America’s First Highway | The National Road, National Geographic: Coffee Break On The Wagon Train

Wagons and horses roll out of McDonalds in a thick fog as a wagon train plods toward Pennsylvania. An annual reenactment brings westward bound caravans to the Pike Festival, although early settlers did not stop for fast food coffee along their way past Keyser’s Ridge, Maryland.

The route passes through some of the most mountainous terrain in Maryland and reaches an elevation of 3,700 feet on nearby Negro Mountain. Early travelers feared Keyser’s Ridge—even with the road—because of the harsh weather conditions.