This is a view of the traveler’s rest stop called Baxter’s Station, which once existed here in Placer County, California. It evolved into the unincorporated community of Baxter, and the rest stop closed.
Kodachrome Reproduction by Mike Roberts
The description states:
C342 – Baxter’s Station among the pines, Baxter, California, on transcontinental Highway 40.
–Highway 40 was upgraded to Interstate status and renamed Interstate 80. Some of the establishments, like this one, were bypassed by the new road course. An exit was built to allow access to the rest stop, but it has closed.
The cars visible in the picture indicate this card is likely from the 1940s.
50 yrs ago I started trucking with my dad, he introduced me to Baxter, pulling in and putting rock in front of tires to let the brakes cool down, instead of using park brake. I ask why? His reply was: so they didn’t get egg shape brake drums. I loved stopping there to eat, old tin tables. I tell my kids about it. Its hard to grasp, is there a site that might have any old pics? Thanks
I was looking for photos too, and found a few from 1949 on the California Online Digital Library, Online Archive of California:
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/tf5w1005ws/?brand=oac4
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/tf000002cp/?brand=oac4
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/tf2t1nb0bt/?brand=oac4