Saturday, January 15, 2022

 As soon as my 10 hours were up I left.  It was still very windy and now it was snowing.  The snow was the fine powdery kind of snow that the skiers love.  It was blowing horizontally.  The roads were fine to start off but rapidly deteriorated.  

After I drove through Kansas City I decided to stop and let the system pass.  Stopped at the Petro truck stop in Oak Grove, Missouri.  I'll check the weather later after I wake up and see if it is better.

I slept for a couple hours and decided to get back on the road.  The weather had not gotten any better.  By the time I got to Topeka it had improved some.  Missouri did a much better job than Kansas in keeping the roads clear.  It continued to get better the further I went.  By the time I got to Illinois the snow was gone, just a light mist that went away too.  There was no snow on the ground.  I stopped at the TA in Mt. Vernon, Illinois after driving 600.3 miles today. Going to watch the replay of the Alabama / Georgia national championship game on ESPN and get some very much needed sleep.  Phone is off. Good night.

Friday, January 14, 2022

 Left real early this morning and arrived in Aurora, Colorado a little before they opened. delivered the compactor then loaded a "C" frame for a D8 Dozer.  It is going to Austell, Georgia.

Left there in real good time.  Heading east on I-70 the crosswind was horrendous!!  At least 40 to 50 MPH crosswind.  I was very happy that my load had a low center of gravity.  The other semis were having a hard time holding their lane.  I had no problem, although the wind did bounce me around a lot.  Expand the video below to full screen to see how the wind affected a pick-up truck pulling a trailer. Also, you have to look real close to see it, look at the debris blowing across the road and how fast it is blowing.

I stopped for the night at the Love's truck stop in Ellis, Kansas.  The wind is bouncing the truck A LOT!!!  Supposed to get snow later on tonight. We'll see.

Thursday, January 13, 2022

 I had a reset coming up very soon so I decided to get it over with now.  I'll be leaving here to deliver tomorrow morning.

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

 Yesterday late afternoon my truck was fixed!!  They sent a car over to the hotel and picked me up.  After getting my truck I went back to the hotel and checked out. Then back over to Thermo King and picked up my trailer.  Once that was done I hit the road.  Drove all night, 638 miles, and stopped when I ran out of hours at the Flying J truck stop in Big Spring, Nebraska.

Monday, January 10, 2022

 Left real early this morning.  Stopped at the Petro in Albert Lea, Minnisota to get an air leak fixed on the trailer.  An hour later it was fixed and I was back on the road again.  Drove up to Bloomington and delivered the wheel loader.  My next load was not too far away.  It was up in Elk River, Minnesota.  Went there and loaded a Caterpillar CP56B Compactor that is going to Aurora, Colorado.  

Left there and started off to Colorado.  Didn't get very far.  The "Low Coolant" light came on.  I stopped at the TA truck stop and added a gallon and a half of coolant.  Found the leak.  The TA shop said they would not be able to fix it.  After a lot of phone calls, figured out where to go for repairs.  I drove to the Thermo King in Albert Lea, Minnisota and left the truck there.  I'm at the Holiday Inn Express until it is fixed.  They said that they wouldn't be able to start on it until Wednesday, but MIGHT be able to squeeze it in tomorrow afternoon.  We'll see.

Sunday, January 9, 2022

 Another really good day on the road.  Left a half-hour before sunrise this morning. No traffic issues at all today.  Drove to the Flying J truck stop in des Moines, Iowa for the night.

Stopped at a rest area this afternoon.  This guy was parked next to me.  He had two HUGE basset hounds.  Had a ramp for them to get in and out of the truck.