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The most desolate segment of a major road I traveled was highway 80 from Wendover, UT to Salt Lake City. It was two hours of "nothing". No houses, no businesses, and no signs of life. Well, there were initials and hearts carved in the sand, in the desert. That was it. I couldn't get any radio signals and my cell phone reception was spotty. On occasion, I still get nightmares of my car dying out there.
I haven't traveled myself much yet but this past Christmas I did go about 80 miles of nothing from Clayton to Springer, NM on U.S. 56. Still don't think it was as horrible as driving through Oklahoma and Kansas when my 6-year-old self and my family went to Minnesota.
Wendover to SLC. You were in the Bonneville salt flats.
My most desolate major highway experience would be route 87 between Lubbock and Big Spring. My truck overheated twice on the way there. The great plains have a ghost town kind of vibe. Courage the Cowardly Dog. I bet it's metropolis compared to the desert. I haven't been out there to the desert tho.
I've traveled many desolate roads, but one that comes to mind is CA-62 from Palm Springs to Parker, AZ. 2.5 hours of absolutely nothing but Joshua Tree NP and the vast California desert.
Drove through at midnight on my way there and there was only one lane each way, maybe one or two call boxes, and no light poles. I maybe saw two semis passing the other direction but mostly just mice and coyotes crossing the road the whole way there. During the day I've seen wild burros but other than that there is not a single town, gas station or abandoned house as far as the eye can see. (Which is far, as there are no trees).
I-10 from Phoenix, AZ to Indio, CA
I-40 from Needles, CA to Barstow, CA
U.S. 23 from Big Stone Gap, VA to Cattletsburg, KY (except Pikeville, KY and vicinity)
I- 10 through west Texas. Complete emptiness, but traveling at night seemed other worldly. By that I mean you could see nearly every star in the galaxy, as well as a full moon hiding behind some of the mountains out there. What an incredible sight it was to see.
I-40 from Needles to Barsow (as Gnutella stated above). Thats a quite desolate drive. And if you drive it on a weekday, later at night, traffic is almost non-existant. Its a creepy drive.
West Texas and up into the panhandle. We used to play the game where we'd pick out a point in the distance and figure out how far away it was. Sometimes the concept of seeing for miles and miles is great, like at the top of a mountain or a tree or a skyscraper. Other times, like driving through empty barren space, seeing for miles and miles is not great.
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