STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 21287: Denver Dilly-dallying

October 23, 2005 on 6:09 am | In On The Road |

Back to the Daily Grind:
Sunday, the 16th, I spent the day lounging at the Flying J truckstop in North Platte, NE. There was little else to do. Freight was slow. I had to turn down a load to Sumner, WA because I didn’t have enough hours available to make the delivery on time. It was a good day for “geeking” on the computer. The weather was beautiful.
On the 17th, I awoke having accumulated 34 consecutive hours ‘off-duty’, therefore, with a fresh 70 hours available to start the week. I had a Pre-Plan on my QualCom. The load picked up in Mitchell, NE and delivered in Augusta, WI (184 miles empty and 794 miles loaded). After accepting it, determining the whereabouts of Mitchell, NE, having breakfast and walking the MMM, I left North Platte at 1000. I arrived in Mitchell at 1300. This load was a load of ‘bulk beans’ in huge fiber bags (about 3,000 lbs of beans per bag). It reminded me of a joke that I played on my DM early in my career with Swift. He was newer to the company than I was, and I had only met him once.
I was dispatched on a similar load from a customer in Twin Falls, ID (bulk beans). On ‘food’ loads like this, a Quality Assurance person has to take a random ‘core sample’ from each bag and certify that it is free from pests, rot, etc, etc. While he was performing this task, I asked him, out of curiosity, how many beans there were per pound. I forget the exact number he gave me for the particular type of bean that was being loaded, but it was something like 116 to 120. For the purposes of this story, I’ll say 120. After I was loaded, I called my DM to do my L-Call (being in the “dark ages” before QualCom, I had to use a telephone). My DM was going through his ‘checklist’ asking the pertinent questions. When he asked me for the ‘weight’, I responded with the actual weight of the load (45,237 lbs). Next, he asked for the ‘piece count’. This time I responded with; “5,428,440″ (45,237 lbs multiplied by the 120 beans per pound). This put him off his stride and he asked me to repeat. I again responded with; “5,428,440.” Still not getting the joke, he said; “No, no, how many bags?” I said; “Bags? I didn’t know I was supposed to count the bags, I was too busy counting the beans. If I would have known all I had to do was count the bags, I’d have been out of here hours ago.” Finally he got it, and from then on, until he left Swift for ‘greener pastures’, he called me “bean counter”.
Anyway, I digress. Upon leaving thriving Mitchell, I stopped to take a few pictures of Scott’s Bluff (the bluff, not the town).

After taking these pictures, I drove 30 miles to the junction of NE-92 and US-26 where Chimney Rock is located, and, you guessed it, took these pictures.

After these 2 ‘detours’, I finally went back to work. I drove to Alda, NE where I had dinner and walked the MMM. I then drove to Gretna, NE where I stopped for the night. Of the 11 hours I toiled this day, 10.25 were expended driving 612 miles.
On the 18th, I left Gretna at 1015 and drove to Des Moines, IA. I took a 45 minute break here for lunch and, of course, a stroll for the MMM. From there, I took I-35 N through Minneapolis/St. Paul to I-94E and on to Hudson, WI where I stopped for another break. I left Hudson at 1830 and drove to the Consignee in Augusta. Earlier in the day, I had recieved a Pre-Plan picking up at the Consignee and going to Walker, MI via Bridgeport, WI (0 miles empty and 706 miles loaded). I did the drop/hook, then drove to De Forest (Madison), WI where I stopped for the night. Of the 11.5 hours I worked today, I used 10.75 driving 638 miles.
The 19th, was a relatively short day compared to the 2 previous days. I left De Forest at 0915 and drove right through the bowels of Chicago to our Terminal in Gary, IN. Here I fueled and walked the MMM. I then drove to Bridgeport, MI and stopped for the night. Conveniently, there was a small TA truckstop located at the same exit I needed to get to my 1st drop. This load was routed “wierdly” (is that a word? Oh well, it is now). The first Consignee was in Bridgeport (20 miles south of Saginaw) and the final Consignee was in Walker (10 miles west of Grand Rapids). Saginaw is located north of Detroit on the eastern side of Michigan while Grand Rapids is in western Michigan. It made no sence to me, but then, I just drive where they tell me. As long as I get paid, I could care less where and how they route me. “Eet’s no my yob, mahn”. I drove 462 miles in 8.75 hours and worked a total of 9.25 hours.
The 20th was another arduous day. I made the 1st portion of the delivery in the ‘wee’ hours of the AM then drove to Walker for the final. I arrived at 0815. Since there were only 5 pallets remaining, I just did the rest of the unload myself rather than hire a “lumper” to do it. Swift paid $110.00 to get the first drop unloaded. Here, I did hire “lumpers”, so I wasn’t expecting much for the portion of the unload which I did. Surprisingly, they gave me $100.00. Anyway, there were some damaged cases at both stops, so I had to be routed to our Terminal in Gary to turn them in for Salvage. I arrived at Gary at 1215, fueled, walked the MMM and turned in the damaged product. The Planner offered me a load which picked up in South Holland, IL (south Chicago) and delivered in Cheyenne, WY (19 miles empty and 957 miles loaded). I accepted it and left Gary at 1300. I-80 between Gary and Chicago is just 1 perpetual construction project. I don’t think it will ever be finished (at least it hasn’t been in the 18+ years I’ve been driving). I finally arrived in South Holland, did the drop/hook and left at 1500. I drove to Walcott, IA and stopped for the night. I worked 11 hours (again) and drive 481 miles in 9.5 hours.
On the 21st, I left Walcott at 0900. I drove to Gretna, NE and stopped for lunch. I left at 1500 and drove to Big Springs, NE. I had dinner here, and since I still had 3/4 of an hour remaining drive, I drove to Sidney, NE and stopped for the night. I worked 11.25 hours using 11 hours to drive 676 miles.
The 22nd was a short day (by choice). I left Sidney at 1130 and drove directly to the Consignee in Cheyenne. Enroute, The Planner offered me 2 “stacked” loads. The first picked up in Loveland, CO and delivered in Grand Junction, CO (58 miles empty and 288 miles loaded). This load was to be T-Called at our Terminal in Denver. The 2nd load picked up at our Terminal and delivered in Las Vegas, NV (0 miles empty and 743 miles loaded). Alas, because of all the 11+ hour days recently, I did not have enough hours to legally make the Las Vegas delivery on time. I called the Planner and told him this. After some consultation, it was decided that I would take the Grand Junction load and deliver it, then determine how many hours I have remaining on Monday. I did the drop/hook, then drove to Loveland. I picked up the Grand Junction load (it was another drop/hook), then drove to Denver where I decided to stop for the night. The load doesn’t deliver until Sunday night at 2100, so I’ll be finished until Monday once it’s delivered and I determine the status of my available hours. I’d much rather ’sit’ in Denver than Grand Junction. At least I have WiFi access. I drove 197 miles in 3.25 hours and worked a total of 4.25 hours for the day.
Today, Sunday the 23rd, I’ve just been “geeking” so far. My ‘hours’ situation is abysmal. I have only a total of 11.75 hours avaliable for the next 2 days. By the time I do my manditory ’safety check’, drive from Denver to Grand Junction later today, and do the delivery there, the most I can hope for is 6.25 hours available for tomorrow. Not Good!! About all I could do is drive back up to Denver or possibly Salt Lake City. On Tuesday, I begin picking up 11’s again, so it won’t be too bad. Maybe I can get to Las Vegas after that. What the heck, when I get into this situation with my hours, at least I know that i’ve had a good week and made some $$$$.