They say that the world runs on trucks. My professor in college used to tell us that when we stopped seeing trucks travelling the highways that we could be guaranteed that the economy was not doing well. The commerce of the United States is dependent on trucks, on rail, on transportation to get items from one side of the United States (and world) to the other.
At the end of last week the east-west corridor was virtually closed from around
Applegate, California all the way to Nevada. The sign warned truckers that the road was closed due to zero visibility. So, what is a trucker supposed to do when his truck is loaded and ready to make the haul? You guessed it: pull over!
And that is what you saw at every turn-off: trucks parked. I hope you weren't expecting any supplies at your local
CVS Pharmacy. This truck was parked at the off-ramp of Meadow Vista, west of
Applegate.
Every off-ramp you drove past had trucks parked, just waiting.
I'm not sure what time during the day (or night) they opened the highway. The weather was horrible all day long and with zero visibility going over the summit toward Lake Tahoe and Reno and points east, it was definitely not safe to allow trucks to pass. You never really realize how many trucks make the trek from east to west and back again. But, during times like this you are aware of the volume of trucks that haul things to and from. And these were just the trucks. What about the trains that could not pass over the summit that day also? I heard on the news that day that some of the resorts have over 700 inches (yes...seven HUNDRED) inches of snow. And more was deposited. I can only imagine what the valley will look like once the snow begins to melt and the rivers start to fill up even more than they are at the present time. Nature sure has been doing some strange things lately: floods, earthquakes, snow storms, etc. Mother nature is a force to be reckoned with, wouldn't you say?
At the end of last week the east-west corridor was virtually closed from around Applegate, California all the way to Nevada. The sign warned truckers that the road was closed due to zero visibility. So, what is a trucker supposed to do when his truck is loaded and ready to make the haul? You guessed it: pull over!
And that is what you saw at every turn-off: trucks parked. I hope you weren't expecting any supplies at your local CVS Pharmacy. This truck was parked at the off-ramp of Meadow Vista, west of Applegate.
Every off-ramp you drove past had trucks parked, just waiting. 
I'm not sure what time during the day (or night) they opened the highway. The weather was horrible all day long and with zero visibility going over the summit toward Lake Tahoe and Reno and points east, it was definitely not safe to allow trucks to pass. You never really realize how many trucks make the trek from east to west and back again. But, during times like this you are aware of the volume of trucks that haul things to and from. And these were just the trucks. What about the trains that could not pass over the summit that day also? I heard on the news that day that some of the resorts have over 700 inches (yes...seven HUNDRED) inches of snow. And more was deposited. I can only imagine what the valley will look like once the snow begins to melt and the rivers start to fill up even more than they are at the present time. Nature sure has been doing some strange things lately: floods, earthquakes, snow storms, etc. Mother nature is a force to be reckoned with, wouldn't you say?
700 inches?! I feel much better about being in New England all of a sudden, even if we do still have snow on the ground (at least at my house).
ReplyDeletetruck traffic is a good way to measure the economy. Three weeks ago we drove on Hwy 84 on a Friday am from Portland OR to Baker City OR.
ReplyDeleteHuge amount of truck traffic. This past week we drove same route on a Thursday am and hardly any truck traffic....price of gas perhaps?
Interesting post.
oh man...sucks for those guys just sitting there...nature has been doing some crazy things too!
ReplyDelete