Make New Friends

When I was in Girl Scouts (eons ago) we sang a song...

Make New Friends

But Keep the Old

One is Silver

and the Other's Gold

Saturday was an extraordinary day for us. It was one of those delightful days when everything falls into place just right, and you get to have a great day with unexpected pleasures. One of those days when trucking reveals another of its benefits and makes possible something that might not have happened otherwise.

After loading in Winnemucca, NV on Friday night, Malcolm drove north to just shy of the Oregon state line and we spent the night parked at a rest stop, listening to a gentle rain falling on the roof of the truck. Woke up to this beautiful scene in the morning, and a cool but comfortable 45 degrees.

Just down the road, we stopped at a cafe in the little border town b/c we knew there wasn't much out there once we crossed into Oregon. I had been catching up on a few blogs that morning as Malcolm drove and suddenly remembered that gtyyup (aka: Karen) from Life at the Rough String lived somewhere in the general vicinity of where we'd be traveling. So I left a comment on her blog saying we were in the area, and a few minutes later the phone rang and it was Karen, inviting us to come on over! Turns out we were passing within 2 miles of her and her husband's ranch!

I've thought for a while how neat it would be to meet the people who's blogs I read, and those who read my blog. In fact I've been working with one blogger friend in New Mexico, Lisa and Laughing Orca Ranch , but it just never seems to work out. She's always either snowed in or has a riding clinic to go to when we're driving through her area. One of these days though, Lisa, we're going to get it to work out.

Needless to say I was practically bouncing in my seat as we made our way across the Oregon countryside. This part of Oregon is rocky, with lots of sage and buttes, by all appearances completely empty of human life...and I think its lovely! There are actually people here. They are just quite spread out.

Karen and her husband, John, live south of Burns in central Oregon. We parked out on the gravel road and John drove out to pick us up. Their ranch is in such a pretty setting, all nestled up against the rocks of a butte, with a view of the valley stretched out before them. Unfortunatly I was too busy visiting to think to take a picture of it, but trust me...its very picturesque.

Karen is just as precious in person as she sounds on her blog. I so much enjoyed getting to visit with her. She and John gave us a tour of the place, and I got to meet all the famous residents of the Rough String. Colt was in the barn recovering from a little leg injury so I didn't take his picture. Didn't want to bother him with the flash. But he was very eager to greet us and visit. We also made friends with the rest of the gang.

Here's Karen introducing us to Stetson. He was the star of the show, staying around as our shadow through the entire tour of this side of the ranch. He was just a sweetheart! His Mom, Catnip, was a little standoffish, but that was fine. We still enjoyed meeting her from a distance. For those that don't read Karen's blog (and you should), she and John adopted Catnip and several mustangs from the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro program. Stetson was an added bonus as Catnip was pregnant when she was adopted. Here is Bella Jo and Stetson. They were going after each other in a round of "catch the dog/donkey."

Here are me, Rohan (one of her "wild" mustangs), Karen, and Stetson in a group picture to remember the day by.

After a tour, Karen and I went inside to sit by the wood stove and have a long chat about blogging, ranching, trucking, and a bucketful of other topics. It was SO much fun to get to make a new friend, and also get some much needed "girl" time.

Malcolm and John had snatched up the .22's and retreated to the front drive where they proceeded to partake of some "guy" time...spent practicing their aim at a hay field full of sage rats. I had figured John and Malcolm would get along pretty well based on the fact that Karen and John lived in the country and had the ranch. I knew at least they would have something to talk about. I had completely forgotten that John is a former long-haul truck driver. So there was plenty for the two of them to "shoot the bull" about.

It was a delightful and refreshing afternoon for all involved I think! And hopefully we will be able to get together again sometime when we're heading up through that part of Oregon.

Thank you Karen and John for a wonderful day! We had so much fun getting to know you both in person. While I considered you a friend already by way of the blogging world, I now consider you a "new"friend of the real world, and look forward to seeing you again soon.

As for the rest of you, I sincerely would love to meet as many of my blogging friends as possible! So maybe over time, we can make that happen.

Color

Thank you for all the offers to come enjoy the color at various places, and also for commiserating with me from those of you who are tired of the all white scenery too.

Texas was green and pretty. And then we got to California.

The almond groves are in full bloom and I don't know what these orange flowers are, but aren't they pretty? The median and ditches were full of them, like a carpet, and though you can't tell in the picture, they were so bright it was almost blinding! Color over-load...one extreme to the next! It was so beautiful!

We are now in northern Nevada about to cross into Oregon. We loaded ground limestone last night in Winnemucca and will deliver it in Grainger, WA on Monday morning. Its a beautiful drive up through the back country of Oregon, near to where gtyyup girl from Life At The Rough String lives. Well at least we're kind of near there, going through Burns Junction. I love her part of Oregon!

Have a great weekend and if your in a world of white, feel free to take my color picture and make it your wallpaper for a while so you too can enjoy some color and be reminded that spring WILL come again...one day!

White, White, Everywhere I Look is White

When we got home, the snow was still there, though it has settled considerably. There were even some spots of dry earth peaking through where Malcolm had plowed some and then the remnants had melted. I got to thinking though that I don't think I've seen the ground at home since before Christmas. It hasn't been as miserable cold as last year for as long, but the snow seems to have stayed on the ground longer because it hasn't been up and down in temperature like last year either. I'll be glad to see more of that brown earth and dried up grass soon. Every where I look is white, and while that's pretty at the beginning of winter, by now its getting rather bland. Lets see some color!

We spent two days at home and it was very restful. Well for me it was. Malcolm had to work the whole time, but he still enjoyed being home and sleeping in our house instead of the truck. As expected I slept like the dead, and it felt wonderful.

We left Monday morning bright and early, drove all day and all night to get to Illinois to deliver this morning. I managed to stay up and drive extra long, from 5:30 yesterday evening till almost 2:00 this morning. Maybe it was due to that, or maybe I was just over some of my insomnia, but I actually managed to fall asleep last night and slept for about 3 1/2 hours in the moving truck, and then another 1 1/2 hours while Malcolm unloaded.

He's now taking a nap while we wait our turn to load up in Danville, IL. We're heading to Texas tonight, and then will reload in Mount Pleasant, TX. More feather meal for California. Its starting to sound (and feel) like a broken record, but man that load pays good, so I'm not going to complain...too much!

When we leave Billings to come east, we generally head east (literally south) on I-90 towards Wyoming. At Crow Agency, MT we hop off the interstate and take US 212 to Belle Fourche and then skip on back over to I-90. Its about a 200 mile drive through the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservation, as well as some of eastern Montana's more remote and beautiful ranch land. The entire south eastern corner of Montana is Carter County, which is the county we lived in during our first year in Montana. Actually we lived in Carter County, just barely, because we were right on the northern line. I love this country!

Before you get to Belle Fourche, SD, you pass through exactly 20 miles of Wyoming. Devils Tower is just south of here.

These last two are taken near Belle Fourche, SD. Those are the Black Hills in the distance.

Here's a little trivia fact for you. Belle Fourche, SD is technically the center of the nation....if you count Hawaii and Alaska.

Sleepless Nights and Leaky Tires

From California to Ogden, UT, we delivered our load of poultry meal to the pet food plant on Wednesday afternoon after driving all night. Still I can't seem to sleep if the truck is moving. Something has got to change, and soon!

I've considered taking a Tylenol PM or something mild like that to help me, but my fear is that I'll by drowsy when it is my turn to drive again. So I just lay back there in the bunk wishing I would fall asleep and hoping the hours go by quickly.

From Ogden, UT we took a load of road salt to Colorado. We had all afternoon and night to go 480 miles so we went half way and went to bed. After 6 hours of "parked" sleeping, I got up at 2:00am and finished the drive while Malcolm rested.

The salt unloaded, we proceeded on to Akron, CO where we loaded millet. That went to Spokane, WA to a bird food plant we frequently deliver to. Twelve hundred miles over night. One would think having been up since 2:00 am I'd sleep like the dead, but no...I tossed and turned and stared at the upper bunk for 5 hours until I could take it no more. I got up at 5:30pm and took over driving at 7:00 at the Montana state line. Pushed through all the way to Butte and 12:30 this morning when Malcolm took over with just 350 miles left. I'd been drowsy when I stopped driving, and yet I still laid back there staring and wishing and feeling like crying and then screaming. Why can't I sleep?

I think I did dose some, but at 6:00am, when the Washington scale stopped Malcolm to inspect paperwork, I gave up and got dressed. We were just 20 miles from the delivery anyway.

And so here I sit, almost noon, reloading in Clarkston. A load of peas going to Illinois, and Malcolm is beat so when we're done here I'm going to drive. I'm wide awake. Malcolm calls me a solar powered driver, which is true, but lately I seem to be powered by moonlight too, or at least my brain is.

They don't want the peas till Tuesday morning so I will, by the grace and love of God, be sleeping in my bed at home tonight. I'll sleep like the dead. I always do at home.

I owe you an update on the tire story from Sunday. We did get it changed, at the TA truckstop in Barstow, and ended up only costing $1086.00 (tire, tax, and labor).

That's an expensive chunk of rubber. Malcolm is regretting getting the super single tires, but as I told him when we were discussing it, it was worth a try and now we know.

Remember last month when we had to chain up to go over Vail pass in Colorado, busted our chains up, and punctured a tire with a broken link? And then we got it patched? Well, sadly, while they were replacing the one tire, it was discovered that the patched tire was leaking air through its patch! And they wouldn't re-patch it. We were not in any mood to buy TWO new tires, so we drove down to a place to stop and eat, and after dinner we patched the tire up ourselves, laying hands on it and saying a prayer of salvation for the tire. No just kidding, but we did patch it and are hoping it holds for a while longer. So far so good.

Also discovered two more wheel seals leaking...those would be the ones Malcolm spent his entire Thanksgiving day replacing.

So...we get two days home, Saturday and most of Sunday, and Malcolm is going to be replacing shocks, brake drums, and maybe brakes. I don't know if he plans to look at those wheel seals too. Some days....being a company driver looks like heaven on earth in the trucking industry!

Despite lack of sleep, frustrating unexpected expenses, and chore lists hanging over our heads, it will still be nice to be home for a short time. I'm looking forward to sorting. I've decided to adopt my Mom's motto from a few years ago..."Simplify, simplify, simplify!" That's what I'm going to work on tomorrow. I'm planning on getting rid of things I don't use, things that are just cluttering up my life. Its a beautiful day, 42 degrees and sunny! I have a beautiful drive ahead of my along the Clearwater River in the daylight...something I don't get the priviledge of too often...and the prospect of getting home at a somewhat decent hour (verses four in the morning which is normal for this run). I'm running on little sleep, but the sun is up. This solar powered driver is ready to go.

Macro Monday: Buzzed

In addition to Sunday Stills, there is a group of people who post a macro picture every Monday. Macro is just super zoomed in. I have yet to participate but thought I'd have a go at it today. I may not do this every week, but we'll see.



We got buzzed, and not in the way your thinking.




Last week we were waiting our turn in line to get our trailer washed out. The truck in the wash bay was a flatbed and he apparently had been hauling bee hives, complete with bees. There were hundreds of dead and living bees being washed up out of the gaps between the boards on his deck.



Some of the living ones were flying around, and a number of them were buzzing our truck.



This particular little lady (aren't all worker bees female?) stayed on our windshield for the duration of the other trucks wash. I found myself wondering if she was perhaps a Montana bee and had recognized a fellow Montanan.



Bees travel more further than you may realize, and I'm not talking about their normal pollen collecting flights.

I have read of a number of honey bee farms in Montana. One in particular I was reading about a couple weeks ago so I'll use them to illustrate my point. They live in northern Montana and have been "farming" honey bees for a couple of generations. Their bees spend the summers vacationing in Montana hay fields, resting, gaining strength, and being vaccinated of sorts. Come November, or there abouts, they are loaded onto trucks, hives and all, and driven to California where they spend a number of months working in the almond groves.

Later in the spring they are reloaded and shipped to the Washington apple orchards. So as you see they get around! Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "busy bees."

Sunday Stills: Valentine's Day

I've been really slack in my participation in Sunday Stills this year. I always intend to post every Sunday, but then during the week I just don't find anything that inspires me, or I forget about it till Saturday evening, or, like last week, I have some great shots, but we're home on Sunday and don't return to work till Tuesday and my internet at home is just too weak to get pictures posted.


Sometimes finding things to fit the topic of the challenge is a little too much of a challenge for me out here on the road. Ed does a much better job of it than me, and when I see his pictures, I wonder why I wasn't able to come up with something, ANYTHING!


I haven't looked at anyone else's post for this week, but I imagine there are all sorts of beautiful pictures of Valentine decorations, flowers, and all sorts of other creative things.


I thought about taking my camera into a store and taking pictures of the selection of Valentine gifts that were available for purchase. But then I decided not to. For me, Valentine's Day has always been about the people I love, not the gifts, flowers, jewelry, etc. (though I never turn any of that down mind you!)


So my Sunday Still's photographs today are of my top 4 Valentines. Hope you all have a wonderful and love filled Valentine's Day!









(the girls are all wearing clothes with hearts on them today, but they were super uncooperative during our little photo shoot. Just take my word for it that I dressed them for the occasion.)\

On a definitely depressing note:

Malcolm just did a walk around the truck/trailer. We've had a trailer tire that hasn't been quite right since we got it, and now there are apparently cables showing, which means we're about to loose it. Guess we're now shopping for a close, yet affordable, tire shop that has super singles. Why did this have to happen in California where they tax you to put it on , tax you to buy it, tax you to dispose of the old one, and only give you a few pennies for the trade? California is the worst possible place to be buying tires, and is seems like we always end up having our tire issues when we're in this state! The tire alone will be $900, without all their special treatment! Why?

Texas Might be Tired of Us

I reckon that if this keeps up, Texas might officially uninvite us to their state. Seems like lately, every time we go down there, we bring the snow with us. I hope they are enjoying it rather than being perturbed. It seems to be the way it is, but they might eventually tire of it after the novelty wears off.

Thursday morning as we approached our delivery in Winnsboror, TX it started snowing lightly, and within the hour had dusted the ground, even though it wasn't quite below freezing.

We drove 45 miles north to Mount Pleasant to reload and ended up sitting there almost all day waiting our turn. It snowed a steady, gentle, wet snow all day long and by 5:00pm when we finally turned our wheels west towards California, Mount Pleasant didn't look so pleasant anymore.

We actually only went 30 miles or so, fueled, and parked it for the night. The roads weren't bad, but we were feeling extremely unmotivated and since we had 4 days, we figured why bother.

The next morning the sun broke through the thin clouds and revealed a white, white world. The forecast I read predicted 1-3 inches for the area. But when I took the girls out, after I sloshed through parking lot slush, jumped a big puddle, and waded through some snow covered mud, I found myself walking in at least 5, maybe 6, inches of snow. It was, according to one friendly Texan, the biggest snow they'd had in over a decade easily.

The roads had been slick in places over night, but had cleaned up nicely, and were almost dry. Since the area we were parked in had lost power (the snow was heavy on all the tree limbs so I'm sure that was the culprit), we headed out without breakfast, figuring to just stop later somewhere...which we did...at the every present Texas Dairy Queen.

Along the way, driving north of Dallas on 380, it was so much fun to see how Texas reacted to the snow. First we were shocked to see families and neighborhoods gathered for sledding. The shock was not that they were sledding, but where they were sledding. They were parked on the shoulders and sledding down the hillsides of the Interstate exit ramps, where the road department had built up the road when the exits were put in! Seriously...whole crowds of people huddled up against the guard rail waiting their turn as trucks and the few cars that were out zoomed by at regular speed since the roads were dry. I hope they all had fun, and no one got hurt!

Second thing we saw that I loved was that EVERYONE had built a snowman! There were snowmen with no features, snowmen with garden hose arms, all sizes, shapes, and even one with crutches! You know that saying that everying is bigger in Texas?

Probably this was the biggest snowman I've ever seen. The picture doesn't truely reveal his height, but if you look close you'll see it apparently took a step ladder to get him built, and if I'm not mistaken, it appears that a truck or other vehicle was backed up to him to assist in his being erreceted as well.

So in addition to state pride, I guess we can add that Texans know how to have fun in any situation! Where as most Montanans huddle up to the heater inside when there is snow on the ground and complain about it snowing....again....I loved seeing all the people out enjoying their holiday from school and work, playing in the snow. The most wonderful sight of the whole morning was a sweet couple standing by their snowman in their front yard with huge smiles on their faces waving at us as we drove by, with snow all over their clothing...and they were probably in their 70's at least. I wish I'd gotten that picture!

It's Never Enough

No matter how much time we get at home, its never enough. I think that is one thing all 5 of us agree on.

After delivering in Tacoma, WA on Thursday morning, we high tailed it over to Clarkston, which is on the ID/WA line near Lewiston, ID. Clarkston has become a favorite loading point of ours. We load peas there and they always go to either Illinois or occasionally South Carolina. Regardless, both loads go past our house, and the one also goes past my parent's in Tennessee.

We don't get up near Seattle and Tacoma much, but when we do its usually in the dark. So this time I enjoyed viewing the mountains east of Seattle. These pictures were taken as we approached and crossed Snoqualmie Pass at 3022 feet. Mount Rainier is south of here.

Once you get past the mountains, the trees clear out and the land geography changes a bit. I think many people picture lush evergreen forests and the area around Seattle when they picture Washington in their minds. Actually most of Washington state looks more like this.

Clarkston has become a favorite loading point for us because we usually load on a Thursday or Friday and most often the delivery in Illinois is scheduled for Monday morning. So we always end up getting a day or more at home in between pick up and delivery. Its also a beautiful drive along the Clearwater River which I shared with you last summer.

The original plan was to spend Saturday at home, then deliver in Monday. Freight, however, is not cooperating with our need for a week off. Its slow, and nothing is going to our area right now. So Mark, our broker, called up and asked how we felt about not delivering till Wednesday morning. It would give us 4 days at home, and then we could try again for more home time next month. We decided we'd better take what we could get. We both needed out of this truck desperately. It wasn't the week we needed, but it was better than nothing. And like my title says, its never enough. We could take 4 months off, and it still wouldn't be enough. So we just made the best of what we had.

Malcolm relaxed, visited with Brandon who was also home for a day, and did a little work on the truck.

I did laundry...lots and lots of it, started a new quilting project, did a little cleaning in the house, and cooked up a storm. I made lots of things to keep in the freezer for next time we're home. I think I have about 4 meals, or partial meals in the freezer now, and also a few snack/lunch items.

Several of my recipes came from my new Pioneer Woman cookbook. Most everyone in the blogging world knows about her, but if you don't here's her blog, and here's a link to her cookbook. Let me just say, her Marlboro Man sandwiches, which are such a big hit with her cowboy, were a big hit with mine and his cowboy buddy too. The breakfast bowls were also very much enjoyed, and I had some left for the freezer. And Malcolm enjoyed the guacamole so much, that I didn't get to try much of it. Guess I'll have to make a bigger batch next time, but I'm very glad he liked it so well.

In all I made 6 recipes from her book, and liked 5 of them. The 6th I put in the freezer without trying. We'll give it a whirl next time we're home.

The girls did what the girls do best, which is live life to the fullest! Couldn't we all take a life lesson from dogs? Everything was wonderful as far as they were concerned, except EVERYTHING in the truck got hauled into the house for a thorough washing, including them. They are never very thrilled about this particular part of coming home, but all good things come at a price, right?

Also, they can't figure out why their lady and their man keep spreading this cold, wet, white stuff on their yard. This time it was the deepest yet and they were none too happy with us about it. Malcolm used the tractor to clear out a big square for them, so they'd stop using the sidewalk as a potty area.
But they still felt the sidewalk was a better choice, despite the ice and snow on it.

Aside from those two disagreeable events and the fact that the lady and the man wouldn't sit down and hold them during their endless nap sessions, they were very happy. They did their usual things which include napping by the fire till they turn mushy with the heat...



...and going absolutely berserk downstairs in the living room.

They really know how to celebrate being home!

That was our weekend and start to this week. We delivered in Illinois this morning after driving all night, and now are waiting our turn in a long line of trucks to load in Decatur, IL. If we ever get our turn, we'll head to Texas for a drop in the morning. Then reload and have another trip to Helm, CA with feather meal...again...and again with 4 days to do a 1 1/2 day trip. But I think by then I'll need the rest. I'm beat after last night. After over three years of doing this, why have I suddenly developed an inability to sleep in a moving truck? Its really not working for me!

A Favorite on Route 66

If you drive on I-40 across the southwest, your pretty much driving the old Route 66. It criss-crosses the interstate over and over, even merges and shares the pavement with it for stretches.

In New Mexico, you can exit the interstate in Moriarty and drive through town on US66, just as you can in many small towns along the way. We have not seen much of Moriarty, just that little snippet that's right off the interstate and around the truck stop that's there.

A couple years ago we stopped there at the TA for fuel and a meal. As is usual for us, we weren't overly enthused about our options at the truck stop, so after fueling, Malcolm headed towards town. We'd only gone a few blocks when we spotted the El Comedor. Malcolm has a weakness for Mexican food, and I'm pretty fond of it myself. Malcolm is also an expert at getting the truck in and out of unusual parking situations, so we get to go places many other truckers probably avoid. In the case of the El Comedor, though, there was a grocery store next door and next to that, an area of gravel along the side road that was just big enough for a truck to turn around in and park. And thus, a tradition was started, and we now have our self-designated truck parking spot, and stop at the El Comedor whenever we're passing Moriarty, NM and have time to stop.

Its a cozy place, kind of a cowboy/southwest motif. We tend to be in there early between the breakfast and lunch crowds, and so we get to visit and joke with the staff, and enjoy the quiet.

Don't be fooled by the picture into thinking its not a popular place. We've been here when they were busy bees, and they are apparently rather popular with the stars. They have a whole wall of photos of local and national celebrities that have made it a point to stop in.

If you can catch it on a Sunday they have a great breakfast/brunch buffett for a reasonable price. On every other occasion that you might get to stop there, their menu features New Mexico favorites, and for the non-border food consumer, they also have some "normal" restaurant selections, such as hamburgers.

Malcolm and I used to eat at Mexican restaurants when we lived in Tennessee and Georgia and enjoyed the meals greatly. But when we started trucking through the southwest and California, we quickly realized we had not been eating real Mexican food. And in truth, we may still not be. I'm sure what is served this side of the border is probably changed up a little to appeal to the American taste buds. But what we get in the southwest is far different from what is served in other areas. Its the same menu items, but SO much better, and often totally different in appearance from what we had been served previously!

Malcolm has his favorites and so do I. At the El Comedor, he has discovered they have the best Chile Rellenos. These are peppers stuffed with cheese, battered, and deep fried. I'm not a huge fan, but these looked better than any I've seen before and I may have to order them next time we're through there for a try.

For me, it changes. I love the tacos at certain places in California, but I like to try different things in other places. On this occasion I opted for the burrito with Carne Adavado with the green chili sauce.

Both meals came with a Sopapilla, which is a piece of fried bread. This is served at many establishments, but it seems to always be different. Some places its flat, where as here it was very puffy. Some places drizzle them with chocolate syrup or honey, and top it with whipped cream. Here it comes to you un-garnished, but there is a bottle of honey syrup on every table. Yummy!

Its worth the stop. For contact info, directions, and more visit their web site here.

I Got A New Toy!

Don't you just love to get new toys?

I got my Christmas present a few days ago. Malcolm wanted me to pick it out so I'd get just the one I wanted.

Isn't it cute? So tiny!

I've long thought "wouldn't it be nice to have a little camera I can stick in my pocket," because we go into places to eat or what not and I end up seeing something and wishing I had my camera. Now I can carry this one where ever I go, though I'll still use my big Nikon for all the landscape shots, etc.

Mom suggested to me a few weeks ago that I write a book, a travel book of sorts, and feature all the places we eat. She thinks its so neat that we can refer to places we like to eat so easily and that they are all over the country.

I'm not so keen on the book writing idea. She's not the first to mention it and she along with several others have urged me to write a book about becoming a truck driver and all my experiences. I simply don't have the patience. I sit and compose blog posts in my mind as I drive at night, and can percieve how a book might be interesting to do, but when it comes down to getting it on paper, I have no motivation. I've always been one to fall into America's bad habit of demanding instant gratification and I think that's why I like blogging so much. I can write one post and get immediate response from "my readers."

Anyway, Mom's suggestion of an eating out travel book inspired me. Except I'm not going to write a book about it. I'm going to do blog posts featuring the different places we like to stop and eat. I've already documented two of them on this last trip from Texas, and will be posting about them soon.

In the mean time I just wanted to show off my new toy! Its so fun, takes such good pictures, and is just too cute! Thanks for letting me share!