Photos of My New Jersey by Trucker Mike


New Jersey chemical plant along the NJ Turnpike.	Fun on I.95, NJ Turnpike - typical traffic flow.	Meadowlands, home to New York City's pro teams.??
New Jersey has more contrasts than many people realize. From the rugged hills in the northwest to the swampy flatlands in the northeast to the ocean beaches along the southern and southeastern coasts, the state is home to deer and waterfowl, mosquitoes and rats, farmers and factory workers. The huge metroplex in the northeast corner, border to border cities and towns including Newark, Paterson and Elizabeth, contains numerous manufacturing and commercial businesses - refineries, chemical plants, ocean shipping facilities and more. In the midst of this hustle and pollution you can find patches of wetlands, swamp and meadow struggling for survival. The Meadowlands Sports Complex sits in the middle of a sea of tall, waving swamp grass. Products out of New Jersey: Cast, molded, extruded aluminum parts: printed materials, imported grocery products, ingots or pigs of various metals, weight-lifting equipment, electrical components, chemicals. Products into New Jersey: bottled water, rolls of paper, vinyl windows, grocery products, canning supplies.

Palisades, Hudson River cliffs, from the Geo. Washington Bridge.	Northeast New Jersey wetlands in the midst of major residential and industrial areas.	Rte. 57, west-central New Jersey. Low mountains, valleys and farmland.

The central and southern parts of New Jersey contain a fairly even mix of farmland and residential communities with resort and vacation areas along the coasts. Low environmental impact businesses are scattered throughout these regions. There is another heavily-populated area about halfway down the western border, Trenton, Camden and Princeton with all their suburbs. As a truck driver, I have encountered some of the best and the worst features of the state. There are a few decent truck stops, generally on the western side of the state: I.78, Exits 7 through 10; I.295, Exit 56, I believe; I.80, Exit 4. Driving is easy off the Interstates in the southern half of New Jersey and the scenery and countryside is pleasant, but it is horrid in the northeast - congested, bumpy, with confusing streets and small highways. NJ drivers are not the most polite ones in the country, either.

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Rte. 57 New Jersey, north-east part of the state.	More Rte. 57, or is it Rte. 31?	As the sign says, along the New Jersey Turnpike.