We are stranded on the side of the road in Lancaster, California.

Cassie, describe what we can see right now.

So in front of us, there's not a bunch.

There's definitely some cars behind us, but other than that, there's a few little buildings

out there.

Yeah.

We're on a flat deserted, basically deserted road, where, again, everything is this same

shade of tan.

There's just like scrub and sand surrounding us.

It's very beautiful.

And then behind us, which we're about to go dry, is the musical road.

13 years ago, my friend Kelsey and I went on a road trip.

We were 19, and we had all the time in the world to explore.

While driving around and blasting music, Kelsey remembered something she had recently

seen in a TV commercial, a road with a song carved into the pavement.

I'm Kimmy Gregory, and this is Atlas Obscura.

A celebration of the world's strange, incredible, and wondrous places.

Today, we're going on a road trip, where the road isn't just the journey, it's the destination.

We're going to learn about the science and engineering on how to make a road play music.

But for me, this isn't just a musical road, it's a trip down memory lane.

That's after this.

In 2008, I didn't have a Tivo yet, so I still watched commercials, including this one

...