Well, nobody's mentioned this part, which surprised me. Which means my info is wrong, or I'm just plain weirder than I thought.
In my family, we call those 'service stations' that Jeff mentioned (the ones with gas station, store, a restaurant and showers for truckers) "Truck Stops." Probably because of those showers for the truckers. :p Anyway, most of my long-distance driving has been in the western half of the US (Texas to Michigan with a slight detour by way of California, anyone? Yeah, been there, done that.
) and the roads tend to go forever with no large towns. Therefore, the best place to get gas and food and stuff is a truck stop. They also have this cool deal now where you rent a book on tape/CD and then turn it in at another truck stop of the same name later on your route (my favorite one is the Flying J <g>).
Now, I know we've been through Nebraska a few times, and from what I know, driving through Kansas and Nebraska is pretty much the same (for the non-native, at least). Hm...did we go through Kansas that one trip to CA? I think so... Anyway, they've definitely got truck stops. Which would definitely have maps and atlases. At least US atlases. And CDs. And books. And candy. And cheesy souvenirs. And...I'm ready for a road trip!
Bethy
