Life Day 21490: Albuquerque Allegory
May 14, 2006 on 9:27 pm | In On The Road | No CommentsOn the 8th of May, which was a Monday, I delivered the load in Omaha, then drove to Creston, IA, which is in the southwest corner. While I was waiting to be loaded, the MMM enjoyed a pleasant untethered stroll.
The MMM were happy for the opportunity to roll in the cool, green grass.
I was finished there at 1330 and drove to a Rest Area on I-74 in Illinois, where I took a break for the MMM. Before connecting with I-74, I had been traveling on mostly 2-lane roads with few good places to stop, most of which, I was past before I saw them. From there, I finished my day in Bloomington, IL. Of interest to M.A.S.H. fans, my travels today took me through the “home-towns” of 2 of the characters on that show: Ottumwa, IA, home of Radar O’ Reiley, and Bloomington, IL, home of Col. Henry Blake.
Tuesday, I traveled through all or part of 5 States: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Nothing of consequence happened. The scenery kept improving as I left the “heartland” and entered the more mountainous terrain of Kentucky and West Virginia. Although vital to the economy of America, the mid-west is boooring to drive through. I had to spend the night on an “exit ramp” because I ran out of hours about 50 miles before I could reach the truckstop at Cannonsburg, WV.
Today was a short day. I arrived in Elkton at noon and delivered the load. I recieved and accepted a Pre-Plan which had 2 shippers, one in Appomattox, VA and the other in Albemarle, NC. It delivered in Pueblo, CO. A good trip of about 1700 total miles. I left Elkton at 1330 and drove to Appomattox. The load doesn’t pick up until tomorrow AM. I was fortunate to find a parking spot in the miniscule truckstop here. I had mediocre Mexican food for dinner from a restaurant nearby. My usual Enchaladas, Beans, Rice and Chips & Salsa. I only drove about 300 miles today.
Thursday was a bit frustrating. I arrived at the first Shipper at the appointed time of 0730 (0930 local time). When I checked in, I was asked for a “load number” which I didn’t have. There were no numbers of any kind in my Dispatch. I called my DM. I was at first told that I didn’t need a pick-up number because it was a live load. I said that if that was the case, I would already be in the dock being loaded. Bottom line was that with the 3 hour time differential, it was over 2 hours before I recieved the number I needed and was loaded. The second pick-up was 200 miles away over secondary roads, or about 4 hours. Their pick-up time was before 1300 (1500 local). I was going to be late. I told my DM that it would be almost 1400 before I could be there and set off to do the best I could. I arrived in Albemarle a little before 1400. They were almost ready to leave, but decided, after a little cajoling, to go ahead and load me anyway. WHEW!!! It was embarrassing. The loading only took about 1/2 an hour. I was lucky. All of this could have been avoided if I would have been given the necessary information to DO MY #%&@ JOB in the first place. This happens far too often. I wish SOMEONE at Swift would “get a clue”. They need to change the format of the Dispatch Screen to include a place for a pick-up number, then make sure that it is filled in, when necessary. Maybe they could take a lesson from the Military and develop a Checklist (written at a 5th grade level) for the CSR to follow. This Checklist should include, but not be limited to, the following question, worded EXACTLY this way “When my driver arrives at your Office or Security Gate, what number will he/she need to pick up this load”. This would solve the problem, but of course, IT’LL NEVER HAPPEN. I would have “lost it” had I had been detained another day because of the lack of a pick-up number. Anyway, after I finally left there, I drove to Knoxville, TN where I stopped for the night because of that pesky 14-hour window thing.
Today went a little smoother. I traveled through all or part of 4 states. Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri. Before I left Knoxville, I filled up with fuel. Tennessee has comparitively low fuel prices, $2.789, and it took almost $600.00 to fill my tanks. Talk about “sticker shock”. The terrain throughout Tennessee is “hilly”. It is basically the same in Virginia, West Virginia, northeastern Kentucky and northwestern North Carolina. I stopped at a Rest Stop between Knoxville and Nashville and took these pictures. The pictures typify the terrain in much of the Southeast through which I have been driving for the last 3 days. At least it’s not flat.
I liked the looks of the RV in this picture although I can’t recall the make and model.
I ended my day in Marshall Junction, MO after driving 635 miles.
On Saturday the 13th, I finished the trip to Pueblo. I first drove to Kansas City, MO to top of my fuel at the flying J. Fuel was $2.719 there. Quite reasonable, comparatively. My truck was still 1/2 full, but as I travel farther west, the price is only going to increase, so I took advantage to the opportunity for “cheap” fuel. Seems like not too long ago, I commented on fuel being $1.999 in Oklahoma City. Ah, don’t you miss the “good ole days”. My next stop was Oakley, KS where I bade farewell to President Eisenhowers’ freeway system and began traveling on the back roads. I took US-40 west to US-287 south to CO-96 west to US-50 west to Pueblo. When I arrived, I made the delivery, then called it a night. I was out of hours until tomorrow having driven 10.75 hours and 669 miles today. Tomorrow, I only have 6.25 hours available, and none available for monday. The “all knowing” Planners found just the load for me. It picks up tomorrow at 1030 (conveniently allowing enough time for me to get the required 10 hours rest), and delivers tomorrow at 1930 in Albuquerque. After I accepted the load, I went “in search of” food. I settled on a steak at Texas Roadhouse. It was good. I had the New York steak with a Baked Potato and Green Beans. After filling up on the complimentry peanuts in the shell, there was no room for desert. I had to park my truck in the parking lot of a furniture store next door. They had statues of animals (which were incidently for sale).
Wolfie reacted as though they were alive and began barking at them, especially the “buffalo” directly in front of my truck. I took him out to investigate them. After that, he could not even be coaxed into reacting to them. After dinner I drove to Wally World and spent the night in their parking lot.
On Mother’s Day, I went to the Southwest Grill for breakfast. It was pretty crowded, but I sat at the counter so I didn’t have to wait for a table. The food is good here. Today, I had Sausage and Eggs and a Waffle. After breakfast, I picked up my load at the scheduled time and drove directly to Albuquerque. The trailer which I picked up was a special purpose 57′ trailer as opposed the normal 53′ trailer. These are typically used to haul light loads of high volume (plastic, styrofoam, etc). This load weighed a little over 30,000#, but neither State through which I would be traveling has a “bridge law”, so I was not concerned. They are illegal in many States. Not, however Colorado and New Mexico.
Swift paid 301 miles for the trip. The actual distance was 345 miles, driving on I-25 south to I-40 east to the customer. I would really like to know on what sort of “game trails” and “cow paths” i’d have to drive in order to get from Pueblo to Albuquerque in 301 miles. That could be interesting. I’d probably need to hire a guide and a lot of pack mules. I arrived in Albuquerque at about 1600 and delivered the load early. When all the “dust” settled, I found that I will have .25 hours available for tomorrow. That means basically that i’ll be taking tomorrow off. I’ll have a fresh 70-hours available when I return to work.
Life Day 21483: Omaha, O ma gosh
May 7, 2006 on 12:02 pm | In On The Road | No CommentsThis weeks travels took me over mostly familiar roads. I have already done BLOG postings for most of the areas covered, so there are few pictures.
I began my travels on May Day, or Uno De Mayo (the great “Day Without Illegal Immigrants” protest march). The only effects which I experienced were virtually non-existant traffic, and no lines in the truckstops which I frequented. I wish they would organize a “protest march” every time I travel through California.
Anyway, I accepted a Pre-Plan which picked up at our drop yard in Henderson, NV and delivered in Fremont, CA. I was more than ready to go after over 3 days off. After leaving the WWW, picking up the load in Henderson, then driving back to the TA truckstop for fuel, I departed Las Vegas at 1130. I drove to Bakersfield, CA where I took a 1/2 hour break to walk the MMM and make a sandwich (or 2). I didn’t make any of my usual stops in Bakersfield this time. I then drove to Gilroy, CA and stopped for the night. Fremont was just out of reach with the 11-hour driving restriction.
The next day was frustrating, but not physically arduous. I drove to the Consignee in Fremont. I arrived at 0930 for a 1000 appointment for a “live unload”. I was given a door immediately. The actual unloading was performed by ‘on-site lumpers’ which I hire, but who bill Swift directly, so there is no “out of pocket” expense to me. This is one of the ‘bennies’ of working for a large company. The bill was $180.00. While I was being unloaded, I recieved and, after consulting with my DM, accepted a load which picked up in Tracy, CA and delivered in Tacoma WA. The reason for the consultation with my DM is that this Customer is on my “Shit List”. I accepted the load with the proviso that in all probability, the delivery appointment would have to be re-scheduled. About a year ago, I had a miserable experience at this particular Customer. Also, the load was “planned to be late”. It was 791 paid miles, which equates to about 16 driving hours, plus two, 10 hour rest periods, for a total of 36 hours. The time between the pick up time of 1400 and the delivery time of 0200 on the 4th is 36 hours. However, this is a ‘live load’ so 1400 is the time you check in, not leave the Customer. This Customer has never to my knowledge and experience, loaded a load on-time. They are consistantly 3 to 4 hours behind schedule, and often, the loads are over-weight and have to be re-worked. This is the reason they are on my “list”. In the experience I referenced above, it took 19 hours from my appointment time until I had a “legal” load. Anyway, back to Fremont. It took longer to unload than expected (3.5 hours). This meant that I would be about 45 minutes late to pick-up the Tracy load. GREAT!! As mentioned above, it is bad enough when you arrive on-time for your appointment. Arriving late cannot be a ‘good thing’. I was not worried about being “dinged” for being late by Swift because I was in constant QualCom contact with my DM documenting everything once I discovered that I would be late. As professional as I am, even I can’t be in two places simultaniously, especially if they are 50 miles apart. I arrived in Tracy the predicted 45 minutes late. The Customer naturally put me at the back of the line for my tardiness. This was not unexpected. I was immediately given a door, but was last in line to be loaded. A record 4.5 hours later, I was loaded, and, wonder of wonders, was ‘legal’ on my weight. After fueling at our terminal in Lathrop, I drove to Dunnigan, CA where, due to the 14-hour constraints, I stopped for the night.
On Wednesday, I drove to Weed, CA. I took a 1/2 hour MMM break here. After that I drove to Canyonville, OR (Seven Feathers Casino). Here, I discovered that the delivery appointment had been changed to the 7th at 2330. My DM arranged for me to T-Call the load at our Troutdale, OR terminal. I arrived in Troutdale at 2130, did the T-Call and hooked to an empty trailer. I set my PTA for the next morning because I used up all of my 11-hours driving from Dunnigan.
On Thursday, the 4th, I recieved and accepted a Pre-Plan which picked up in Portland, OR and delivers in Omaha, NE next Monday. At 1100 I drove the 25 miles to the Shipper, did the drop/hook pick-up and drove back to Troutdale for fuel. At 1300, I began the trek to Omaha. At the Cascade Locks Port of Entry, I was pulled in for a Level 1 Inspection. This is the “full Monty”; both vehicles, bills of lading, permits, logbook, and licencing, etc. Having just stopped in Troutdale to catch everything up, I passed with no problems and was on my way in 1/2 an hour. I then continued to La Grande, OR where I took a short break. I drove from there to Ontario, OR where I took a 15-minute break to delineate the speed limit change between Oregon (55 mph) and Idaho (65 mph). I have previously commented on the reasons for this. After leaving Ontario, I drove to Twin Falls, ID where I stopped for the night. I arrived at 0015.
Friday took me over some ‘roads less traveled’. Instead of staying on I-84 east and going into Utah to connect with I-80 east, I opted to take I-86 east to I-15 south to US-30 east t0 I-80 east. I don’t often travel this route because despite how it appears on the Rand McNalley, it is actually 3 miles farther and on back roads to boot. I was feeling ‘touristy’ today however. On US-30, about 10 miles after going through Lava Hot Springs, I stopped at a View Area to give the MMM a break and take the following pictures.
I then drove on to Cokeville, WY. I had dinner here then drove to Rawlins, WY where I fueled. Finally fuel under $3.00 per gallon. I finished the day by driving to Hillsdale, WY.
I drove the rest of the way to Omaha on the 6th. I secured a good parking spot at the Sapp Bros. truckstop to wait. I did make one stop at Bosselman’s truckstop in Grand Island, NE to eat. I had Chop, Chop, Chop (3 breaded, boneless Pork Chops about 4 oz each). With that, I had a bowl of Potato Soup, Homefries, and Green Beans. I opted out of desert. I like to order this because I get to say “I want Chop, Chop, Chop; chop-chop”. Little minds, little pleasures.
Tomorrow I deliver this load. It has an open delivery window between 0500 and 1700. I’ll be able to re-start my 70-hour clock after 0600, so I’ll deliver shortly thereafter. I already have a Pre-Plan which picks up in Creston, IA and delivers in Elkton, VA. It is over 100 miles from Omaha to Creston and the pick-up window is between 0600 and 1300, so I can’t waste too much time. The Omaha load is a ‘live’ unload.
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