STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 21592: Languishing in the shop in Lewiston, ID

August 24, 2006 on 7:22 pm | In On The Road, Travelblogue |

I began the trip to Aurora, CO at 1100 on the 19th. I drove to the Idaho Visitor Center and Rest Area. I took a short break here because of the different speed limit in Idaho. It is a pleasant, serene place. The Salmon River runs along behind it. I took these pictures.

The community in the background of the left picture is Ontario, OR. From here, I drove to Eden, ID. I had dinner here, then drive to Brigham City, UT. I stopped here for the night because I found a parking place. The truckstops in and Ogden would have been full by this time.
On the 20th, I left Brigham City at 1130. I drove to Rawlins, WY where I fueled and had lunch. At 1715, I drove to the first customer in Denver, CO. I spent the night on the street outside their facility.
I had a moderate days driving on the 21st. I awoke at 0615, and had the MMM already walked before Recieving arrived. They started to unload me as soon as I was in position. It took a little more than an hour. I then drove to the final customer in Aurora. I had to wait until my appointment time of 0930 before they would unload me. It again took a little more than an hour. I then drove to our terminal in Denver to fuel and wait for a PrePlan. I recieved a Plan at 1300 which picked up in Brighton, CO and delivered in Hamilton, MT. I called the shipper and they said the load would be ready about 1600. I arrived in Brighton precisely at 1600, and true to their word, the load was ready. I did the drop/hook, but on my walk-around inspection, I found a leaking wheel seal. I drove back to the Denver terminal and had that repaired. I then drove to Evansville (Casper), WY where I stopped for the night. Pesky 14-hour rule. I still managed to drive about 330 miles.
On Tuesday, I only had a total of 9.5 hours available to drive, not enough to make it all the way to Hamilton. I left Evansville at 0830 and drove to Billings, MT. I took a lunch break here. I then drove to Rocker (Butte), MT where I fueled. My Air Conditioner stopped working between Billings and Rocker, so i’ll need to have that fixed before too long. After fueling, I decided to go use my remaining 3/4 hour to drive to a Rest Area at mm168. That’s 50 miles I won’t have to drive tomorrow.
On Wednesday, I left the Rest Area at 0630. I “guestimated” the travel time required to drive to Hamilton and arrive before the appointment time of 0900. I was pretty close. I arrived at 0845. I positioned the trailer and then went to breakfast at Perkins Restaurant and Bakery. They are a pretty good chain of Restaurants in the vane of Cocos or Marie Calendars. After breakfast, I walked the MMM again then settled in to wait for them to finish. About 1130, I was told to deadhead to our Terminal in Lewiston, ID. I left about noon. I drove over US-12 to get there (only after I arrived in Lewiston did I discover that this route was recently restricted for use by trucks). Swift routed me that way, so that’s the route I took. It is a beautiful drive. It parallels the Clearwater River for much of the way. I stopped about midway there at a Rest Area and took these pictures.

I saw no Harlies, but I did see a Gold Wing.

The MMM enjoyed a refreshing dip in the River.

There was even a little beach.
When I arrived in Lewiston about 1700, the sun was behind a big smoke cloud.

There were a couple of big fires just west of Spokane.
I decided to put my truck in the shop to fix the A/C and have a vibration in my front-end checked. I was also due for a PM Service. MORE SHOP TIME!!! WHEN WILL IT EVER END??? The answer is of course, the first part of November when I get my new truck. Anyway, after I checked in with the Service Desk, I was told to wait in my truck for the mechanic. I was amazed when he showed up 1/2 hour later. Usually it is a wait of 3 - 24 hours (occasionally more). The mechanic diagnosed the A/C problem as a damaged A/C Condenser (it had a hole in it) so all my Freon leaked out. Unfortunately, they didn’t have one in stock and would have to order it from Spokane. The vibration turned out to be an alignment problem. He did the alignment, then returned my truck to me so I could sleep in it. I went to Rusty’s Ranch Grill for dinner. It’s not much on aesthetics, but they serve a pretty good Chicken Fried Steak. Also, I was pleased to note on the menu that they served Buckwheat Pancakes. Now my breakfast decision for tomorrow AM is already made. After dinner, I drove back to the terminal, parked in front of the Service Bay, and kicked back until bed time.
On Thursday, at 0630, I took the MMM for their morning walk. By the time they were done, the mechanic was there to begin the PM Service. He found a loose shock absorber and some cracked brake shoes on the right steer axle. After he was done, I took the truck to the tire shop to have the steer tires rotated. Because of the mis-alignment, the left tire was wearing on the inside causing the vibration. Since i’m soon trading this Albatrose, I didn’t want to spend $800.00 on new Steer tires. The rotation will help with, but not solve, the vibration, but I can live with it for 2 more months. I then went back to Rusty’s for my Buckwheat Pancakes. After breakfast, I drove back to the terminal to wait until the A/C condenser arrives from Spokane. By this time, I had decided to take 34 hours off and re-start my 70 hours. The 34 hours will occur about 0215 tomorrow AM, so I just set my PTA for 0800. About 1400, the part came in, so they put my truck back into the shop. It took them about 2 hours to do all the work. Then it was “kick back” time again. I checked with the Planner and accepted a load which was pre-loaded, and could pick up anytime tomorrow. It picked up in Lewiston, ID and delivered in Ft. Worth, TX. Not a bad run, over 1800 miles. Then I just ‘vegged and geeked’ until about 2300, then went to bed.
On Friday, the 25th, I woke up about 0700 and walked the MMM. I found out that they were having a little Driver Appreciation Bar B Q, so I decided to wait until after lunch to pick up my load. Hey, free food is free food. I, of course, got a little extra for the MMM, which they enjoyed immensely. About noon, I drove over to the customer and picked up the load. The trailer had a few lights not working. I solved that problem by spreading the contacts on the ‘connector box’ with a screwdriver. Whenever, there are multiple lights inop on a trailer, this is usually the cause.
About 1215, I left Lewiston and drove to Caldwell, ID, just north of Boise. I had lunch, then drove to Twin Falls, ID. I took a 1/2 hour break here, then continued my journey. I drove to Salt Lake City, UT where I stopped for the night.
On Saturday, I left Salt lake at 1100 and drove to Green River, UT. I took a short break here, then drove to Gallup, NM. Another short break, then I drove to Albuquerque, NM where I stopped for the night.
On Sunday, I left Albuquerque at 0830 and drove to Amarillo, TX. After a lunch break, I drove to Wichita Falls, TX. I took a short break here to walk the MMM, then drove to the customer in Ft. Worth. I parked on the street and vegged until about 1030, then went to bed.
On Monday, the 28th, I decided to try to get a PrePlan before I delivered the load. There was an open delivery window until 1400. I got a load which picked up un Ardmore, OK and delivered in Reno, NV. Another good load, about 1700 miles, plus it has an open delivery window until Friday at midnight, so I’ll be able to take a couple of days off in Vegas. At 1230, I did the drop/hook delivery and left for Ardmore. It’s about a 2 hour drive. I did the drop/hook pick up, did the paperwork, then drove to Oklahoma City, OK. I fueled at our terminal there, then drove to the TA truckstop and had dinner. At 1830, I left OKC and drove to Amarillo, TX. I took a 15-minute MMM break here, then drove to Moriarity, NM (actually, 40 miles east, but this was an Native American Trading Post on I-40 at mm234, but there is no post office there, and the closest one is in Moriarity). Anyway, I arrived at 0215, right at the limit of my 14 hour window.
On Tuesday, I left the trading post at 1230, and drove to Albuquerque, NM. I took a short break here for the MMM. They can romp untethered at out terminal here.

The picture on the left shows a tree growing right through the chain-link fence. At 1415, I drove to Flagstaff, AZ. I took a short break here, then drove to Kingman, AZ. I fueled here, then, at 2245, I drove to Las Vegas, NV where I naturally stopped. It’s nice to be home for a couple of days.