The interstate system has helped make trucking efficient. That efficiency has come with a trade off. We don't see us much. A great day of trucking is perfectly uneventful. We travel across I 80 and see corn. 
That is especially true across Illinois and Iowa. If you're westbound the corn is a welcome sight after making it through the Chicago area. We do tend to miss the small towns as we travel across the interstate. Maybe, we should make a little effort not to.
On the way to the Walcott Truckers Jamboree I stopped at a motel along the interstate. It was $125 for a nondescript room in a nondescript hotel. I was unwilling to pay it. There was a sign for a motel in town, but further off the highway. It was also a nondescript room in a nondescript town, but it
was only $70. The trade off seemed worth it. It was after 22:00 as I passed through town and checked into my room. I did notice the truck parking lot in back of the motel on US 6 in Geneseo, IL
I have been dedicated to getting in 4 miles per day and looked forward to running in the small town the next day. Geneseo did not disappoint. They had sidewalks. The homes had porches. They even displayed flags. There was a nice park to run through. After I got through the park, there was a real downtown to run through. It felt like old small town America.
One of the things I notice while running through old small towns is that the houses were all different. The biggest similarity was that almost all of them have FRONT porches. People answered back when I said hello. They were no doubt wondering who this stranger was running through and around their 
town. Didn't matter. They said hello.
It struck me how many of the homes displayed flags. No, these were not million dollar buildings. They were homes. Houses that were designed to raise families in, not transient housing that people live in for a year or two before the next job transfer. It felt solid, if you know what I mean.
All this got me thinking. We (truckers) work hard. This reminded me of a road 34 hour restart a few years ago in Yankton, SD. I felt truly refreshed after spending time exploring that city. Maybe we all could use a little off interstate time. Next time, you have to take a 34 hour restart on the road consider taking it in a small town. Heck, maybe if you can take a 14 instead of a 10 hour break. Take a look around. Sometimes Americana lies just off the highway.