Road Ranger

Strangest convenience store ever. I went in to grab something to eat so I could survive three more hours of driving until I got home. The first strange thing was they had two sizes of fountain drinks and both cost 99 cents. Well dude, I’m getting the bigger size for sure!
Even more strange to me though… was showers. I think I almost hit a wall as I walked staring at these things in shock & awe. I was just floored they had showers that anyone could walk right in and use. How crazy!

I hate buying gas in Illinois. It is so much more expensive then Missouri gas and it is the same damn gas. I’m not even getting more miles for the gallon. Any way, a full tank of MO gas was not going to get me home a meeting in Champaign, IL. As I approached Springfield my gas gage was down to the two bars that tells me it is time to fill the tank. Being familiar with Road Ranger, I took the next exit to add enough IL gas to get home to MO where gas is more reasonably priced.
I immediately noticed that this Road Ranger was way bigger then the RR I was familiar with back home. In fact, I was so captivated with its size, that I forgot to pay attention to the gas meter and ended up filling my tank with over priced IL gas.
After filling my tank, I needed a fresh bottle of water to finish my drive back to the Lou. So I moved my car and went inside to see their convenience store. It had the basic inventory of a typical convenience store but also offered a few bell and whistles that would make a trucker happy. Their store had an office supply area, where they sold driver log books and such. As if that wasn’t enough to put a smile on a truckers face, they also had showers available for them to clean up.
My RR has a Subway inside, but this one did not. I saw at their huge checkout counter that they had pizza by the slice. I rolled my eyes, knowing it was frozen. Color me surprised, as I walked around being nosy I looked through an open door and to my surprise it was a kitchen and someone was in there making pizza from scratch.
I didn’t have a slice, but I can tell you they are not frozen.
I also bought some lottery tickets that have yet to be drawn. I’m hoping buying them at a different location then my normal spot, may bring some good luck. If they are winners, then I will not have to worry about IL gas being so expensive.

Typical convenience store; brand new, big and clean. The advantage for now is that it has forced a price war with the neighbors that has caused the prices to be 5 to 10 cents cheaper here than anywhere else in town. Hope it lasts!