12/12/2009

Took off at 2:30 am and made it a wee bit north of Oklahoma City and pulled it over for a 1 hour pre-dawn nap. I was start to feel like a bobble head and didn't think it was the way to go down the road. Sixty minutes later my Sceamin Meanie (Alarm clock brand) is crying the blues and away I gooooooo.

Stopped off in Joplin, MO topped off the tanks and grabbed a shower the line was long, but a driver that was in line ahead of me got frustrated and handed me his shower ticket (SWEET). Cut my wait time considerably.

Had some misting today and I amsure a few degrees colder and I would have been looking at a little bit of snow. Made it upto Cameron, MO and called it a day. That will leave about 425 to finish tomorrow for my 2am Monday delivery. If I hadn't been broke down and had my thinking cap on I would have thought to ask where to head next but alas that wasn't meant to be.

Have a good night

Bookerz out

12/11/2009

Ok the dinner menu last night was interesting. I have a bad habit of ordering chicken fried streak. I figure it is kinda hard to screw that up. Despite the couple of place I have ordered it and have been proven wrong with a vengence. But, tonight I had taken a vow to break out the mold and order something different. Now we are back to the interesting menu and the most interesting thing on the menu was "Fried Chicken Alfredo". Now they had some steaks on the menu, but truck stops seem to buy surplus combat boots cut them up into sections and call them steaks. And charge quality steak prices to "boot". Well anyway the fried chicken alfredo consisted of wide noodles with alfredo sauce poured on and a sliced breaded thin chicken breast placed on top with a soup and salad bar run included. Not to bad at all and filling. Enough about dinner last night.

Woke up at 1am and hit the road shortly after that. Usually when I start that early I end up having to take a short power nap before sunrise. True to form just south of Oklahoma City I had to pull over for an hour. Got to Wichita Falls about 7am and proceeded to get my load. The w/a instructions still speak of the former place where we drop our enpty trailers and to speak to the guard on CB channel 42. Hmm my CB only has 40 channels as do all the rest. Ok pull in talk to the guard yea drop them down the road over there he points. K good enough, drop the trailer get back to guard shack and get the paperwork for my load. As I securing the load I notice some black stuff on my steps upto the headache rack. At first I figured it was road grime from my stint in the ice and snow, but I decided to pop the hood once my load was secure. Damn I got and oil leak and my inexperienced eyes it looks like a large one. Off to the Frieghliner Dealer in town.

Nine hours later.

The leaks not all that bad and your shop will handle it next week. Wasted day but better safe than sorry. Out of curiousity I asked how long would the repair job be. About 12 hours and then went on to explain what all was involved. He lost me right after saying 12 hours but I didn't feel it was polite to stop him. The have to do this and that and the other was all a foreign language to me. I'm not knocking his intelligence he seemed sharp as hell it is just my mechcanical disability that interferes with my understanding. Well they released my truck and advised my to check the oil twice a day for a while and get a gallon of oil and carry it on the truck. Sounded vaguely like take two asprin and call me in the morning, but good enough.

I went a mile down the road to the Flying J and called it a day.

Have a nice day

Bookerz out

12/10/2009

Except for lossing traction for a moment or two going up hill in southern Iowa this morning. It was for the most part today a nice drive. Made it down to Big cabin, OK I had enough time to get just beyond Tulsa, OK ,but I wanted to run this salt encrusted tractor through a Blue Beacon. I looked in on the one in Joplin, MO and they were lined up 6 deep. Too long, much too long for this driver. I'll try to swing into the one in Tulsa in the morning before it gets busy.

Got my next load assignment. Picking up in Wichita Falls, TX and..... going to Albertville, MN. Yes I know back to the great white north. Perhaps the weather will be more cooperative this time. I haven't looked at the forecast sometimes ignorance is bliss.

Plan on eating a resturant meal this evening, enough foraging in the truck for now. OH I have found for the first time this season a truck stop with eggnog and quart eggnog to boot. Anything less than a quart will just tease the taste buds. Things are looking up.

Have a nice day

Bookerz out

12/09/2009

"What would you do for a Klondike bar?"

Wellllllll.... actual nothing. Sometime an old jingle pops in your head and your stuck with it.

I got a couple of hours in at 45mph before I had to once again call it a day. A 100 miles or so and the white-out conditions were just to much to safely proceed any further. When you can't discern what the big interstate signs say along side of the road it is time to get off the road and that is exactly what I did.

Fortunately I have enough grub and reading materials and internet access to ward off hunger and boredom despite my location. Also fortunately for me this company leaves the safe/unsafe to drive decision to the drivers. Finished one book and started another throw in a nap and quite a few hours can dissapear. About 3pm the winds started abating and I could have made some progress. It being that late in the day I decided against it for a real early start in the morning. It's still 776 miles to Wichita Falls, Tx so it will be early tomorrow before I make it to the shipper. If I get an work assignment sometime today I will adjust my arrival time to optimize how much ground I can cover after getting the load.

Have a nice day

Bookerz out

12/08/2009

A bit of snow, a bit of ice and away we gooooooo.

Pulled out at 3am. Rest area where I laid my head down was dry as a bone. Got ten miles north of Bloomington-Normal and it all changed. Despite the snow I was able to maintain a fairly steady 55 until I got up around rockford. There the cars in the ditches materialized and even an 18 wheeler down in the median. Fortunately all the fender benders appeared minor in scale. I got to the consignee about 12 hours early. Went to check in and was told that it would 1am before I was unloaded. No problem that was when my appointment was for anyway. 30 minutes later he pulls around and tells me to back in a bay and untarp, but that it would still be late before I was unloaded. So I backed in pulled the tarps and went to bed. 8 o'clock got woke up "All done, you can just stay in the bay and take off in the morning". An offer I shouldn't have refused!

I got a dead head to Wichita Falls, TX and figured that despite the weather I could knock out a couple hundred miles before I got to tired. So I open the bay door and there is 8-12 inches of snow. I pull out, pop the brakes, plot my course with co-pilot and mosey back to the door to shut it. Get back in the truck to take off and I'm stuck. Sixty minutes of rocking, clearing excess snow, and cussing myself for ever stopping once I pulled out ensued. Finally I manage to break free and there is no way I'm stopping now. Heading south on I-35 you can't see the lanes you just follow the tracks of the trucks in front of you. About 30 miles down the road I get a call on the CB your rear running lights are covered in snow. I find an exit and gingerly pull off not exactly sure where on the ramp I am. I find a section that looks like the break down lane area. And pop the breaks. I walk back and there is no snow the damn lights just won't work. I got turn signals and four ways but not the rear running lights. Well there goes any forward progress at least until daylight.

Two hours later a snow plow comes through and scapes a fair amount of snow in front of me. Hmmm.... Another hour later another one comes through and piles it a bit higher. At this point I figured I should at least move forward into the plowed area so I don't get buried again. Only had to rock it twice to get clear this time. Tomorrow should be interesting to say the least.

Have a good day

Bookerz out

12/07/2009

It will be nice when they complete the four laning of US35 from I-64 over to the Ohio side. All in all it was a straight forward day. Saw a quick snow flurry in WV and a couple of flakes in Ohio, but it didn't last and the roads were clear. There was some lingering evidence of vehicular mishaps, but I'm not sure when they had occured.

I'm about 30 miles east of Bloomington-Normal, IL and that leaves me a mere 460 miles to traverse tomorrow. Should the weather turn to the worse I plan to have enough lee way in my scheduling to make the appointment anyway.

Earliest I can get out of the gate tomorrow is 2:30 am. But, the plan is at this point is to get up then fire up the beloved coffee maker and take off at 3am central. With any luck that should put me at the consignee 12 hours prior to my appointment. This client sometimes unloads you early and lately my luck has been real good with them. If so I might be able to scoot out of the fall out zone before it gets too ugly.

Well this driver needs to hit the sack if he is gonna arise at that early hour so off I go

Have a good night

Bookerz out

12/06/2009

Got off my lazy butt about 10 this morning. I had to drive over to Laurinburg, NC and grab my load to cover as much ground as I could just incase the second wave of the storm proves to have some teeth to it.

Had a real nice weekend. Went to our favorite haunt and consumed a few adult beverages and then went and saw the new Twilight movie. Also got a ton of new and previously read books (audiobooks) to listen to as I drive about the country side.

Up here there is a covering of snow on all the undeveloped areas grass and what not. Sometimes the world looks so clean with a covering of snow. And despite the potential hazards the inclement weather might impose it is nice to see it that way.

I am gonna try and cover 600 of the 1000 miles left tomorrow. I figure if the weather is to turn to the worse it will Tuesday as I draw closer to the consigneee. Also if I get there early enough on Tuesday it may be possible to get unloaded earlier than originally planned. Opening the potential for a better week mileage wise.

Well thats the plan and that the update for the night.

Bookerz out