STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 21395: Hey, Hey, Hay

February 8, 2006 on 8:34 pm | In On The Road, Travelblogue | No Comments

On Monday, the 6th, I left Las Vegas at 0300. I drove to Parowan, UT where I fueled. I then drove on to the Consignee in Fillmore. I arived at 0800, right on time. I was told that there was a truck ahead of me to be loaded, and to back into dock 1. I did so, then took the MMM for an untethered stroll. 1 truck turned into 2 and it was 0930 before they started to unload me. Earlier, I recieved a pre-plan that picked up in Meadow, UT and delivered in Tulare, CA (9 miles empty and 622 miles loaded). I accepted it. At 1045, I drove to the next Shipper. I arrived at 1100. This load turned out to be a load of hay bales. I’ve never hauled baled hay before, just ‘hay cubes’ (2″x 2″ cubes which are used mainly in Japan for some reason). They are loaded into ‘van’ trailers by a conveyor belt, then taken to the Port in LA and unloaded, usually by tilting the trailer which is positioned on a platform then tilted by a hydraulic jack. Anyway, I digress. This load was loaded in a field. The bales are 4′x 4′x 8′ and weigh about 2000 lbs each. 20 bales were loaded in 10 stacks of 2 bales each. Vans are not the most cost effective or efficient means of transporting hay bales in my opinion. Flatbeds can haul 26 bales per load. This is because flatbed trailers weigh considerably less than vans, therefore, can haul more weight. Since there is no ‘dock’ the bales are put in 2 at a time, then shoved forward by the next 2 bales until the desired number is loaded. Then 2 more bales are brought to shove the last 2 bales forward. If you ‘do the math’, this means that there is a 5′ empty space in the front of the trailer and 8′ space in the rear of the trailer (10 sets of 2 ea., 4′ bales takes up 40ft of the trailer). The axle weights come out legal using this process, so who am I to render my opinion, but, I would put a single bale in the front and a single bale in the rear to more evenly balance the load. The photographs below show the loading process.

The MMM enjoyed a nice untethered wander through the weeds. Walter enjoys making “snow doggies” every time he encounters a patch of snow.

After loading, I drove to Las Vegas where I stopped for the night. After I parked at he Wild Wild West, I got my car and drove to the Rio. I met brother there and we went to the Silverton for dinner. We had Chicken Fried Steak. After dinner we watched the fish being fed in the 120,000 gallon aquarium.
On the 7th, I left Vegas at 0845. I drove to Bartow, CA where I took a quick MMM break. I then drove to Tulare. I arrived at 1545 (1445 local). I checked with recieving and was told to wait in my truck. There were already 2 trucks ahead of me, and 2 more arrived after me. We waited for about 2 1/2 hours before the recieving clerk came out and told us that we would have to wait until tomorrow morning before we will be unloaded. Something about their customer rejecting the loads because the hay is too dry. Also, there is the issue of getting the load inspected by the California Departent of Agriculture. There was a “hold for inspection” stamp put on our bills when we went through the “bug check” at Yermo, basically puting us in quarantine. Since the hay is in a closed vehicle, they could only inspect the last 2 bales of the load, and that was not sufficent to satisfy them. Now they have to decide who is responsible for the cost of the inspection. Swift has been hauling bale hay out of Southern Utah and Eastern Nevada for years, now the Department of Agriculture wants a 100% inspection. Governator Arnold must need a new Harley or Hummer. :={ At any rate, I’m stuck here.
Wednesday, the 8th, is not shaping up to be much fun. When (and if) I ever get this hay unloaded, I still have to be routed to a Terminal to put my truck in the shop. My transmisson is leaking again, and the sputter/cough is back again as well. I just lost 3 days driving week-end before last getting this stuff fixed, and now it’s back!! Jeeeeze!! I think someone is trying to tell me to stay out of Central California. The last time I was here, there was the car fire in Madera (ref: the New Year, New Look, December 29th). http://straycat.us/2006/01/life-day-21357-new-year-new-look.htm Now this fiasco with the hay and the maintenance woes recurring. I can take a hint.
About noon the Consignee finally got everything organized. We were told to follow him to a public scale. There in turn, we all scaled to determine our heavy (loaded) weight. We then “convoyed” to a Dairy to unload. It was still in “Tulare”, but it was about 15 miles from the Consignee. There in turn (there are 7 of us now), we were unloaded, one at a time. I’m #3. I pity #7. He’ll be a while.

They used a portable dock to unload us.

The MMM carried on a “meaningful dialogue” with their new bovine friends while we were waiting our turn. I didn’t understand a word they uddered. I think i’ll move on to anudder subject before this becomes Udderly ridiculous.

Lower right: A crane stopped by for a little while to observe all the hubbub.
After unloading, I had to go back to the public scale and obtain a light (empty) weight. Then, I had to drive back to the Consignee to get my signed bills. At 1545 (almost 24 hours to the minute) after arriving I was finally finished with the load. Remind me NEVER to take a load to this Customer again. GEEEEEEZE!!! I will be paid $240.00 in Detention Pay ($30.00 for the maximum of 8 hours allowed by Swift). I should also be paid for the 30 extra miles I drove to the scale, to the dairy, back to the scale, and back to the Customer, but I don’t know if that will happen since the dairy was still “technically” in Tulare. I then drove to the Pilot truckstop in Madera, CA to get lunch/dinner/whatever (the last “hot” meal I had was the Chicken Fried Steak with my brother at the Silverton monday night). After ‘whatever’ I drove to our Terminal in Lathrop, CA to put my truck in the shop. I arrived at 2015 (1915 local). The shop is swamped. It will be midday tomorrow at the earliest before I get in the shop. Looks like yet another “fun” day tomorrow.

Life Day 21395: Daily Doses of Dalliance

February 8, 2006 on 9:08 am | In On The Road | No Comments

I’m way, way behind on my daily journal, so i’ll now begin to rectify this. When we left off on the 20th of January, your highway hero had just arrived in Las Vegas, NV for some much deserved ‘home-time’. During this visit, he purchased a Sprint Wireless Card. http://straycat.us/2006/01/new-wireless-card.htm He immediately began to play with his new “toy”. It is vastly more convenient than the previous WiFi method of going ‘on-line’.
On the 23rd, he delivered his load in Las Vegas. The Consignee was located about 2 miles from the Wild, Wild West where he ‘resides’ when in Vegas. The delivery was scheduled for 1100 and the Customer would not take it any earlier. The unloading took a bit over 2 hours. Unfortunately for your hero, that pretty much blew the whole day for dealing with any form of autocratic bureaucracy, like going to the DMV to renew the registration on his automobile. http://straycat.us/2006/01/pahrump-pilgrimage.htm There is always a horrendous line, no matter which “conveniently located” branch of the DMV you decide to utilize, and the delivery had priority. The DMV will have to wait until tomorrow.
After the delivery, a trip to ‘Wally World’ was needed. Your hero purchased a new radio/CD/mp3 player for his truck. The existing one would no longer “read” discs. He also purchased essential MMM food and treats, and assorted toiletries. After installing the new radio, he “vegged” and “geeked” for the remainder of the day.
On the 24th, after the jaunt to the DMV, your hero went to Fry’s Electronics. The intention was to have the old radio/CD/mp3 player repaired and install it in his car. The radio in the car “fritzed” on the return trip from Pahrump. An hour later, he walked out with a new Canon iP-90 Printer and his (still un-repaired) radio. Fry’s doesn’t repair Sony products unless under warranty. Oh well, nothing is simple for the daunted one.

Life Day 21394: Las Vegas Strip

February 7, 2006 on 8:10 pm | In On The Road, Travelblogue | No Comments

On the 4th, I was greeted with a pleasant surprise when finally I went online to check my e-mail. My brother, Don, arrived last night at the Rio. I called him immediately to let him know that I too had arrived in town yesterday and was at the Wild, Wild West, about a mile away. I went over to pick him up, then we went to the Palace Station for dinner. We ate at the Grand Cafe, because they have some of the best Chinese food i’ve found in Vegas. We both ordered the Combination Dinner. He had his with Sweet and Sour Pork, and I had mine with Mongolian Beef. After dinner, we drove back to the Rio and malingered in the Casino for a while. Neither of us gamble much, so we strolled around, watched a few of the “free” shows, and played a little $1.00 Keno. Last of the “big spenders”. About 2200 I went back to the WWW, after arranging to meet him there for breakfast.
On the 5th, Don came by at 0800. We went in to the WWW to eat. We both had the $.99 breakfast special, plus I had a $1.49 French Toast & Sausage special and Don ordered the $1.49 pancake special. We both also ordered Hot Tea. Total bill, $9.81. It was more than we could eat. After breakfast we went shopping. I had a list of 4 things that I needed and he needed a spray bottle. First stop was Wally World. I bought a spray bottle and a belt-clip holster for my cell phone. Don bought his spray bottle as well. I also needed a retractable leash for Wolfie, and an extra battery for my camera. Wally World was out of retractable leashes in Wolfie’s size and didn’t carry the battery. Next, we went to PetSmart for the leash. We decided to walk to Ultimate Electronics about 1/2 a block from PetSmart. They were closed, so we walked across the street to Circuit City and bought the battery there. Then back to the WWW. We “geeked” in Don’s RV until about 1530, then decided to go checkout The Strip. We correctly figured that with everyone else on Planet Earth watching the Super Bowl, it would be a good time. We walked across the freeway from the WWW on Tripicana and went to the MGM Grand.

We watched the Lion Cubs at play for a while, then went to the Monorail Station. We bought Day Passes. We rode to the next stop which is Bally’s/Paris Station and disembarked. Nothing in Bally’s grabbed our interest, but Paris was another matter.

On the left is, naturally, a replica of the Eiffel Tower and on the right is a fountain at it’s base. After leaving Paris we took the Monorail to the Flamingo Station.

On the left is a picture of the outside entrance to the Flamingo Monorail Station. It looks as though it is a direct route, but it isn’t. It takes you straight for a ways, then puts you into and through the shopping and gambling portions of the Casino before letting you get to the Monorail. How Tacky!! Every Station is exactly like that. I found nowhere that you can access the Monorail without being led through a Casino. The picture on the right is a Parrot that we walked by in the Flamingo. After we left the Flamingo, we boarded the Monorail again and rode it to it’s northern terminus, then came back to Harrah’s. Here we ate dinner at the Buffet. It was quite good for the money.

After dinner, we strolled toward the Mirage in hopes of catching the Volcano eruption. We had to wait for about 45 minutes, but it was worth it. The crowd was small because of the Super Bowl. Above left is a picture of the Mirage before the eruption and above right is brother Don waiting for the “show”. The other 4 are of the ‘eruption.

After the “show” we walked down The Strip toward the Belliago in hopes of catching the Fountain Show there. As we walked by Ceasars Palace I took the above pictures. On the left is the “street” view of the entrance and on the right is some statuary around the perimeter. Also along the way, I took the picture (below left) of the Eiffel Tower lit up in full resplendency.

We missed the Fountain Show by about 5 minutes, so we once again took the Monorail, this time to it’s southern terminus at the MGM Grand. The remaining 3 pictures were taken from the pedestrian bridge that crosses Las Vegas Blvd (The Strip). Above right is the Excaliber Casino. Lower left is the MGM Lion (hence the lion cubs shown earlier, duh). Finally, lower right is the New York, New York skyline.
At this point, we were both exhausted and the MMM had been neglected for over 5 hours (bad daddy), so we called it a night and walked back to the WWW and went to bed.