STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 22408: Bored in Bishop

November 18, 2008 on 10:39 am | In On The Road |

Not much to relate regarding travel this time.

On the 11th, I drove to Windsor and made the pick up uneventfully. I then drove to Salt Lake City with stops in Rawlins and Little America, WY along the way for the MMM and munchies. It was a bit windy going through Wyoming (how odd) but the roads were dry so there was no real problem. I hit a teensy bit of “fluffy rain” on the top of the mountain around the Lincoln Statue between Cheyenne and Laramie.

I made the delivery on the 12th at 0800. It took about an hour. I then went to the terminal to wait for my next load. I had a request in for some ‘home time’. About 1400, I accepted a load from Clearfield to Flagstaff, AZ. After I picked it up, I drove to Scipio, UT. I had dinner there and walked the K9 kids. I then drove to Page, AZ where I stopped for the night. My 14 hours was expended. Actually, it was a wide spot in the road just past the Glen Canyon Dam, but Page is a mile away.

On the 13th, I drove to Flagstaff and delivered the load. It was a drop/hook delivery, and the customer didn’t have any empty trailers available. After a while, I was ‘deadheaded’ to Phoenix. I received a load to North Las Vegas, but it was still en route from Laredo. By the time it finally arrived about 2030, it was too late for me to go anywhere. That pesky 14 hour window.

On the 14th, I left Phoenix at 0800. I drove to Kingman, AZ for a break and lunch. I then drove to NLV and made the delivery, arriving about 1400. It took about an hour. After that I drove to the WWW and settled in. I was surprised to find a good parking spot there so late on a Friday afternoon.

The 15th and 16th were basically spent working in my storage shed sorting through the mess left by the thieves. They just dumped boxes out on the floor. I hauled out about 6 ‘lawn and leaf’ size trash bags full of trash just to clear a path to get started. Then I started sorting through my clothes. I have 3 different piles. Pile #1 is stuff that is still in good condition and that I’m going to keep. Pile #2 is stuff in need of repair (ripped or stained). It will probably be thrown away. Pile #3 is stuff that no longer fits (amazing how clothes ’shrink’ the longer they sit). This pile also includes clothes in the “what was I thinking when I bought that” category. There are more clothes in this category than I like to admit. On Saturday evening, the WWW rewarded it’s VIP’s with a complementary dinner. I selected the Filet Mignon. The other option was Chicken Marseilles. The meal also included French Onion Soup, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans Almondine, and a tasty Bread Pudding with Raisin Sauce for desert. It was delicious, and the price was right. On Sunday evening, I rewarded my efforts with dinner at the Haufbrau Haus restaurant.

Yesterday, Monday the 17th, I was deadheaded with my empty trailer to our terminal in Fontana, CA. Along the way, I received a PrePlan to Sparks, NV that picked up in Mira Loma, CA. After fueling in Fontana, I called the customer and found that my load was ready even though it wasn’t scheduled for pick up until this morning. I drove to the customer, picked up the load, and set off for Sparks. I ran out of hours (the 14) here in Bishop. I stopped once in Pearsonville to walk the MMM.

Today, I’ll finish this load in Sparks (it’s just a drop/hook). My plan is to stay close to home so I can get to Palo Alto for Thanksgiving. So far, so good.