exicitng that it really is.
Thanks for giving us all a little shout out.
You're the largest, most propelling reason why I decided -- sitting at my desk in my boring, ineffable office space -- to start making long form video essays. As a fellow aging gamer whom always loved to write when I could, it took 30x years to realize I could just do that and apply it to a video format on youtube -- especially after watching most, if not all, of your videos as I gamed or cleaned my apartment or walked my dog or worked at the office. Thanks, man! Keep doing what you do, and I will keep watching.
That is eerily similar to my experience,i listened to his videos when i was doing stuff after work.And he inspired me as well, to make my own videos and channel. The line that stuck with me was, and i'm paraphrasing "Maybe i have a crappy job, but at least i have a long and complicated opinion about fallout". My opinions or descriptions aren't as complicated and well thought out as his,but it is still fun to share that love of games with others. It's good to have and outlet.
Noah, have you ever thought about publishing the script for this as a standalone book? The topic is interesting, your prose is pristine, you clearly did background research while firmly grounding it in your own experiences. And, it's fascinating how you talk about topics such as colonial genocide in tandem with the mechanics of an old car and Fedex service routes as part of a logically cohesive narrative.
It’s incredibly special to hear a writer’s work, perspective and opinion I deeply respect speak about the place I grew up, and the road between the towns it ran through to friends and family lived in nearby.
YOU DID IT! I remember watching your "future plans" video when it came out a year ago, and wondering how it would come about. This is SO MUCH MORE CONTENT than I expected. CONGRATULATIONS!
Years ago when I lived in Omaha, I got lost one night trying to find the interstate and ended up on that old brick portion of the Lincoln Highway. I was so bewildered at it that, even despite my rush to make it back to the old familiar pavement, I stopped for a moment ponder why the bricks were there at all. I completely forgot about that until I got about 3 1/2 through this video. What an amazing, detailed documentary of the fading history of the country's ancient highway systems. Thank you so much for giving your wonderful, well-written thoughts on it!
I was actually leaving one of those car dealerships and that's what jogged my memory of the experience!
Trying my hardest to watch the whole entire video in a day
Oh my god. Absolutely incredible. 7 more hours of some of my favorite content on CZcams out of nowhere. I didn't expect ANY more travelogues, much less this. Thank you.
the best parts of the USA are the things they don't show you on shitty TV
I could not be more elated that you've made this. Atomic Pilgrimage is my favorite of your work and I'm ecstatic to join you for hours more travel. Thank you.
Hey Noah,
We're from The Netherlands and we are going to travel Route 66 this summer........ But, The Lincoln Highway is on our bucketlist! And we're going to figure out the route for 2025! What a history! Thanks for this documentary.
How was it? Boring? Not bad? I've driven cross country like 20 times and I hated it every single time lol, but that's the average American experience
Iowa is still in existential intensive care after that ,"it's purgatory, but nice"
Holy moly Noah, I want you to know that I've seen your videos tons of times, they're all fantastic and I find your writing to be very insightful, but the previous travelogues were fantastic, I seriously can't wait to properly digest this.
Noah, this is the best video you've produced and I'm loving it. You've really grown as a storyteller. I'm proud to be a very small part of it as your patreon.
From those of us who can't contribute monetarily, thank you.
i am recovering from an intensive surgery you are supposed to have a loved one accompany you for to be your care taker. due to some sad recent circumstances, i am recovering alone instead. this video and your adventure across the country has kept me company and helped fill the void of heart that ive really needed to soothe the emotional aches that pain killers cant reach. thank you for sharing your journey and your sweet ride
I'm only 60% through and in Iowa. And this is a work of utter beauty, charisma, and comedy. Well done Noah, no longer the imposter you think you are.
I'm going on a motorcycle trip across Russia this spring, and this video is going to accompany me, among with other Noah's work.
This is beautiful.
In early 2020, your first big series got me to go on a journey of my own, and learn a lot about where I call home.
I'm watching this video now after a pandemic, a career change, and a big move. Now, I'm about to go on another cross country journey.
Are you logging it at all?
Genuinely transcendent, more then a video, more then an art piece, more then a travelogue; it is as if you put me in the back seat to an actual real journey whilst giving context.
Around 4:15:08 Noah passes a little hot dog stand. On the way to a Protest the Hero show at The Forge in Joliet, my buddy decided at the last possible moment that he wanted a hot dog before the show and suddenly cut across oncoming traffic to pull in and almost got t-boned by a truck. We're all good, nobody got hurt, just a horn was honked, but it was pretty funny to see that particular landmark of all the landmarks in this video lmao
Cannot wait to watch this. Welcome back Noah, hope you're well!
For many of us, the idea of such an exploration of this country as you have done, feels deeply out of grasp. Thank you from the depths of my heart for sharing this journey with us, and for such a wonderful quality of narration to further illuminate the path.
For my part, it has been a long day staring at spreadsheets, but as I do, some part of me has also been blessed to be riding along the byways of the United states with you. Thank you.
I can't seem to find any other video travelogues like this one. The blending of the comprehensive historical perspective and personal experience go so perfectly together. It somehow swells my pride as an American, a hard thing to do in these times of polarization, to know there is such a vast America out there. One day, perhaps I'll try to go on a road trip of my own and make something like this too.
Noah, today I start a long recovery from surgery. This could not have come at a better time. Thank you, as usual, for all of your work and passion.
At first I thought this was literally a stream of conscious video of you driving coast to coast, and then I remembered my family road trip driving straight through from Illinois to Idaho and how that was about 23 hours straight on its own. It's so easy in the Internet Age to take for granted how effing huge the United States, let alone the world, physically is. Even with cars and planes. Looking forward to listening. Always love your poetic style and radically human approach to topics. Nothing more human than sharing car thoughts, and aruably something uniquely devastating about the American road trip across the great plains. We can imagine the cosmic horror of space anytime, but having it creep up your spine in the middle of nowhere is something else entirely.
How the actual fudge you make a 7 and a half hour video feel well paced and interesting for every single minute? And yet fully connected, you clearly are unique in the CZcams landscape
The video game retrospectives pulled me in, but despite these travelogues not even being something I'd usually watch, yours have me glued to the screen. You just have a way with words and insight into the world that really makes you one of my favorite content creators.
As one of the many who are actively excited anytime you release new work, I am grateful you pursued this crazy idea. Keep having crazy ideas and keep pursuing them. The world is richer for it.
This dude could make a video on the history of paper and make it sound interesting.
commenting now but saving this to watch later after work thanks for all your hard work Noah. Still go back to those videos of real life Fallout locations
There's a second one of those coming out, that's the next project, I did the travel part for that video at the same time I did the travel part for this one.
@@broadcaststsatic Good to know! Also thank you for the knowledge I'm from the Sterling/Dixon IL area and had no idea we are part of this highway.
Taken me almost a year to watch the video fully lol but man you hit the nail on the head with us and Dixon. Lot of drug use and no jobs. Dixon is slowly growing now in the 2020s but we'll see if it continues
i started telling my bf that these are basically just audiobooks and that feels like a much better way to experience this. wonderful work
Hello Noah, I've only watched a little bit of the beginning so far, but I have to say that I love the footage from Iowa. As a born and raised Iowan, with many friends from the coasts and overseas in general, it's...... difficult to convey what living in Iowa is like. I was born in the 4th largest town in Iowa, Sioux City, yet it still has only 80k people who live in it, and it is routine for me to make 3hr+ (one-way) trips, and that sort of life style is incomprehensible to those friends of mine I mentioned above. Being from the interior of the Midwest, it feels like living on an island at times, isolated politically, economically, socially, and spatially from those huge centers of society which exist nearer to the coasts, the nearest being Chicago (which is still 6 hours away from where I live now, driving down I-80). To give people a sense of what being from Iowa is like, I always point out that Slipknot is from Iowa, and that their "heaviest shit" is on the album literally titled "Iowa"; especially a trans femme, it can be a rather interesting experience at times, in the same flavour as the notion of "interesting times", to say the absolute least. I'm grateful to see this project because it conveys the scope of the US, the scope of the distances that I find normal in my life (in some way), the "vibe" of the interior Midwest, and so much more; I love to see the Iowa representation, and I hope our state treated you well enough while you made your way through :)
I'm 6 hours into this masterpiece and there's just such a wonderful, compelling momentum to it. I'm at once trying to devour it as fast as I can, as well as stop and savour every moment. I have no idea how a project like this comes together editorially, but the pace is absolutely perfect, and I'm so happy it exists. Thank you.
The joy seeing this pop up, then immediately growing even more excited seeing its length. I rewatched your Southwestern trip the past month, and I'm so excited for this one.
Noah there aren’t words best day of listening at work of all time . Never thought I would be so interested in something I knew absolutely nothing about . Every upload makes my day .
It's taken me a month to watch this, after work watching 25-30 minutes every few nights a week. It's some of the finest commentary on any subject I've seen, delivered with a wit and when needed, snark that in such an informative manner manages to tell the American story, triumphs, tragedies, love hatred violence and brotherhood by framing it through an obscure route that crosses our great union.
This video really articulated a lot of my complicated feelings about America. I watched this in half-hour chunks over the course of weeks, but it really built up, and had me crying at the end.
This is incredible! I happened to videotape an old PBS special about roadside Pennsylvania landmarks when I was a kid, and it’s so cool to see some of these places still up and running 30(???) years later.
I am convinced there is no one else quite like Noah on CZcams, this is why we are all here. This channel is something special.
Only Mr Caldwell-Gervais could make a captivating, 7 hour long piece of art about some driving game I had never heard of.
Ohhh yeah, this is gonna be a good one. Thanks a lot for the treat, Noah!
Incredible work, Noah. Part documentary, part history lesson, part travel journal. Written with clarity and grace, and never shying away from the ugly brutality of our shared place and time. Never stop writing, my dude!
There is something so wildly profound and authentic about this video. Its not simply a regurgitation of history. Its more than that. Its personal, its real. Theres a philosophical through line that underscores this entire piece and id argue its art
I’ve been watching CZcams avidly for 17 years. These road trips vids are honestly some of the coolest longform content on the platform. Thanks so much.
Noah, could you make a video outlining some of the practical/logistics things involved in doing this journey in your Thunderbird? How long it took, any issues with the car you had on the way, how you kept yourself entertained while crossing the more boring/flat states. If you had a goal of miles-per-day or specific spots you were trying to reach? Would be cool for anyone who'd like to replicate this journey.
The problem with history is that it's full of incredible jokes that take too long to set up. What a perfect summation of trying to communicate history. Thank you.
Noah, you are one of the most eloquent, well-spoken creators on this platform. I stumbled across your channel in search of another hours long KOTOR analysis, and then spent the next few weeks ravenously consuming your videos. This has been an absolute treat to watch. My father and I had planned a trip across the Lincoln Highway. He passed away a few months before we were going to make the trek. Aside from entertaining my tired brain while working, you have given me a view into a truly magical experience. My dad had a passion and reverence for history that you very clearly share. Thank you for what you do.
Sincerely, a fellow Noah from the PNW.
“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have.” - Abraham Lincoln
This video completely recontextualizes Death Stranding for me. Thank you, Noah.
I was also thinking of death stranding!
What an Incredible project and accomplishment.
Proving once again, I’ll listen to anything when presented with such passion and care.
The warmth and passion that just exudes from you in every video makes me so happy
What an absolutely awesome experience. Thank you.
As someone who's lived in Ohio their entire life, it absolutely makes my head spin as to how much larger the world really is than what I've been lead to believe, let alone such a nightmarish place existed in the same state I lived in.
Your video essays and travelogues have kept my 12 hour shifts illuminating in a way that's lead to me trying my own hand at essay writing too. All this to say, thank you for doing what you do. I look forward to whatever projects you wind up putting out in the future.