This Week So Far

Wedding pictures are forth coming, but I thought I'd break up the "vacation" posts with a trucking update.


After delivering our load of wheat screenings in Shreveport, LA on Monday morning, we headed over to Rusk, TX to pick up a load of iron ore.

 As you can see it was a wet and dreary kind of day. Everything was soaked pretty good and the iron ore was full of water.

For the duration of the trip, whenever we stopped we'd return to the truck to find little rivers of water running out of the trailer and across the pavement.

For the duration of the trip....

It was a relatively short trip from the east side to the west side of Texas. It took almost 2 days. Here's why.

After loading, as we pulled forward, there was a loud bang, the kind you know isn't good to hear.

As Malcolm stopped and got out of the truck, I was sitting in the passenger seat hoping it was one of the other trucks or a piece of equipment there that had made the noise, all the time knowing that it was too close to be anyone but us. And of course my first assumption was that it was a tire.

It wasn't a tire, but we did have a problem.

Have you ever noticed when you drive past a truck, that some of the trailers will say "air ride" on them? Our truck and trailer ride on big black airbags. It's an air ride suspension system that acts as shock absorbers. There are 4 on the trailer and they look like this.

Normally, but one of them looked like this...

Problem!

Now, here's the thing. You think just one bag is blown, so you just drive to a shop and get one. But a leak or blown airbag means the air is dumped out of the whole system. Try riding in a vehicle, a large one, on a rough road with no shock absorbers and and make sure to hit every pot hole and bump in the road that you can find. Now multiply the beating you get by 10. That's probably about what it felt like in here for the next 130 miles! Pretty miserable.

We spent a lot of time on the phone, or rather Malcolm did. We must have called every truck repair service and shop between Rusk and Dallas and beyond and no one had the air bag we needed. Malcolm finally got in touch with a shop in Dallas that could get the air bag for us, but not till the next day. So we had to call the broker and post pone delivery. Driving very far in that condition is really hard on the trailer frame and other parts.

We spent the night in Van, TX and the next morning after giving Dallas traffic time to cool off, we drove into Irving on the west side and squeezed into the ridiculously small shop lot for the repair. Malcolm had told the guy it was for the trailer and he said no problem, but it was clearly a trucks only kind of place.  Regardless, my talented husband maneuvered his rig, backwards, into their parking lot and after an unnecessarily long period, they finally were able to remove the busted air bag...

 

...and replace it with a new one.

And then we were on our way. We arrived in Odessa, TX around 8:00 that night and delivered the iron ore to the cement plant there.

Before anyone from Texas fusses at me....there are two or three bloggers in Texas relatively near the Dallas area that have mentioned wanting to get together, and yes I know being stranded near Dallas for almost 24 hours would have provided the perfect opportunity. I did think of you. BUT it was raining and dreary, I had a bad head cold that (trust me) you didn't want me to share with you, and neither of us were in high spirits. So I figured we best remain hermits this time around. We'll try on a better day under better circumstances.

From Odessa, we made a 600 miles empty bounce to Sanders, AZ where we loaded another load of drilling sand. Last time we took the AZ sand to the Montana oil field. This time the sand went to Idaho to a trucking company that takes it across into Canada to their oil field, I assume.  We were about 160 miles away from our destination when Malcolm gave out and had to get some sleep. You see, while I had recovered from my cold, mostly, sometime between Monday afternoon and Tuesday night, Malcolm had caught it. It's hard to avoid sharing things when you live in a fiberglass box. Poor guy. The cold had come onto my gradually, but he acted like he ran into a brick wall at 75mph. Wednesday morning he told me his throat felt funny, and a couple hours later he was asking me to please run over him with the truck so he'd feel better.

Anyway, so he stopped and we slept on an interstate ramp's shoulder for a couple hours. When he woke up to finish the trip, the truck wouldn't start.

 The shoulder was sloped, but he hadn't thought the fuel would all drain over to the tank on the off side. But that's what it did. And then there was something plugged and something pressurized and so it wouldn't drain back. And so even when he managed to level us out some, the engine was still sucking air and unable to start. It was 26 degrees and we had no heat, we're both in some stage of illness, and hungry and it was just the perfect way to start the day!

Malcolm called a mobile truck repair service and they came out and pumped the fuel back into the empty tank. $230 and I don't think they even had to drive 20 miles round trip. We're in the wrong line of trucking!

Anyway, we arrived at our destination in Idaho, about 2 hours later than planned, but still arrived! We've delivered to this business a number of times, and the way it works is they run an auger under our truck and load whatever we're hauling onto one of their trucks. Doesn't take too much time as long as the auger works well.

During our brief absense, they've built a mountain. We were impressed!

I love this set up! We've only seen it a handeful of places, but it's wonderful! Basically we drive up on top, while an empty truck pulls in below....

then we open our hopper doors.....

 and....WHOOSH.....we're empty and the other truck is loaded! Five minutes tops! It's brilliant!

After that it was a sit and wait game, and kind of still is. Not a lot moving around up here at the moment load wise. There were a couple of options, but nothing definate. We're taking a load of wheat to Ogden, UT,  a little short 200 miles trip to fill time. From there we're looking at either a load going to North Dakota (and a weekend at home), or a bounce to Arizona for more sand. We hopefully will know within the next hour. Either way works for me. One means home time and the other means money. After this week, I'm kind of leaning towards the money.

I had a couple more questions shot my way about trucking.

Michaele wanted to know why Idaho needed Arizona sand. Guess I kind of answered that in this post.

The other question was from Nikki, who wanted to know how we have internet on the road. We have wireless internet through Verizon wireless. There is a small card that plugs into one of the USB ports on the laptop and pretty much as long as we have cell phone service, we can get internet signal too. It's been a life saver as far as our sanity. It's a major source of entertainment, but also we use it to check weather, road conditions, keep in touch with family and friends, and stay up to date with the news.

Since our current trip is so short, 200 miles and more than 12 hours to get it done, we're going to go shower and have a leisurly dinner in Idaho Falls. Here's to a better second half of the week!

A Loss and a Gain

On Wednesday, January 11, I lost something precious, but gained something of even greater value.

We loaded pecans in Willcox, AZ and proceeded to make our way back to central Texas on Wednesday morning. We drove as far as Las Cruces, NM and stopped for some lunch. The welcoming committee was standing at his station waiting to greet visitors from the west.

This is a large metal sculpture of a road runner that stands out by the interstate as the road begins its descent into Las Cruces.

And this is Las Cruces.

It is nestled up against those snowy mountains, which are noticeable for miles and miles, especially since they are situated in a fairly flat environment.

After lunch we crossed the border into Texas and drove through El Paso. We don't get here very often, but I am always fascinated to look across the Rio Grand into Mexico. The difference is astounding, even though those buildings and the Texas ones are separated only by a narrow shallow river and a train track. It never fails to leave me overwhelmed with grattitude for the blessing of living in this country.

We stopped to fuel in El Paso, and then proceeded on east. We were about 10 miles out of the city when I felt a sharp barb on my wedding ring. (I sit and twist and fiddle with my ring all the time. Just one of my unconscious habits.) I thought how odd it was that there would be a rough spot. There was a reason for the roughness. Somewhere between Willcox, AZ and El Paso, TX one of my diamonds had fallen out. I am not a happy camper!

Logic says there is a high probability that it's in this truck somewhere. But we've both looked to no avail. Between the grit and lint and sand and pebbles that get tracked into this truck, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack even though I had just cleaned the floors. We only looked for a short time and then decided we might as well accept that it's gone. At least it was one of the smaller ones. And it can be replaced, but in the mean time, the hole is rather obvious and unattractive.

I may have lost a diamond, but on the same day I gained an even more valuable jewel in my life. My sister's baby was born on January 11 in the evening. She weighed 7lbs 6oz and was 20 inches long. I say was, because she's 2 days old now and I have no idea if she's already grown or what. It stinks being so far away from "home" at times like these more than others. Anyway, I'd love to introduce you to Miss Ava Grace Hooper. Now I have 4 beautiful nieces to love and spoil!

I can hardly wait till February to see her and my sister. It's hard not to turn this truck east and head in that direction right now.

However, my responsible side is keeping this rig heading in a north-westerly direction. We loaded in Oklahoma last night and pulled out at mid-night. Right now we're heading out across Kansas, where there's not much in the way to block the view...

...but then there's not a lot to view either...

...which for me is part of the attraction. I do love big open spaces with not a lot in them!

We're hauling drilling sand bound for Sidney, MT. We'll be delivering that tonight and then heading to the house for a little break till Monday morning. Malcolm's going to take the opportunity to put new tires on the trailer, and I'm going to get the laundry done and play house wife for a while. We're looking forward to a little tiny break. They always make it easier to stay out a long time.

The Southern parts of the Southwest

During a winter as mild as this one is turning out to be, it's interesting that we finally end up running into snow and yucky roads in south Texas! But that's exactly what happened Monday night south of Abiline, TX. The roads had about 3 inches of thick wet slush all the way to south of Odessa and it was coming down hard in big, fat, wet flakes. I'd say the ground off the road had to have had at least 5-6 inches of snow and it was still piling up, even though it never went under 33 degrees.

I quit while it was still snowing and let Malcolm take over. It's kind of tiring driving through that mess, especially in a part of the country where people aren't as used to it, and therefor do foolish things. I was glad to let Malcolm take control of the wheel, and I went to bed and slept surprisingly well considering it was in a moving truck, something I still struggle with even after all these years.

Malcolm woke me up at 6:00am in New Mexico. He was tired and so I took back over. We were traveling on I-10 through the southern parts of the southwest.

We stopped in Tucson, AZ to shower and eat. There is a truck stop there called the Triple T. If you ever are through Tucson, it's a good place to stop and eat. It's been in operation, by the same family, for about 45 years. There aren't a whole lot of the old family run truck stops left. So many of them have closed up, many put out of business by the big chain truck stops. So we like to give our business to the ones that are left when we can.

After breakfast, it was two more hours or so of driving, passing into the area of the state where the famous saguaro cactus grow...

...and then into Phoenix where we delivered in the afternoon.

It took till late evening to get unloaded because technically we weren't scheduled to deliver till this morning at 10:30. But they worked us in, thankfully. So often our loads are scheduled to deliver according to the time it would take a solo driver to get the job done. But since both of us drive, we get there in half the time. Usually places are pretty good about working with us, but occasionally we have to sit and wait till they have room for the product. That doesn't happen that often though.

Since we were unloaded on Tuesday, we were able to drive back east towards our reload and get that done this morning. We parked for the night in Casa Grande, AZ, and finished the trip to Willcox this morning. Malcolm got up to drive and I stayed in bed a couple more hours. But I woke up just in time to enjoy a spectacular sunset over Arizona's rocky hillsides.

We just finished loading up unshelled pecans here in Willcox. This is the first load of pecans we've ever hauled. I asked Malcolm if he knew he was hauling gold, since pecans have gotten so expensive. We'll be pulling out here shortly and on our way to a central Texas delivery for morning.

On the home front in Tennessee, today is the big day! Ava Grace apparently gained another pound last week, so my sister's doctor decided they'd just go ahead and get the job done before she grows any more. They induced this morning at 5:30 central and I'm waiting to hear the announcement that she's here! Happy Birthday Ava Grace!

On the Texas Coast

Tuesday morning we delivered another load of pearlite, this time at La Porte, TX. La Port is just a little east Houston.

Our reload was in Freeport, TX, about 75 miles south of La Porte. We took highway 146 south almost all the way to Galveston. I'd like to see Galveston one day. There were quite a few stoplights, but it provided glimpses of the gulf here and there and some pretty waterfront scenes.

 By the time we turned off 146, I was ready for a beach trip, even though I'm generally not a beach person! Overall it was a pretty developed and industrial, but once we were on FM2004 it was more open, not to mention flat.

We stopped on the shoulder of the road to close the tarp on our trailer because there were rain showers ahead, and while Malcolm was taking care of that, I watched the scenery, and the random pedestrian taking a stroll down the side road.

We did run through a few little showers, but nothing significant.

 It was dry and hot in Freeport and we sat there on the port for more than 7 hours waiting our turn to load. Not a very pleasant way to spend the day. Eventually we were loaded though and around 8:00 that evening we were headed back through Houston making our way to a little town called Mineola, 300 miles from Freeport.
We delivered in Mineola Wednesday morning, a load of rice hulls to Cargill. And then reloaded 50 miles north in Mount Pleasant.

We pulled out of there around noon yesterday, suffered through Dallas traffic and heat, (The truck said it was 108, but I'm not sure its exactly accurate) and kept trucking on through the night.

This morning shortly after sunrise, I drove through Tuscan, AZ and down the road a ways passed by Picacho Peak. I thought it was just a neat looking rock, but it turns out to have some history, including being near the sight of the westernmost American Civil War battle! I had no idea there was fighting as far west as Arizona!

As I finish this post, we are parked in Yuma, AZ which is near the California line. We pulled off to get a Subway sandwich, before finishing the last 60 miles. We'll deliver in El Centro, CA this afternoon and then head north. We have a 560 miles empty bounce to reload in Oakland, CA in the morning.

We Were Exhausted in Virginia, but the Truck Held Out Till Texas

Over the weekend, we had a long trip to run, roughly 2600 miles. We started on Friday loading Granny Smith apples near Yakima, WA.

Normally, a trip like that is just what we want for a weekend, but we were already worn down from two weeks of hard driving. So even though it was the perfect weekend load, we started it tired and with little enthusiasm, which really just adds to the weariness. We stopped for Malcolm's birthday dinner, but that was the last real break until Sunday afternoon.

We drove all night, crossing the norther stem of Idaho and most of Montana, just in time to enjoy a gloriously beautiful Saturday morning in southeastern Montana.

I love the drive across MT200 from Crow Agency, MT to Belle Fourche, SD. Its two lane all the way, and never fails to provide breathtaking scenery. Near the end, we cross about 20 miles of the northeastern tip of Wyoming, with the Black Hills visible in the distance.

And then its into South Dakota, which has seen a considerable thaw since we passed through last weekend.

It took the rest of the daylight to cross South Dakota, and by the time we were in Minnesota, it was too dark for pictures. Saturday night we crossed Minnesota, Iowa, and most of Illinois. Sunday morning we stopped long enough to grab some breakfast and take a shower in Indiana, and then hit the road again, wanting to get close to our destination before stopping again.

In Ohio, the skies started to cloud over a bit, but the weather held and we made good time.

Long after dark we crossed a tip of West Virginia and then rolled into the mountains of western Pennsylvania. Late during the night, on a little side road deep in the Allegheny Mountains, we passed the site of Fort Necessity, the site where the French and Indian War began. Do you know how it kills me to drive by these things and not be able to stop? It was agony...and it was DARK so I couldn't even get a glimpse of more than the sign for the park.

We stopped at a little pull off to sleep a few hours, and woke to a sunrise over the hills of Maryland.

The states in the eastern US always seemed so large to me, but after being out west for a while, now it seems like even the larger eastern states are small. It takes next to no time at all to cross them. Within a short time we found ourselves crossing the Potomac River...

...and crossing a few more miles of West Virginia's rolling hills and mountains.



And then finally, after two and a half days...

We were delivering in northeastern Virginia in the city of Winchester. It lies about 60 miles or so west of Washington D.C.

We knew, from past experience, that its best to avoid Washington traffic whenever possible, and yes, even 60 miles away you can get stuck in Washington traffic. Its AMAZING how far those people are willing to commute!!! Luckily we didn't have any issues and were able to enjoy an easy trip in, and get the apples delivered easily and quickly. Recognize this name?

The Granny Smith apples from Washington went to the White House plant, makers of one of my favorite brands of apple juice.

We didn't have a load waiting for us and we didn't care. We dumped the apples off, and went to bed. Forget making money, it was time to sleep! In 7 days we had driven 6,160 miles and crossed 19 states, and we felt like it too!

A few hours later, the broker called with a short load, picking up 20 miles away. We loaded up and headed out. Virginia is soaked in history. It's peaking at you around every corner.



On our way south, we passed the turn off to go to Manassas (remember the second post on my Civil War Quilt about the battle of Manassas?). And we also passed Fredricksburg, and drove through Richmond, getting caught in a little bit of Washington's evening rush hour.

We also crossed another historically famous river, the Rappahonnock.

The trip was only 250 miles and just across the border into northeastern North Carolina. We delivered in the morning in Cofield, NC. Unfortunately, they didn't have room for all the product, even though they ordered it. We were a little peeved. After a little while, the broker called and told us to take the rest of it 180 miles east to another location, and fortunately the receiver agreed to pay a little more.

North Carolina is beautiful and Spring is beginning to show up all over the place.

The state also has its own share of historic homes...



...and points of interest. On the side of this 2 lane road near Mocksville, is the cemetery where Daniel Boone's parents are buried.

We didn't get reloaded till Wednesday morning, in Mocksville, NC. Then it was over the Appalachian Mountains, also known as the Smoky Mountains, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. The peaks were living up to all their names.

We drove through the night to northeast Texas and delivered this morning. Guess where we are now?

No, that doesn't look like the sleeper in the truck does it? We don't have near this much room! This is me and the girls relaxing in a hotel room in Dallas! Just before we got to Winchester, VA, an alarm went off fussing about low antifreeze. That happened three more times since Sunday, each time going off a little sooner than the time before. And then this morning, Malcolm discovered where its all going. There was water in the oil.

So we unloaded and drove 70 miles to Dallas, where we turned the truck into the doctor. Hopefully its the cheaper fix, which will cost us about $2000 and 6 hours off the road. Praying that its not the more costly fix, an undetermined amount of money and at least 4 days in the hotel room. We'll know here shortly, but if that's the case, Malcolm and I will be crying and kissing our wonderfully profitable weeks goodbye, all that exhaustion for naught. At least the girls won't be complaining. They love hotels!