gallusrostromegalus:

the one across the road however… Did Not. It was a Shell station, and the whole thing looked abandoned. The parking lot was badly cracked and had grass and weeds growing everywhere, some of the fuel nozzles appeared to have been ripped out, and the overhang was leaning dangerously. But. All the lights were on, and even though some of the windows were boarded, you still had a good view of the interior. It looked… well stocked? Like the cashier had just wandered into the back for a sec 2/3

and would be back at any time. But it was still off, somehow, in a way I can’t really explain. Just… wrong. Oh! And the lights on the Shell sign worked too! Except, the ’s’ was burnt out, so it just said: ‘HELL’. Definitely the creepiest thing I’ve seen while driving at night so far. Do you think there’s any chance I accidentally wandered too close to the entrance to another dimension? 3/3

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OH MAN ENTROPY-RIDDLED GAS STATIONS ARE MY FAVORITE.  

DOUBLY SO ENTROPY-RIDDLED GAS STATIONS IN PLACES WHERE GREAT EVIL WAS SPAWNED AW YEAH.  I love the juxtaposition of decaying roof and weed-filled lot with the clean and well-stocked interior.  Differing levels of entropy is my fave aesthetic.   The “HELL” and missing cashier is a nice touch too.  In spite of appearances, it’s not that dangerous a place if you mind your manners, don’t go under the structurally compromised part of the overhang and bring along the tire iron if you want o go around back.

You def should have bought a candy bar. If you pay for it and toss a buck in the tip jar it’s not cursed.  Say hi to the cashier, ask what they do for fun around there the answer will be incredible- There’s a similar Shell with the burnt-out S and a shambling restaurant named “Boogie’s” next door in Del Norte that I ALWAYS stop at going to and from Durango.  They always remember me becuase I show up pretty much exactly at the same time on the same days every year and make a point of being friendly. Chelsea’s a really nice lady who keeps bees and her son gave me a drawing of a tiger for my fridge.

Also wander around the back to look for sets of eyes glowing back at you from under the dumpster.  Whatever eats there is full of chaotic energies and of immense power but probably also lonely.   Say hi to them.  Don’t feed the wildlife though that’s never a good idea.  One of the Sonocos in Ravenna has a large gray dog that sleeps behind the store under the AC unit.  She’s there every single time I’ve been to Ohio since 1997.  She’s had a white muzzle and arthritis but remains otherwise unchanged, always sitting up and wagging her tail when you come by.

It’s also a great place to pick up a rider if you need one. Most people who have to drive cross-country will tell you to put something in the front seat to keep anything from climbing in with you- a box or a plant but NOT a toy or doll, those can get inhabited.  And most of the time you’d be right- things like to sit in unoccupied chairs but most of them don’t actually want to leave, and are very upset if you ‘kidnap’ them.  The ones that climb into cars while you’re in motion are rude and wicked pranksters at best.  Sometimes, however, you’ll find one who needs to get out of town and on certain roads, you want to have something else in the car.

The stretch of I-80 between Green river Wyoming and Laramie is the worst goddamn part of interstate in the country and I have driven over most of it by now.  It’s dangerously boring, poorly maintained and exposed to the elements and there’s been a white-out blizzard or hurricane-force windstorm every single time I’ve been on it. As in, the only indication of where the road actualyl IS are those tiny little reflective poles they out up every 1/10th of a mile and you can’t drive over 15 mph becuase the wind is ready to flip your tiny Honda off the road becuase fuck you that’s why.

Most of the time I can find a Fedex truck to stick close behind and drive in the half-second of exposed road in their wake but in January 2014 I was coming back from a funeral in Salt Lake City and it was shaping up to be another nasty whiteout drive with nary a truck in sight.  I didn’t have the money to stay in a hotel and it was already getting late and i didn’t want to get stranded if they closed the highway.  I also sure as hell didn’t want to drive that Alone.

So I pulled into the Exxon in Green River, Wyoming.  It’s a silent and lonely place at the best of times but just after sunset in the middle of January when it’s 10 degrees out is just miserable. You step out and are immediately filled with the compulsion to be Anywhere Else.  I pulled up, started filling the tank, then walked around and opened the passenger side door, taking the bag of chips out of the seat.

“Alright here’s the deal-” I announced, leaning against the car and staring at the towers of granite half-buried by the surrounding dessert, dark shapes in a blue-gray sky. “You don’t want to be here, and I don’t want to drive this next bit alone.  I can take you as far as Laramie if you get me through this.  It’s nice.  They have trees and an inexplicably good sushi place.  I’ll drive you, but you have to get out there.  Deal?”  I waited, staring at the towers and Nothing Else, listening to the pump tick until the door shut against the wind.

It was still a white-knuckle drive, headlights on low becuase high-beams only caught the driving snow, wind barreling into the Honda in random gusts, occasionally shoving me into oncoming traffic for a second before I could correct, heart at a constant staccato and bile in my throat.  I didn’t look over at the passenger side more than I had to out of courtesy- things remain unseen for a reason. I got the impression of tall and long-faced and just as terrified as I was but DAMN if the car stuck to the road in spite of the ice, there were no oncoming cars when I got shoved and we even made good time in a few places.  We pulled into the Inexplicably Good Sushi place at the interchange of I-80 and 287 and I put my head on the wheel and cried for a good minute.

“Thank you very much.” I eventually managed. “You were very helpful. I’m gonna get takeout, do you want a Marylin Mon-roll to celebrate?”

“That would be nice.”

“Cool. I’ll leave it on the stump there for you.”

I came back out with takeout, left him his sushi and we parted ways, and I drove the remaining hour back home.