Crazy things you've found in Google StreetView

[webny99]

Not sure what's going on here, but those are some pretty massive knapsacks, and they're on the interstate heading south, so anything's possible, really!!

[STLmapboy]

I found this rainbow on I-10 east of Van Horn, TX, against a massive 2015 rainstorm. The sun coming from behind just makes it all better.

https://www.google.pl/maps/@31.0446664,-104.7712242,3a,75y,79.08h,96.17t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfsWHaAB2BEklz94d5lIWMA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Any other great Street View weather captures?

[STLmapboy]

Not sure what's going on here, but those are some pretty massive knapsacks, and they're on the interstate heading south, so anything's possible, really!!

Illegal immigrants from Canada! With a dog on a major interstate corridor...

[kphoger]

Not sure what's going on here, but those are some pretty massive knapsacks, and they're on the interstate heading south, so anything's possible, really!!

You've seriously never seen hitchhikers before?

[webny99]

Not sure what's going on here, but those are some pretty massive knapsacks, and they're on the interstate heading south, so anything's possible, really!!

You've seriously never seen hitchhikers before?

Sure, I've seen hitchhikers, but these guys don't appear to be hitchhiking.
Also, I've never seen hitchhikers with that much luggage, or between exits on the interstate.

[kphoger]

Not sure what's going on here, but those are some pretty massive knapsacks, and they're on the interstate heading south, so anything's possible, really!!

You've seriously never seen hitchhikers before?

Sure, I've seen hitchhikers, but these guys don't appear to be hitchhiking.
Also, I've never seen hitchhikers with that much luggage, or between exits on the interstate.

There is sizable subset of hitchhikers who walk along the highway instead of standing in one place with their thumb or sign out.  One possibility is that these folks are that type of hitchhiker.

Another possibility is that they were hassled by local cops.  I say this because they are walking away from an excellent hitchhiking location:  a ParClo interchange with multiple truck stops and a low-speed on-ramp with space for drivers to pull over on the side of town that's towards their destination.  No hitchhiker in his right mind would leave that location up unless told to leave by a police officer.

As for baggage, it all depends on how far they're going and how they sleep along the way.  If they're traveling cross-country and sleeping outside, then I can easily see their needing packs that big.  I've personally shared an on-ramp (Peotone, IL) with another hitchhiker who had a pack that large.

[webny99]

There is sizable subset of hitchhikers who walk along the highway instead of standing in one place with their thumb or sign out.  One possibility is that these folks are that type of hitchhiker.

I dunno, not doubting that's true, but it seemed like a pretty rare sight to me. Maybe I just haven't been around enough, but around here, walking right down the interstate like that with a dog and those size knapsacks would turn more than a few heads and probably attract the authorities.

[kphoger]

There is sizable subset of hitchhikers who walk along the highway instead of standing in one place with their thumb or sign out.  One possibility is that these folks are that type of hitchhiker.

I dunno, not doubting that's true, but it seemed like a pretty rare sight to me. Maybe I just haven't been around enough, but around here, walking right down the interstate like that with a dog and those size knapsacks would turn more than a few heads and probably attract the authorities.

That's true.  However, it would also attract the attention of authorities if they were just standing or sitting at the on-ramp.  In my own experience, all local cops care about is that you leave their jurisdiction:  they'll tell you to leave town but tell you to hitchhike to your heart's content once you're past the city limit and no longer their concern.

It's also worth mentioning that three guys and a dog hitchhiking together would make for some long wait times.  I remember once dropping a hitchhiker and his dog off one exit down the highway from where I saw him because I thought I was doing him a favor by putting him past an Interstate split and therefore weeding out all the traffic not going his direction.  By the time I realized it probably wasn't actually an improvement due to the lower traffic volume and more local traffic patterns there, it was too late and I was a couple of counties away.  Three days later–the next time I was going his way–he was still there, so I took him another 50 miles down the highway.  In contrast, as a well-dressed guy with no dog, I've never waited longer than 90 minutes for a ride.  People are already less likely to pick up a man than a woman, less likely still to pick up someone with a dog, and even less likely still to pick up more than one man.  That group ticked all the wrong boxes.  But I can't doubt they knew that.  Even if my assumption about police hassle is wrong, it's still possible they figured their chances were better walking down the highway.  Drivers might take more pity on travelers who are away from services, and even police officers would be more likely to give them a ride to the county line or whatever.

[D-Dey65]

I'm still encountering bodies of water east of the Peconic River that are still incorrectly labeled as being part of the Peconic River... and I'm still trying to take them out.

[vdeane]

All this talk of hitchhiking makes me think of this guy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RQlQDp1uiU

[jmacswimmer]

Not necessarily crazy like some of the other posts in this thread, but...

StreetView seems to acknowledge the existence of I-595 in MD!

[Roadrunner75]

Not necessarily crazy like some of the other posts in this thread, but...

StreetView seems to acknowledge the existence of I-595 in MD!

There were actually some 595 signs up at one point - probably "Future 595" signs.  I seem to remember them at one point a long time ago.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

It's not the only one: I-305.

[Scott5114]

Even if my assumption about police hassle is wrong, it's still possible they figured their chances were better walking down the highway.  Drivers might take more pity on travelers who are away from services, and even police officers would be more likely to give them a ride to the county line or whatever.

Well, if you're moving down the highway, you're at least making slow progress, which you aren't if you're staying in one spot waiting for a ride that may never come. With packs that big, they may well have food and supplies to make camp in an area with no services, so not as much of a concern to them.

[kphoger]

Well, if you're moving down the highway, you're at least making slow progress, which you aren't if you're staying in one spot waiting for a ride that may never come. With packs that big, they may well have food and supplies to make camp in an area with no services, so not as much of a concern to them.

When hitchhiking on even a two-day trip, I always made sure to pack food, drink, and either a tent or else a sleeping bag and tarp.  And I've never even hitched farther than 600 miles per trip.

[webny99]

I guess I wonder if you can really call it "hitchhiking" if you end up - and maybe even plan on - walking more than driving.

[kphoger]

I guess I wonder if you can really call it "hitchhiking" if you end up - and maybe even plan on - walking more than driving.

1.  Note the last half of the compound word hitchhike.  Some people put more emphasis on the "hike" part, and that has a long history.

2.  If you spend 3½ hours hiking ten miles down the side of the highway, then get a ride that takes only 1½ hours to get you a further 90 miles–I still have a hard time claiming you walked "more than driving".  Even though you spent 70% of the time walking, 90% of the distance covered was in someone's car.  When you get down to it, there's little difference between standing in one spot for an hour waiting for someone to stop and walking for an hour waiting for someone to stop.



For what it's worth, I've hitchhiked while walking a few times.  The one I remember specifically is when a local police officer in Macomb, IL, gave me grief.  A passing driver called the police to report me hitchhiking.  I explained the state law and that it didn't prohibit hitchhiking from the shoulder or off pavement, but he didn't agree with that assessment and told me to walk past the city limit so he didn't have to worry about me anymore.  As I walked, I stuck my thumb out whenever I heard a motor approaching from behind me.  A trucker stopped and got me to Galesburg.

[webny99]

If you spend 3½ hours hiking ten miles down the side of the highway, then get a ride that takes only 1½ hours to get you a further 90 miles–I still have a hard time claiming you walked "more than driving".  Even though you spent 70% of the time walking, 90% of the distance covered was in someone's car.  When you get down to it, there's little difference between standing in one spot for an hour waiting for someone to stop and walking for an hour waiting for someone to stop.

Well, right, obviously it doesn't take much driving at all to exceed the ground you've covered while walking. But, it just doesn't seem like actual hitchhiking if you're not standing there with your thumb out actively looking for a ride. Would somebody really offer a person a ride if they're just walking along normally without their thumb out? I wouldn't. And even if you do stick your thumb out while walking, as you mentioned doing, it seems unlikely to be as effective as just standing on a corner or an entrance ramp.

[kphoger]

Would somebody really offer a person a ride if they're just walking along normally without their thumb out? I wouldn't.

Yes, people do.  I would stop, at least outside of a town.

Heck, I've been given a ride twice by police officers, once when I had my thumb out and once when I didn't.  The time that I didn't, I was just walking down the sidewalk with a suitcase the day after heavy snowfall.  A Wheaton (IL) police officer stopped, picked me up, and drove me 1¼ miles to the commuter rail station.

Different people hitchhike in different ways.  I think it's pretty obvious to most drivers that someone walking down the highway, four miles outside of town, with a frame pack, is a hitchhiker.

And even if you do stick your thumb out while walking, as you mentioned doing, it seems unlikely to be as effective as just standing on a corner or an entrance ramp.

As already mentioned, it's possible the ones you spotted on GSV were told to leave.  What then?  But, anyway, what happens if you're dropped off at a bad spot?  The aforementioned spot I was dropped off at in Galesburg (IL) is a good example of that:  I was dropped off at a prison exit, complete with signs on the highway saying "DO NOT PICK UP HITCH HIKERS".  I didn't even try hitching a ride from that location.  I started walking in search of a better spot.  (I ended up walking almost all the way across town and then deciding to take a city bus down to the Amtrak station instead.)

Or here's another example.  One snowy winter evening, I needed to go from Wheaton to River Forest (IL) for a concert band rehearsal, and my Pace bus never showed up–presumably due to the weather conditions.  I decided to walk up to the Metra station instead, even though that ticket would cost more money.  While I was walking through a residential neighborhood along the way, I stuck my thumb out as a car approached from behind.  That driver stopped and gave me a 14-mile ride (route approximate) across the Chicago suburbs to Melrose Park, from which I could catch a different bus to my final destination.  I'd say that was pretty effective!

[webny99]

Wow, interesting stories. I have zero experience hitchhiking, so I'm just learning here.

I guess if I saw someone walking down the highway with a suitcase in a rural area, I might offer to pick them up. It's definitely something I'd be more inclined to do in the middle of nowhere than in a large city.

The NY Thruway has signs near the Dunkirk/Fredonia exit stating that there's a correctional facility in the area and don't pick up hitchhikers (or something similar). Couldn't find them quickly but will look more extensively later.

[Roadrunner75]

I guess if I saw someone walking down the highway with a suitcase in a rural area, I might offer to pick them up. It's definitely something I'd be more inclined to do in the middle of nowhere than in a large city.

Not me.  My wife always has Forensic Files on or some other similar show, and I'm not interested in being featured next season...

The NY Thruway has signs near the Dunkirk/Fredonia exit stating that there's a correctional facility in the area and don't pick up hitchhikers (or something similar). Couldn't find them quickly but will look more extensively later.

Here's one for you on 95 in Connecticut...
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.332741,-72.2436008,3a,75y,70.1h,92.26t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s8gkvCoXB3ZmYa99n26hBLw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[ErmineNotyours]

This thread took a turn.

I was picked up as a hitchhiker without asking.  I didn't learn to bicycle until I was 12.  My dad simply gave me a tire patch kit and didn't tell me how to use it.  I ran over a piece of metal and it started getting a fast leak.  Not knowing any better, I simply placed the patch over the tire.  I don't think I even had a pump with me.  Of course, the tire went flat, but I tried riding it anyway.  Soon the tire fell off the rim and wrapped around the chain.  Disaster.  I managed to untangle it enough so I could push the bike, and started to make the uncomfortable four and a half mile walk home.  Someone offered me a ride home, and I was so frustrated that I took the offer.  My parents had always given the lecture about not hitchhiking, but I didn't care any more.

Later when I finally got a car, someone requested a ride when I stopped to buy gas.  Still with my parents' "stranger danger" thoughts in my mind, I turned him down and continued waiting for the tank to fill.  He offered to pay me, and I reconsidered.  I didn't need the money, but he seemed well dressed, and he said he needed to get to a job interview.  I drove him to a mall nearby that was on my way.

Something surprising I found out when I drove through Canada in 1999 was that they still have hitchhikers.  I was planning on taking the new toll road from the Vancouver area to Kamloops, but the pass report said that way was snowy, so I stayed on the free Trans Canada instead.  As soon as I got off the freeway and out of the city, there were hitchhikers.  In astonishing ways, Canada sometimes seems like a time warp.  It was on the way home the next morning when I was watching bits of snow falling off the truck in front of me in regular intervals.  Very hypnotic.  I passed by one hitchhiker in jeans and a jean jacket out on this cold, grey morning.  As I continued looking at the bits of fallen snow on the road, I passed THE SAME EXACT HITCHHIKER AGAIN!!!   Wha????  Oh, I stopped for gas a few minutes ago, and he must have passed me.  Maybe the driver wasn't going where he was going, or he smelled bad.

Getting back on topic (sort of): Correctional center, do not pick up hitchhikers sign, Purdy, Washington.

[webny99]

The NY Thruway has signs near the Dunkirk/Fredonia exit stating that there's a correctional facility in the area and don't pick up hitchhikers (or something similar). Couldn't find them quickly but will look more extensively later.

Here's one for you on 95 in Connecticut...
[link snipped]

Yes, the one on the Thruway is similar. No luck finding it yet; I've searched through several miles and everywhere I thought it was, it isn't.

[Roadrunner75]

The NY Thruway has signs near the Dunkirk/Fredonia exit stating that there's a correctional facility in the area and don't pick up hitchhikers (or something similar). Couldn't find them quickly but will look more extensively later.

Here's one for you on 95 in Connecticut...
[link snipped]

Yes, the one on the Thruway is similar. No luck finding it yet; I've searched through several miles and everywhere I thought it was, it isn't.

Here you go...
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4141341,-79.4151308,3a,75y,286.12h,83.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKQp1P3PRJNHDqgLgzOAUKw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4038987,-79.4458623,3a,75y,73.11h,90.44t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s-6kBL4wbT6_ExmYlamQa2A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[webny99]

The NY Thruway has signs near the Dunkirk/Fredonia exit stating that there's a correctional facility in the area and don't pick up hitchhikers (or something similar). Couldn't find them quickly but will look more extensively later.

Here's one for you on 95 in Connecticut...
[link snipped]

Yes, the one on the Thruway is similar. No luck finding it yet; I've searched through several miles and everywhere I thought it was, it isn't.

Here you go...
[links snipped]

Yes, thank you!! I was looking too far east, for some reason I had in my head that it was much closer to Exit 59.