Western Travels and A Story of Devoted Friendship



in Illinois on Monday

 I snapped that picture just as we were leaving Illinois on our way west. Funny how sometimes my "quick snap it and cross your fingers" pictures turn out to be my favorites.

Right after that we crossed the mighty Mississippi River...

...and entered a very famous and historic town in Missouri.

Do you recognize the name of this town and why it's famous? Hannibal is the boyhood home of author Mark Twain, as well as the setting for two of his most famous novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn! We didn't get to see much of the town, because it's not right on the main highway that we passed through on, but it was still neat to be in the area, and we did get a glimpse of town as we crossed the river.

We drove all night and all the next day and reached Reno by midnight Tuesday to deliver.

The next morning, we headed south into Nevada's vast and rustic wilderness. For a while we were on the main highway that cuts between Reno and Las Vegas, where we were traveling with other trucks and tourists, though not too many.

 After a hundred miles or so, we cut off onto a more obscure road and headed over towards a little place called Silver Peak.

Silver Peak is one of the oldest mining towns in Nevada. Silver was discovered in the area in 1863 and the town was established the following year. We didn't get to actually see the town, or what there may be of one still, because we had to leave the main road just north of town to go out to the Heart of Nature mine where we picked up a load of gypsum.

Of all the types of trucking you can do, I think maybe this one gives you the most diverse experiences and takes us to the most exotic places.

The mine wasn't an underground one. It was a big pit, with just two men there working.

They had a pile of pick axes and other debris they had gathered as they ran across it. The mine had been in operation since the 1800's so they were coming across lots of old and interesting things.

The gypsum went to Idaho, taking me on a long drive diagonally across Nevada's outback on highway 6. It was an awesome way to spend the day. I think I only passed 15-20 vehicles the entire day, and it was about 250 mile across there! I love driving around in Nevada's empty spaces!

love this! It's the never ending road!

We delivered in Soda Springs, ID the next morning,



I always admire this old homestead lost in a vast wheat field. Everytime we drive by it draws my attention.

 and from there we went to Pocatello and reloaded fertilizer. Then we headed north to Fort Benton, MT. We stopped last night in Great Falls and had dinner with Malcolm's sister and her husband. We hadn't seen them in almost a year and it was so much fun to get to catch up over pizza with lots of laughs and stories to share. Hope we can do that again soon.

After dinner, we drove the last 40 miles to Fort Benton, where we are unloading now.

The fertilizer place is up on one of the hills overlooking the town, so I've been enjoying the view, the cloudy weather (hope it rains for them!), and the cool breeze. It's in the mid-70's which is just comfortable enough to have the truck turned off and the windows open.

We are parked along the rail road tracks here...

 ...and across the tracks, as we pulled in last night, we noticed an odd monument on the hill, all lit up by spot lights and over looking the town.


it's over on the tip of the hill to the right



Malcolm asked about it this morning, while we were waiting our turn to unload, and then came back to tell me the story and have me look it up. Turns out the monument is the grave of a locally famous sheep dog.

a picture of Shep, from the website linked to below

I know many of my blog friends are animal loves, and there are many dog enthusiasts among you. I had to share this story with you because I was so touched by it. You simply must take the time to go read Shep's story here. There is also a statue in the town square that I would love to see, but we won't be able to. This truck enables me to see so many sights, and also restricts me in my touring. It's a bitter sweet thing for me! But maybe one day I can come back and go to the square so I can see the wonderful tribute this town has made to a good and faithful dog, as well as many others. And if you still have time, you also need to go read the Eulogy on the Dog that is on the website. I found it very touching and even almost teared up a bit, thinking of how every word of it is so true. God did an amazing thing when he created dogs and gave them a love for us. I think He knew there would be times when we would need a friendship that another human just couldn't provide.

We're reloading south of here. Another load of barley headed to Minnesota for the weekend. We're thinking we'll just take a lazy weekend to get across. A few miles one day, a few more the next, a trip to get groceries and supplies, and maybe dinner with Malcolm's other sister in Bismarck.

Crossing the Mid-West

Today is 2 1/2 weeks since we went back to work from our break. That means, if we stay out our usual 5-6 weeks, then technically, we're at our half way mark! Kind of...

Last Thursday afternoon we loaded barley in Carter, MT. That is north of Great Falls.

 That morning had been rough. Malcolm had had a bad cold for several days preceding this, and Wednesday I started feeling puny. By Wednesday night I was all sniffy and I woke up Thursday morning feeling like I'd been run over by a truck. So when we found out the receiver in Minnesota didn't want their barley till Monday, we had no complaints, as Malcolm was still feeling drained and I was on my way to becoming a plague victim. We loaded up and headed east through Montana's northern plains, expecting to be home by late evening, where I planned to pass out on the couch and not move till I had to.

I love these vast rolling grasslands.
And I hate that speck on my camera lens.
I've reached my limit of tolerance and think I'm going to have to mail me camera off to be fixed. But in the mean time, we'll try to keep looking past the dark smudges on my pictures.


By late afternoon, we'd passed through Roundup and were well into the plains of eastern Montana, which were visibly dryer than those of the western side.

Quite a dramatic difference, and a depressing sight.
On a good note though, by this point in the day I was feeling much better and it was looking like I was going to have a 2 day version of Malcolm's week long illness. Lucky me! I had expected to be camped out on the couch at home, recovering, but instead by Friday morning, when we woke up in our bedroom at home with the sound of silence (specifically no traffic or rumbling motors), I was feeling energized and happy, ready to start my day with a cup of coffee in my favorite mug while organizing my time and ideas.

Malcolm worked with his dad on Friday and Saturday he worked on the truck. Friday I did house chores and laundry (sounds dull I know but I enjoyed every minute of it) and Saturday I camped on the couch with my girls, not because I was sick, but because we thought an afternoon lounging on the couch with a good book sounded really nice. So that's what we did.

Saturday evening I noticed some stormy weather moving in so I went out to see if Malcolm needed help putting things away. When I got out there he'd just finished so I stood around waiting for him to be ready to go in, and just before we headed to the house I glanced out towards the southwest and I think my heart literally stopped for a few moments.

There was a brown column of smoke quickly rising  into the air on the horizon.

Fast tracks made to the house and the phone. Malcolm's mom called neighbors while we watched the smoke and listened to the conversations. Someone had already spotted it and been on the phone. The fire was several ranches away from us and people were in route to take care of it. The wind had been blowing good all day, but now it was turning ferocious, which never helps. We were debating whether to go down there or not, when the smoke disappeared. We heard later that rain had come in and put the fire out just before people arrived. Thank goodness! Thank God!

Sunday morning we left the house and headed towards Minnesota. Seven miles from home we hit the North Dakota state line, and four miles later crossed into South Dakota.

We're on 2 lanes for a couple hours or so before we hit I-90.

Hadn't been in South Dakota for a while. It was a beautiful day! And it was clear that South Dakota is suffering from drought too. I'm beginning to wonder if there is any state in the country that's not withering.

We hit Minnesota near dusk and I went to bed. Our delivery was on the very eastern edge of the state, in Winona. And when I say eastern edge, I mean if we'd rolled a few feet to far, we'd have fallen in the river and drifted across to Wisconsin. Malcolm got there around midnight or so and they were open and ready to unload us. That was a nice surprise. Worked in our favor.

Because we had a phone message from our broker to head to Decatur, IL as soon as we got unloaded and that was a 400 mile bounce! Malcolm woke me up around 4:00am and I took over. We were in Wisconsin and the sun had just gotten well into it's morning rise.

Wisconsin is a pretty state. I like to look at all the farms. But for some reason, neither of us really cares to drive in Wisconsin. I can't pin point the reason. But if I have to drive through Wisconsin, I like mornings. There is something about morning light and farms that feels good.

Madison traffic cooperated and then it was south on to northern Illinois. I was hoping I'd not have to deal with heavy traffic. In that part of Illinois, even though it's still relatively distant from Chicago, the traffic can still be bothersome. I had a good morning. Everything kept flowing smoothly.

Illinois......Land of Lincoln!
Illinois....Land of corn and soy beans!

No pathetic corn here. The fields are so lush that mostly it's just the rooftops of the farm houses and barns that are visible from the highway, though the roadsides do look a tad dry. Irrigation.....a marvelous invention!

We got about 50 miles from our destination when we found out we'd been told the wrong town, and so now we're hot footing it over to Quincy, another 180 miles back west! Yeah, you could say we were a bit miffed with that one. Four hundred miles was a long bounce to start with, but now we've gone quite a bit out of route, and then the real destination told us they had wanted us there at 7:30 this morning, but they'll try and get us loaded anyway.  This was a high paying load, but that's diminishing with each added mile and the extra fuel we're burning to make up lost time. Fortunately these mistakes hardly ever happen. It will still be a nice paying load and, provided we actually get loaded, we'll be heading west by this afternoon and in Reno, NV by tomorrow evening.
In the mean time, I'm going to enjoy all the green in Illinois for a few more minutes, and then go stretch out in bed, read a chapter or two (or three or four or...you know how that works) in my current book, and then try and catch a little sleep so I can drive this afternoon and give Malcolm a break.

We Left the West

This morning we left the west. I have evidence.

Well, ok, technically we were still in the west in this picture as I had not yet driven across the river. But once you cross the river heading east, you can't get a picture of the arch, because it's at your back. I was happy to be heading east, but let me tell you, those traveling west this morning had a doozy of a traffic jam, which would have provided them with an incredible photo shoot opportunity. In my mirrors I could see the arch and all of Saint Louis bathed in beautiful pink morning light. It was gorgeous! Almost enough to make me turn around and head west to get my picture. Almost! Then again, no picture is worth sitting in Saint Louis morning traffic! I got through by the skin of my teeth and was a bit in awe that I had escaped so easily!

Barreled our way through Illinois. I am so thankful to that state for doing away with their ridiculous split speed limit! It's so nice to be able to drive 65 like every other vehicle on the road, instead of the previous truck speed limit of 55!

Now if only CA, WA, OR, MT, ID and so many others would follow their example! Unite for uniform speed limits!!!! It's so much safer, not to mention makes for more pleasant travel for us!

And a few hours later we crossed the Ohio River...

...into Kentucky! Back in the southeast where tea is sweet and accents are sweeter. Where there's a new niece waiting for me to come hold her and a beautiful Montana bride waiting on a beach in Florida for her big day!

Nashville is just over the hill ahead, and Chattanooga is a couple more hours. An evening with my parents and then a road trip in a rental tomorrow.

Y'all say a few prayers for my girls, and my parents too while your at it. The "GrandLady" and "GrandMan" are puppy sitting for us. The girls don't know yet that they are about to get dumped for FOUR days and three nights. I'm not sure who I'm more worried for. My dogs who have never spent more than one very traumatic night apart from us at a time, or my mom and dad who are liable to have a nervous breakdown before we return from Florida if Ella and Toby can't figure out  how to get along or at least give each other space and not bark at each other the entire time. It's so hard leaving the kids. How do parents do it?

Snowblind

You might want to put on your sunglasses for the first half of this post. I'll give you a minute to retreave them from the car...


...Saturday morning in South Dakota -

The world is suddenly so white, it hurts my eyes to look at it, especially after the light cloud cover cleared. South Dakota is quite literally burried! I think more so than usual. Looking out across the landscape, most of the way, the only distinguishable characteristic is the black smear of pavement, the westbound lanes slipping by through the drifts.

Driving across this white white world, I think back to evenings snuggled next to Mom as she read chapters from The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It's been a long winter even with our conveniences and modern day comforts. Can you imagine living through these winter months in the late 1800's?

Near Murdo, we once again drive past 1880's Town, a roadside tourist trap that I can't wait to be trapped by! I want to go explore, and have been plotting to do so for a couple years now. I think this is my year!

They are closed during the winter, for obvious reasons. Just look around! But one of these summer days when we're passing through with time to kill, I'm going to grab the wheel away from the driver and swing in. They have truck parking across the street.

Yeah, maybe it is just a tourist trap, but it looks like a fun one. I like looking at old buildings, and here you can also walk out of town to a couple of "homesteads," go visit with some longhorns, and don't forget to stop by and chat with the local characters...

...who really clash with the charisma of the place, but are just too cool to ignore. He's been seen walking next to I-90 on his way to 1880's Town for several years now, faithful friend in tow.

Yes, South Dakota was remarkably more white than Montana which has recently gone through a brief but efficient thaw. Short lived I'm sure, but nice all the same. South Dakota, however, missed out, and it white all the way across, no breaks, no ground peaking through anywhere. Even the Missouri River is a solid sheet of white.

The world was blindingly white till we hit the darkness of nightfall in Minnesota. And when the truck rolled to a stop at our delivery in Illinois, it was still too dark to tell what climate we were in. But after delivery, a short drive, and a 3 hour nap, we woke to a much milder climate and bare ground. Even a little green peaking through, though I imagined it was just my eyes still seeing spots from where the sun reflected off the snow had burned my retinas.

We reloaded corn gluten pellets in Decatur, IL and headed to Texas. The Missouri River may have been a sheet of very thick ice, but the Mississippi never submits to winter's rule.

In fact, just as in days of old, it rebels against forces trying to control it, be they human constructed dikes, or winter's ice. Heavy rains have flooded the banks of the Mississippi's tributaries.

Another evening of driving, and I parked at the reciever in Paris, TX at midnight on Sunday, 2,755 miles in 2 3/4 days. At this rate we'll make up for 2 weeks vacation in a hurry!

Texas was a sight to behold this morning. I was in awe.

I feel like I literally went to sleep in one world, and woke in an alien one. 

I had some time to ponder things as we drove the 50 miles from Paris to Mount Pleasant and I think I figured out what happened. While all of us have been snowblinded...

Springtime snuck across the border into Texas.



Its a full out invasion!



see the soft sheen of new green leaves?

But I'm thinking there isn't going to be much of a resistance to it.

Happy Spring Y'all!

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