Dang nab it! Chains required!

So we aren't moving!  I drove 36 miles just to park........augh!  I did call the Oregon road hotline and the last update was ar 3 AM in the morning.  Well, that was 3 in the morning!  So just before the pass, chains required 24 miles up the pass.  Time to park at the Arrowhead and wait it out.  We did this just a few days ago, on the other side of the mountain :( 

So let's wait for the convoy heading east.........there will be a lot of them as this placed is packed with trucks!

Did you complete your trip planning?

We are going south........I84 I80!  We are behind a storm front and I plan on keeping it that way as the sun is suppose to follow me for at least the next two days.  We will be running hard as we had little drive time and this load is due Monday morning....34 hours total of drive time.  Expect the next three days full of 11 hour driving!

See you when I can slow down and take a breather!

Pictures of my family!

My son and grandson!

My lovely daugher in law and grandson!

My AWESOME grandson!

Well, wishes are just that....wishes!

We are now sitting at the Pilot five miles away from the Denny's.  We did get a new load with over 2000 miles of road to follow........from Kennewick WA to Grand Rapids MI!  Now my virtual truckers, open up your maps and decide which route we should take.....you have three possibilities.  Remember, this is winter!

I90 E I94 E
I90 E only
I84 E I80E

Right now, I am sitting 1/2 day behind the snow fronts (except up north).  Your answer coming soon if you just can't figure it out ;)

We have to sit until 1 PM as our load won't be ready until 4 PM but we can arrive 2 hours early.  That being said, better use this time to shower and watch a movie!

Good morning from Denny's!

I am only a mile from the distribution center, as far as I could go as I was over my 14 hour clock by the time they got me unloaded.  One of the nice things about this company is that you run and manage your logs, not the company.  I can edit my logs!  Werner babysat everything that you did.....I can only assume it was because of so many violations.

Per the advice from the young lady at the distribution center, I played a little on the slot machine and won.  She told me that her mother always plays on the last day of the month as the casino claims a certain percentage of winnings.  So, those numbers increase or decrease the last day of the month.  I figured, what the heck!  The bartender told me which machine was paying out the best and I inserted $15.  I got down to less than $3 dollars, switched to a different game and won $50!  And if any of you know me, you know I cashed out!  So my drinks and my breakfast are on the house!

Now we just wait for a load assignment..........hopefully to Florida, not north, east, directly south or mid east as the weather in these locations are terrible!  Pretty limited on where I can go ;)

Only one mountain pass to release chain required!

We might make it out of Ontario before lunch!

Where we spent the night!

Good morning from Ontario, Oregon!

We survived the night on the pass but one unlucky driver did not and he wasn’t even on the pass!

While spending the night on the mountain, all night long I heard trucks racing by me like it was 80 degrees outside and sunny.  We got up at 5 AM to see the horizon just turning a sunrise red and the plow had been by.  The roads were slush but doable.  Of course, we were only a quarter of a mile from the pass peak and probably could have made it down last night but hey, ice is ice and going downhill with a heavy load……not.

We got to the bottom and my exit to US 6 was closed by DOT (a 45 minute short cut to 395).  I stopped and was informed that a truck that came off of the pass at 2 AM took the shortcut to only go too fast around an icy corner and turn over………..losing his load of paint!  Now that is a mess for sure!  Hazmat has to come in and clean that mess up.  This short cut is closed!

Dispatch asked me if I could make my drop at 5 AM with 599 miles left.  Of course I couldn’t!  Between the delay at the shipper, the night on the pass, the 45 minute detour, I was running up to 3 hours late.  It wasn’t too long before I was informed that the load has a new appointment, at 4 PM!  Wow, I didn’t need that much time or at least I thought so……..until I arrived here.  It appears that chains are required for the next 100 miles…..and the worse nightmare, Cabbage Pass.  So, we are sitting, I am doing laundry and thinking it is time for breakfast and take Gonja for a walk!  I will check in with you later.

A night on the mountain!

Brrrrrrr……good evening from Montgomery Pass just as you enter Nevada on US 6.    I am not sure just how far we are on the pass as it was dark before we crossed the border.  All I know is it started snowing as soon as we entered Nevada and the higher I went, the less I could see of the road.  And at 24 degrees, I just didn’t want to tackle snow/ice roads with only 45 minutes left on my clock and not being able to reach my stop for the night if I could!

I did take Gonja out and the roads are now slick with ice.  The snow is light but wet so ice is quickly forming.  Trucks are slowly driving by and so did the snow plow……the wrong direction.  So I hope when we wake in the morning, we will have a cloudy but snow free sky (keep the temps down), with the snow plow hitting this side of the road so we can be on our merry way.  Gads, I would hate to chain up and break a nail!

On a good note, we are warm and safe for the night even though it might cause us to swap this load out.  Not my fault mind you……the dang nab it client took 2.5 hours to load us!  On a bad note, no cell service……no way to contact the company or search the web…….AUGH!  Look forward to see how much snow we have in the morning!  Good night!

Good morning from the TA in Ontario, California and PICTURES!

Good Sunday afternoon my virtual drivers!  It has been a few days since I touched base but most of you probably know what I am doing anyway….DRIVING!

After dropping our last load in Salt Lake City and two trips to the shop, we dead headed to Buhl, Idaho, to pick up a load of frozen corn on the cob.  The shipper was a little disorganized and loaded me too heavy and did the same to the other company truck beside me.  Once we got the weight to where I was legal…….we waved to lil sis Lorene (we are in her neck of the woods but weren’t able to connect) and head due south…..California!

Now I had way too much of a time line on this load and contacted the receiver to see if I could drop the next evening.  That was not going to happen as on Saturday they were only receiving from 4 AM to 3 PM and Sunday from 4 PM to 3 AM.  I contacted dispatch to see if I could drop the load at the yard and grab another trip but was informed that freight was low in California.  So, I did what I enjoy best……took my time and milked those hours.  We spent the night in Vegas!  (Sadly, sister Rhonda moved to Indianapolis so we had to stay at the TA truck stop).

I got to spend a lovely evening with six men playing poker J.  It took most of the evening, but two men in particular split what I was prepared to lose and I called it a night.  I did throw a little change here and there between two other casinos en route this morning……..and left $$ even, the usual case when it comes to me and gambling.

It is currently 3:34 PM and my load is not scheduled until 7.  I was told if I arrived early and a door was available, they would take my load.  Currently there is five trucks parked ahead of me and three parked behind…….let’s hope the client will let me keep my place in line as my clock is out at 8:30 and all the truck stops around here charge you to  spend the night.  Time to give Gonja a little grooming.

OHHHHH!  I almost forgot!  Coming down I-15 into California was interesting………I overheated my brakes and had to pull over!  This was a first in my first year of driving…….obviously this teacup can’t handle the weight as the previous truck.  I had to shift down to 8^th gear……….very unusual for a slow decline that didn’t need it.

Happy Monday morning from the TA in Ontario!  We f nally got that load emptied at 8:15 last night.....and too late to accept and deliver a load to New York.....AUGH!  None the less, we have a pickup at 10 AM going to Harrisburg, Oregon.  Yeehaw!!!  More mountains to climb and crawl......with hopefully no snow (on the roads anyway).

PICTURES!

Here is I-80 after it was opened in Cheyenne

He didn't arrive in Cheyenne on time!

All the animal pictures were taken at Bass Pro Shop...awesome store

(don't think the animals thought so)