Where are some of your favorite Truck stops and why?

I stop at Dhillon's to get some of those interesting Indian cookie treats. I forget what they're called but my girls really liked them.

 

the petro in albert lea Minnesota (I-35) I stayed at last night is pretty clean, also the center point travel plaza in center point Iowa (I-380) is clean too. both have large lots with plenty of parking and a small town feel.

 

Nice review about your favorite truck stops. I wish I can work on those company.

 

I like to overcomplicate simple things. It's a gift...

When it's time to fuel, I hunt down a Love's. I'm hooked on their loyalty card gimmick, because I go through a ton of fountain drinks and it saves me a fortune. It doesn't hurt that their fuel also tends to cost a little less than the other chains.

When it's time to bed down for the night, though... I look for a Flying J, TA, Petro, or if life is really good that day, a Wallyworld if I see one close by that has truck friendly parking.

 

Brings back memories.

Charlie T's across the border south. Bunnell, FL
Speed & Briscoe, Bristol, VA on the old US 11
All American, exit 11 I-80 Strattanville
Sandman, Bordentown

T/A exit 13 Brookville, PA the only place I have ever seen a Monfort Truck sitting still. They used to fuel there.
The Buckhorn, Exit 34 I-80 Bloomsburg, PA
Don's Windmill, Dimondale, MI
TE KHI T/S, Battle Creek, MI
Union 76, 159th St, South Holland, IL and Truckomat Truck wash across the street.
The Detroiter, I-75 Woodhaven, MI
Southern 500 T/S, Mount Airy, NC on old US 52 on the way up thru Fancy Gap.
Going w/b on I-80 in PA, made the mistake of stopping at Bald Eagle in Lock Haven once. Get back on the road and immediately climb snowshoe. No momentum.

 

Pizza place in Center Point travel plaza makes a decent pizza. Get them to make a fresh one don't grab one from the warmer.

 

Johnson's Corner Colorado

 

Sapp Brothers

 

There was a time that I'd agree with you. Unfortunately, I must say that Johnsons is becoming a real dump. In the last year, everytime I've gone there it was an inconvenience to say the least. Fuel pumps not working. Card readers not working. Hoses leaking fuel all over me and my equipment. Trash always overflowing on the fuel islands. Too cheap to put out long handled squeegees, or replace the decrepid shorty's. Mens room in disrepair, filthy and usually lacking essentials such as toilet paper in at least one stall (of three). Showers dirty and reeking of chemical air freshener to compensate for the lack of sanitation tasking. Lazy employees (night shift).

My last visit was superbowl weekend. I go to the fuel island on Saturday morning early, no one else getting fuel. The first pump was broken. So I move the truck over. That pump had a defective kiosk. So I go to the fuel desk, but the doors are locked with the lights on and TV going, etc. Odd... so I head to the C-store, slipping and falling on the ice and snow which wasn't shoveled or salted on the stairs. The clerk radioed for someone to come help me. After 3-4 minutes another sleepy-looking woman arrives with crease-lines on her cheek like she had been sacked out somewhere. I asked her why the fuel desk was locked and she said "Oh I do that because it gets boring down here sometimes." WTF. I'm thinking "So I just slipped and fell because you don't like to be bored at work? How about shoveling some snow off the stairs, or emptying ANY of the ALL OVERFLOWING TRASH CANS on the island. Or maybe, since it's crummy roads and everyone needs to wash their windows, take 30 seconds and pour some washer fluid in the dang buckets!!?" About that time a guy came in and wanted to put some fuel in a plastic howes bottle to take back to his reefer in the lot and use it to prime or try to start his reefer which he ran out of fuel. She refused to let him put a little fuel in the howes bottle even though it had fuel in it originally, but instead told him he could buy a gas can from her. 2.5 gallon can for *only* $29! HAHAHA. OK, that's it!! We're done. This place is not what it used to be.

I decided to go get some food before I left, so I slid my way up to the restaurant and waited for the cook to finish publically groping some chick to take my order. 5 minutes later he's headed back to prepare the food. As soon as he is gone the cashier, hostess and one waitress get in a huddle and begin some kind of briefing on who was being more slutty him or her, and how the cook is always doing that crap lately. Got the food, it was not what I ordered but I wasn't going to slide back to the store to complain, so I simply bid farewell to the Johnsons corner truckstop, and to my fond memories of it over the last decade.

Ah well, looks like the corporate monsters win my dollars again. At least they are consistently mediocre.

 

Yeah, I can't say that I was really impressed with Johnson's food while I was upon the road. I liked it, but had better. Then again, I found the food up at Trail's restaurant to be kinda bland, too....