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  This week, September 10-16th, is Truck Driver Appreciation Week, an event we celebrate annually. The work of truck drivers has been featured in the news recently as deadly hurricanes batter the coasts and wildfires rage in the West. In the affected areas, folks are reminded of what truckers do for us, as shelves go bare weeks before a weather event. (This photo was taken in Texas where the grocery store shelves were bare – except for the soy meat!) We’ve all lived through preparation for bad weather, and it seems like the trucks can’t come fast enough. Water,

For the third and final installment of our Signs of Summer series (you can read the first and second on our blog), we’re featuring a piece of roadside Americana that’s legendary here in the deep South. If you’ve never made the drive down I-95, crossing from North Carolina into South Carolina, you may not be familiar with the strange billboards lining the highway. Some of them encourage bad behavior from the passengers in the backseat – “KEEP YELLING, KIDS – THEY’LL STOP!” Some rely on silly puns – like the enormous roadside salami with the phrase

In my last post, I talked about blue highway exit signs. This week’s addition to our Signs of Summer series is about a more hi-tech evolution in road signs – the electronic DOT (Department of Transportation) marquees. Typically, these signs are used to communicate traffic information, emergencies, or road conditions. When not in use for immediate updates or warnings, the signs often display safety reminders or local weather information. But, when two of the cleverest comedy minds in Iowa happened to find themselves behind desks at the Department of Transportation, they used their powers to get drivers laughing. Willy Sorenson

This summer, I’ve spent a lot of time on the road, chauffeuring my daughters to and from summer camps. My time on the open highway inspired me to devote the next few posts to the Signs of the Summer. We’ll look at some of the classic signs of the highway and answer a few questions. First, let’s look at the blue highway exit signs. Called interstate logo signs or specific service signs, we often think of them as the signs for gas, food and lodging. But did you know that they also promote other