I-40 West, North Carolina-Tennessee Border

[ChaZabalou]

YO I LOVE CROSS-COUNTRY DRIVING IS SO EXCITING TO DISCOVER HOW MUCH UNITED STATES IS A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY. I CAN'T WAIT TO DRIVE UNTIL LOS ANGELES.

[Ayrlie]

I made many trips down this road when I was a kid (when grandma was still living in western NC). The rockslides happen every other year at least. NC got sick and tired of dealing with the rockslides to the point they ended up extending 26 into TN.

[Freewayjim]

@Keast1111 Thank you!

[Larre500]

I cannot stop watching this video.. I always end up coming back to it at times. Gotta love the Pigeon Gorge Probably some of the highest quality forests in the Subtropics right here :)

[Freewayjim]

@Larre500 Thanks, glad you enjoy it!

[trexlergreen]

shared with FB friends - people love it! Keep driving and filming - please!

[Freewayjim]

@trexlergreen Will do! my 300th video will be uploaded tomorrow (Monday Night) and I still have some more after that from my summer trip. Glad you and your friends enjoy the videos! If you are on FB, you should join the FreewayJim page there. (sorry, I was in my other channel)

[trexlergreen]

Took a minute or so to get used to the speed and not being in control of the "wheel" but what a cool way to see the country - You are right about looking like parts od PA turnpike - better roads here though.. I'm hooked - this is very cool! Love it! Enjoy the comments on the ride too! Awesome Idea ! Thank you!!

[Freewayjim]

@trexlergreen Glad to have you on board, thanks for watching!

[robphilll22]

Driving from Winston Salem,NC to Sevierville,TN Christmas Week.Does anyone know how the roads are at that time of year?

[briand2777]

i enjoy your videos...im an over the road truckdriver and you really capture some of the most beautiful parts of the country...i'd love to see a video of I-70 from denver to I-15...its a gorgeous drive through the mountains of western colorado and eastern utah...

[Freewayjim]

@briand2777 Thank you! I'd love to drive and film that section of I-70 too someday, I've not been that far west before.

[hwyrunr68]

Are you kidding me ! I did it in 34 hours !!!

[Freewayjim]

@hwyrunr68 I said depending on driving habits and exact route, of course there are exceptions.

[Jean1juan]

@Freewayjim can you make a vid on Tn state route 840?

[Jean1juan]

@hwyrunr68 did he seriously drive 400 miles or is it the exit signs?

[Larre500]

@Jean1juan I think that those are just the mile markers. it means that he traveled 25 miles in NC (assuming that Mile 25 is 25 miles from the state border), and then whatever distance he traveled in Tennessee to reach mile marker 446. if he traveled 400 miles he would be in Arkansas by the time the video ended :)

[raynermantos]

hey dude, is your speed beyond the speed limit?

[Freewayjim]

@raynermantos Maybe by 5-10 MPH in places, the video is sped up about 3.5x,

[raynermantos]

@Freewayjim how many days if you travel from east coast to west coast by using the interstates? :-D

[Freewayjim]

@raynermantos 3-4 depending on driving habits and the exact route.

[raynermantos]

@Freewayjim thanks dude

[1xoirc]

That is one beautiful stretch of highway.Looks very relaxing.With the trees and everything.

[Freewayjim]

@1xoirc Considering that you really have to "drive" it, it's not very relaxing, but it certainly is beautiful.

[1xoirc]

@Freewayjim I guess I'm saying that because of the music and how smooth the trip looks:-)

[Freewayjim]

@1xoirc ah yes, it is all an illusion :) really it's a tight, twisting road and slow drivers in the left lane can be a problem.

[1xoirc]

@Freewayjim I mean wow,this so cool to travel and record your trips.What inspired you to do this?

[Freewayjim]

@1xoirc It's fun but a lot of work. I'd been photographing my trips since I first got a digital camera in 1998 and it evolved to this. I always wanted a way to keep the interesting parts of my rides with me, between photos & videos I can do that and share with my friends who have similar interests. I shot my first footage in 2004 in Boston, the video is still on here and I'm honestly surprised it has come this far.

[1xoirc]

@Freewayjim I have to give it to you man.This is very unique and great all together.To go to different parts of the US and explore is a great way to be open.What an adventure man keep it up.

[Freewayjim]

@1xoirc Thanks, I appreciate that and wish I could do it more often.

[1xoirc]

@Freewayjim You welcome man,take care.I will continue to watch and comment.:-)

[danbel899]

you should come back some time! I would love to meet you somewhere so we can meet. :)

[dearbulls]

What was your actual speed? I know this is a FF video

[Freewayjim]

@dearbulls 55-65 for the most part.

[wojack1000]

Beautiful ride in spring, summer, but it gets real nasty in Winter. Got to really be alert going through "The Gorge" in a Big Truck.

[Kyukanbun]

"No trucks left lane"? How can the trucks overtake other car on 2-lane-per-way freeway?

[cochrab]

Great video, I love that part of the country!!

[Freewayjim]

@cochrab Thanks!

[rjaiswal11]

Awesome capture and superb driving man....I can't imagine the scene in Fall..!!

[Freewayjim]

@rjaiswal11 Thank you!

[LorenzoMoore1000]

Awesome video freeway Jim . And I am an lover of the mouintains troughout North Corolina/ Tenness. Thanks for posting

[Freewayjim]

@LorenzoMoore1000 Thanks, I love the mountains too.

[jsx6x]

also, 13 out of 5.

[Freewayjim]

@jsx6x Thanks!

[jsx6x]

this vid is soo awesome. the scenery is beautiful isnt it? Me and my family travel to Minnesota every year, and we pass through that general area every time and Every time it's BEAUTIFUL.

[extremlywell]

nice video! i like your comments on the bottom of the screen.

[Freewayjim]

@extremlywell Thank you!

[utvolzfan76]

I love this stretch of interstate when I drive over to North Carolina. In the summer, it always seems to be raining. You can start off with sunny, clear skies, but when you get close to the state line, it always seems to be pouring down rain, but it clears up again as soon as you leave the mountainous area.

[utvolzfan76]

I love this stretch of interstate when I drive over to North Carolina. In the summer, it always seems to be raining. You can start off with sunny, clear skies, but when you get close to the state line, it always seems to be pouring down rain, but it clears up again as soon as you leave the mountainous area.

[MrMariobig]

The Gorge aint no joke in A semi truck carring 80,000 pounds so cars dont jump in front of one going down hill

[Bluetailvappy]

I-40 reopened about 3 weeks ago. So that is good news. It is still restricted to one lane westbound so more stabilization can occur.

[Alexe84]

I was just curious on to what program you use. I find when I use Adobe Premier Pro CS4. it brings outs the fascination and beauty directly into perspective.

Cheers.

[Freewayjim]

@Alexe84: Hi, I use Apple's Final Cut Express 4

[admiralcapn]

Nice footage. You got this only three months before the most recent rock slide! I think it is in the area of 5:30, but its hard to tell where mile 2.6 is.

[Cool96e]

I love North Carolina's scenic beauty :) And Tennessee's too.

[adbailey78]

Waterville Road (@ Waterville Gap) is where the Appalachian Trail crosses under I-40 at the north end of the Great Smoky Mountains.

[irish89055]

Jim, love the video, esp speeded up to autobahn 100mph . I so wanted to see the guy that passed you on the inside pulled over somewhere..... annotations were great too..

[Freewayjim]

Thanks!

The video is sped up about 4x so you are looking at it from a 225-250MPH perspective.

[FreewayBrent]

Wow. I'm pretty speechless, watching this video.

The scenery may not be as dramatic as I-80 over the Sierra Nevada; rather this stretch of I-40 is lush and greener vs I-80, the tunnel was an unexpected surprise, and the numerous cliffs that reside, literally right next to the roadway all add up to one spectacular stretch of freeway. 6******!

[Railbugman]

Awesome video !!! What kind of camera are you using and what software do you use for the speed up it is really smooth ,

[Freewayjim]

Thank you. I use a Sony HDR-HC9 camera and Apple Final Cut Express 4 for the editing and effects.

[skywatcher75]

Beautiful ride and music.

[uptownbronze]

The mountains are always breathtaking!

[Rhythmicons]

Will be driving this tomorrow, eastbound to Asheville. Hope we have a safe journey.

How dangerous is this at night?

[Freewayjim]

Never drove it at night but check traffic reports, there was a rockslide a few months back that closed the road, not sure if it's re-opened yet.

[Bryant5493]

Recently, I drove on U.S. 23/64/64 Truck/441 and U.S. 74 through the Great Smoky Mountains -- Franklin to Dillsboro, then Dillsboro to Harrah*s Cherokee -- and, man, was that a challenge... a fun challenge. ;-) The speed limit was 55, but, uh, no way was I able to maintain that. At points, I was doing to about 35.

I read about the rockslide. That sucks.

[knoxvilleborn]

There was indeed a rock slide recently, 3 miles east of the Tennessee border. The estimated time-frame for repairs is 3 months. There wasn't too much debris on the road, but there is a large fracture in the hill above the road to contend with.

[TALLMATE73]

i think they just had a new rock slide today yeah i 40 shutdown again for a couple more months

[BigB23ABCUSA]

Its not the Pigeon River Gorge, its the Nantahala Gorge or locally "the Gorge" And Waterville Rd leads to the Waterville powerplant. And your right Fines Creek leads to Gods country nothings up there, except my family lol

[valkhorn]

Nope. The Nantahala is south of the Smoky Mountains and lies along hwy 19/74 in NC. I know both areas pretty well.

The Pigeon River follows I40 from the NC border into TN.

[davidthewatermellon]

Looks like a fun drive, and Harmon Den leads to a horse compound.

[kevnnc]

Beautiful!! That is my favorate part of my trips traveling from Raleigh to Knoxville. It's amazing how beautiful NC is...

I suggest making a video of the Blue Ridge Parkway from Boone to Asheville or HWY 12 from Nags Head to Cape Hatteras.

[trashdunka99]

nice scenery in the mountains. reminds me when i went on US 33 into virginia. very scenic and its one heck of a road with even crazier sharp turns

[EuropaAmerica7]

Great video. The person in the late-model Subaru WRX STI was the ONLY driver to pass Freewayjim in over 25 miles/40 km of driving!

[Freewayjim]

I was photographing the route too so I was not in a position to drive at his level of urgency at the time.

[michaelheiland123654]

That road is fun to drive? Here in florida we dont have those kind of road or mountain or Car inspection!

[Freewayjim]

If traffic is light it is extremely fun to drive.

[rickhh1]

I like the "Middle of nowhere" destinations you put for the exits there. Good job.

[Freewayjim]

Thanks, I tried to have a little fun with that

[necroslair]

Gorgeous scenery on that stretch of highway. Metheny's music goes well with mountain roads. Thanks for the ride.

[prfsnlwannabe]

Besides I-77(at the very southern end of VA), I-68 in western Maryland, and I-24 inbetween Nashville and Chattanooga(as I was trying to come up w/suggestions for Brent to drive on), how could I forget the WV Turnpike(64/77)?

And of course, if you drive on the turnpike and have time, you should detour onto US 19(northeast of Beckley) and check out the New River Gorge Bridge. The visitor center just to the north is nice, since you can hike on a short trail and get a great view of the NRGB.

[Freewayjim]

I've taken US-19 in WV and stopped at that visitor center, it is indeed pretty cool.

[exit322]

I'll be honest, I've never thought the WVA Turnpike was all that scenic. Nice road, but nothing special. I'm hoping someday we'll take the path of US 21 down thataway from here (Massillon OH) when we go to Florida. That should be fun.

[2004JETTA]

That was freaking awesome

[essigmw]

This one is like the South's version of the Franconia Notch! Great video!

[Freewayjim]

Thanks, Good Call on the Franconia Notch Comparison.

[ashtonnesmith]

Beautiful Scenery and well done to You .

[MazdaStrider]

That driver who flew past you.. in a hurry.. that's the new Subraru WRX STI.. shoot.. that car is pretty quick.. haha.

wonder what the driver's hurry is... anyways, I LOVE this section of I-40... SO scenic.. So breathtaking.. The section of I-40 in Tennessee.. after Exit 443 to Exit 27 in NC.. the best section of I-40 ever.

[jmantra623]

...better yet you should do something different and do a video of you riding your bike down the abandoned PA turnpike.

[jmantra623]

Speaking of the PA Turnpike, you need to a video on it, I was on this weekend and was in awe of the scenery.

[PHILLYCHEESESTEAK26]

I agree, there are videos of the PA Turnpike on YouTube but none compare to the quality that you make them Freewayjim. I would love to see a you make a video of driving through the mountainous area of PA. I would also love it if you had a video of I-80 in PA through the coal region. By the way, I found out about you Freewayjim while looking for videos on I-95 in PA. I love it of course. And the scenery in this video reminds me so much of the state of Pennsylvania.

[FreewayBrent]

I had no idea that I-40 through that area was so awe-inspiring! I just might have to drive this section of I-40 in August...

[prfsnlwannabe]

I-77 south of the NC/Virginia border is pretty cool too, and you can see a decent bit of mountains from that expressway too. And of course, I love I-24 in TN inbetween Chattanooga and Nashville.

And since I'm still thinking about freeways in the Appalachians that are among my favorites, don't forget I-68 in western Maryland. Beats driving the PA turnpike(to the north), of course.

[Freewayjim]

I-77 in NC is nice through Fancy Gap but it does last very long.

I-68 is an outstanding drive, and you can really enjoy it for a while.

[Freewayjim]

I-77 Fancy Gap is the last 6 miles in VA, sorry.

[xcluenic]

I used to travel this rd when i was in the army, I even got a speedign ticket there going 15 over. This bought back my army memories.

[mmt2853]

great video jim!

[jimsflytyer]

Wow! What a peice of work this is. This could become a classic.

[zzzurd]

Nice vid! I like the twisties and the soothing music! It totally matches the scenery in this vid. Doing a road trip now is just so tempting. Perhaps the gas prices might come down a bit more and perhaps I'll do one...

[anchelicht]

Green, green, mucho green, bien Relax!

[worldtravelermsk]

I've been on this road and I agree, that stretch of road reminds me of portions of the PA turnpike between somerset and breezewood, complete with the "PA style" left lane shoulder. I'd also say that looks like sections of the WV turnpike between beckley and charleston.

[Freewayjim]

The WV Turnpike is a much better road, but yeah I know the area you are talking about, good call.

[uptownbronze]

Freeway, I'm from Greenville, S.C. Your videos bring back so many memories. Thank you.

[Freewayjim]

You are welcome!

[donutbandit]

You always have the most fitting, tasteful music in your videos, Jim. BTW, what was the deal with those school busses in minute 6? They both had some kind of deck on top of them. Did you notice anything about those?

[sal3060]

May have been NASCAR fans. They'll park in the track infield and sit on the roof deck to watch the race.

[Bluetailvappy]

As for wintertme driving Ji, I have a video hiding somewhere of taking US 441 through the Great moky Moutains National Park. it was filmed I think on 1/15/09, when there was this bitterly cold spell all over the southeast and east going on. There was snow on the ground above about 3000 feet. it was about 14 degrees where it tops out at 5300 feet, and there were ice all over the rock walls forming this ice tunnel effect around curves. I really need to dig that up.

[eyesofawulf]

Thanks for the ride in the winter it is a lil tricky but if you respect the road and mother nature its ok

[dablommer]

Another good piece as always...

[JcBrooks651]

1:49 lol dumb*** in little red truck gave u the break check even though your in the left lane i dont get it

[Freewayjim]

It was a white haired old lady driving with her husband in the passenger seat, go figure?

[wimpie25]

Nice Area, looks alot like the southern part of the Alps when you're driving to Italy trough Austria in the summer.

[exit322]

West of Exit 20 the thing feels like a stretch of the PA turnpike with its "shoulders" and what not.

[Freewayjim]

It really does...you mean lack of shoulders :)

[ScrewdUpClick2000]

thanks for this jim.. that was one amazing ride,, i wonder how it would look in the winter months ...

[Freewayjim]

Yeah, I wondered that too, I'll bet it's no piece of cake for trucks in the winter.

[TaGaMeMNoN1983]

i loved it 5*

[aswchris]

Amazing video! This road is probably one of the most scenic freeways east of the Mississippi river.

And funny exits all the time leading to nowhere.

[Freewayjim]

Thank you!

Those exits really don't go anywhere of note, mainly for locals.

[north5880]

It was exciting to watch the last 24 or so miles of I-40 in North Carolina. The calmness Pat Metheny group song matches well to the landscapes of the mountains. Just couldn't believe the high mountain ranges in western NC. How they constructed that interstate to the mountains with those winding curves and hils and backdrops, even over the gorge, is astounding and they kept the nature of the scenery first over anything.

[jwgreek8606]

that music sounds like Weather Channel music!

[Bryant5493]

Very nice scenery.

[NitekMuscle]

WOW! And I thought I-65 south through Birmingham was nice. This is THE best interstate highway video I've seen.

[Freewayjim]

Thanks!