Photo Essay: USA Trucking

Trucking Across the USA

In summer 2000, I joined my friend Erik Eskedal, a long-haul truck driver, for living on the road. I learned that the freedom of the road comes with a price: It becomes hard to form relationships with others when you're never in one place for long. However, in the desert, without traffic, and surrounded by a mesmerizing landscape, even the most homesick driver remembers again what's so good about life on the road. Erik got his fill of freedom, and eventually settled into a city office job. On our journey, we rode through the driver's jungle of New York City, and saw alligators outside our restaurant window in Florida. What did we carry? Everything from snack foods to toilet paper, units of shelving for a new mall store, and heavy rolls of raw fiber that would be made into diapers. Without truck drivers, very few products would ever reach the stores.

AZ-T-N0 Interstate 40 is a popular trucking route. At this point, it enters Arizona.	AZ-T-N21 At a rest area near Flagstaff, Ariz., we and other drivers enjoy the sunset.	AZ-T10 Like many truck drivers, Erik enjoys the freedom of riding across the desert.	AZ-T25 During a break in southern Arizona, we watch a lightning show.
AZ-T42 The lightning becomes intense after dark, but we never see a raindrop.	CA-T-27 At a California rest area, Erik monitors the progress of our burgers on a grill.	CA-T16 It's 110 degrees outside as we stare down the lines of California's highway.	CA-T6 In the Mojave, drivers leave the engines and A/C running when napping.
FL-T1 A Florida highway leads to thunderheads.	GA-T8 Erik heads back to the cab after our evening frisbee game in Georgia.	IL-T13 The truck we've just overtaken appears in Erik's fisheye mirror.	IL-T22 Erik checks his road atlas in the morning before getting back on the highway.
MD-T-N14 Sunset over a local road in Maryland silhouettes the rig ahead of us.	MO-T14 At Trucker's Country Travel Stop in Missouri, the buffet awaits the next driver.	MO-T20 Drivers often bring their pets, and allow them outside when stopping.	MO-T6 We exchange loads with another driver who tells us the hardships of his life.
MO-T8 Big-rigs take over 200 gallons of diesel fuel.	MO-T9 Erik cleans the windshield with an extended washer before getting lunch.	NC-T16 When the traffic is stopped up, Erik saves himself the stress by taking a break.	NM-T-N17 In many parts of the country, restaurants offer truck parking.
NM-T-N23 Erik's wind chimes make the cab seem more like home.	NM-T-N23A The Frieghtliner reflects the New Mexico sunset	NM-T-N24 On the top bunk, Erik takes a nap with the window open.	NM-T1 Public bathrooms in the desert may have snakes.
NM-T14 One load took us through UFO-famed Roswell, and lunch at Outer Limits Cafe.	TN-T14 This Tennessee runaway truck ramp awaits the next case of brake failure.	TX-T15 Behind the RV of a vacationing couple, Erik awaits the truck wash.	VA-T8 Trucks fill the lot at a Virginia truck stop as drivers go to bed.