Thursday, December 30, 2010

Nothing much exciting to talk about today.  I like oversize loads.  They are fun.  Only one snafu today.  Spent two hours at the Arkansas weigh station because of a permit error.  Got it straightened out and back on the road.  Because of that I didn't get as far as I wanted.  Stopped for the night at the Petro east of Little Rock.  Can't start driving in the morning until 9am because oversize loads are not permitted in Little Rock until 9am.  I was hoping to get to the other side of Little Rock but because of the snafu I ran out of daylight.  Have a sore throat tonight.  Hope that is not a sign of things to come!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Got back on the road at sun up this morning.  Also got all my updated permits so now my weight is legal too.  Slow going.  Can only drive 55 mph (I do 60) and have to stop and go inside every weigh station and show them my permits.  Of course they are all open!!  Also this load is a bit top heavy so I have to be very careful on turns and cornering.  Stopped for he night at a truck stop in Lincoln, Alabama off I-20, right next to the Talladaga Super Speedway.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Went over to Lakeland next to the airport to pick up my next load.  It is a machine that makes the insulated panels that make the side walls of a refrigerated semi truck trailer.  It is going to Independence, Kansas. It took over 5 hours and 4 fork lifts to load this thing. 

Then it had to be tarped!!

Got on the road and went through the weigh station and found out that I was overweight!  The Bill of Lading says that the load is only 32,000 pounds.  WRONGO!!  I was 1,300 pounds overweight.  So I got another ticket. 

Since this is an oversize load I can only drive 55 MPH and only in daylight hours so I didn't get very far today.  Stopped for the night at the Petro in Orange Lake, FL - that's just north of Ocala.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas break was great!  One of the best in a long time. But now its back to the driver's seat again.

Got started real early this morning and delivered the backhoe in Miami first thing this morning.  Then drove to Tampa to have a tarp repaired.  My next load is tomorrow in Lakeland. It is an oversize load going to Kansas.  Start loading at 9:30 tomorrow morning. 

What few truck stops there are in Tampa were all full by 4 this afternoon so I had to go up to the Dade City Flying J on I-75 for the night.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Left Marianna early this morning and drove to Tampa and delivered the fork lift first thing when they opened.  Then drove up to Seville and parked until next Monday after Christmas.  Off till then.  Have a Merry Christmas!!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

The only way to watch football on a Sunday afternoon!!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Left Terrell, TX early this morning and drove straight through to Marianna, FL.  798 miles.  Will be at the TA truck stop here for the weekend doing a reset.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Left El Paso early this morning and drove to Ft. Worth, TX.  Picked up a fork lift that is going to Tampa.

Then drove to a TA truck stop on I-20 in Terrell, TX for the night.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Left the Casino this morning in the fog.  Turned into a gorgeous day.  Stopped in Casa Grande, AZ and had routine maintenance done on the truck (oil change, filters, & lube).  Got another partial to pick up tomorrow in Ft. Worth, TX going to Tampa.  Stopped for the night at the Petro in El Paso, TX.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Got on the road real early this morning.  Got down to San Diego this afternoon and delivered the generator.  That place was right next to the Mexican border.  Then started heading east.  Made it all the way through Los Angeles and San Diego today with very little bumper to bumper traffic.  AMAZING!!  I'm still waiting for my earth quake!!

Stopped for the night in Live Oak Springs, CA at the Acorn Casino, I-8 exit 61.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Left Denver early this morning.  West on I-70 from Denver is one of my favorite interstates in the country.  It is gorgeous!!  Unfortunately I went through the best part before sun up so I didn't get any photos for you.  the snow was three feet deep up at the Eisenhower Tunnel.  It didn't get light enough for video until I was past that tunnel and west of Vail.  Here is some video I shot for you showing some of the beauty I-70.  It is a bit long but I hope you like it.  If you don't like my videos tell me.  If you do, tell me too.  I would like your feedback.  I'll do more if you like them, and stop if you don't.

Delivered the Snow cat accessories in Grand Junction, CO then continued on toward San Diego.

Drove to St. George, Utah on I-15, four miles north of Arizona to a Flying J truck stop for the night.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Drove to Iliff, CO, that's in the north east corner of Colorado. Went to a cow farm.  The place stunk like cow poo.  It took 2 3/4 hours to get the stuff off the trailer.  Most of that time was me sitting there waiting for them to do it.  Hurt my back unstrapping it too. 

Finally got on the road to Denver.  Delivered the stone slabs.  Then drove to a place in Denver to pick up a backhoe that goes to Miami, FL.  It took forever to get that thing on too.  By the time I was ready to leave I was really tired, had a headache, my back still hurt, and I was filthy from all the dust & dirt.  I drove to the TA in west Denver on I-70, ate, showered, and slept  Good night!!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Saw on the weather reports that there was some bad weather heading my way. Looked like I would only catch a small piece of it because it was going east and I am going west.  Even so, I wanted to get ahead of it as much as possible.  I got an early start this morning from Oak Grove, MO - that's 30 miles east of Kansas City.  Started off it was 47 degrees, not bad!  While north on I-29 north of Kansas City I hit rain.  Then the temp. started to go down.  Here it comes!!  The rain stopped for a while.  Then when I started west in Nebraska it got really cold.  Started to snow and the wind picked up.  On I-80 west of Lincoln, NE the wind was blowing straight down from the north at about 40 to 50 MPH with much higher gusts.  Worst cross wind I have been in so far.  The truck was blowing all over the road.  Snow came down a lot harder too, but it was blowing sideways.  the temp. had dropped to 12 degrees.  Passed a truck that didn't handle the wind too well.

Here is a video of that.  In the video you can hear the wind blowing the truck and the gusts hitting the truck.  When I pass the truck on it's side you can hear when I took the still photo and also another truck driver making a comment on the CB radio.

After about 100 miles I drove out of the snow.  The wind calmed down some too.  Still blew pretty hard and made the rest of the drive a challenge.  By the time I stopped for the weekend in Big Springs, Nebraska the sun was out.  Still windy and cold though.  I finally broke down and bought a real winter coat.  It was on sale for $34.  Make my first delivery in Colorado about an hour from here Monday.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Had about a quarter inch of snow last night.  Not enough to mess up the roads.  Drove into St. Louis this morning and picked up the last part of this load.  Fifteen stone slabs.  They are what counter tops are made from.  They weigh 10,500 pounds.  That's 700 pounds each. They are going to Denver, CO.

Drove from there to Oak Grove, MO to the Petro truck stop for the night.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Drove down to Pittsburgh, PA today and picked up another partial load.  That makes 3 now.  Have the last one to pick up in St. Louis, MO tomorrow.   

Here is what I have so far:

Here is the Pittsburgh skyline and Three Rivers Stadium, where the Steelers play.

Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Eaton, Ohio.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Finally got a load.  Actually, its three loads.  Went back up into Maine and picked up a couple parts to a Snow Cat (those machines that groom the ski slopes).They are going to Grand Junction, Colorado.  Then picked up a generator going to San Diego, California.  On the way out west I will be stopping in St. Louis to pick up something else that is going to Denver.

Drove through seven states today. As soon as I crossed into Pennsylvania it started to snow.  Going over the mountain just west of the Delaware Water Gap it snowed hard.  The roads were covered and no Penn. DOT anywhere in sight.  It cleared up after about 35 miles.  Stopped for the night at 3am at a truck stop in Hickory Run, PA.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Drove to Saco, Maine this morning and delivered the lumber.  Didn't have another load scheduled yet so I went back to the TA truck stop in Greenland, New Hampshire for the rest of the day.  Truck stops are few and far between up here, and this one is not that big.  Not a whole lot of freight moving up here right now.  Hope I get out of here tomorrow.  No snow here, just real cold!!  And windy!!!  If you can believe it, I am actually using the heat in the truck!!  I KNOW !!!   Incredible!!!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Delivered the prison beds this morning in Epharta, PA.  Then took a nap until I got my next load.  When I got it, I drove to Bethlehem, PA and picked up a load of lumber going to Saco, Maine. 

Drove through Kinnelon, NJ again.  For those of you in my family that are interested and that have not seen this before, here is what I-287 looks like in Kinnelon.  At the beginning of the video you will see the "Kinnelon Boro" sign on the right side of the road.  Other than that, its a boring video.

Stopped for the night in Maybrook, NY at the TA truck stop.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Got on the road at 2am eastern time.  It was snowing pretty good.  The roads were just starting to cover but basically they were just wet.  The DOT was out in force and doing a real good job at keeping the roads clear.  Drove out of the snow in Ohio and it got progressively better.  By the time I stopped for the rest of the weekend in Pennsylvania it was partly sunny but still cold. I am at the Petro truck stop in Carlisle, PA.  Snow is expected here tomorrow.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Drove up to a TA Truck stop just west of Indianapolis, IN today.  Nothing exciting.  Supposed to get snow starting tonight so I'm going to bed early so I can get an early start in the morning. 

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Got on the road again this morning.  When doing pre-trip inspection I noticed a lot of fluid leaking from my front wheel hubs.  Stopped at Peterbilt in Amarillo, Texas to get it checked.  Found that when they replaced my wheel bearings they used silicone instead of a gasket.  That caused the leak.  Got it fixed. Then back on the road again.  Stopped for the night at a truck stop in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Here are photos of the load I have now.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Got on the road this morning after a few hours sleep.  Pretty uneventfull.  Stopped at Peterbilt in Albuquerque, NM and bought a new wiring harness for my headlight.  Installed it and got back on the road.

Stopped for the night in Moriarity, NM at the TA truck stop.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Didn't get a load until later on in the day.  Drove to Orange, CA which is, basically, just barely outside Los Angeles.  Picked up 40 prison beds going to a correctional facility in Pennsylvania. 

Finally got on the road.  It was after 9 pm eastern time.  While driving my driver's side headlight started to blink on and off erratically, then it went off.  Stopped in a truck stop to fix it.  There was a broken wire in the wiring harness.  He was just barely able to splice it to hold temporally until I can replace the wiring harness.

Stopped for the night at a truck stop in Lake Havasu City, AZ at 4 am eastern time.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Left Flagstaff this morning.  The snow plows were still out working on the roads and doing a good job.  The roads were pretty good.  After I came down off the mountain the snow was gone and the roads were clear.  Drove into Prescott and delivered their stuff first thing.  Left there and got into the middle of Prescott and found out that the way I wanted to go was not a truck route so I had to turn around and go back.  While I was turning in the middle of a intersection the air line to the trailer broke and the trailer brakes locked up.  Oh goodie!!  Of course, right in the middle of an intersection at rush hour.  So I dragged the trailer around the corner leaving a lot of rubber on the road.  Stopped in the road blocking one lane.  Got out the trusty duct tape and taped the hell out of the line just barely enough to get the breaks to release and drive to a NAPA store just down the street from where I delivered.  Got a new air line and replaced it.  25 degrees and windy. I was frozen stiff when I finished.  At least it wasn't raining!! 

The route I had to go made me go through Phoenix, about 100 miles out of the way.  Drove past the University of Phoenix Stadium, where the Phoenix Cardinals play.

Drove into California and delivered the last of this load at Palm Desert.  Then went to the TA truck stop in Coachella on I-10 for the night.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Got about 3 inches of snow this morning here in Flagstaff.  Then when it stopped it got windy.

Friday, November 26, 2010

I decided that I would do a little sight seeing while I was here and had so much time to kill.  I rented an econo-box and drove over to the west side of the Grand Canyon.  I have been to the east side where the Grand Canyon National Park is before and wanted to see something different.  The arch is only a couple years old and is at the west side of the Grand Canyon.  Heard a lot about it and had seen stuff on TV about it and I wanted to see it.

The Grand Canyon West is owned by the Hualapai Native American Tribe.  It took about 4 hours to get there.  Had to drive from Flagstaff (where I am parked) over to Kingman.  That's about 145 miles.  Then you have to drive north about 70 miles.  Some of that is on a dirt road.  They then have you park at a parking lot at the airport.  The airport is really for the sightseeing airplanes and helicopters and that's pretty much it.  Then funnel you into a large bubble building where you purchase tickets.  Its also a large over priced junk shop.  Full of Native American "stuff", none of which interests me at all.  The cost of the ticket to walk out on the arch was $32.05.  Then they took you on a bus from the "bubble" to where the Skyway Arch is.  They charged an additional $43.05 just for that!!!  The bus ride was about 3/4 mile one way.  They would not let you walk there.  When I got to the arch I looked around.  There was plenty of room to build a large parking lot.  They just want to rip you off for the bus money.

When you get to the arch, you can not bring any personal items with you out on the arch.  No cameras, cell phones, back packs, etc.  They have lockers to put them in.  Then you go through a metal detector.  They say it is to protect the glass floor of the arch and to keep things from falling into the canyon.  Balony!!!  They just want you to buy THEIR photos!!!

To walk out on the arch you have to wear paper booties over your shoes.  The arch  was pretty cool.  When out on it you are 4000 feet above the Grand Canyon.   I did enjoy that.  There are a few photographers taking photos of everyone.  Was really awsome looking straight through the floor down the side of the canyon 4000 feet. 

When you get off the arch you go to another over priced junk shop and can see, and purchase, any of your photos.  The photos were $30 EACH!!!!!!!!!!  Although they did give you a "special deal" if you bought 4 or more.  GEE, THANKS!!!    Needless to say, I didn't buy any.

Overall I'm glad I went to see it.  It was something I wanted to see.  Would I do it again? NO!  Would I recommend anyone else going there? Absolutely not.  HUGE rip off.  Way too much money for what you get.

Here are some photos that I took while there.

The arch is located at "Eagle Point".  In the following photo, if you look closely,  you can see the eagle in the rock formation.


In the next photo you can see the Colorado River.  It is 2 1/2 miles away and  4000 feet  below.

Here is another photo of The Grand Canyon.  It was just before sunset, sorry about the shadows.

None of these photos do it any justice.  The Grand Canyon is just something you just have to see for yourself.  Its a truly amazing experience.

Thursday Afternoon, November 25, 2010

The hotel here had a Thanksgiving Brunch Buffet.  Apparently it is very popular with the locals.  There was a 2 hour wait to get in.  Having nothing else to do, I waited.  It was very good.  Had everything from crab legs to turkey. I took a few photos for you, but they don't do it justice. 

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Had about a quarter of an inch of snow last night.  It was 14 degrees this morning!  Drove into Flagstaff early this morning. Gonna hunker down here at the Little America Truck Stop for the rest of the weekend and watch the parade and some football.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Delivered the first part in Albuquerque this morning.  Then drove up to Farmington, NM and delivered the second part.  After that headed toward Prescott, AZ.  Made it as far as a truck stop in Holbrook, AZ.  No hurry, they won't be open to accept delivery until Monday.  Drove 666 miles today.  Hope that is not a bad omen!!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

This load of fencing is going west.  I have 4 stops to make.  First stop is in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Second is in Farmington, NM.  From there I go to Prescott, Arizona.  And the final stop is in Palm Desert, California.

Drove from Laredo, TX through boring west Texas up to Las Cruces, NM to the TA Truck stop for the night.  643 miles today.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Delivered first thing in the morning and went back to the TA truck stop to wait for my next load.  It is a load of fencing.  Picking it up in Laredo but not until 6 pm local time.  So I took a nap.  Went over to get my next load at 5 local time.  Good thing I went early because they were busy.  Took 3 hours to get loaded.  When finished I went back to the truck stop for the night.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Drove from Dallas down to Laredo today.  Long boring drive.  Texas is so big that it seems to take forever to get anywhere.  Stopped at the TA truck stop for the night.  Will deliver in the morning.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Drove from Marion, Illinois down to Dallas, Texas.  667 miles today.  Nothing exciting on the road today.  Foggy all morning and cloudy the rest of the day.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Dallas.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Delivered the steel slabs this morning.  They unloaded me with 3 big electro-magnets attached to a gantry crane.  Pretty cool.

After I got empty I drove over to Ghent, KY to another steel place.  Loaded 2 rolls of steel.  They weigh 40,930 pounds.  Used 8 chains and 2 straps to secure it.  They are going to Laredo, TX.

It took 4 1/2 hours to load the steel rolls.  There were other trucks ahead of me when I got there. Needless to say, I didn't get very far today.  Only drove 339 miles today.  Stopped for the night in Marion, IL at a truck stop on I-57 at exit 54.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Delivered the insulated panels at the Chrysler plant first thing this morning.  Then went to Bridgeview, IL and picked up 4 slabs of steel.  Total weight of them was 33,000 pounds.  They are going to Florence, KY.

Drove to Florence, KY and stopped at the rest area on I-71, I-75 for the night.  Will deliver first thing in the morning.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Cloudy, gloomy day driving.  Had a little sun in Illinois but that didn't last long.  Drove 641 miles today up to the Petro truck stop in Rochelle, Illinois.  Deliver about 15 miles from here in the morning.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Had my front wheel bearings replaced on Monday.  This morning I went down to Deland, FL and picked up my next load.  A few insulated panels going to a Chrysler plant in Belvidere, IL. 

Drove up to Chattanooga, TN and stopped for the night in a shopping center parking lot after driving 600 miles.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Got unloaded right where I spent the night then drove back to Seville and parked the truck for the weekend.  Monday they will change the front wheel bearings.  Mom came up and picked me up so I'll be spending the weekend with her.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Got back on the road again.  Heading toward Orlando.  Stopped by my house on the way and picked up my mail.  Then stopped by the office in Seville.  Going to have my front wheel bearings replaced at the shop there Monday.  Then drove to Orlando.  Stopped at Orlando Freightliner and got the parts for my truck repair job Monday. Then went to where I'm delivering in the morning.  They have a place for me to park all night. Drove 526 miles today.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Went over to Galveston and called the place on the phone to let them know I was there & if they wanted to load before 1 that it was fine with me.  They said great and to come on over. So I did and got loaded early.  That was a real good thing.  Anyway, I picked up a cement pump and a couple hoses going to Orlando.  Picked it up from Moody Gardens in Galveston.

Left there and drove up US-87 and took the ferry across Galveston Bay over to Port Bolivar.

For a change, I timed it right.  The ferry had just pulled up to unload when I got in line.

Then we all drove onto the boat.  Here is the view from my cab.

Here are  some more various photos that I took as we went across the Bay.

Lots of dolphins around the boat. 

Pulling up to the dock to drive off.

Once back on dry land, I continued up US-87 along the coast.  Pretty ride right next to the beach.  All the building, houses, and even the schools are up on stilts.

Once back up on I-10 it was just another trip on I-10.  The only excitement was that I passed a grass fire.  There were no fire trucks there yet.

Stopped for the night at the Oasis truck stop in Robertsville, Alabama after driving 547 miles.