Can I get some cheese?

What is the difference between a truck driver and a puppy dog?
The puppy dog quits whining eventually.
The passing of my 59th birthday just happened and I have been doing a lot of whining, at least in my mind. I haven't been vocalizing it but it has been on my mind. Then I see something that takes my breath away and helps change my attitude. Since the first of the year it has been one thing after another to go wrong. Nothing really major but a lot of little stuff. TV going out on the truck and things like that. Since I only use the TV to watch movies I can do that on my computer. Just not as well. Money that has been planned for one thing now ends up going to replace the TV. Along with that I have been busy as all get out on the road. Then today it happened, one of those extraordinary things that is both inspiring and aggravating. Inspiring because of it's beauty, aggravating because I don't have the time or place to stop and photograph it.
It happened as I was driving through the Columbia River Gorge heading east on the Oregon side. It had been snowing lightly, occasionally changing to rain with ice, all of which can be beautiful, until it sticks to the road or messes up your windshield. The storm seemed to be moving slowly eastward with me. Since the storm was much slower moving than I was, it wasn't long till I reached the edge where the storm ended and the sun was shining. Something caught my attention and I looked out at the Columbia River, the waters deep green in color with white capped waves as the wind fought against the natural current of the river. There it was, one of the most beautiful rainbows I have ever seen. For miles it hung there just outside my driver's window as if it were following me as I drove.
Trucking has been a hard life in many ways, but it has also been a great life. I have tried to capture some of the magic that I have had the pleasure to see, thanks to trucking over the years in some of my stories. Some are just beyond words. One of the biggest disappointments I have had is that pulling over to photograph these things is almost impossible due to parking area and, or time constraints. Some day I will find the way to do just that pull over and play with my camera for awhile. Until then I will have to just keep doing what I have to until I get to the point I can do what I want.