When we drive, we usually try to avoid the interstate highways as much as possible because there’s so much more to see when taking the secondary highways that go through the smaller towns.

The only downside to the secondary highways is the lack of roadside rest areas, so if we need a bathroom break, we always need to find a filling station or cafe and sometimes those can be far apart.

This trip, we took some interstate highways and some secondary, so it was nice to have the mix. Until Junction, TX, we were on secondary highways. After spending the night at Junction, we headed out on Interstate Highway 10.

Near Fort Stockton, TX, we stopped at a rest area with the unique picnic tables you see in my feature photo.

I don’t know about you, but when we stop at rest areas, it’s usually a fairly lengthy stop. We read all of the information about the area that’s usually posted, we take a walk around the picnic area, and of course, I snap photos. Perhaps these rest areas were designed to give drivers a good long break from the road.

Photo Note: Although the original of my feature photo was fairly well focused and balanced, it looked a bit flat to me. I wondered if a bit of a vignette effect would help, and I believe it did. I wanted the major focus to be on the unique canopy over the table. After cropping out a 911 sign on the right that was a bit of a distraction, I took the photo into Snapseed, did minor tweaks on white balance and exposure, and then added a fairly heavy vignette. The original photo is below.

“It is an old custom. Men of good-intentions and goodwill who have the means stud the land around forlorn villages with fine groves and wells for the general comfort of travelers, and also so people from posterity while resting in the shade and refreshing themselves would think of them and would think kindly.”

Mukta Singh-Zocchi,