April 2009 TRUCKER TALK
AN EVER-CHANGING VIEW
BY WRITER & OWNER OPERATOR KIM GRIMM
It sounds very cliché, but truckers really do have an office with a view. Someone sitting in an office has the same view every day out their window (if they even have a window). A truck driver, on the other hand, has a changing view daily. Even running the same routes, the trucker’s view not only changes with the seasons, but, over time, the scenery or cityscape often changes, too. Looking through old pictures and thinking back about the early days of my driving career, I picked out a few examples (and some photos) of not only beautiful scenery, but also how the scenery has changed over the last 23 years that I’ve been on the road. Some changes have been for the better – some, not so much.
Have you heard the country song about slowing a rig down by using the wooden guard rails on I-5 along the Grapevine? I found a couple of pictures I took back in the late 1980s of those guard rails (not pictured here). The second time I went over the Grapevine, on the way to Bakersfield, there was still debris from a flatbed that had run off the end of the old runaway truck ramp. Today, that ramp, which has been replaced by a couple new ones, is long gone, as well as those old wooden guard rails, which, for the most part, have been replaced by modern steel and/or concrete barriers.
Remember the old 76 Truck Stop in Winnemucca, Nevada? It has sat empty for years. A friend recently told me that it has been torn down and that a new Love’s was going up. Some other old truck stops that used to be on I-80 were the Husky in Evanston, Wyoming and Gay Johnson’s in Rawlins, Wyoming. These were not the greatest of stops, but, back then, they provided vital services to us truckers. I can still remember when Gay Johnson’s caught on fire – the black smoke could be seen for miles. The only thing left was the fireplace, which is still inside the Flying J that replaced it.
I used to go to Chicago’s old South Water Market – what a challenge that was! When this wholesale produce market facility was built, it was made to accommodate a horse and buggy – not a 3-axle tractor pulling a 48’ (or longer) reefer trailer. Back in the day, as the story goes, if you didn’t watch the cop that was backing you in and instead used your mirrors, he would take his baton and break your mirror – then you had to watch him. This was not the nicest of produce markets. The rats, back by the railroad tracks, were as big as small dogs. It was also a good place to get robbed. It was a good change of scenery when they built the new Chicago International Produce Market (CIPM) off of I-55.
When it was first built, the Excalibur Hotel & Casino on the south end of the strip in Las Vegas, Nevada was a big deal. Later, it became dwarfed by the Luxor, New York New York and Mandalay Bay hotels. I snapped a neat shot of the Luxor pyramid as it was being built from the window of my truck around 1991. When it opened on October 15, 1993, the Luxor was the tallest building on the Las Vegas Strip. All of the casinos built since then have been bigger and grander, and now the Stratosphere tower, at 1,149 feet tall, is by far the tallest.
The highest point on I-80 west of the Mississippi is in Wyoming on top of the mountain between Cheyenne and Laramie. The location is marked by a thirteen-foot high bust of Abe Lincoln, mounted on a massive, thirty-five foot granite base. Upon doing some research, I found that I-80 and historic Highway 30, The Lincoln Highway, run together there for awhile. The Lincoln Highway, which originally ran from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, California, was the very first coast-to-coast route across America (but that is a story for another day). The monument was erected in 1959 to mark the high point of the Lincoln Highway and it originally stood about half a mile west of where it sits today. It was moved to its present location in 1969 after I-80 was opened. The base of the statue is hollow, and it has ladders and lightening rods inside. If you look closely at the picture, you can see someone standing at the base of the monument, which shows just how big this statue really is.
Another neat thing you can find along I-80 in Wyoming, as well as any other stretch of highway that struggles with heavy amounts of snowfall and wind, are the snow fences. These wooden fences were built to alleviate problems with blowing snow, but they also make for a neat focal point in pictures of the snowy Wyoming landscape. Prior to the installation of the fences, keeping I-80 open during winter was much more of a challenge. Snow fences effectively pile up blowing snow and allow wind to cross the highway unabated, which then allows the wind to push the snow off of the highway (instead of blowing more snow from the shoulder onto the pavement). Large piles of snow adjacent to these fences are common during the winter, and even well into the spring months. As you can see in the snowy photo, some days our “view” is just gorgeous.
If you pull a 53’ trailer you can no longer (legally) go through Utah’s Provo Canyon anymore, but, years ago, I went that way nearly every week and it was always one of my favorite parts of the trip. One of the prettiest sights along the route (Highway 189) is Bridal Veil Falls. Years ago, there used to be a gift shop at the bottom of the falls, and a tram ride that went up the side of the mountain to the top of the falls. At one time, there was even a restaurant at the top. An avalanche in 1996 wiped it all out and it was never rebuilt. The ruins of the gift shop and tram remained there for several years, but a fire in July of 2008 burned most of what was left. Today, very little of the remains (if any) can still be seen at the base of the falls.
I always thought Provo Canyon was a wonderful stretch of two-lane road to drive. Running along the Provo River, it was a good opportunity to just slow down and enjoy the ride. That, too, has changed. Highway 189 is now a 4-lane road from the dam to Provo. Is it safer? Yes. Is it better? I don’t know about that. There is still a couple miles of the old road left by Bridal Veil Falls and you can get to it from either direction, even in a truck (the falls make a great background for pictures). I can still remember the time when I went to the top of the tram. Back then, there was just a pull-off that a few trucks could stop in. Looking down from the top, my truck and trailer looked like a matchbox toy.
Of course, there have been thousands of beautiful sunrises and sunsets, storm clouds, rainbows, bright and shiny snow that glitters like diamonds, and even the occasional balloon festival. Our view, as seen through the windshield of our truck, really does change daily. If you are just getting on the road, you might want to get a good camera and start taking some pictures of your view – even the places that seem to be mundane. One thing is for sure – over the years, your view (like the world) will change, especially if you are out here for a long time. One day you will be glad you have pictures to show your grandkids just how different things looked “way back when” (today).