Sun, Jan 25 .... Life At the Truck Stop

The word truck stop still seems to have such a bad connotation, doesn't it? Maybe this is the reason the words travel centers, travel plazas, or oasis have come to be... but I can think of several worse places to be...

This morning we headed back to the Pilot to try and secure a parking place. Showers and laundry were on the honey-do-list today. Trucks were parked everywhere... two and three deep in a couple of places. Just at the edge of this picture, to the right, is where the row of trucks started. We are packed in here like sardines....

Parked in the fuel island pull off area... we saw movement and Trapper put us in position quickly! We were not moving this truck today! There must have been 100 trucks pull through here today with nowhere to park.

Deciding it was time to do laundry... I packed it up and said good-bye... I knew I'd be gone for awhile. For all the folks that have never dared walk to the laundry room in a truck stop... here's a picture for you! It's not bad actually... a folding table would be really nice though...

And here is a picture of the hallway that has the showers.... Just like being at home. Four showers at this Pilot.

With laundry being finished, we goofed off all day. We cleaned the truck out... from being in subzero weather last week... we vacuumed, washed the floors, dusted, and I washed some dishes. We talked to Bill (our neighbor to the left that drives for Celadon) and the neighbor to the right who didn't say his name.

Trapper couldn't sit still so he was in and out of the cab all day, playing around on the computer, and letting me take candid pictures of him....

This van caught my eye early this morning. It's the one with the canoe on top of it. The van sat in that same spot all day. At 4:30 pm I noticed a man, with a gas can, putting gas in it. I had to stop and think about this for a minute... he was a at Pilot gas station but was putting gas in the van from a gas can...

Then I realized... it must have taken him all day to get enough people to give him little amounts of gas (as they were filling their tanks) or money, so he could afford the gas.... resourceful? desperate? or lazy?

As soon as he poured the 2-3 gallons (it was a small container) of gas in the tank... they were gone...

You learn to adapt to your surroundings out here. I've seen several camp sites where people live permanently, major truck stop areas have major tent cities in the grassy/woody cover leaf areas of the interstate exits, and hitchhikers are abundant.

Typically, most people are nice and considerate. Everyone has "their" story to tell but they all have the same undertone/questions... where are you coming from, where are you going, what state are you from, and how many miles are you running.

I've said before... it's not just a job... it's a lifestyle. There is a whole different world that operates out of the confines of what most folks consider "normal".