This first trip of November is going to be "picture light".  There were many things I would've liked catching a picture of, but missed every single one.

11-2-00

For some unknown reason I thought I wouldn't leave until tomorrow morning.  I didn't even have the bags packed yet when dispatch said to get on over to Council Bluffs, IA tonight to leave out for Plover, WI.  I had to throw it all together and hit the road in a hurry. 

I didn't get to Council Bluffs until evening and by the time the truck was fueled and I was ready to roll it was midnight.  I was supposed to be nearly 600 miles away by 11:00 AM.  Dispatch had said it wasn't a firm appointment time and if I was late it would be okay.  Don't hear them say that any too often.  I made it as far as somewhere on the backroads of Iowa and shut it down.

11-3-00

Upon arriving in Plover, WI I discover this is a drop & hook deal.  The new load goes to Columbus, OH for November 5th at 9:00 AM.  Easy enough load.  I went down to Portage, WI and crashed until the next morning.

11-4-00

I take my time and enjoy the drive.  It's a pretty uneventful one, which is just fine by me.  I make it to just outside of Columbus, OH, and put it to bed. 

11-5-00

In the morning I make my delivery on time and all is good & well in the city for a fine Sunday morning.  It's somewhat unusual to make Sunday deliveries.   My Qualcomm informs me that I will load in Weirton, WV at 11:00 PM that night... or so I thought.  I went to the Pilot truckstop in Hebron, OH and basically goofed off, wasted time, grabbed a shower and nap and headed towards Weirton around 8:00 PM.  This load is supposed to deliver in Crete, NE on Nov. 7th.  I'm surprised that they're heading me back towards home already -- it's a little early yet -- in fact, two days early.  Hmmmm...

Upon arriving at Weirton, WV I was informed that my appointment wasn't until the next morning at 11:00.  I had screwed up reading the Qualcomm -- which gives you the times in military time.  I haven't done this before, however, and had thought I knew how to ready military just fine ... before now.  So, a word to the wise and unmilitarized, 23:00 must be 11:00 AM 'cause it sure ain't PM.  Okay, fine.  I headed towards the one and only truckstop for miles and put it to bed.

11-6-00

I woke up and looked at my surroundings.  Wow, what a beautiful area this is in the Ohio River Valley region.  The weather was perfect and the sky was blue.  I went inside to buy my standard 32 oz Mountain Dew fountain refill and was rudely awakened at a price of $2.50 to fill my mug.  This is the most I have ever paid for a lousy soda pop refill.  I informed the person at the desk that they'd won the prize for the single most expensive soda pop refill in the entire country.  She wasn't impressed and she didn't back off the $2.50, either.  Sad, sad, sad.  Highway robbery, that's what it is.  I paid it, though, because for me, starting a day without Mountain Dew is like not wearing socks on a freezing cold winter day.  I'm never far from my big 32 oz mug of Dew.  They should pay me to say this stuff.

I get loaded at 11:00 AM and it's fast -- about an hour.  Qualcomm says I don't get to keep the load, though.  I had a feeling about something like this happening.  I am supposed to go back to Hebron, OH and swap loads with another driver.  My new load will go to Ft. Worth, TX for Nov. 8th.  This makes more sense.  I'm due to be home Nov. 9th and this timing should work out pretty well... or so I think.  (Thinking sometimes just does not pay.) 

Later in the afternoon, I get a Qualcomm that reads something like: 

"You will unload and reload at the same dock in Ft. Worth, TX.  They will load/unload as soon as you can get there.  Take the new load and run it over to Indianapolis, IN.  A load to bring back to Council Bluffs, IA will be in Indianapolis for you to drop & hook."

I stared stupid at the Qualcomm screen... I mean what is this "run it over" to Indianapolis?  That's phrased as though it's 50 miles when in fact, it's 900 or so.  This will make me late getting home and I'm irritated but ?  Whaddyagonna do but run the load?

I made it to just south of St Louis, MO and call it quits.

11-7-00

I make pretty good time today.  This was an interesting route:  Hebron, OH to Ft. Worth, TX because there are several reasonably good ways to go.  The reason I chose the route I did, since the mileages were very close on all choices, can be summed up in one word:  ARKANSAS.  Sorry to you nice people that live there, don't mean to be rude, but your roads stink.  That I-40 and I-30 beat me to death and if I never run those roads again in my life, it will be too soon.  Maybe it isn't as bad in a car, but in a truck it is a very long and rough ride.  So, I chose the less of two evils:  MISSOURI. 

I-44 in Missouri isn't exactly a smooth ride, either, but it is smoother.  This route also meant I'd have to do some four lane in Oklahoma.  I-69 in OK is entirely four lane but has some small towns on it and traffic lights, which slow you down some over the interstate.  It was a sacrifice I gladly made.

There was a nasty truck wreck in Missouri on I-44 at MM269.  Today must be the day for it because there was another at MM162 on I-44, too. 

I stopped in Big Cabin, OK for fuel and to call the receiver for directions into their facility.  I've been lost in Ft Worth, TX before and didn't enjoy it at all.  That city has been under construction for a very long time and I wasn't taking chances.  The receptionist answered the phone and transferred me to someone's voice mail.  I called back and asked her again for directions, but she transferred me again to yet someone else's voicemail.  I got a little lippy with her the third time, and asked her how she got to work. (But I did so in the nicest voice I could muster.  People don't know how to act if you say something kind-of mean in a very nice voice.)  She apologized and I was mollified and she promised she'd find a live human being to give me directions.  I guess she truly did NOT know how she got to work that day.  Anyway, I eventually got directions and glory be, they were actually right.

In Oklahoma, just north of Atoka, OK a truck had apparently tried to turn a corner too short and put the tandems into a steep ditch.  A wrecker was in the process of pulling him out.  Bummer. 

I hit the Texas/Oklahoma state line about 9:00 PM and upon seeing the Texas state flag, I suddenly (DUH) realize that it's Election Day.  I've been listening to audio books all day long.  I flip the AM/FM on and hear all this dumb crap about Florida this and close calls that and they're still counting the votes in a bunch of states.  I tune in and am really listening hard - this is important to me - and miss a turn off.  That costs me about 20 minutes to get turned around and on the right track.  I listen all the way down to Ft. Worth, listen while they load & unload, and keep listening until making it back to Atoka, OK on the way to Indianapolis, IN.  I have to give the Atoka, OK Wal-Mart the big THUMBS UP.  There's a Love's truckstop next door to the Wal-Mart and since it's just a little farther than a hop & skip to another truckstop in either direction, Love's fills up early.  Wal-Mart lets the overflow trucks park in their lot.  They don't chase them off the property, either.  Most Wal-Marts are pretty decent about this but this particular one must have had 30 trucks in it and it is unusual to have that many. 

A lot of private lots post "No Parking" signs.  It can be maddening but consider the other side of this, too.  If you were a private property owner, would you like picking up the trash and other disgusting items that drivers leave behind?  I know I wouldn't.  The reason why drivers often get "kicked out" of a place is because of this kind of thing.

When I went to sleep in the wee hours of the morning, we didn't have a president yet.  What a joke.

I may make enemies now but I am firmly, absolutely, completely and totally REPUBLICAN.  If you're for Gore and you're in the trucking industry, you have a conflict of interest going, my friend. 

It scares me to think of what he might do in his never ending environmentalist campaign to try to reduce that nasty old diesel exhaust.  In New York City they've dealt with it by not allowing trucks to idle for more than (I think) 10 minutes.  What if it's 10 below zero?  Tough luck, driver.  115 degrees?  Sweat it out, driver.  I think you'll also see the price of gasoline and diesel fuel remain (and stay) high if he gets into office.  Or, what the heck, let's just develop a brand new kind of fuel and charge $3.50 per gallon for it.  If he thought it would help the environmentalist cause, I think he'd do it in a heartbeat.

I'll admit I'm not keen on NAFTA and Mr. Bush is -- but I still believe he's the best man for the industry, as well as for little old tax-payin', hard-workin' ME.

I hope I haven't offended the Democratic readers out there....

Final Results of Poll that was on this site that asked political affiliation:

    Republicans:  38

    Democrats:  15

    Independents:  5

Comments: 

• "Let's control big government"

• "Libertarians are the only ones who'll get big government off our backs."

• "They're both morons and we all lose, regardless of whom gets elected. Bush appears to be the evil of the lessers!"  (corrected)

• "Great Site. Keep it up!!!!"  (Hey thanks!!!)

• "Love your site.  Long live Bush!"  (Hey thanks, too.)

• "You're absolutely right!!!!" (Watch it or you may make my ego swell!  But Thanks.)

• Too bad that truckers, AND their companies won't STAND TOGETHER for what's needed in the industry. We bring just about all goods just about everywhere. New York City doesn't want us to idle when it's cold/hot outside-- fine-- they can figure some other way to move their goods. What? They don't HAVE another way? Okay, then trucks will idle so their drivers get a decent nights' sleep. It's all about putting the pressure on in the right areas. How do you think these laws get made in the first place? Yep-the pressure is put on some law maker. The good, old American way. Now, it's up to us to use it to our advantage.

• God bless America. Republicans are right  (get it).

• I still think there must be a better Republican than George W. out there for the office of President. But, I'd vote for a horse's ass rather than have Gore. I better rephrase that last line. You might think that I want Clinton for another four years. Good comments from you all along. Keep up the great work!

• Big oil bought and paid for this election. So what if the majority wanted someone else.

• Beeing from the UK, what can I say, having watched and heard all about it.  What a bloody fiasco, vote for the men in white coats!  LOL.

• I realize Gore would have been a nightmare for truckers. Bush is a nightmare for poor people.

• If I had to pick one, I'd pick my nose.  Your site is great, Why don't you run for press next time.  (Gee...)

11-8-00

I have a secret to share with all of you.  It's one that I didn't get figured out for about a year or so and I was rudely awakened when it dawned on me.  On these nights that you drive and drive and drive and then drive some more, you get pretty philosophical.  Thoughts come to mind that might never have in any other circumstance.  You'll probably have more time to just think about stuff as a driver than you have ever had in your entire life.  This is good and bad.  The secret, though, is this:  If you want to drive a truck to escape a situation or place or person or pain at home, you really should realize that these things actually come with you.  They sit right there in the truck with you and they wait for these long nights and they present themselves.  If you think there's something out there on the road that you can't find at home, realize there is not.  There's only road.  Lots and lots and lots of never-ending road.  On nights like these, when you see just one car for every thirty trucks and your destination is far and the weather is cold and your back aches and no radio stations will come in..... these are the nights when you'll do some heavy-duty, soul-shakin' thinking. 

11-9-00

I'm working my way towards home now and I'm not moving slowly, but I'm not running a race, either.  I have no intention to go home exhausted.  I know things will be "expected" of me and if I go home tired, I'll just be very grouchy and irritable.  It's hard to pace yourself when you're on the way home - but it's by far the best thing to do. 

Is it a full moon?  There's another truck wreck on I-74 in Indiana @ MM37.

11-10-00

Hallelujah .... Another successful week done and over with.  It was a relatively high mileage week:  clocked in at 4200 miles. 

11-17-00

My dispatcher informed me that my "partner" was running late and had hit some bad weather, which had slowed him down.  He was due to be in Saturday at noon.  I was going to take the load he brought in to Ottawa, IL and drop and hook there for Great Bend, KS for a Monday morning delivery.  That was all well and good, but I wanted to get out of Council Bluffs, IA and on my way to Ottawa, IL good & early so I wouldn't get messed up for time trying to make the Great Bend, KS deal. 

The way the week started...

Council Bluffs, IA to Ottawa, IL to Great Bend, KS, nearly 1200 miles.

11-18-00

I called in again this morning (Sat) to double check if everything was still good for noon, but was told that he would be even later -- about 6PM.  Bummer.

When I arrived at the yard at 6:30PM, he still wasn't there.... man, oh man, what's the deal?  Dispatch said that he'd called in and he had been told I wasn't leaving until Sunday so he went to his house!  I asked them to call him to request his wonderful presence (and the flippin truck) at the Council Bluffs yard as soon as possible.  He thankfully lived close by and was in by 7:00 PM and I finally got moving.

11-19-00

I rolled into Ottawa, IL about 2:30 AM and Qualcommed in to get the trailer number and load information for the load I was supposed to pull out of there.  They said that I was mistaken and that I was under a load going to Philadelphia, PA, New York and Massachusetts.  No way.  My dispatcher had specifically said I was not going out east -- I was going to Great Bend, KS.  I argued back and forth that their info was wrong and I wasn't taking it.  I have a great dispatcher but she'd blow a fuse if I didn't stick to my guns and she discovered me halfway to the East coast when she arrived in the morning.  I looked in every single trailer and at every set of bills but nothing for Great Bend so I said to heck with it and went to bed.

Later in the morning I was greeted by a Qualcomm message saying that OOPS, don't know what happened, but my Great Bend, KS load was down in Indianapolis, IN.  I was supposed to hoof it down to Bloomington, IL and meet a driver who would bring my load to me.  Since Indianapolis to Bloomington is quite a bit farther than Ottawa to Bloomington, I had some time on my hands.  It also meant that by the time I was finally moving on this load, I would have some serious truckin to get done.  So typical -- I'd done everything that I was supposed to do to the letter but due to people and situations out of my control, I now had to bust my butt to get the job done.  It makes little to no difference who you work for, this kind of thing happens all the time. 

I had a "DUH" moment coming into Bloomington, IL on I-39.  I mistakenly went West on I-74 instead of going East to the Pilot truckstop.  I realized it right away and took the next exit.  As I entered the ramp onto I-74 Eastbound, I saw this ugly rollover. 

Apparently it had just happened because there was only this one police car.  There were several trucks parked on the right shoulder of the ramp.  I don't know if any of them were the driver. 

If you learn nothing at all from any journal page, please learn this:  WATCH THOSE RAMPS!!!!  They are the number #1 accident PLACE for combination vehicles and are nearly ALWAYS caused by one thing that the driver CAN control!!!!!!  SPEED!!!

More about Rollover

I went to Bloomington, IL ate and took a nap.  The driver woke me and I hooked to the Great Bend, KS load and was off... I finally got going on the load about 5:00 PM and had nearly 700 miles to go in 16 hours.  I don't think it requires a DOT officer to see that this cannot be done... legally, anyway.

I stopped for fuel at Troy, IL, I-55, MM18.  I exited the southbound interstate and at the end of the ramp was a red light.  There was one car in front of me waiting on the light to turn.  I came to a stop and waited, too.  From the left comes a car with the right turn signal on.  It looked as though it was going to make a right turn onto the off-ramp and as it slowed, I saw that's exactly what the car was doing.  The man driving it was elderly and it was dark and he had apparently become confused.  He was headed on a path to disaster.  I honked my air horn over and over but he didn't hear it or ignored it.  Thanks to the fast actions of an IWX (Indiana Western Express) driver, this incident didn't develop into the catastrophe it surely would've become.  IWX had exited the interstate and was maybe halfway up the ramp when this began and he immediately began flashing his high beams at the car.  The car kept going, oblivious.  IWX was just not going to allow this man to enter the interstate the wrong way, though.  When the man didn't respond to the honking or lights, IWX put his tractor on the shoulder and the trailer across the ramp and effectively prevented the car from moving any farther.  It all happened so fast and IWX was really with the program to do as he did, when he did and exactly how he did it.  What a fantastic show of professional driving and decision making.  I got on the CB Radio and told him I thought he did a great job, but forgot to ask his name or handle -- or I'd love to give him credit here.  He deserves that and more.  (By the way, the car got a clue and did a U-turn when IWX blocked his path.)

11-20-00

I rolled into Great Bend, KS, but not on time.  I did the best I could and was in the early afternoon.  They unloaded me pretty fast and I had to sit for awhile waiting for the next load. 

I am unsure in which Kansas town I took this picture, but I was impressed with this beautiful church.  Note that the road is brick.  (Not Golden Brick, though, Toto.)

I found it amusing that this forklift drove right down the street like this.  I love the rural Midwest... where else would you see a forklift driving down the street like he belongs there?  Heck, where else could he do this without getting run over?

My reload was in Grand Island, NE and it was to deliver in Plover, WI at 1:00 AM on 11-22, with a second (and final) drop in Ft. Atkinson, WI on the same day at 1:00 PM.

On the way to Grand Island on US281 I stumbled upon yet another rollover.  The truck is the dark shadow.  The lights are those of highway patrol.  Sorry for the poor picture quality -- it was from a distance and getting dark.

Did you know that more than 1/2 of truck drivers' deaths are due to rollover?  Please learn all you can about Rollover so it's never you I take a picture of out here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cruised on up to Grand Island as fast as possible because I was hoping to put the truck in the shop in Lincoln, NE afterwards. The truck had developed a pretty nasty shimmy and needed steer tires and alignment. The load in Grand Island was a drop and hook, so that ended up being pretty fast & easy but unfortunately it was about 9:00PM before it was said and done.  I wouldn't make Lincoln until just before the shop closed.  I tried it anyway.  They turned me down for the night, but said they could take care of it first thing in the morning at 7:00 AM when they opened, so I waited.  I was a bit worried that if I was delayed long in Lincoln that I'd have a tough time making Plover on time.

11-21-00

Thankfully I was finally out of Lincoln, NE just before noon.  I had 13 hours to do nearly 600 miles.  I'm starting to wonder why every trip seems so tight.. eeek!! The pressure!!!

Great Bend, KS to Grand Island, NE, Lincoln, NE and finally to Plover, WI.... about 900 miles.

11-22-00

Well, I made Plover, WI in plenty of time.  All I have to say is BRRRRR.  I have to credit you cheese heads (no offense intended, Wisconsinites) for having some very thick skin.  I was pretty worn out, I'll admit, when I got to Plover.  I was given a dock door right away.  When the dock guy was telling me which dock to back into, he said, "The one facing north, right beside the tracks".  I thought nothing of it.  As I looked at my dock, though, I saw he really meant what he said -- the dock was right next to the tracks and I wondered if a train would even clear a truck in that dock.  I went ahead and put it in and got the laptop out to goof with while I was winding down from a hard day's work. 

I became totally engrossed in what I was doing until I looked up to discover that I would very soon find out if a truck and train could "share" this space... because a train was headed right towards me on those tracks!  My jaw dropped.  A guy then came walking up to my truck's door with a huge smile on his face.  I mean, picture this:  It's 1:AM in the morning and it's freezing outside and here's this cheese head walking along beside a train and he's grinning to beat the band.  The whole thing was just too much. 

I said to him, "Man!  I thought MINE was big!"  A train never looks so big until it's parked beside you.  He just smiled on.... what a guy.  I figured these guys must be pretty friendly so I grabbed for the camera and managed to get off one shot of the train driver... (or I guess that should be conductor??).  I didn't use any zoom, he was right outside my window.  You can't tell it by the picture, but he had a HUGE grin on his face, too.  It's rare to see two people enjoy their work so much! 

The black at the bottom is my steering wheel - to help you get some perspective as to just how close the train and my truck were.

That first drop came off fast and I went to the truckstop a few miles away and slept a deep, deep, dead sleep.

After a nice refreshing sleep I headed over to Ft. Atkinson, WI for my 1:00 PM delivery.  That also came off fast and I wondered what I would have in store now.  Since Thanksgiving was the next day, it would most likely be a little longer of a load.

My dispatcher offered me a pretty good deal, though and I jumped on it.  She needed me to deadhead over to St Paul, MN to drop and hook and then run it to Des Moines, IA.  It had to be done by morning, because the load I picked up at St. Paul, MN was going to Oklahoma City, OK but another driver would take it on from Des Moines, IA.  I just had to get it to Des Moines, IA by the morning.  The other driver lived in Oklahoma and that load would take him home.  Since I live in Des Moines, IA, you can be sure there were no complaints from me about this plan!!!  I was going to be home for Thanksgiving -- something I had not expected at all.

11-23-00

I rolled into Des Moines in the wee hours of the morning.  I dropped the trailer and bobtailed home.  (My vehicle is still in Council Bluffs)  I don't like bobtailing home because there are a lot of old trees in my neighborhood and low power lines.  The branches can smack the truck pretty hard and rip off CB antennas if you're not very careful.  Besides that, since it's getting colder, it presents a problem with whether to run the truck all night and make the neighbors mad or risk the truck not starting the next day.  Unless I Paul Bunyon one of my trees down, I cannot put the tractor in the driveway, where I could plug it in.  Thankfully it wasn't cold enough for these worries.  Some people really want to be able to take the truck/trailer home, but it's a pain if you live in a neighborhood like mine and it's especially difficult in the winter. 

Anyway, I'm home for a "free" day.  My dispatcher said to call her Friday morning and she'd have a plan to get me back to Council Bluffs, IA.

Ft. Atkinson, WI to St Paul, MN to Des Moines, IA... about 550 miles.

Happy Thanksgiving !

11-24-00

On Friday morning I'm told to run across town to grab an empty trailer and deadhead to Council Bluffs.  My week is done.   Total miles for this week.... about 2900 or so.