STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

JUNE 3, 2005 (Life Day 21145)

June 3, 2005 on 9:27 am | In On The Road |

On May 30th, I left Davenport at 8:45 AM and drove to Des Moines, IA. I took a 45 minute break here, and drove to Lincoln, NE. It was raining, but I took time to buy a “Happy Meal” for the BCC’s birthdays (ref: BCC Birthday Bash on this BLOG). I then drove to Big Springs, NE. I stopped here for the night because the Bosselman’s Truckstop here offer FREE WiFi access. I drove 610 miles in 10 hours.
On May 31st, I left Big Springs NE about Noon. I drove to Laramie, WY. Here, I took a 45 minute break for a BCC walk and fuel. I drove from Laramie to Little America, WY. Another 45 minute break for a BCC walk and a snack. I left here at 8:30 PM and drove to Tooele, UT. I arrived at 11:15 PM. I stopped here for the night. I didn’t quite have enough hours remaining to drive all the way to Wendover, NV. There is a Port of Entry (actually exit) for Utah about 3 miles from Wendover and since I would be “illegal” when I went through it, I decided to stay in Tooele. There are a couple of ’smaller’ truckstops a little closer to Wendover, but they don’t offer WiFi access. I drove 597 miles in 9.5 hours.
On June 1st, I left Tooele at 10:15 AM and drove to Wendover. I stopped here for a shower. There is a really nice ‘Truckers Lounge’ here (co-sponsored by the 3 major Casinos in Wendover). Among the ammenities they offer is FREE showers to all CDL licensed drivers. FREE fits nicely into my budget. The showers are large, clean, and well maintained. After a prolonged break here, I drove to Winnemucca, NV. A short break here for BCC purposes, then off to Reno and my final destination. I arrived at the Consignee at 10:00 PM. This is a drop/hook facility, so I was done quickly. I was out of hours (I only had a total of 8.5 available for today), so I went to bed. I drove 481 miles in 7.75 hours.
On the 2nd, I awoke at 7:00 AM with a Pre-Plan on my QualCom. It picked up this AM in Patrick (6 miles east of Sparks on I-80) and delivered in Vernon (LA), CA at 10:00 PM. This was a Hi-Value load, so the pick-up and delivery times were CRITICAL. I turned it down because I didn’t have the hours available to LEGALLY make the run. I only have a total of 9 hours available today. The Planners soon found a load which I could do. It picked-up in Reno at 10:00 AM and deliverd ASAP in Shafter, CA (0 miles empty and 392 miles loaded). As a BONUS, I’d be able to meet my brother who is in Bakersfield working on his Rental Home. With only 9 hours available today, I won’t be able to do anything until tomorrow after making the delivery anyway. I accepted it and drove to the Shipper. I arrived about an hour early, but was immediately given a dock door. It took about an hour to load, so by the time I was supposed to be arriving, I was loaded and ready to go. I departed Reno at 10:15 AM and drove to Lathrop, CA for fuel and a BCC walk. I left there at 2:45 PM and drove to the Consignee in Shafter. This is a drop/hook facility, so all went quickly and well. After doing the drop & hook, I called my brother and we made arrangements to meet. I drove to the parking lot of a Mervyns near my Uncle’s house and he picked me up. We then went to my uncle’s house for a visit. We all went to the Rice Bowl (my 2nd favorite Chinese restaurant) for dinner. It was good, as usual. We then went back to my uncle’s house and had a nice visit. We sat out on the Patio because it was a pleasant evening. At 11:00 PM (California Time), my brother drove me back to my truck, and I drove to the Flying J and went to bed. It is always nice to get a “break” from the “routine”, especially when it involves a visit with family. I drove 389 miles in 7.75 hours.
Today, the 3rd, I awoke at about 6:30 AM. (The doggies don’t care what time I get to bed. When the sun comes up, it’s time to wake up). After taking the BCC on their morning “rounds”, I went into the Truckstop to do my morning “toilette” only to discover that they had NO WATER!! I had a choice between Burger King and Jack-In-The-Box in which to ’spruce up’ and grab a bite to eat. I chose to go to Burger King because it has an almost “edible” breakfast sandwich (the Enormous Omlet Sandwich) and French Toast Sticks. (I’m ashamed to admit that I possess enough knowledge of “Fast-Food” breakfast fare to actually make an ‘informed’ choice). When I got back to my truck, there was a Pre-Plan on my QualCom. It picks up in Fresno, Ca and delivers in Denver, CO (95 miles empty and 1139 miles loaded). Since it is en-route, and I’m due some “home-time”, I made arrangements to T-Call the load at our ‘drop yard’ in Henderson, NV. I left Bakersfield (actually Shafter, or even Wasco, by my calculations) at 12:30 PM and drove the 90 miles to Fresno. The address was on North street and the directions said to turn onto East street to enter the Facility via the ‘truck gate’. I thought that I had been abducted by aliens and put into some sort of Parallel Universe because North street is on the SOUTH side of Fresno and East street is on the WEST side of CA-99 (do-do, do-do). Come to think of it, the Security Officer at the gate bore a strong resembalance to Art Bell!!
At any rate, this is a drop/hook Customer so I was in and out quickly. I called my brother and arranged to meet him for dinner once again. Just a quick stop this time as I want to get to Henderson, drop this load and begin my time off. I arrived in Bakersfield at about 6:00 PM. We met at Milt’s Coffee Shop, a local favorite with parking for my truck, and near to my brothers rental property. I had Bar-B-Q beef with “cowboy” potatoes (fried potatoes with onions and bell pepper) and some delicious Ranch-style beans. I had Apricot Cobbler with whipped cream for desert (yum, yum). After dinner we took the BCC to the rental house and let them play in the back yard for a while. I left at about 8:00 PM and drove to Barstow. I took a short break there and then drove the rest of the way to Henderson. I dropped my load and drove to Las Vegas. They had no empty trailers available, so I’ll have to deal with that on Monday.