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.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Delivered the military trailers to the Port of Beaumont this morning.  There is a ton of military stuff there!!

My next load picks up tomorrow at 1pm local time in Galveston, TX.  It is going to Orlando, FL for a Saturday delivery.  Went to Houston to a truck stop there for the night.  On the way stopped and had the oil and all the filters changed and the chassis lubed on the truck.  Only drove 99 miles today.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Got on the road early again.  Had another APU problem last night so I stopped at Thermo King in Ft. Worth, Texas and had it fixed.  Also did the routine oil & air filters change. When that was done I drove the rest of the way to Beaumont, TX and stopped at the Petro truck stop for the night.  Will deliver first thing in the morning. Drove 525 miles today.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Got on the road from Laramie, WY early this morning. 

Was driving along I-70 about 50 miles east of Denver at about 2:45am local time, had my cruise control set at 73 (speed limit is 75 there).  I was the only vehicle anywhere in sight.  All of a sudden one of my worst fears of night driving almost came true! There was a deer standing right in the middle of my lane.  This was not just any deer, this was the biggest buck I have ever seen.  This thing was the size of a cow!!  The rack on his head was huge!!  I hit the breaks to release the cruise control and rapidly changed lanes.  I just missed hitting him by inches!!  If I had hit him he would have destroyed the front of my truck.  Would have taken out the radiator and who knows what else under the hood.  The hood & bumper would also have been toast!! At least I know my heart works good!!!

Stopped and ate dinner at "The Big Texan" in Amarillo, Texas then continued on to Quanah, TX to spend the night in a  restaurant parking lot.  Drove 698 miles today.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Got on the road again before sun up.  Here are a couple of photos of sunrise in Utah.

How would you like to live on this road????

Stopped to do a reset in Laramie, Wyoming at the Petro after driving 689 miles today. Will start again Monday morning.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Drove back to Boise, ID today.  Nothing exciting or interesting today.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop after driving 522 miles today.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Got up REAL early this morning and left Boise, ID and drove into Tacoma, WA and delivered the generators first thing this morning.  Then drove a couple miles down the road to Ft. Lewis Air Force Base and picked up my next load.  2 trailers going to Beaumont, Texas. Then went a few exits up I-5 to the Love's truck stop for the rest of the day.  Drove only 554 miles today.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Got on the road early again.  Here are some photos from I-84 going around the north side of Salt Lake City.

Here is the Snake River in Idaho.

Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Boise, Idaho after driving 739 miles today.

Here is the Boise skyline.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Left Perry, Oklahoma early this morning. 

This photo was taken on I-70 east of Denver looking west.  I was passing the Denver International Airport.  You can see the Rocky Mountains in the background.

This is the Denver skyline as I went by on I-270.

Stopped for the night, after driving 714 miles today, in Cheyenne, Wyoming at the Flying J truck stop.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Drove the rest of the way into Dallas this morning and delivered the shelving.  After that I drove over to Thermo King and had them fix my APU.  They did, minor problem.  All fixed.

My next load was in Lewisville, TX so I headed up there.  Picked up 3 generators going to Tacoma, Washington. 

Stopped for the night at the Sooners Truck Stop in Perry, Oklahoma.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Have you ever been watching a football game on TV and the home team is getting killed.  The score is hopelessly lopsided so that by the last few minutes of the game most of the fans have left the stadium.  Have you noticed that when there is hardly anyone left in the stands that there is still crowd noise?  Things that make you go Hmmmmmm.  Do you think the TV people add some crowd noise like the laugh track on a sitcom?  Hmmmmmmmm, I wonder.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Drove from Arizona to Texas today.  On the way went thru El Paso again.  This time the traffic was light so I stopped on the side of the road to take a few photos.  These are where I-10 almost bumps into the US-Mexican border. You can see the border fence.  On the Mexican side is the city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.  That is the city you hear about on the news.  The drug wars are in full swing there.  Over 2000 murders there this year.  Every time I drive by there I look to see if I see anyone getting shot.

Then went through another Border Patrol Check Point.

On I-20 in the Odessa area there are hundreds of oil wells.  Here is only one of them.

Stopped for the rest of the weekend in Sweetwater, Texas at the TA truck stop after driving 651 miles today.

Shortly after I got here a belt started slipping and burning on my APU so I had to shut that off.  WONDERFUL!!!  Will attend to that after I deliver Monday.  Thinking about getting a hotel.

Friday, October 29, 2010

My next load was in Calexico, CA, just barely in the USA.  I was only about 10 miles away.  Drove over and picked up a load of shelves that came from Mexico. Quite often products made in Mexico are brought into the country and dropped off at a "middle man".  Basically a place to move stuff from the Mexican truck to an American truck and the other way around when stuff goes to Mexico.  These shelves are going to Dallas.

Got on the road and headed back east.  Went through the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area in southern California.  I have sent photos of this before.  If you look close in the photo, those black dots in the sand are all ATVs (all terrain vehicles).  There are hundreds of them all over.  This area must be the toy hauler capitol of the USA.  They are everywhere!

 Went through another Border Patrol Check Point.

Then went into Arizona.  Here are some photos of western Arizona.

Then I got pulled over by the Arizona Highway Patrol.  He stopped me because my trailer mud flaps were flapping in the wind and not staying down.  Also that they were 2 inches too high off the ground.  They are supposed to be 8 inches off the ground, mine were 10.  And cops wonder why everyone hates them??!!??  He did a level 2 inspection and I did fine except for the mud flaps.  He also said that I had an air leak in the trailer someplace but he could not pinpoint it.  I tried to explain that what he heard was normal for that trailer but of course he knows everything!  "I've been doing this many years......"  Blah, blah, blah.  Fortunately I didn't get any tickets.

I stoppoed at a place just out of Tucson, AZ and had my mud flaps changed out and the "air leak" checked.    There was no leak.  But I don't know anything!

Here are some of the cactus in Arizona.

Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Willcox, AZ after driving only 401 miles.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Drove on down to Corona, CA this morning and delivered that stuff there.  That's just outside Los Angeles.  I left real early so that I would not get caught in all that LA traffic.  I was lucky!!  No bumper to bumper traffic today!!  Thats amazing for LA.

Then drove down to Brawley, CA and delivered the rest of the stuff.  Brawley is just north of El Centro which is on I-8 between San Diego, CA and Yuma, AZ just north of the Mexican border.

When I got empty I went to El Centro to a truck stop at exit 115 on I-8 for the night.  Plenty of parking but not much else.  Only drove 524 miles today.  I guess that's pretty good considering that trucks can only go 55 mph in this stupid nanny state. I'm still waiting for an earthquake.  None yet.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Drove into California this morning on I-80 over Donner Pass again.  Did it at night so no photos today.  The road construction is almost done there.  It is a lot nicer.  About 4 inches of snow on the ground up there.

Delivered the first part, and the most difficult, of the load in Santa Clara.  Then headed south.  Next stop is Corona, CA.  That is right next to LA.

Stopped for the night in Santa Nella, CA at the Petro truck stop.  Drove 551 miles today.