I think the term predates statehood and originated in Alaska. Alaska and Hawaii were not made states until '59, so Alaska had about 45 years of time where there were only 48 states south of it. Once a phrase gets into the language, it often stays long past making any literal sense.
Yes, it’s an image artifact from two different adjacent images.
Despite the lack of roads, cars have been driven through the gap at least three times, by chopping paths through, winching them past bad spots, and rafting across swamps.
That would make more sense.
The roads within Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico are paved, but at least some portion of every route in is unpaved. Cite.
Yes, I read that, but I think that’s cheating a bit. If you put a vehicle on a boat, then you’re not driving, you’re floating. And winching - cars are not made to fly. No, if you’re going to claim you’ve crossed it by car, you’ve got to drive all the way.
Incidentally, I foundthis account of a journey into the Darien Gap very interesting.
There was a town I worked at in Florida where most of the roads in the older part of town were clay. Residents wanted to keep them that way; they were seen as part of the town’s historic character, and their primitive form helped to calm traffic and keep speeds low. However, new roads were required to be paved. There were some new paved roads that were extensions of the dirt roads, but they weren’t connected to other paved roads; the only access to these paved roads was via a clay road.
No kidding. There are, at a rough estimate, 4 million miles of roads and highways in the lower 48 states. There are just over 2000 hours in a summer; so assuming that you’re planning to drive 24/7 for three months straight (make sure you have a backup driver! It’s not safe to drive for more than six weeks without sleep!), you’ll need to average nearly 2000 miles per hour to finish your tour on schedule. Don’t forget your radar detector–those back-county sherriffs get peeved when you go more than 1000 MPH over the limit.
In Olde Town Alexandria, near Washington DC, and Also in Georgetown, DC, many of the olde cobblestone streets have been maintained, does that count? There are areas int he center of town which are “paved” (i.e. asphalt) but can only be reached by cobblestone streets.
I think the same is true of Strawberry Bank in NH, but I haven’t been there in -mumbles- years.
. . . and of course, there are many areas in Maine and Vermont where you “Can’t get thayah . . . from heeyah. . .”
Seriously though, there are areas up there where you’d have to go ridiculously far South, in order to get a 10 or 20 miles East or West, unless you were willing to take the dirt roads.
You have to go up to get there, unless you want to take a very long boat ride.
Don’t forget the computer time to determine an optimal route. Perhaps you can make contributions to the computer science field with a better traveling salesman solution.
I almost thought about mentioning that, but I decided it would be too geeky. 
Covering all of the roads is a different, and I think much simpler, problem than hitting all the nodes, though.
Actually, the guy who completed the most recent trip did drive all the way. It took him three years, though. He would drive only during the three month dry season, leaving the car in someone’s care during the rainy season until he could come back the next year. And by “winching” I mean winching the car up steep slopes with a cable and a winch attached to the front of the vehicle. I don’t think this is cheating, since you are using the car’s own engine to move it along.
Interesting article, although a little over the top in places. I know almost all the people mentioned in the article. I’ve been to the Darien several dozen times, and have led expeditions into some of the more remote and unexplored mountain ranges. It’s amazing that a wilderness like that still can exist in a country as small as Panama.
If you think of the roads as the nodes and the intersections as paths it becomes the same problem. I would be interested in hearing how you think it is simpler problem.
There are parts of some streets in St. Petersburg, FL that have brick surfaces; some of them are fairly rough and I wouldn’t count them as paved. Historical yes but only marginally drivable, IMHO.
You might want to check a map of Maine. I know in the north there are lots of areas that are only accessible by private logging roads. You might find something there.
You might want to try asking at Usenet’s alt.misc.transport.road, which if you don’t have a Usenet server you can get via Google Groups (See link)
Though that could explain the usage, it would largely explain it in Alaska, since Alaska wasn’t officially proclaimed a state until January 3, 1959 (it had been approved for statehood some months earlier in 1958).
Until Jan 1959, the lower 48 were the only 48, so why wouldn’t it just be called “the 48”, “the states” or even “the mainland” (though Alaska is not an island, the 48 states would have been the “main land” of the US) To all but the ~225,000 inhabitants of Alaska (and residents of Hawaii), it had the same status as Hawaii (approved for statehood by Congress in Mar 1959) except for a few months.
I don’t know what pre-statehood Alaskans called the incorporated states, butI’m sure it was more colorful than “the Lower 48”. I am not aware that (e.g.) Puerto Ricans refer to the “Western 50”; I doubt they’d call it that if they became a state.
taddvc
I don’t know what tools/maps/GPS you are going to use to plan your trip. Or where you are from, starting from, or ending up. But be aware that many people traveling the west US get stranded every year by relying on these things.
If you are traveling on roads other than the US Interstate system or a State highway you should make yourself familiar with the road condition telephone numbers or web sites for each area. Many tragic examples of people following roads on the map happen each year. Someone takes a shortcut/scenic route and finds out it is poorly maintained and seldom traveled. If something goes wrong you could be there for days. The map doesn’t impart a feel for just how high this little mountain you are crossing is. Some of the roads shown are county or forest service roads. And yes, it snows at higher elevations in the west even in summer.
So if you decide to get off the beaten path take water, car repair tools, blankets, and food for 3 days. Phones don’t work everywhere and it might be along time before someone drives by. It’s a big damn country out here.
People in Alaska use the term “outside” which means everywhere that is not Alaska - the rest of the US, Europe, Asia, etc. I think they might use that more than lower 48.
From extensive personal experience, I can confirm that Stehekin Valley Road is: a) paved for the first four miles or so (switches to gravel above Harlequin campground), and; b) completely unconnected to any other paved road. (NB: data as of 2005)