STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 22506: Yammering from Yakima

I am currently sitting at the Gearjammer truck stop in Yakima, WA. Up until this morning, this outing had been the exact opposite of the one prior. I had been moving constantly since leaving Las Vegas on Friday evening.
I will now chronicle the events which got me to this point.

Sunday, Feb 15th: I spent the day, still in Salt Lake City, lounging and geeking. I ate in my truck, so I didn’t even leave those environs save for exercising the MMM a few times. The weather was overcast and it was cold enough to snow, but it never did.

Monday, the 16th: I delivered my load, and that was about it. I spent another boring day at the Sapp Brother’s truck stop after my 1030 delivery. The weather warmed up slightly, and the clouds were gone.

Tuesday, the 17th: About mid-day, I received a PrePlan which was a ‘live load’ at 1600. It picked up a few miles away in SLC, and was scheduled to deliver in Rialto, CA. I requested to have it T-called at our terminal in North Las Vegas, NV so I could take a couple of days at home. The request was granted. I drove over to the shipper a couple of hours early to see if I could get a head start, but to no avail. I was loaded at 1600. It went quickly, and I was on the road at 1700. I drove to the MMM’s favorite Rest Area on I-15 in Utah at mm-88. I exercised them, then we had sandwiches for a snack. I continued the trek to NLV.

Wednesday, the 18th: I arrived at the Drop Yard at about 0030 and dropped the load. I then drove to the WWW and began my home time. After a few hours sleep, I connected with Don and Lou, who were hovering at the Sunset Station Casino. I have never visited there, so I drove my truck over and met up with them. We went to the breakfast buffet, and ate too much, at least I did. It was excellent, as most Station Buffets usually are. After breakfast, we walked across the street to the Galleria Mall to explore. We then went our separate ways, arranging to meet later for dinner. I wanted to purge a lot of the junk I have accumulated inside my truck, so I drove to my storage shed. I spent the entire afternoon sorting and cleaning as I purged the clutter from my truck. I quit at about 1600, still with a couple of inside compartments remaining to purge (I tend to be a pack-rat). I arrived back at the Sunset a little after 1700. We had dinner at the nearby Sweet Tomatoes restaurant. It really hit the spot; lighter fare after the enormous breakfast. After dinner, I drove back to the WWW and started in on those remaining two compartments. About 2300, I put everything back together enough to go to sleep in my truck.

Thursday, the 19th: I met Don & Lou at the RV for a Nationally famous (or infamous) Don McMuffin. After this sumptuous delicacy, we drove over to Ethel M’s Chocolate Factory and toured there for a while. I left a little before noon so I could get the MMM to their grooming appointment at 1230. I then finished de-cluttering the truck. I went much easier without the ever curious MMM underfoot. They were finished about 1600. I went to pick them, then drove over to the Sunset and connected with Don and Lou for dinner. We went to the Guadalajara Bar and Grille inside the Sunset Casino for dinner. It was excellent. I’ll be returning there whenever I’m in the mood for Mexican. After dinner, we visited in the RV for a while and arranged to meet for breakfast at the WWW in the morning.

Friday, the 20th: Now, we get to the nitty gritty of this post. Don and Lou arrived about 0830 from the Sunset. We had breakfast, then they used my room for a shower before I checked out. We went our separate ways after that. I received a PrePlan shortly thereafter. It picked up in Henderson, NV and delivered in Fontana, CA. It was supposed to pick up at 1700, but I arrived 1½ hours early, and was immediately assigned a door. I was loaded and en route by 1845. I drove to Baker, CA where I had dinner at Arby’s. I then finished my trip to Fontana, parking for the night at the customer.

Saturday, the 21st: I was unloaded as soon as they arrived, and after being unloaded, I settled in to wait for my next load. Amazingly (for a weekend day in LA), I didn’t have to wait long. I received a PrePlan which picked up in Mira Loma, CA and delivered in Hermiston, OR. I picked up the load, and drove to our terminal in Mira Loma for fuel. I was on the road by noon. I stopped in Hesparia, CA at the pilot truck stop for a Wendy’s lunch. I then drove to Independence, CA. I took a short break here, then drove to Lovelock, NV where the 14 hour rule stopped me for the night.

Sunday, the 22nd: I was on the road by 0930, the earliest I could legally move. I drove to Winnemucca, NV. Here, I visited the local “Wally World” to replenish my stock of consumables. About noon, I drove to Ontario, OR where I stopped for fuel and lunch. I then drove to Stanfield, OR where I stopped for the night. I am about 5 miles from the consignee, but I still need a drop number before I can deliver.

Monday, the 23rd: Today was a frustrating day. Earlier today,  I was in Stanfield, OR waiting for the CSR to send me a drop number so I could do the drop/hook delivery on the load from Mira Loma. I received a really nice PrePlan which picked up in Kennewick, WA and delivered right back in Mira Loma, CA, but due to the laissz faire attitude of the CSR, they pulled the plan from me as time elapsed and I still didn’t have the required drop number. About 2 hours after making the delivery, I did receive another PrePlan which picks up here in Yakima, WA and delivers in Laredo, TX. However, it doesn’t pick up until 0900 tomorrow morning. I drove here to the Gearjammer and fueled, then found a nice parking place. It is raining and the temperature is hovering around 38º. There is an Outback Steakhouse about 50 yards from the truck stop, so  the MMM and I will dine well tonight.

Ethel M’s Chocolate Factory and Cactus Garden

Ethel M’s Chocolate Factory is located about 2 miles west from the Sunset Station Casino, just off Sunset Blvd. The “M” in the name stands for Mars (as in M&M’s), the Ethel is Mr. Mars’ mother’s name.  It is an interesting place. They are “way too proud” of their chocolate, meaning, of course, that it is too expensive. Don, Lou, and I took the self-guided tour, then we learned more about the process by “joining up” with a couple of the guided tours.

The pictures above show some of the equipment used in the manufacturing process.

The pictures above center and right are chocolate sculptures. Above left is a picture of some of their specialty boxes.
After about 45 minutes “touring the factory, we walked through their cactus garden.

Above left is a Century Plant about to Bloom, center is a Prickly Pear Cactus in bloom, right is Teddy Bear Cactus.

Above left is a Sumac Tree, center is a Trans Pecos Yucca, right are Golden Barrel Cactus.

Above left is a Texas Prickly Pear Cactus, center is Purple Pancake Cactus, right is a Red Barrel Cactus.

Above left  is a Baja Cholla, center is an “Old Man of the Andes” cactus, right is Autumn Sage.
I enjoyed the cactus garden much more than the actual factory, but then I’ve always found desert flora and fauna interesting. It was worth the couple of hours we spent there, especially since it was FREE. Free, that is, except for the over-priced candy bars I purchased for everyone.

Life Day 22477: Quartzsite Quickie

Saturday, the 24^th :  Today, I woke up with a PrePlan on my QualCom. That is good news, bad news, good news. The good news is that I received a PrePlan at all. The bad news is that it doesn’t pick up until 0400 on Monday. The other good news is that it offers the opportunity to take a “day trip“  to Quartzsite to visit brother Donald and family.
On a ‘picture perfect’ day, I left Las Vegas at 1030 after checking with Donald to ensure that they would be there when I arrived. As I was approaching the US-93/95 split near Boulder City, I realized that I was driving my car, so I could actually drive over Hoover Dam, so I altered my planned route and took US-93. It has been restricted for trucks since 9/11. My first stop was at the Lake Mead Overlook, just before you drive over the Dam. I took these pictures there.

The Marina (above left) has been moved three times is as many years due to the decreasing water level in the lake. The Chipmunk (above right) is waiting for his ‘treat’. A man was feeding peanuts to all (furry critters) who showed up. The Chipmunks would grab their ‘goodie’, scamper off to bury it, then return for another. I was using two different cameras today taking duplicate pictures. The pictures of Lake Mead above were taken with my Nikon D-40 with a Tamron XR DiII 18-200mm zoom lens. The Chipmunk picture was taken with my little Kodak Easy Share Z712IS. It just happened to be the better picture, in my opinion. The Chipmunk picture taken with the D-40 was a little “fuzzy”. With the D-40 with the Tamron lens, you have to be VERY CAREFUL with the focus.
Anyway, I’m rambling. After I left the Overlook, I drove across the Dam and stopped in the first pull-out I encountered. I took these pictures there.

The new by-pass bridge (above left) is progressing nicely. The picture in the middle is Hoover Dam. On the right are the origins of Lake Mead. All of the pictures in the sequence above were taken with my Kodak.
About half a mile farther along, I came across the “real, official” Boulder Dam Overlook, so I stopped there as well. Had I known of its existence, I wouldn’t have bothered with my previous stop. In fact, if you look at the left or center picture below, you can see the parking area (middle right in either picture) from where I took the sequence of pictures above.

This is a good opportunity to illustrate why I often use two cameras. The picture on the left in the sequence above, is a ‘wide-angle’ shot of Hoover Dam taken with my Nikon. The picture in the center is the same ‘wide-angle’ shot taken from basically the same place with my Kodak. Notice that the “Nikon” picture encompasses a much wider periphery, due to the 18mm lens than the “Kodak” picture with it’s 24mm lens. The picture on the right is just a telephoto of the rocks around the Dam taken with my Nikon.
After this photographic extravaganza, I left Hoover Dam. About 15 miles farther down the highway, I stopped at a “View Area” overlooking the Willow Springs Campground on the Colorado River.

Despite signs forbidding it, a Native American woman was selling her wares in the View Area. I took these pictures with the Kodak.
After spending a few minutes at the View Area, I drove on to Lake Havasu City, AZ, home of the London Bridge. The Chamber of Commerce here must be brain dead. There is not one sign directing travelers to the London Bridge. I spent the better part of an hour before I finally found it. I almost gave up in disgust, but persevered until, at long last, I happened to stumble upon it. It became my own personal quest for the “Holy Grail”.

I took the Panorama picture above with the Nikon. Be sure to click on it for the full effect.
Upon arrival at the bridge, I parked in a lot and walked across. I took these pictures with the Kodak along the way.


While I was walking across the bridge, I spotted the location from where I took the pictures below. In fact, I took them from the little beach area in the picture above, lower right.


The first two pictures in the top row above again illustrate the difference between the lenses on the two cameras. The picture top left was taken using the Nikon; top center with the Kodak. The pictures in the bottom row, above, show some ducks enjoying the nice, sunny day.
After wasting way too much time in Lake Havasu City, I drove directly to Quartzsite. I was going to stop and visit Parker Dam as well, but time was getting tight. Blame the Lake Havasu City Chamber of Commerce for my not having enough time to stop at Parker Dam. I arrived in Quartzsite right at sunset, a little after 1700. I met Donald and family at their campground. After a quick walk for the MMM, we went to dinner, or at least we intended to. Dinner turned out to be a genuine, Grade-A, industrial strength, fiasco.Their first choice of restaurant was the Mountain Quail Cafe. Business was booming there and we arrived too late. They were no longer seating anyone. Their next choice was Sweet Darlene’s. The restaurant wasn’t all that busy, but it took the waitress a half hour to get around to taking our order. In fact, she left in the middle of taking our order to go take some food to another table. We waited another hour after the waitress took our order, and we still not only didn’t have dinner, we didn’t even have our salads. We decided to leave and eat at the RV. Lou made some corned beef sandwiches with horseradish cheese (really tasty), potato chips, and some Ranch Style beans. For desert, we had an apple pie which I had purchased at Sweet Darlene’s (before we found out having dinner there would be a career). We had a nice visit during dinner. I left at about 2130 to go back to Vegas.
I routed myself back to Vegas via Bullhead City, NV and Laughlin, NV. I stopped at the Riverside Casio parking lot, which is on the Bullhead City side of the Colorado River (they have a boat which shuttles people across the river to the Casino).
Be sure to click on the panorama above for the full effect.


It took a little hiking along the river in the dark, but I think the pictures came out well. The pictures will be self explanatory once you click on the small image. The picture lower right is of the (above mentioned) shuttle boat. All were taken with the Nikon, which excels at low light photography. The ones taken with the Kodak were not Blogworthy.
When I finished in Laughlin, I drove back to Vegas and the WWW finally arriving about 0200. A long day, but it was worth it. The MMM and I had fun.

Life Day 22447: Christmas Chronicle

I’m taking advantage of some “down time” away from the family this morning to do an update. Lou & Dawn have gone “thrifting” (big surprise), and Don is at the RV geeking. There is not much to update work wise, but a lot of family stuff.

Tuesday, the 23rd. I was up before the roosters today. I left Fontana at 0500. I allowed myself 2 hours to drive the 60 odd miles to the consignee in Rancho Dominguez (Compton). My appointment was at 0700. Unbelievably, traffic was light. I arrived 45 minutes early and had to wait around for them to open. The unloading went well and quickly. I settled in at the back of their lot to wait. About 1000, I decided to take a chance and drive to the Shipper in South Gate. The Dispatch said that the load wouldn’t be ready until midnight (it is a drop/hook load). I tried a couple of times to call and ascertain if the load would be ready early, but all I got was that intolerable nuisance; voice mail. Again, amazingly, traffic was light. It took only 15 minutes to drive the 11 miles. When I checked in with Shipping I found that the load was indeed ready. It had just left the dock. Good timing. I did the drop/hook, caught up on my paperwork, and left South Gate at about 1130. I drove to the Pilot truck stop in Hesparia, CA. Swift has a deal now with Pilot and Love’s truck stops anywhere in the country where we can take our trip-packs, bills, and ‘logs’ in and have them “scanned”. This is in order to facilitate more prompt payment. Good for Swift, and good for we drivers as well. Anyway, I decided to give it a try. It worked like a charm. The whole process took literally seconds. I ate a small lunch, and set off for Vegas. I arrived around 1600. Don and family arrive shortly thereafter from Bakersfield. We met up at the WWW and went to Black Bear Diner for dinner. It was yummy as usual. Lou and Dawn shared an immense Cobb Salad. Don and I had Chicken Fried Steak. Don had the “normal” sized meal, but I opted for basically a senior sized portion. The only difference between the two meals is that the senior sized steak a bit smaller. You still get two side dishes and soup or salad. It was just enough for me. After dinner, we returned to the WWW. They were intending to stay there (the WWW) in the RV for the night, but the noise and work lights from the construction going on in the WWW lot drove them over to the Orleans Casino.

Wednesday. I drove over to the Orleans for a pancake and smoked sausage breakfast in the RV. After breakfast, they went shopping and exploring, and I returned to the WWW. I just kicked back for most of the afternoon. For dinner, we met back at the Orleans. We decided to eat in the food court there. I had a Fuddruckers ½ lb Bacon Cheese Burger and Steak Fries (I skipped lunch). They all shared a meal from Sbarro. We all were delighted with what we had. After dinner, we ‘toured’ the Orleans. I then returned to the WWW and called it a day.

Christmas Day. Christmas was grueling, but in a nice way. I treated the family to breakfast at the WWW (I had a coupon). After breakfast, we went to Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. I paid the admission because, being a local, I get a substantial discount. It cost me about $55.00 for the four of us. Had they purchased the tickets, it would have cost nearly $70.00.
Being gluttons for punishment, we didn’t stop after seeing Shark Reef. After taking a short break at the WWW to pick up the MMM, we next went to The Habitat at Flamingo Las Vegas. It was a pleasant place to relax. After spending a couple of hours here “absorbing nature”, we decided to have Christmas Dinner at the Orleans. The Christmas Buffet was delicious yet reasonably priced. We all ate too much. By the time dinner was over, we were all pretty much “done in”. We all retired to our respective abodes. I went into the WWW and wished everyone a Merry Christmas, Kicked back in the truck for a while, then went to bed and slept the “sleep of the dead”.
Friday, the 26th. After a morning of fending for ourselves, Don and went to lunch at Slots-A-Fun Casino. We ate at the Hot Dog stand there. They are the best Hot Dogs in Vegas, although the price has gone up. After lunch, I took Don back to the Orleans, and returned to the WWW for more geeking. We decided to meet up at the Fremont Street Experience later in the evening. Once again, in all the years I have lived in Vegas, I have never experienced the Fremont Street Experience. We first went to dinner the Great Moments Cafe in the Vegas Club Casino. We all had sandwiches. D,L,&D had the $2.99 half sandwich and soup special. The soup was clam chowder. Since I don’t eat Clam anything, I had a grilled ham & cheese sandwich that wasn’t really grilled, but toasted. The ham was cold in the middle, and the cheese wasn’t melted. It was OK, but not what I was craving.

After dinner, we mostly loitered around the Golden Nugget. It is centrally located, and as good a place as any to watch the Vista Vision shows. Inside the Golden Nugget is an aquarium they call The Tank (above right).


Vista Vision is the largest TV screen in the world. It uses umpteen bazillion LED lights. The picture is actually quite good considering it’s size. It encompasses the entire roof, which is 5 blocks long.

Above left is a good picture of the Plaza Hotel. It is located across from the west entrance to Fremont street. Above right are Dawn, Lou, and Don.
We left Fremont street about 2000 and went to Jerry’s Nugget for desert. I wanted Strawberry Shortcake, but was disappointed. They were out, so I had to settle for Banana Cream Pie. After desert, we all went back to our separate lodgings for the night.

Christmas Day (part deux): Visit to The Habitat at Flamingo Las Vegas

Christmas Day. In the afternoon, we all went to The Habitat at Flamingo Las Vegas. In all the time I’ve lived here, this was my first time. It is not really an attraction, but lots of people go there specifically to see it. It is more of a place to just go and relax; basically a “tropical park” within the confines of the Flamingo courtyard.


There are many Japanese Koi (above) in the ponds.

Above left is a Red Crested Pochard. Above right is a North American Ruddy Duck.


Above top (left and right) are the Sacred Ibis. Above bottom (left and right) are the African Crowned Crane.


Above (top left) Black Swans. Above (top right) Mute Swan.
Above (bottom left) Black-Necked Swan. Above (bottom right) Water Turtle.

The Courtyard is serene and beautiful. A pleasant place to wile away an hour or two.
By now, you are probably wondering to yourself; “Where are the Flamingos? This is, after all, the Flamingo Casino. Shouldn’t there be some Flamingos?” Well there they are.


They are Chilean Flamingos to be exact.

By far, these were the “strangest birds” in the place.