Thursday, February 8, 2024

 I left at about 5:15 AM EST and drove the mountain roads to McClure, VA.  

It was fine until I got to 63.  That was a 2 lane mountain road that had a lot of twists and turns as well as ups and downs.  Several over 10% grades.  I got to the coal mine at about 7 AM.  They tell me that they had some type of problem in there and they are having to put coal in piles where they normally wouldn't.  That made things in there very tight.  The first place I went to (where security told me to go) was not the right place.  I got up in there and it took about 30 minutes of wiggling to get turned around and back out again.  I ended up waiting for about 2 hours in another place looking at a coal pile with a Caterpillar D10 Dozer working on the pile.  Yes, that little yellow machine is a D10 dozer.  There is a Caterpillar 777 Mining Dump Truck under the hopper to the left.  Kinda gives you an idea of how big everything is in there.

Eventually, somebody showed up and said that where we were unloading everything was not there and to follow him.  I did.  We went back out of the mine and, basically, drove around it to a back entrance.  We went in and made a right turn on a gravel road that took us to where they wanted to unload.  When we stopped I told him that it wouldn't work.  The other trucks would not be able to make that right turn.  He said "OK" and that there was another place down the road we could go.  The video starts there.  

I had to go back out and make a right turn where we came in.  I knew I couldn't make that turn but tried it anyway just to prove that I couldn't.  Well when I made the turn, the trailer bottomed out and I was stuck.  I walked to the back of the trailer and hyperinflated the airbags.  Then tried to back out.  You can hear the truck struggling to break free.  It did.  I backed down to get in position to make a left turn instead.  I did and drove around the corner.  I stopped to let the air back out of the airbags and to let a small dump truck get by. Then I continued all the way back out to the main road, turned around, and came back in again.  Drove to the other place where a truck was waiting for me.  I unloaded there.  But there is no way the other trucks would be able to get in there.  I got out of there and drove to the Petro truck stop in Raphine, Virginia for the night and a much-needed shower!!