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December 11, 2009- Repaired the coding error on the link list to the right that took you to previous posts... again. It was previously going to a "Page not found" error page due to coding errors of my own fault.

December 5, 2009- The live dash webcam has been taken down due to consistent problems with connections. Apparently our wireless router and our sprint card don't like working together and the router keeps requesting new IP addresses pretty irregularly. So, to resolve the problem I have opted to just remove the link.


Sunday, February 7, 2010
subject: Salt Lake City, UT

After sending the message in Grandview, MO that I was unloaded I sent a free text message telling them that there was nothing nearby and I was heading to the KCMO yard to wait on a load. Being #3 on the board I didn't expect it would take long, and I most likely would have received a load on my way up there.. .which was only 21 miles away. They didn't disappoint. I received a load immediately from the Kansas City, KS yard that should have been picked up at 1100am. That one puzzled me. There were others that were probably there earlier than me that could have picked up the load but I was going to get it nearly 2 hours late. In any case, I changed course and headed to KS instead of MO.

I got to the yard a little past 100pm, dropped my trailer, did a quick scan of the trailers in the docks, and headed to the office. I had a feeling after scanning the docks that I knew why I was chosen to pick up this particular load. there was only 1 trailer in the whole place that was placarded hazardous materials.. and I was probably the only one in the area holding hazmat... which made sense.

Well, I checked into the office and guess what? That load was mine. Not sure really what I was hauling but it was a ton of things with about 9 syllibals that I coulnd't pronounce. A quick pretrip and I was off.



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The trip was rather easy albeit long. I started up I-29 to IA 2/NE 2, which took me through Lincoln, NE. I met up with I-80 and followed that the entire way. I ended up stopping on Friday night at the Wal-mart in Lexington, NE. It wasn't my preferred stop as I would rather have had a shower but they have ample truck parking there and I was out of food. And, seeming that I was stopping a little later than I normally prefer I figured much of the parking available anywhere else would probably be in use by that time. I think I was finally shut down by 700pm or so when i finally went in to do my shopping. I know most drivers go out and eat but i'm too stingy to spend that much money. One could easily spend $200.00 a week on food out here. I spent $200.00 on my refrigerator, crock pot, electric skillet, and microwave when we first started teaming and I spend on myself around $50.00 to $75.00 a week on food, snacks, paper plates and silverware, and the like. I'm not one that has to snack all day long so my total cost is pretty cheap. The rest goes to Mary, who has greater cooking utensils at her hands while enjoying the comforts of our home.

Anyways, I think I was finally up and rolling around 500am. My intent was to wake up at 500am, which I did, but once the alarm went off I realized that was 500am CST. I forgot to take into account the time zone factor when setting my alarm. DAMN IT JIM! That extra hour allowed me to eat breakfast and make coffee though so I couldn't really complain. I was originally just going to wake up and go but this was a better unplanned route. I ended stopping at the Bosselman's Pilot in Big Springs, NE, off of I-80 and I-76 where I refueled and grabbed a shower before finishing the rest of the day. The rest of Wyoming was, well, what is there to say about a barren wasteland? I did get to see the sun for the first time in 8 days though.. and thats no exaggeration. I haven't seen it since I left Tucumcari, NM last week! I finally shut down in Evanston, WY at the Flying J. I could have made it further but I coulnd't guarantee I could make it to the truck stop I shut down at 40 miles outside of of SLC on my last beer run trip.

I ended up waking up and rolling at 300am and got into SLC, UT around 0500am. The yard is closed on Sundays so it was an easy drop of the trailer with the security guy taking care of the paperwork. He was, however, unsure if there were any empty trailers on the west side of the yard. I did a quick drive around and found he was indeed correct.. there were no empties. Not wanting to have the same ordeal that happened last weekend when I delivered at that Con-way yard I parked and walked around the docks looking in every one of them to find one that was empty. I struck gold on the 5th trailer. Thank god. I don't think I could have sat another whole weekend without a trailer waiting for a load.

I boarded right after and went back to bed... this 300am crap is for the birds. I don't seem to get the opportunity to sleep in anymore but, with this newest load I received this morning at 0830am, pickup in Bingham City, UT at 1100am on Monday and relay the load in Las Vegas, NV on Monday night i'll have a good morning of sleeping in. And, being I did my research, the truck stop i'm at tonight, about a mile away from the consignor and across the street from what appears to be a phenomenal Salt Lake City based Wings place, I know where i'll be hanging out tonight. Party on Wayne...

posted by Daryl at 15:21
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Friday, February 5, 2010
subject: Grandview, MO

I ended up sitting in Laredo, TX until somewhere around 700pm or so when I was summoned to the dispatch office for my load. I was given 3 choices... Waco for a Thursday morning delivery (300 some miles), somewhere in Mississippi for a Friday morning delivery (700 some miles), or Grandview, MO for a Friday morning delivery (992 miles). I ended up taking the Missouri load with a delivery time of 1100am on Friday morning. In hindsight I should have taken the Mississippi load.

The plan was to drive as far as I could Friday night, then hit our Lancaster, TX terminal to refuel sometime thursday afternoon and continue on to our headquarters in Joplin, MO. There I planned to refuel once again before shutting down for the night. Then I intended to get up as early as I could stand and roll into the consignee somewhere around 900am for, what I hoped would be, an early unload so I could go back on the board ASAP for a decent weekend pull.



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I hooked to my trailer and decided to leave immediately to get as much driving out of the way as I could by way of I-35 north. My 10 just finished previous to the message but I only managed to get about 4.5 hours down the road, stopping some 80 miles outside of Waco at a small podunk truck stop at about 1230am.

I took off after my 10 hour was up, or around 1030am or so. I had some 200 miles to our Lancaster terminal and I finally made it around noon. Since I had to stop anyways I thought that would be a good opportunity for lunch. I'm normally not one to stop if I don't have to but, if I must, I take advantage to eat and do anything else I need to as well. I was finally out by 1245pm enroute to our Joplin, MO headquarters terminal. The drive was rather uneventful up US 75 and US 69 shy of the 7 mile long traffic jam for a stalled vehicle just north of Dallas. This burned up most of my 11 hours and I barely skimmed into Joplin with a few minutes on it, somewhere around 600pm or so. Being that I had 170 miles left to go and I had to be there by 1100am Friday I went right to bed with the intent to shower and grab breakfast before heading out.

Come 400am I opted to skip the shower in lieu of an extra hour of sleep. I instead woke up at 500am, grabbed breakfast, and headed out. I left right when my 10 hours was up, thankfully, but as it turns out I would rather have stayed in bed. I took off and headed up US 71 out of Joplin. I started to hit a bit of small hail before running head on into blizzard like conditions just outside of Carthage, MO. It was bad enough that I had to maintain between 35mph and 45mph for about 100 miles. That made for a SLOW move. Thank god nobody passed me in an attempt to get further.. that surely would have lead right into an accident waiting to happen. From the rocking chair it appeared as though 3 or 4 inches accumulated rather quickly, making for slippery conditions real quick. I think I finally rolled out of it 60 miles from the consignee and was able to maintain highway speeds the rest of the way, getting there aobut 25 minutes early.

This place was a bit hard to find as the address on all of the buildings were not clearly labled and I ended up missing it. A 2nd pass around the block, and reading the full directions this time around, really helped too. I rolled in and had about an hour wait due to a backup of freight on their docks. I wasn't worried though, and I think my patience and courtesy to the receiving lady went a long way because she originally told me there would be a longer wait. I think I was finally out of there at 1230pm or so and heading towards our yard in Kansas City, MO to wait for the next load as there was nowhere to head after I was unloaded.

In other news, Mary found a job driving with a local tow company. It's part time, which allows her to go to school and volunteer at the hospital, and still make a decent living. She'll be driving a regular flatbed until she learns the job well enough, then hopefully she will graduate to the Class A truck, which would allow her to tow Class 8 vehicles, or tractor-trailer combinations, to get repaired. In any case, its a good fitting job despite how reserved she may be about the job!

posted by Daryl at 12:55
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Wednesday, February 3, 2010
subject: Laredo, TX

I ended up sitting in Oklahoma City all freakin' weekend. So much for keeping me in mind, huh? Anyways, I woke up early on Monday morning and headed back over to the Con-way yard to check on empties. I ended up finding one in the door that was verified empty. After grabbing it I went back to the Petro to await a load, which I suspected would take a matter of an hour or so. I finally got about 40 minutes later. I was directed to head to Wichita, KS to grab a load out of the Coleman plant there. Yes, the camping supplier place. I opted to go back in and fight with the ATM over my pin again as I suspected I would need money for the I-35 toll between the border and southern Wichita. 10 minutes later I admitted defeat and decided to leave.

I checked my maps and set my GPS unit to avoid tolls and found I could easily take I-35 north to the first exit inside of the border of Kansas. I would then jump US 169 west and take US 81 north some 40 miles, head back east and catch I-135. It only added about 13 miles and 10 minutes driving time.. so it ultimately worked out.

I managed to get to the plant about an hour early. They were nice about it and let me back into the dock to await my 1230pm appointment. They started loading me with styrofoam coolers around 100pm and had me loaded at 200pm. Not too bad. I then had to head over to the other side of the plant with the paperwork given to me by the dock guy to be dispatched. Never done that before but the process was painful. The guy apparently gave me what appeared to be a packing slip with important info and dispatch placed/translated it into a bill of lading. I think I was finally out of there around 230pm.




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I ended up making it down to the Lancaster, TX to stop for the night. I was tired well before then thanks to the early start to get my trailer but I didn't want to leave myself with over 500 miles left on Tuesday. The 400am start was not on my preferred agenda either. However, between Mary and my mom calling me they kept me going. I think I finally got to the Lancaster terminal around 1030pm or so and immediately went to bed after a quick dinner.

Tuesday started out at 730am... not the optimal start time but not 400am either. After a quick fuel up and breakfast I was off. The drive was rather bleak and dreary. I don't think i've ever gone without seeing sun for more than 2 or 3 days.. but I don't think i've seen the sun since I left Phoenix to be honest. I had some 400 miles to get there and expected to get there somewhere around 200pm. It was due a 300pm so I was well ahead of schedule.

The drive was boring as usual after San Antonio. I expected to hit SOME traffic through there but it was flowing as well as could be and despite a few people that don't know how to merge and others who felt that slamming their brakes on in front of me was a good idea it was a pretty decent drive. Being that I was out of food I made a quick pitstop at Walmart in San Antonio before heading off. The final stop was right inside the city limits of Laredo to grab some subway as I really wasn't in the mood to cook. And, being that I had well over 1500 Pilot point, a free sandwich was a good idea in my eyes. I have to say though, that Pilot in Laredo is one of the rattiest Pilots i've seen short of Las Vegas, NV and Charlotte, NC. I don't suspect i'll be stopping there again.

After arriving around 230pm or so I went through or normal truck inspection, which took about a half hour or more thanks to only 1 inspector manning the station. I started to park my trailer in the southbound area of the lot and was sent a message containing directions to the 3rd party logistics company who is responsible for getting the trailer into Mexico for the final destination. As it turned out, since I was #42 on the board I was going to be making the delivery to the logistics co. Wonderful. These places are always so cramped with little room to maneuver. I really hate Laredo. By the time I found this out it was 315pm MST. The dispatcher at the window suggested taking it over on Wednesday morning by 700am MST as by the time I got there on Tuesday, near closing time, I would most likely be turned away. That worked for me, despite not being able to sleep in as I wanted. I was told the opened at 800am CST so I planned to get up at 700am CST, take a quick shower, and head over to the company. Apparently fate had other plans.

I slept wonderfully but found myself waking up at 830am CST. I had apparently shut my alarm off and gone back to bed... if it even went off. I'm not sure which happened. Anyways, I rolled out of the yard having been awake about 4 minutes. And, with no coffee in my system it was going to be a rough morning. As it turns out, I rolled in right at 900am CST to find the main guy was just opening the place. 800am huh? Yeah, so, that late wake up wasn't too bad I guess.

I rolled in and was the first to check in while I ended up being the last to get into the yard. There were 4 trucks total waiting to get in. The first ended up needing to be unloaded to their docks. He tried to maneuver around a huge sink hole to get back against the dock but no matter how he maneuvered he was worried he would hit that sink hole and roll, and came close a few times. The 2nd was one of my companies daycab drivers. He rolled in and was able to turn around for a straight line back so he could unload the trailer and began spotting the 1st driver. The 3rd was a UPS driver and was in and out in a flash, only needing 3 pallets to be taken off the truck. The final was me. I rolled in and had pictures of the load taken, then was directed to back into a spot parallel to the fence. It appeared easy but, after some thought and aid from the other 2 who needed a break, suggested I take it from the street. So, after 20 minutes of blocking the crossing of the street I was able to successfully get into the yard without hitting the fence or anything else in the way, including trees, telephone poles, and yellow concrete poles. It was a genuine pain in the ass.

After, I returned back to the terminal to bide my time. I was #17 on the board so I figured I had a while to go. That was at 900am. At 1230pm i'm still 14. I'm not very optimistic i'm going to get out of here today. I'm hoping I get something going west, however, as I'd like to get through home if even for a 10 hour break.

posted by Daryl at 12:30
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Saturday, January 30, 2010
subject: Oklahoma City, OK

I ended up not being able to sleep through the 10 hours off so I had a feeling it was going to be a long night. I figured I would use the split sleeper option to get me through the night so I wouldn't have to drive the entire time. That proved to be a good option IMHO.

I picked up my load right on time... 900pm.. did my pretrip, and hung out until 1015pm when I was able to leave. I only sat so I could wait for my 10 hours to time out. During my break it started snowing but I didn't suspect it was that bad.. until I started to leave. There was around 3" of snow on the ground making it a little slick with a layer of ice underneath. I took my time to the freeway and didn't have any problem... until the on-ramp.. although the problem wasn't with me. I did a rolling stop at the stop sign of a 4-way stop so I wouldn't get stuck on the small incline with what ice I did see near the yard. Immediately before, however, a UPS driver pulling doubles attempted to climb up the 30 degree onramp and ended up spinning his tires. It took him a few minutes to get going before finally making it to the top. At that point I saw there had to be at least a good half inch of ice on the onramp. I activated my quad lock (differential lock) and made it up no problem after a rough start.

Since I wanted to avoid the toll roads on I-35 in lower Kansas outside of Wichita I decided to take U.S. 169.. which met up with I-44 south to Oklahoma City, OK.



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The freeway was rather slick most of the way but I-35 cleared up pretty quickly the closer I got to US-135. However, 135 was a totally different subject. I spent most of the time battling snow and ice covered road all the way to Iola, KS, where I stopped for the night, somewhere around 1230am. I expected to travel much further but fighting the roads and people who don't know how to drive in the snow took it out of me.

I finally got up around 800am, got ready, and headed out as soon as my 8 hours were up, a condition of the split sleeper. I anticipated the roads to be a little clear.. and they were for the most part until Oklahoma.. then it was back to hell. I fought drivers who, again don't know how to drive in snow, and spots of ice. The temperature warmed up to 48 degrees at one point so that helped make the drive at least maneuverable until I hit I-44... then it was smooth sailing, with minimal snow on the roadway.

I finally arrived at the yard at 130pm, about 30 minutes early. I was told to park it along the fenceline and, if there were any empties, I could grab one. After doing as tasked I noticed there was only 1 other truckload trailer there.. but it contained a seal. Damn it. I sent my dropped trailer message, followed by an informative no trailers message and asking for advice. Well, it was shot back that the load planner would be informed but that I could not go on the board without a trailer. hmmm. I went back in and explained my situation to the guy and asked if I could get an empty today... and... well... there won't be one until sometime Monday morning since they were all leaving for the day. I sent that back to my dispatcher and was told "there is no freight now but the load planner will 'keep you in mind'." What does that mean? Once shift change occurs later in the day I will be forgotten about. So, because freight was backed up due to weather at the freight terminal and they couldn't empty our trailers i'm being punished and will now have to remain here, trailerless, and off the board until sometime monday. Now, what I want to know is why I can be bobtailed home without a trailer but I can't be put on the board without a trailer.. making me eligible for a drop & hook load in the area. Needless to say i'm a bit pissed about the entire situation. This leaves me with only 1800 miles for the week, much less than I prefer. And, to top it off its in the 10's and 20's here temperature wise so i'll have to idle most of the weekend for my comfort, which means my MPG will be shit come next week. Grand!

posted by Daryl at 19:28
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Friday, January 29, 2010
subject: Kansas City, MO

After dropping my load I ended up sitting for 3 hours watching tv and surfing the net waiting for a load... but nothing came. Not only that but my board status never moved up. So, I made my way to bed around 400am.

I finally woke up around 800am to find I was sent a load moments before. I was to take a load from TSC and relay it at our yard in Kansas City, MO. Now, normally this wouldn't be an issue but by 900am when I was rolling out of the DC yard I had already wasted 7 hours of my 14 sitting and doing nothing... with the kicker being that it was ready at midnight... the exact time I left York, NE bound for Waverly. And, now, this load had to be relayed by 130pm. Seriously? This is why I have contended that someone isn't doing their job. I can understand the board system if there isn't freight.. but come on. I arrived in Waverly with 13 hours to go on my 14.. and if it was sitting there I should have been out of there pretty quickly. I was more frustrated than a legless Ethiopian watching a doughnut roll down a hill.

Anyways, this load was a drop and hook so I was hooked and ready to go pretty quickly. I took US 6 southwest to 84th street in Lincoln, NE, followed by NE 2 back east. I jumped on I-29 and took it south to I-435 on into the yard. Not a bad 212 miles for the day.




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After looking at my log it looked like I could perform a split sleeper option. That basically meant that since I had 8 hours of sleep my 14 hour clock was essentially stopped. The 3 hour drive from Waverly to Kansas City qualified perfectly for my driving time and, provided I could get a 2 hour break once I arrived, I would be able to drive until 1000pm if given something immediately. I could only hope for my weekend load so I didn't have to drive all night for the 3rd night in a row. However, of course the plan didn't go the way I intended and I was given a load heading out from Kansas City, KS at 900pm tonight, effectively misusing the available hours I had available.... again. I personally thought a planner did just that.. plan... but in this case it didn't happen. So, I opted to head over to the Con-way yard and sit there until 900pm to pick up my load.. then sit until midnight when I can actually move again after a full 10 hour break. I can honestly say i'm starting to get frustrated at the entire system used on solos.

posted by Daryl at 17:13
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subject: Waverly, NE

This posting is a bit late... and I apologize. I had a few stops thrown in there, including home, before this most recent.



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After sitting in the Costco DC lot last Thursday for about 1.5 hours I was finally released. Being that I was about 1/4 full on fuel I decided to head up to the T/A in Ontario, CA to refuel. There I got my marching orders... I was heading down to the Con-way yard in Santa Fe Springs, CA to take a load to Phoenix, AZ. It was followed by a Phoenix, AZ to Phoenix, AZ pre-plan. I figured i'd be picking up something from one of our few shippers there but it was still an unknown.

I got to Santa Fe Springs, CA about an hour after refueling. I didn't pick the load up until 930pm so I managed to squeeze in a 6 hour nap. It was fairly warm there so I opted to sleep with the truck off to save on my MPG. I figured out that having my fan plugged into the front cigarette lighters was perfect for notifying me when the battery was about dead because the trucks computer shuts them off at the point just before the truck won't start. However, Thursday proved not to be my day. I woke up and fired up the truck, assuming it would do such since the fan was still running. Turns out, that was flawed logic. I gave it a shot 3 times and got nothing. Why is it whenever i'm in California nothing goes my way? Thank god for the shop guys there... I managed to convince one to give me a jump with their company pickup. Why Sacramento didn't have one the last time I died in Cali I don't know, but this worked perfectly and I picked up my load... nearly on time.

Now, I say nearly because Santa Fe Springs is NEVER on time. At best we got our load about 25 minutes late... but were usually 1 to 2 hours behind schedule. This time I got it about 20 minutes late, setting a new record. However, they wanted me to have the load in Phoenix by 530am. Being that it is a 7 hour drive and I got the load ready and out of the yard by 915pm that just wasn't going to happen. The load was 44k lbs and the hills coming across I-10 were steep enough to slow me down several times. Then, to top it off I got yanked into the scale on the east side of Cali.. and lucky for me it was a slow moving line.

All in all I managed to make up 21 minutes and arrived at the guard shack at 539am. Not bad for having an ETA most of the time of 600am.

the load after was actually a deadhead home. Phoenix to Phoenix wasn't entirely accurate since we live in a suburb, and since i'm permitted to bobtail home the deadhead was out of the question. Anyways, seeing that I had 4 days off already this time off wasn't necessary but... who am I to argue. I took 3 full days off anyways and came back on Tuesday.

Tuesday morning came and I went on the board. I was told in a freeform message to head over to the Con-way yard and grab an empty and my FM would see what the load planner had for me. Well, 1/2 miles away from home I got my plan.... I was picking up at 400am on Wednesday morning and relaying the load, after a mad rush, with a team in Albuquerque, NM. I turned around towards home instead, and sent a message stating that I wasn't going to pick up a trailer to drop it off later and was instead going to wait at home and not the Con-way yard. Good plan overall and I managed to get a free day of doing practically nothing at home. That allowed me to catch up on the 4 pre-recorded episodes on our DVR of "Border Wars" on National Geographic. I don't know why but the mission of Border Patrol and Customs fascinates me. I suspect that if I ever decide to go back to Law Enforcement.. this will probably be my primary goal since the city beat doesn't quite light my fire anymore.

Anyways, I managed to get to bed Tuesday night at something like 830pm and tossed and turned all night.. finally dragging myself out of bed at 230am. A quick shower and a gathering of my cold food items and I was out. I found I had a message waiting for me when I finally got in the truck... which turned out to be a preplan for my next load. I was to pick up a load in Albuquerque, NM and take it to Waverly, NE. Gravy.





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I got to the Con-way yard in Phoenix about 20 minutes early. The guys were on time with this one and I rolled out just as my departure time came up. I was given a 45 minute window to go 417 miles.... I know I told them when I changed fleets I enjoy a challenge but damn! I travelled up I-17 to I-40 straight east, relaying at the Flying J. I got there with an hour to spare after having made up 24 minutes!

I made my relay and, as it turns out, I got this teams load of Tractor Supply parts bound for the Tractor Supply Center... or.. TSC... distribution center just outside of Lincoln, NE. I figured I would be waiting in a dock forever to pick up a load so this was a pure bonus. I decided instead of waiting around for a 10 hour restart that I would instead get as far as I could... especially since it was a quick run with only a 3 hour window total to get there. Turns out that with the 3 hours I had left I had plenty of time to make it the 180 miles across I-40 to Tucumcari, NM after a quick fuel stop in Santa Rosa, NM. 656 miles later, and around 3pm I finally arrived, stopping for the night at the Flying J on the outskirts of town.

I decided that a 10 hour break would be sufficient, so after screwing off for a few hours and a 7 hour slumber I was on my way, around 130am. From Tucumcari, NM I went straight north on U.S. 54 to U.S. 83 to U.S. 56 to U.S. 81. I pressed it out yet again but since most of this trip was on U.S. highways and through small towns the speed was much slower. I originally thought I could make it to the DC but I wound up being 45 minutes short. I instead go to the Petro in York, NE where I opted to stay so I could get a shower before heading out at around 1100pm after my 10 hour break. This gave me about 60 miles left to travel, or about an hour.. which really isn't bad but it sucked to have to start my 14 hour clock. Hopefully i'm preplanned with something rather quickly so i'm not wasting time!

I finally woke up at 1100pm with the intent to get my shower but fate had other plans. Apparently most truck stops are going to this automated machine that handles showers and either takes the rewards cards or $10.00 in cash. Since this Petro wasn't a fuel stop, and I fueled at the Pilot in Salina, KS earlier anyways, I had to pay the $10.00 cash. After a quaint argument with the ATM, it winning, I angerly wandered back to the truck. Apparently I forgot my ATM number for my personal account. Grand. Instead, I ate breakfast and headed out, somewhere around midnight or so across I-80 to Lincoln, NE.

I finally arrived at the TSC in Waverly, NE at about 100am, dropped my trailer, grabbed an empty trailer, and am now sitting here #5 on the board in the TSC yard waiting for a load. Based on a thread here by my fellow co-worker, Vito Corleone.. or The Fenian Godfather as he calls himself, who delivered here the other day and was given a load out of here, I suspect I will be doing the same.. but that call probably won't come until sometime later this morning. So, for now i'm watching "The Soloist," with Jamie Foxx, for the first time. Never even heard of it but its a pretty good movie to say the least. A few more hours of sleep here soon to get me back onto sleeping at night and driving during the day and I should be good to go.

posted by Daryl at 02:21
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Thursday, January 21, 2010
subject: Mira Loma, CA

Time off goes by just way too fast. We didn't actually accomplish anything on these 3 days off really. We cleaned up the house a bit, enjoyed a feast and watched the Arizona Cardinals lose badly to the Saints, watched my beloved Detroit Red Wings lose in a shootout with the Chicago Blackhawks game, and caught up on sleep. Mary started school this week so that took her away for a few hours on Tuesday, but I think that was about it.

Wednesday morning started early. I think I was up by 600am and Mary and I were out the door by 645am, arriving at the Pilot where I parked the truck by 700am. It took a bit to bring the truck to operating temperature and I finally rolled out around 730am. The Costco distribution center in Tolleson was just around the corner so I took the backroads and got there shortly after. I was directed to a parking area with a pager type thing, the kind you would get at the Olive Garden or Texas Roadhouse, and when it buzzed I was to report to my assigned door. Fair enough. Being early a bit early I kinda expected it and did as I was told.

Well, after 1.5 hours waiting it finally went off. I expected a wait but damn. I parked in my assigned door and waited another 1.5 hours before I got the go ahead to pull out. After, I headed home where Mary and I went to lunch at our new local favorite establishment for lunch and went home to hang out. During such time I got a preplan after dropping in Mira Loma, CA.... I was going to head down to the Santa Fe Springs, CA yard and take a load to Phoenix, AZ. At least i'll be able to take a 10 hour break at home provided I get a decently long weekend pull.

I think I finally shipped out somewhere around 330pm or so. The drive across I-10 was rather uneventful. Around Palm Springs, CA I noticed truck stops were full to the brim so after some thought I decided to stop at the rest area outside Palm Springs for the night, leaving me about 52 miles left to go. I was up and on the road right at as my 10 hour break was finished. I got about 20 miles down the road and was pulled into the scales there for a Level II inspection. The guy checked all the lights, thumped the tires, did a quick lookover of the trailer, did a checkover of my paperwork, and let me go. It kinda worked out 'cuz I was running ahead of schedule and needed to burn some time, but i'd rather have stopped somewhere other than the state run scales!

I think I finally got there at 615am and was given a door right away. 1.5 hours later I was on my way to the T/A in Ontario, CA to refuel the truck.... great mpg on this load as the last refuel was done in Van Horn, TX, almost 1,000 miles away with all my stops.

posted by Daryl at 12:04
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