STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 22295: Corinne Connection

YEA!! I am now able, finally, to get a good connection here in Corinne. I upgraded to a new USB modem, the Ovation U727, for Sprint Wireless. The difference is awe-inspiring. I can even get online inside our metal building out here in the hinterlands. Technology is now wonderful again.

Now to bring you up to date on my wanderings since my Birthday. I returned to Corinne from San Bernardino on the 17th. I had enough time remaining on the 17th to do a short run to Riverdale, UT and Rock Springs, WY. It went well. Next I did a load to Orem and Cedar City, UT. On the 20th and 21st, I took a load to Helena and Havre, MT. On the 22nd I went to Riverton and American Fork, UT. On the 23rd, I did a load to Salt Lake City and Saint George, UT. On the 24th, all I did was a 3 stop local run to Layton, Salt Lake City, and Provo, UT. I stopped short in Salt lake City and slept on my return from Provo. On the 25th, I wiled away the hours waiting for a PrePlan. In the interim, I bought my new, above mentioned “toy”. I didn’t get a chance to really use it until today,  because as soon as I bought it and got it set up, I got a PrePlan for a local run to Harrisville, UT. By the time I was finished with that, and after taking a shower and having dinner, it was time for bed. This morning, I got my requested PrePlan to the “home port”, (Las Vegas). I’ll leave with it about 1100. After I deliver it this evening, I’ll head for the WWW for some R&R.

Life Day 22284: Smoldering in San Burdue

I have some time to kill this morning. My load won’t be ready until noon. I have been sitting outside the shipper since about 1945 last night, except for a run to Popeye’s Chicken for dinner. I had to drive to the dinky, dingy little truck stop here in San Burdue to park, then walk about 1/2 a mile to get there. I then returned to the street outside the Shipper to park for the night because the dinky, dingy little truck stop actually has the audacity to charge for parking. The load, according to the Planner in Corinne, was supposed to be pre-loaded, so I drove in here last night from Vegas to pick it up. Instead, it is a live-load at noon. I checked with the shipping clerk again a while ago, and he said that they might be able to get me in around 1000, but offered no guarantee.

I took this load because I was feeling a bit guilty. It is actually a back-haul added to the load I took to Vegas. I don’t like these loads because they are heavy (45,000+ lbs) and the eat up way too much of my 5.00+ per gallon fuel. I took an extra day off (Monday) after my birthday because I couldn’t motivate myself to go to work. I was just preparing to leave for Corinne yesterday, when the Planner called me and asked if I would do this thing.

Fortunately, it is not yet unbearably hot here, but in the Inland Empire, that will change soon. By noon, it will be approaching 100 degrees. With California’s ridiculous new anti-idle law, it will become unbearable then.

Life Day 22281: Lazing around La Quinta

Today, I’m just kickin’ back on my birthday. I’m staying at the La Quinta on Tropicana Ave, just hangin’ with the MMM. Mostly just geeking on the computer, and doing laundry. I don’t know why some people want to party on their b’day. It should be a time for relaxation and reflection, especially at my age.
With todays high prices, I was wondering how much it cost to live when I was born in 1947 . I found a site called The People History. I discovered that the average wage earner made about $2850 per annum. The price of a house was $6600, the average price of a new car was $1300, a loaf of bread averaged $.13, gasoline averaged $.15 a gallon, and a postage stamp cost $.03. Quite a bit different today wouldn’t you say. Also, in 1947, India received it’s independence from Great Britain; the Cold War with the Soviet Union began; Jackie Robinson became the first black player in Major League Baseball; the United States Air Force became a separate branch of the military from the Army; and the transistor, the mobile phone, the frisbee and the slinky were invented. On the lighter side, no link between the UFO landing earlier in the month of July, in Roswell, NM and my birth has ever been proven. ;=}

I finished off my birthday with a nice dinner. I went to Diamond Chinese Restaurant. It is located about 2 miles from the WWW on Dean Martin Blvd (formerly Industrial). It was not as good as Bill Lee’s (few are), but it was satisfactory, in fact, the most satisfactory i’ve found in Vegas to date (the search shall continue). I had Fried Shrimp, Pork Egg Foo Young, and Pork Fried Rice, most of which is in my refrigerator for another meal. I had Oolong tea as an accompaniment. I had desert earlier at the bar in the WWW when the bar maid brought out a huge piece of Double Chocolate Cake as a b’day present. You can’t go wrong with Chocolate, at least not in my book.

Life Day 22280: Wilted in “Lost Wages”

Once again, it’s been a while, since I last made a post to this BLOG. Lethargy is the primary reason.

When last I posted, I was just about to leave Salt Lake City for Los Lunas, NM. My load was ready about 1400, and off I went. I survived traveling across the “Devil’s Highway” yet again, and arrived in Los Lunas about 0300 on the 27th. After dropping my trailer, and taking the K9 kids for a walk, I went to bed. I was up again around 0900, with a PTA of 1300. I checked in with the Planner. He was under the mistaken impression that I was going to work out of there (Los Lunas) for the rest of the weekend. I politely explained to him that I was going directly back to Corinne. I finally received a Preplan, which was a load with a stop in Albuquerque, then Durango, CO. The load was finally ready about 2000. I spent the intervening time hanging out at the Walmart store about 2 miles from the terminal. It was for the sake of the MMM. There was no place to walk them in the terminal that wasn’t covered with stickers (the old goat-heads of my youth) or other assorted thorn-bearing flora. I had lunch at a Chili’s across the highway. I was thinking about Enchiladas with beans and rice, but I couldn’t find it on the menu. The only thing that was “Mexican” on the menu was Fajitas and Nachos. I forget what I settled for, but it was good. I know it included Potato soup. Anyway, I made the first delivery barely on time. It was a “noise ordinance” store, meaning that they can’t unload between the hours of 2100 and 0700. The second stop in Durango went off without a hitch. I arrived there a little before 0200. When I was unloaded there, I was free to proceed back to Corinne at my leisure. On US-191, I stopped at Wilson Arch for a picture or 2, or 3.

I then drove to that nice, peaceful little Rest Area about 10 miles farther north (about 15 miles south of Moab).

I decided to take my 10 hour break here. When I got back to Corinne, I did a local run to finish the day.

On the 30th, I did a load to Vegas for a few days off. I returned on the 3rd of July.

On the 4th, I took a 3 stop load to Billings, MT. I didn’t get to see many fireworks, but I did see a few from a distance as I was driving there. On the return trip on the 5th, I stopped at a rest area on US-287 about mm-18. It was adjacent to the Madison River. After letting the K9 kids wet their paws, I took a few pictures.

About 10 miles farther south, I came across a field of wild flowers that I couldn’t resist.

After my return from Billings, I did a few local runs coupled with a few loads to Las Vegas until I arrived here in Vegas for my current home stand on the 11th.
Saturday, the 12th, has to be the most miserable I’ve been in quite some time. It started right after midnight. After I did the delivery the evening of the 11th, I went to the Wild, Wild, West as usual. It was raining when I left the casino a little after midnight, so I got wet walking back to the truck. The air-conditioning was blasting to keep the MMM comfortable, and I got cold, so I turned it off. I took the MMM for a walk, and kicked back for a while. About an hour later the rain had stopped, and I had dried off, so I turned the A/C back on. It blew only hot air!!! Big Time Bummer. I drove to the TA truck stop because they have a shop there. Naturally, the A/C technician wasn’t scheduled until 0830. I found a parking place and tried to sleep, but to no avail. It was just too *&# hot. Anyway, to make a long story short, I was awake all night. My computer, more accurately, Zone Alarm wouldn’t let me go online. So, I sat there playing solitaire and cribbage until he arrived. The problem turned out to be low Freon and a clogged cab air filter. It took until about noon to get me back on the road. I returned to the WWW, but by this time, sleep was impossible. I have a hard time sleeping when the sun is shining. A “techie’s techie” at Sprint finally figured out why I couldn’t get online. Zone Alarm is sometimes too good. About 1000, I went into the casino to eat. I sat at the bar as usual and had a 1/2 lb bacon cheeseburger. That’s a heart-attack on a bun, but it sure is good. I finally went to bed a little after midnight.