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Iowa 80 Trucking Museum, Photo by Krenda
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If you love to travel within the United States, odds are you have shared the road with a lot of truck drivers and know commercial transportation is big business. The highway serves as a network, enabling food, clothing, and other items to move from port to store. In the majority of states, truck driving is the most common profession. It employs nearly 4 million truck drivers who transport approximately 70% of all freight tonnage and drive approximately 140 billion miles each year. The average driver will drive over 100,000 miles per year. The industry consists of mostly small businesses. Many truck drivers are owner operators.Living in the Midwest, I've traveled many times on Interstate 80 (I-80) with trucks. It's the second longest highway covering 2,899 miles. You can go east-west from New Jersey to San Francisco, California. US20 take claim for the longest highway, stretching from Boston to Newport, Oregon. It's fitting that I-80 has the world's largest truck stop and the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum.
While driving from Davenport, Iowa or another of the Quad Cities to Des Moines, take a stop in Walcott, Iowa and admire the truck stop. While it targets truck drivers with 900 truck parking spaces, there's room for your car too, considering the 200 car parking spaces. The facility includes 36 fuel pumps, 10 restaurants, 24 private shower rooms, RV wash, and pet wash.
While your kids might like the food and shopping, they'll learn more about the truck industry by visiting the nearby Iowa 80 Trucking Museum. No admission fee - although we bought souvenirs and gave a donations at the exit. This museum is highly organized and clean with an impressive amount of trucks - over 100 on display. Besides trucks, look up and around for antique metal signs, gas pumps, and vintage toys. I always like to hear personal stories, so stop a moment and take a seat to watch a short film about the industry.
