Sunflowers in Sacramento

We loaded sunflower seed on Monday. We were just northwest of Sacramento. In fact, standing in the sunflower field, I watched combines on one side of our truck...

(did you notice all the neighborhood homes in the distance)

...and on the other side of the truck, I had a nice view of Sacramento's sky line.



We delivered the seeds in Fargo, ND yesterday morning. They were for human consumption and the factory where we delivered them gave us a whole arm load of little packets of their honey roasted seeds. They are "free sample" type packets. They are also YUMMY and made a perfect snack for me last night as I was driving.

The east side of North Dakota is quite a bit different from the western side. There are more trees, more water, and quite honestly, it looks a lot like Minnesota, which makes sense considering that's the next state just a few miles east.

We reloaded about 100 miles west of Fargo in Tappen, ND. It looks more like the North Dakota we picture in our minds.

We loaded on a farm, which I always enjoy doing. The only problem with doing this, is that generally Farmer John doesn't have a scale at his farm, and usually there isn't one nearby either, as was the case yesterday morning. In this type situation we load using the air gauges in our truck. There is one for the steer, drive, and trailer axles. But its not a sure thing. Just gives us a good idea of where we are at on weight.

Its a little nerve wracking not knowing for sure, especially when your husband tells you he thinks we're about 1000 pounds over gross, and then goes to bed. And so off I went down the two lanes of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, making my way to Colorado. There was only one scale to worry about, a little one just north of Pierre, SD. And wouldn't you know, as I crested the hill, the only truck for miles of course, the sign said open. Moments like this always make me nervous and I usually send up a quick prayer for them to please leave me alone.

I'm not sure how God feels about me praying for Him to help me break the law. I imagine he doesn't honor those requests. But maybe he gave me a break this time. As I was pulling my front tires onto the scale, the DOT officer walked out of the scale house, waved for me to go on, got in his van, and drove away. I passed him a few miles down the road where he had pulled off to turn the scale sign to closed. Thank you God and SD DOT! I appreciate it.

Other than that it was an uneventful run. We delivered this morning in Platteville, CO and are now loading beef meal in Fort Morgan, CO. Back to the smelly stuff.

We'll be in SanBernadino, CA tomorrow morning and I'm hoping the reload isn't going to be anywhere near LA. But I have a sinking feeling it will be, and I'm not excited about going there, especially on a Friday.

There is one very bright point about taking beef meal to California from this location. The shortest route takes us right through the Rocky Mountains on I-70. A gorgeous drive that Malcolm hates, but I love. It goes through Vail, and many other famous points. So I'm looking forward to this afternoon very much. I just have to get through Denver and then the rest of the day should be very pleasant.

I can't remember if I posted this picture yet, so I'm going to put it up as a parting shot. The other day, on a chilly morning, Malcolm got out of the truck to do something. While he was gone, Carlie Jean and Ella realized there was a vacant, pre-warmed seat available in the sunshine, and so they made use of it till Malcolm returned to the truck. Those two are each other's shadows.