I am quite fond of rest areas

I’m quite fond of rest areas. I’ve slept in them, used the facilities there, and pulled in to walk the dogs.

And over the years I’ve seen them change. It used to be that rest areas were located on remote stretches of highway far from towns. A long time ago that was the point -- to provide a place to take a break out in the boondocks.

Remote rest areas, however, deemed too dangerous, and too difficult to maintain, are vanishing. Many have been replaced with in-town rest areas such as the one in Bozeman, dubbed the Taj Mahal when it was being built. Another new rest area was recently...