Saturday, September 3, 2017

The day I have been waiting for since last January is finally here!!!!

Unfortunately it didn't start off the way I would have liked.

Michigan vs Florida

Saturday, September 2, 3:30 PM

AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Michigan Wolverines (1-0)

 

33 - 17

Final

Florida Gators (0-1)

	1	2	3	4		Total
Michigan	10	3	13	7		33
Florida	3	14	0	0		17

Friday, September 1, 2017

Left a half hour before sunrise this morning.  My escort was 45 minutes late so I had to wait at the State line for him.  When he got there we left.  Not too long after we got into Indiana we drove into post tropical cyclone Harvey.  He was still dropping a lot of rain.  Drove the rest of the way in to Louisville, Kentucky.  Had to back inside a building when I got there. 

But it was not a simple straight in shot.  Had to go around a guard rail and a tank.  Did that being 12 feet, 9 inches wide.  That makes the mirrors not very useful since all there is to see is machine.  This is the view after I got inside.

It took about four hours to get the wheels on it and then off my trailer.  Glad we didn't have to do that in the rain!!  Finally got out of there.  My next load is back in Montgomery, Illinois at the same place I got my last load from. Was supposed to load Tuesday but it got pushed back a day until Wednesday.  So I will have an extra long holiday weekend.  I decided not to drive much more today in Harvey's rain since I was in no hurry to get anywhere.  I stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Seymour, Indiana.

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Went back to Montgomery to Caterpillar this morning.  Fortunately I didn't have to wait too long before they brought my machine back from getting repaired.  Loaded a Caterpillar 826F Compactor that is going to Louisville, Kentucky.  It's wheels and blade have been shipped separately.  The wheels on the machine are only temporary wheels that are used only to move the machine around the plant and property.  They are removed for transport.

Here is what it looks like ready to go.

By the end of next year this plant will be closed.  Caterpillar is moving most of it to Little Rock, Arkansas.  I'm guessing that the oppressive Illinois taxes finally got to be too much for them.

Left there and drove to the TA truck stop in Mt. Vernon, Illinois for the night.  Tomorrow I'll meet my escort at the Illinois / Indiana State line.  He will be with me to delivery in Louisville.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Went up to Montgomery, IL first thing this morning to load a Caterpillar 326K Compactor.  As It was being put on the trailer I saw a hydraulic fluid leak.  A big one.  Took it back off the trailer and parked it off to the side.  They said that it would be a while before it would be fixed.  They said that in order to get to where it was leaking they would have to take the cab off.  About an hour later they took it back over to the Caterpillar plant across the street to fix.  I waited.  At closing time it still was not back.  I left my trailer there and went back to the TA truck stop in Morris, IL for the night.  Will try again tomorrow.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Well after sleeping most of the day, I finally got another load.  It is tomorrow up in Montgomery, Illinois.  So I drove up to the TA truck stop in Morris, IL for the night.

Monday, August 28, 2017

Left a half hour before sunrise this morning and drove in to Fenton, Missouri and delivered the excavator.  Don't have another load yet so I went up to the Daily yard in Morton, Illinois for the night.