Keep On Truckin'

"Like a rock, standin' arrow straight
Like a rock, chargin' from the gate
Like a rock, carryin' the weight
Like a rock"

From "Like A Rock" song by Bob Seger, also Chevrolet truck slogan and advertisement theme song

Dontcha' just love an old truck? Judging by the number of cool old trucks I've been able to photograph during my travels on backroads and byways, I think many people agree with me.

Few images are as iconic, nor as quintessentially American, as the farmer in his (or her!) trusty truck, hat on head (be it a cowboy hat or baseball cap), one hand on the wheel, left elbow out the window; his best friend, his loyal dog next to him on the seat; truck bed loaded for the task of the moment.

These days it appears to be a given that if you own a winery in the Napa Valley, one must also invest in a vintage truck to park out front, winery logo on the door, of course!

Whether used to haul or to hype, left in original condition or gussied up, there's something so captivating about an old truck.

To me, the way an old truck lures you into noticing it is very different from the way you would notice an antique automobile - which are beautiful and attention-deserving in their own right (I would not be my father's daughter without saying this!) - but there's just something about trucks from another age; something soulful.

Perhaps the allure of a vintage truck comes from the fact that these utilitarian vehicles are often expected to work, usually very hard, during their service to humans. A truck's beauty is rarely a primary consideration when new but they somehow manage to achieve it through the passage of time. It's really quite amazing that they survive at all, let alone for many, many decades...let alone while gaining a measure of beauty. Beauty which is perhaps a direct result of leaning into the challenges year after year and chore after chore.

Of course, you won't be too shocked to hear this if you are a regular reader of QWaC, but my favorite old trucks are the ones where their use in the completion of that duty is allowed to show. I'm fond of the rustic relics that possess the glorious patina from the passage of time, the scars of service. They seem to wear them proudly like an old army veteran displays medals on his chest. Those are the trucks I love best...

Here are a few of the vintage trucks I've discovered along the way...

Nickel & Nickel Winery, Oakville, California...