DINOSAURS, SPIDERS AND THINGS

The things you see when you’re out there on the highway. I’d passed this spot several times on I-10, which is a major east-west highway that crosses this country.  Interstates 8, 40, 70, and 80 also cross the country. I’ve driven all of them—often. I finally decided to stop and take this picture. At the time in the mid-90s, I was able to drive out onto the sand lot and pose my truck for the shot. The keyhole road (a deadend) was what I called a faux truck stop because there was enough space to park several rigs and go eat at the café, but there were no other truck services like a truck wash, mechanics or oil changes.

A few years later, maybe five or so, you could no longer do this because of the number of fast-food places that had sprung up blocking the access to the open field. The black tractor/truck is mine. It was a 72-inch standup Freightliner that I loved. I’d driven for five years before I made the jump to owner-operator but sadly, I still didn’t have enough business experience to keep it. The very hard lesson I learned for that “school of hard knocks” was as an Owner-Op you are a business and thus responsible for all the taxes that are normally deducted from a paycheck. A settlement check is NOT the same thing. More lessons learned, sigh.

Along with this experience, here’s another other unique sight from when I was on the highways a decade or so ago. Understand this spider may no longer be around.

If spiders aren’t your thing, you won’t appreciate the skill it took to make this oversized spider out of an old Volkswagen body. I believe it was on I-10 in the Palm Springs area across the street from a truck stop.