STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 21254: August Autumnal Equinox

September 20, 2005 on 6:49 pm | In On The Road |

Just to complete the 17th, I left Barstow at about 2000 and drove to Las Vegas. Totals for the day: 7.25 hours worked, 299 miles driven in 6.25 hours.
I left Vegas around Noonish on the 18th. Prior to leaving, I breakfasted at the Sundance Grill in the Silverton Casino. After breakfast, I wandered around with my ever-ready camera and snapped a few snapshots (ref: Silverton Casino and Lodge on this BLOG). I missed the MMM’s ‘favorite’ Rest Area, so I stopped in Beaver, UT, about 15 miles farther north on I-15. There is an open field for them to ‘play’ off-leash here, but it is not as constrained as the Rest Area and they need more supervision. At 1645, I drove on to Salt Lake City, UT. I ate dinner here and then drove to the Consignee in Layton, UT. They have limited parking here, and I was lucky enough to find a place to park.
The 19th was tedious. I awoke about 0630 and took the MMM on their long awaited AM ‘outing’. According to Swift, my appointment was at 0900. I ‘lazed around’ until 0830, then checked in with the Recieving Clerk. Alas, he informed me that my appointment wasn’t until 1100 and that they would not be able to start any earlier. DRAT!! He did give me a door, then told me that I could drop my trailer and go eat, or go shopping, or whatever for a couple of hours, so I did. I went to IHOP for breakfast, then browsed around “Wally World”, successfully resisting the urge to impulse buy. I returned to the Consignee at 1130, re-connected to my trailer, then began the vigil. The Planner offered me a load which picked up in Clearfield, UT and delivered in Mira Loma, CA (4 miles empty and 669 miles loaded). I telephoned my DM and requested to T-Call the load at our drop yard in Henderson, NV and take some R&R. She said that it would be OK, so I accepted the Pre-Plan. At 1330, the unload was complete and I departed for Clearfield. I arrived at 1345. My appointment was not until 1700. I checked in with Shipping anyway, but was, alas, told that I would again have to wait until my appointment time before being loaded. I was told where to park to wait and preceeded there. Boredom, boredom, boredom, boredom. At 1645, the loader came to get me and told me which door to spot my trailer. I had to dis-connect from the trailer after it was spotted and park beside it because there was no room for other traffic to get by if I stayed connected. The loading took an hour and I left Clearfield at 1800. I drove to our Terminal in Salt Lake City, UT and fueled. Only 1 of the 3 fuel islands was open for some reason, so I had to wait in line for about 15 minutes before it was my turn to fuel. After fueling, I drove through the Truck Wash twice then drove to St. George, UT where I stopped for the night. Along the way, I did stop briefly at the MMM’s Rest Area. I worked 8.25 hours driving 335 miles in 5.5 hours.
Today, the 20th, I left St. George at 1015 (the earliest time that I could legally depart). I drove directly to the drop yard in Henderson, dropped the loaded trailer and hooked to an empty. I let the MMM explore for about a 1/2 hour, then drove to the Flying J to begin my leisure time. Obviously, their WiFi is working this time. I set my PTA (Projected Time Available) for the 22nd at 0800. It is truly an august Autumnal Equinox for I am beginning “home time”.