ROUTE 6: AMERICA'S BYWAY. Think of Route 6 as America's byway, a local road that meanders across the nation from the tip of Cape Cod to southern California. In New England, Route 6 travels along roads once used by colonial soldiers. It crosses the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania coal country and touches the Great Lakes before heading through the cities and fields of America's heartland. It climbs the Rockies in Colorado, weaves through Utah's canyons and spans Nevada's deserts.

Then it stops. Right at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, a stone's throw from Yosemite.

Then, there's me. I'm an old guy who's going to walk the entire 3,600 miles of Route 6, discovering America foot-by-foot. Along with a photographer, we'll search for the heartbeat of the nation at the start of the 21st Century. Sometimes we'll travel off our path to bring you offbeat and inspiring glimpses of America. We'll scare ourselves silly in the Roller Coaster Capital of the World, and plunge into the depths of coal mines. We'll explore canyons, walk across Death Valley and touch a glacier. We'll visit Boy's Town and Ghost Towns. We'll trek through 14 States and more than 500 Communities. We'll taste maple syrup in New England, pizza in Chicago, bread in Iowa, and burritos in L.A. (And, we'll be packing plenty of antacids!)

We invite you to join this adventure. Read about our struggles and triumphs. See places you didn't know existed. Meet people you won't forget.

Feel free to join us for part of our trek, or just drive by and say, "Hi!" After all, you - too - are part of what makes America what it is today.