As many of us who have been on the road for decades are beginning to reach retirement age, we often wonder what we will do after living most of our lives on the road? Most can remember when we first hit the road, but we never could have imagined how quickly the millions of miles and memories would go by – it seems as fast as a round from the east coast to California and back! I’ll say this here, I’m not retired from the road yet, but I’m closer than not. And we sure have made a lot of memories along the way during this amazing life trucking has allowed us to have.
It’s 238,900 miles to the moon, so with 4 million miles under our belt, we’ve gone there and back 16.7 times. And all that we’ve got to see in those millions of miles is pretty incredible when you stop to think about it. I say we’ve been paid to see our country, and what a great ride it’s been. Over the years I’ve always taken a lot of pictures, but I do wish that we would have had the quality cell phone cameras that we have today to document more of the early days back in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
I have always loved photographing the sunrise and sunsets, and no two are ever the same, as each one is spectacular in their own right. The full moon coming up over a mountain in Wyoming or the Arizona desert is awesome, along with everywhere else you get to see it, as it rises on the horizon on a clear dark night. I can remember seeing the Hale-Bopp Comet in 1997, which was visible to the naked eye for months. But it really stood out on a clear dark night running across I-40 in Arizona or I-80 in Wyoming, or anywhere else that the lights of a nearby city didn’t take away from its amazing display across the sky.
Winter experiences would include driving through snowstorms over Donner Pass between Reno and Sacramento and heading into black storm clouds while running west through Nebraska. Another memorable location is the Virgin River Gorge – that 29 mile stretch of I-15 in Arizona between Utah and Nevada. At first it looks like there couldn’t possibly be a road, just a mountain, but there is. The road runs through the gorge, crosses seven bridges over the Virgin River and, when heading east in the winter, you come out the other side and are usually out of the snow in Utah.
After passing through the Virgin River Gorge at night when heading west, following a short bit of driving, you are suddenly overlooking the ocean of lights we call Las Vegas – a sight that never gets old. And speaking of Vegas, we watched it grow into the giant “sin city” (or tourist trap) it is today. Back in the day, the Excalibur (the castle) stood pretty much alone, and back then you could park your truck in the dirt and go enjoy the buffet. Then, the Nevada state bird (the construction crane) took over, and that infamous Vegas skyline hasn’t stopped growing ever since.
I’ll never forget the first time we were heading east on I-80 in Nevada and saw the salt flats. Once you go through Wendover, NV and get on the flats in Utah, if you look to the north, there are mountains that have mirages. The mountains are continuous, but they look like there is a cloud here and there that makes it look like there are breaks in the mountains. Another memorable sight at night can be found while heading east on I-40 and seeing the beautiful lights out over Albuquerque, NM (there is a row of lights that stand out that must run along a main street in the city).
One of my favorite rides running west was through Provo Canyon, from Heber City, UT to Provo, UT. Heber City is a beautiful little town nestled in the Wasatch Mountains. A two-lane road off I-80 was the way you had to go to Heber City before they built Hwy 40 from Silver Creek Junction. Then, you went down through the canyon on Hwy 189 south, which was restricted to 48’ trailers, so there weren’t many company trucks that could go this way. Today, this route is mostly a 4-lane with a tunnel. I personally loved it more when it was the little 35 mph 2-lane that wound along the Provo River, but it’s still a nice drive.
One of the sights in the canyon is Bridal Veil Falls. Although most of the road was widened and rebuilt, they did keep a two mile stretch of the old road by the falls – it’s a park, and you can still get there in a truck. In the summer you could see fly fishermen standing in the river, and in the winter you could see people climbing the ice of the falls. There was once a gift shop at the bottom of the falls and a tram that took you to the top (there was even a restaurant up there at one time, too). It was quite a feat to build, and it’s sad that it’s gone. An avalanche in 1996 took out the gift shop, so the tram was shut down. The mangled gift shop sat there empty for years before they finally tore it down, along with the tram, which also burned in 2008.
There was nothing like rolling into Provo, UT at Christmas time. The streets were beautiful, and I think their lights were some of the best synchronized in the country back then. I can remember when they were restoring the Brigham Young Academy Building, which sits along University Ave. on Hwy 189 in Provo. Built in 1892, it is a beautiful and historical structure and saving it instead of demolishing it was a great decision. If you are heading west on I-80 toward I-15 to head south, if you take Hwy 40 to Hwy 189 back to I-15 through Provo, it cuts off 35 miles and saves you from going over Parley Summit and down the 12 miles of 4-6% grade into Salt Lake City – and it’s a much prettier drive.
One time, when on the east coast, we dropped our trailer and went to see the USS Constitution in Boston. The USS Constitution, known as Old Ironsides, is a three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She is the world’s oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat. Launched in 1797, she was one of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed. It was pretty cool! The tour was free, and I do remember that the ship (and museum) was definitely worth visiting.
With places like Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Shasta, all a sight to see, especially in the summer, the Pacific Northwest is truly a majestic region to drive through. Running on I-84 along the Columbia River Gorge in northern Oregon is awesome, and Multnomah Falls, just east of Portland, is stunning. Just beware, it can oftentimes be very windy along this route. Our country has much to offer when it comes to scenery and various climates, and as truckers, we are blessed to get paid to see so much more than the average person.
And when it does come time to hang the truck keys up and “settle down” to be like “normal people” who are home every night, we will have seen so much. We will know the places we like and the places we don’t, possibly making our retirement home choice easier. We have friends who have retired by choice or by circumstances, and we are here to tell you, there is life after trucking.
One of our old trucking friends who retired has a small camper and now travels to all the places she couldn’t get to with her truck. Taking pictures and documenting the history of the local places she happens to be at, she then shares them all on social media, and her pictures are amazing. Another friend has settled into home life and recently got married to the love of his life. To them, we say, “Congratulations! And thank you for all you gave our industry during your trucking career.” The young drivers today should start planning for the day they too will retire. It will be here a lot sooner than you think!
But there’s more to life than work, even if we do have a cool job. In 2015, I never could have imagined how my life would change when John Jaikes made up his mind that he was going to win my heart. It took him over a year, but he did it. He told me I wouldn’t just “exist” but live. In 2021 we had what everyone there said was a fun wedding – a perfect day with the perfect service for us. We make the most of the places we end up but also plan time off together to enjoy truck shows and to catch up with friends. We spend a lot of time in Florida in the winter, and I have come to love the beach and the snowless weather (I understand why so many people retire there).
Making memories along the last leg of my trucking journal, it wasn’t so long ago I was the “young kid” and now I’m that old driver that I used to love talking to all those years and miles ago. One day your stories are going to be about the times we are living right now, and they will be about “the good old days” – whether you believe it or not. Safe travels to all the drivers out here, new and old. Hopefully, you get time to enjoy life after trucking, and to share the stories and things the road taught you over the years. One thing is for sure about this trucking life – it’s going to change – it always has, and it always will. Either way, enjoy the ride!