The Gas-N-Go off Route 57 wasn’t so much of a destination as a necessity. Passing through Americana fields of nothingness, the stretch between the southern border of Illinois and the forested hills of Western Tennessee offered some of the most desolate stretches of interstate in the country. Gas stations and diners were few and far between. They were the kind of spots that you only stopped at if it was necessary and made certain not to linger for longer than required. 

Yet, the remoteness...