Road Trip 2009 picture of the day: What is it?

What is this yellow sphere? Tell me and you could win a nice giveaway.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

ARCO, Idaho--Every day on Road Trip 2009, I'm seeing eye-catching things I've never seen before. And every day, I'm seeing things that I'm familiar with that still manage to make me smile, or laugh, or shake my head.

And so, as you might guess--or have seen if you've read any of the stories I've written or photo galleries I've posted during the last two and a half weeks--I've been taking a whole lot of pictures. Nearly 4,000, so far, in fact.

From now until Road Trip is over, I will do my very best to post a daily photo and ask a question about it. If you're the first person to answer the question correctly, or provide the information I'm looking for, then I'll offer you a nice gift in return.

For Wednesday, I want to know what this yellow sphere is. Walking through this tiny town near the Craters of the Moon, I saw two of them on a back street. I have a theory on what they might be, but I thought it would be fun to hear your ideas. After all, when I posted a photo of an extremely cool, steampunk-looking object from Utah two years ago, I got plenty of answers, including many that were spot on.

So, e-mail me at daniel--dot--terdiman--at--cnet--dot--com and let's hear your ideas on what this is. And then please stay tuned for the Road Trip picture of the day throughout the rest of the project.

For the next several weeks, Geek Gestalt will be on Road Trip 2009. After driving more than 12,000 miles in the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest, and the Southeast over the last three years, I'll be writing about and photographing the best in technology, science, military, nature, aviation and more in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, and Colorado. If you have a suggestion for someplace to visit, drop me a line. And in the meantime, join the Road Trip 2009 Facebook page and follow my Twitter feed.