I live in Colorado and frequently drive through those places. My experience is that most towns that grew slowly or maintained a small population have retained their traditional downtowns, because the federal government never gave them "urban revitalization" funds. Then, if a major highway was built near the town, it tended to grow a tumor of gas stations and mcdonalds on the outskirts. The auto oriented development pattern is far more prevalent in suburbs of large population centers.

Sure there are some cool and beautiful little historic towns, but you’ll also see a lot of towns that are basically just two truck stops and an RV park. Sometimes also a hardware store or tourist trap. And then basically nothing but desert/cheatgrass or farmland for 20mi in every direction.

But if the alternative is 100s of miles of desert, having a gas station, convenience store, and run down motel every 20 miles doesn't seem so bad. Especially if you have a breakdown or just need to use the bathroom and get a snack.