STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 21688: Irked in Edwardsville

Sunday, November 26th:
I think i’m being stalked by geese. As I left Menasha, I saw these fowl lurking furtively at the gate of out terminal. They look suspiciously like the same geese I saw in Michigan. Coincidence, I think not. Maybe they have become too lazy to fly, and are looking for the opportunity to “stow away” on my trailer.

Anyway, I left Menasha at 0800 and drove to Amana Colonies, IA.  I took a lunch break here, then drove to our terminal in Edwardsville. After T-Calling this load, I was informed that the load I was to take to Las Vegas had been given to another driver. Having already driven 10 hours, I decided to just go to bed and deal with it in the morning.

Monday:
After trying vanely to find out why my load to Las Vegas was given to another driver, I decided to become obstinate. I sent a message to the Planners that I would only be accepting a load destined to Las Vegas. Needless to say, I sat for the rest of the day. The “method to my madness” was that I would be starting off tomorrow with a fresh 70 hours. About 1800, I left the terminal and drove to Cabela’s. They are similar to Bass Pro Shops, but I like them better. They have truck parking.


There’s those pesky geese again. Actually these are statues. They look realistic though. On the right is one of the displays inside the store. I won a $25.00 Gift Card in a drawing. Cool huh.
Nearby was a Famous Dave’s Bar B Q, so I went there for dinner. It was delicious. 

Tuesday:
About mid-day, I recieved a couple of “stacked PrePlans. The first was a local delivery picking up in Indepencance, Mo and delivering in Kansas City, MO. The second picked up in Kansas City MO and delivered in Kingman, AZ. Close enough. I accepted both and set off for Independance, after hooking to a specialty trailer (a shipping container). When I arrived, I found out that the load had already been picked up. Here we go again!! After a half an hour, I was told to take the container back to Edwardsville. I responded that when I arrived, I expected to have an empty trailer waiting for me. I was assigned an empty trailer (by number) before I arrived back at the terminal. I dropped the container and hooked to the assigned trailer. While doing my PreTrip inspection, I saw that I had a flat tire on my truck. I reported to the shop to get it repaired. 7 hours later, I finally got in. The mechanic said that the this was the “thinest tire he had ever tried to patch. I told him to go ahead and try, because I would be turning the truck in in a couple of weeks and didn’t want to buy a new one if I didn’t have to. The patch was succssful (so far). I then drove to the shipper in KC, MO. I was raining hard when I arrived so I decided to wait until the AM to pick up the load.

Life Day 21685: Migrating Toward Menasha

Thanksgiving:
Today will be a short day. I only have 5.25 hours available. I left Sayre at 0900. I drove to the TA truckstop in Harborcreek, PA. With nothing but time on my hands, I took a long break here for my Thanksgiving feast. About 1330 I went in to eat. They served it buffet style. I was pleased to find real carved turkey instead of that “processed turkey-like substance” that buffets often try to pass off as turkey. In addition, they had roast beef, ham, and stuffed chicken breasts. They had potatoes au gratin, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and steamed red potatoes, and of course stuffing and cranberry sauce. They also had the normal variety of vegetables, salads, etc including something I had never tried before; creamed green beans. They were OK, but I prefer creamed peas, or my delicious sour cream green beans. They had pumpkin pie and apple pie for desert. Drat, no mincemeat, but the apple was pretty good. I don’t eat pumpkin.  I ate for a solid hour. About 1530, I left (before the tryptophan stupor set in) and drove to the Middle Ridge Service Plaza on the Ohio Turnpike where I ran out of hours. It was like a ‘ghost town’. Not that I cared, but the only restaurant open was Burger King

Friday, Nov 24th:
I arose with the sun, or what would have been sun if it weren’t foggy. Although it doesn’t look like it, this, and it’s companion Plaza (Vermillion Valley) directly across the turnpike, are the best Service Plazas on any Turnpike. They provide free showers for truckers and have both a smoking and non-smoking TV lounge.

I took advantage of the shower and had breakfast at the Panera Sandwich Shop before leaving. I drove directly to the consignee in Livonia, MI. It was a live unload, so I spotted my trailer, and settled in. It took about an hour to be unloaded. During my wait, I recieved and accepted a load which picked up in Napoleon, OH and delivered in Tomah, WI. Before I left, I snapped these pictures of a few geese taking a break on their trek south.

About noon, I drove to the shipper Napoleon. I stopped en route for fuel and lunch at the TA truckstop in Monroe, MI. I arrived in Napoleon at 1600, and did the drop/hook pick up. I then drove to Gary, IN where my 14-hour clock ran out.

Saturday:
I left Gary at 0800 and drove to the consignee in Tomah. This was a drop/hook delivery, so it went quickly, but I had to wait an hour for a PrePlan. It picked up in Green Bay, WI and delivered in Laredo, TX, but I was scheduled to T-Call it at our terminal in Edwardsville, KS and pick up a load there going to Las Vegas (another “stacked” PrePlan). At 1600, I left Tomah and drove to Green Bay. I did the drop/hook pick up and then drove to our terminal in Menasha, WI for fuel. After I fueled, I decided to just stay here for the night. 

Life Day 21682: Navigating to NL, NY

Thursday, Nov 16th:
I arrived at the shipper at 0930. I backed into the dock and was soon loaded. It took about an hour. At 1100, I departed and drove to Barstow. I took a short break hare for the MMM, then was off to Kingman, AZ. I had dinner here, then completed my day by driving to Bellemont, AZ (just west of Flagstaff). I drove about 580 miles and logged 11 hours driving.

Friday:
I left Bellemont about noon and drove to our terminal in Albuquerque, NM for fuel and an MMM break. I then drove to Logan, NM for another short break, then on to Guymon, OK where I stopped for the night. I drove a bit over 670 miles in 10.75 hours.

Saturday:
I left Guymon at 1100 and drove to newton, KS. I had dinner here and walked the MMM. I then drove to Warrenton, MO where I stopped for the night. I drove about 630 miles in 10 1/2 hours.

Sunday:
After fueling, the last “cheap” fuel i’ll see for a while, I drove to Spiceland, IN. It was a pretty long stretch (6.25 hours). I had dinner and a nice long break here. I then completed my day by driving to Columbus, OH. I only drove about 470 miles today in 8.75 hours. It is supposed to be a “day of rest” after all.

Monday:
I left Columbus at 1000 and drove to Austintown, OH. I had a pretty good lunch/dinner at a steakhouse here. I had Pork Chops, Macaroni and Cheese, Green Beans and Applesause. It was a nice change from truckstop fare. At 1530 I drove to Milesburg, PA where I took another nice break for the MMM and a snack. I finished my day by driving to Avoca (Wilkes Barre), PA. Again, I covered only about 480 miles in 8.75 hours. I won’t be able to deliver this load until Wednesday anyway, so no sense being in a rush.

Tuesday:
With only 5.5 total hours available today, I left Avoca at about noon. I drove to Watertown, NY. I did a quick re-assesment of my available hours and figured out that I could make it to North Lawrence, but would not have the hours available to deliver the load until tomorrow, just as I suspected. At 1830, I left Watertown and drove to the customer in North Lawrence. Fortunately, I was able to spend the night at the customer because the nearest place to stop other than that was a parking area about 30 miles back. I hate to backtrack.

Wednesday, the 22nd:
After being unloaded this AM, I settled in to wait for a load. This being the day before Thanksgiving, I don’t expect much. A little after noon, I recieved and accepted a load which picked up in Plattsburg, NY and delivered in Grove City (Cleveland), OH. I left at 1230 and drove “over the river and through the woods”, but did not arrive at Grandma’s house. Instead, I arrived at the Shipper. I also arrived too late to pick up the load. The Dispatch said that I could pick up until 1400 (1600 eastern). What with traffic and low speed limits in the plethera of small towns on my route, I was only able to average about 40 mph, thus I was a half hour late. The dispatch said it was 76 miles, but it was actually 87 miles. I contacted the Planners and remarkably, within 15 minutes, had another load. This one picked up in Rotterdam, NY and delivered in Livonia (Detroit), MI. At 1500, I set off for Rotterdam. I stopped in Wilton, NY for fuel and dinner (no time limit on picking up this load). I had a pretty good Shepards Pie, a bowl of Italian Wedding Soup, and a piece of Apple Pie for desert. At 1815, I drove to the shipper in Rotterdam, did the drop/hook and was underway again by 2000. I then drove to Sayre, PA where I ran out of hours for the day (I only had 8.25 total to start with). I drove just under 410 miles. A unique bit of travel trivia. I exited the freeway (NY-17) in New York, but when I arrived at the truckstop just across the highway, I was in Pennsylvania. Wierd. 

Life Day 21675: Fresno Fall Through

Tuesday Nov 14th:
I left early for Fresno. I recieved and accepted the PrePlan yesterday. I drove to Barstow an took a long break there. I then drove directly to the consignee. Recieving was closed for the day when I arrived, so I retreated to a truckstop nearby and settled in.

Wednesday:
I arose early and drove back to the customer. I was first in line when they opened at 0700, so I immediately got a door assignment. About halfway through the unload, I heard a cracking sound as the forklift driver was backing out of my trailer. After he cleared the trailer, I went in to investigate. I found a 12 inch hole on the floor of the trailer, directly behind a recently patched section.

This was a load of newsprint paper (6000+ lb rolls). That weight, plus the 12000 lb forklift, the age of the trailer, and the weak spot caused by the recent repair were the cause. The forklift operator completed the unload (very carefully) by straddling the weak spot, without further incident. However, my day was pretty much shot as it turned out. After contacting the Claims Department, I was told to take the trailer to our terminal in Lathrop, CA, 120 miles away, for repair. After arriving and dropping the trailer, I went looking for an empty. Just before all this happened I had accepted a really nice PrePlan from Fresno to Jacksonville, FL. Naturally, there were no empties available, so I lost that load. Much later in the day, I accepted another PrePlan from Fresno to North Lawrence, NY. About 1800, they finally sent me directions to a customer that had an empty trailer. I picked up the empty and then drove back to Fresno.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Today, Monday Nov. 13th, after breakfast at the Wild Wild West, Brother Donald, Lou, yours truly, and the MMM set off for Red Rocks National Conservation Area, elevation about 3700 ft., just east of Las Vegas. It is known locally as “Red Rocks”, although most of the rocks aren’t red.

Our first stop inside the Conservation Area was Red Springs. There wasn’t much water, but there was evidence of it being there sometime during the year.

The picture above right is of some “water color” rocks.
The MMM had a couple of untethered “romps” during the trip which they enjoyed immensely.

Our next stop was the Visitor Center. 

On the left, Don and Lou posed for the obligatory snapshot. On the right, a “ring-tailed” lizard hops a ride atop a Chuckwalla in their cage inside the Visitor Center.
Below left is a Barrel Cactus on the grounds at the Visitor Center. On the right is a view of the rocks behind the Visitor Center.

From the Visitor Center, we went began the driving tour, a 13 mile loop. We stopped briefly at most of the trailheads along the drive. At the High Point Overlook, I took these pictures

The MMM were happy to see us return, at least Walter was. Wolfie seems “miffed” that we didn’t take him along.

We then went to White Rock where we saw some Pictographs. There are many Petroglyphs and Pictographs along the trails.
Our next stop was Willow Springs Picnic Area. It took some doing, but we eventually located the spring.

We made a couple of extracirrucular stops. The first was to note the remnants of a recent fire. The second was for a Wild Burro who had wandered onto the highway to “mooch” food from the tourists.

Our Final stop of the day was at Red Rock Overlook.

A good time was had by all.