Several years ago when my youngest son left for college, I decided to leave as well, if only for a month and a half to drive cross-country on the second longest highway in the U.S., Route 6. Also known as the vaguely communist sounding Grand Army of the Republic Highway, US Route 6 was once the longest road in America, running 3,652 miles through 14 states from Provincetown, MA to Long Beach, CA, but fell to second place (Route 20 is longer) after California renumbered its highways in 1964. US Route 6 now officially ends in Bishop, CA – a colorful Eastern Sierra’s town rich in murals and mules – but I also intended to retrace Historic Route 6 from Bishop to Long Beach and include that portion, too, in a mile by mile Route 6 guidebook.