STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 21251: Breezing Through Barstow

To update the daily ‘diary’, I began the 13th at 0400 by performing the Daily Safety Inspection on my truck & trailer, then leaving the Denver Terminal & driving to the Shipper (also in Denver, but about 10 miles away). I arrived at 0430 did the drop/hook pick-up and departed Denver at 0500. I drove to Cheyenne, WY where I stopped for breakfast. According to “The Plan”, I encountered no traffic leaving Denver. As I was walking the MMM, I noticed a small herd of Antelope in a field by the Love’s Truckstop. Fortunately, the MMM did not notice them, so I hurried them back to the truck grabbed my ever-ready camera and took these pictures.

By the time I returned with my camera, they were already disappearing over the hill (evidently, they did notice the MMM and I). The Antelope in the center of the far right picture is the leader.
I left Cheyenne at 0715 and drove to Buffalo, WY. Buffalo is the town where my father was born, but it is now a ‘thriving metropolis’. He left in 1925. I personally, am forever greatful. I left Buffalo at 1245 and drove to Billings, MT where I stopped for the night. I’m still 4 1/2 hours from my destination in Havre, but this is the closest “civilization”. I’ll be able to leave about 0700 in the AM and still arrive on time for my Noon appointment. I worked 9.25 hours of which 8.75 were expended driving 547 miles.
On the 14th, I left Billings at 0700 and drove the 239 miles to Havre. I arrived at 1/2 hour early at 1130. As it turned out, the Customer wasn’t able to begin the unload until 1300 because 2 of the unloaders were out on a delivery and the other (the store manager) was at a Civic Luncheon. I used the extra time to eat lunch (Taco John’s), walk the MMM, and do some shopping. I bough some new “cold weather” insulated Coveralls. I bought a 2 piece set this time (bib overall pants and a jacket). My old winter gear “mysteriously” shrank since last worn (probably due to temperature variations in the truck) :>} I also bought a cresent wrench set and a pipe wrench. The Planner offered me a load which picked up in Great falls, MT and delivered in Fontana, CA (115 miles empty and 1199 miles loaded). The unload complete, at 1430 I left Havre and drove to Great Falls. I arrived at 1630. I had to wait over an hour for a door, then the ‘live’ load took another 1.5 hours. After loading, I weighed the load at the Shipper and discovered that I had enough “room” for 100 gallons of fuel. YEAH! I drove to the Flying J and fueled. By this time, it was 1930 and I had worked/driven 9.75 hours, so I decided to stop here for the night and get another early start in the AM. I drove 359 miles in 6.75 hours today.
On the 15th, I left Great Falls at 0645 and drove to Idaho Falls, ID. I took a 15 minute break here, then drove to our Terminal in Salt Lake City, UT where I stopped for the night. I took on enough fuel to get into California legally, then decided to attend the class for the changes to the “hours of service” rules which go into effect on October 1st. They mainly concern “splitting” Sleeper Berth time. The old rules allowed the manditory 10 hours off duty time to be split between “Off Duty” and “Sleeper Berth” in any combination. The new rules require at least 8 consecutive hours of the 10 to be logged in the “Sleeper Berth”. Of the 10 hours I worked today, I used 9.5 driving 554 miles.
I left Salt Lake City at 0815 on the 16th with only 9.75 hours available for the day. This means that I won’t be able to deliver this load until Saturday the 17th. Oh well, it’s an ‘open’ drop/hook delivery anyway. I drove to the MMM’s favorite ‘off-leash’ Rest Area at MM 88 on I-15 south. I took a short break here, then drove to North Las Vegas, NV where I had dinner. At 1600, I drove to Barstow, CA where I stopped for the night. I expended all of my available 9.75 hours and used 9.5 driving 562 miles.
I left Barstow this AM, the 17th, at o830 and drove the 72 miles to the Consignee in Fontana, CA. I did the drop/hook delivery and drove to Farmer Boy’s for breakfast. The MMM and I shared 2 Bacon & Egg Sandwiches with the ‘lions share’ going to me, of course. They are huge. Each Sandwich contains 2 eggs and 4 pieces of bacon. The Planner offered me a load which picked up in Ontario, CA and delivers Monday AM in Layton, UT. At 1300, I drove to Ontario, did the drop/hook pick-up then drove to our Terminal in Fontana for fuel. This load only weighs 27,000 lbs so I filled my tanks. After a leisurely stroll with the MMM, I left Fontana at 1500 and drove back to Barstow. I’ll drive to Las Vegas, NV later today and stop there for the night.

Life Day 21246: Denver Dawdling

The 9th brought me a PrePlan which picked up at our Henderson Drop Yard, and delivered ASAP in Reno, NV (14 miles empty and 455 miles loaded). I left Henderson at 1130 after a leisurely morning and drove to Hawthorne, NV. I had an early dinner here @ the Golden Arches. I left at 1930 and drove directly to the Customer in Reno. I did the drop delivery, then drove to our Terminal in Sparks to spend the night. I worked 9 hours of which I spent 8.25 driving 496 miles.
On the 10th, the MMM allowed me to ’sleep in’ until almost 0700. I took them to the Petro Truckstop for their AM stroll, then went inside for breakfast. After breakfast, I went back to the Terminal to see if I could get a load. They offered me a load which picked up in Reno at the same Customer where I dropped last night and had 6 stops in the Denver Area on the 12th (0 miles empty and 1016 miles loaded). I accepted it and “bob-tailed” back to Reno. I was not paid for the empty miles to Sparks because I opted to drive there rather than being directed to drive there by Swift. I arrived at 1100. This load was loaded on a ’set’ of (Doubles). I haven’t pulled a ’set’ for about 10 years. I haven’t lost my touch though (just like riding a bicycle).

There are advantages and disadvantages to pulling a ’set’. The advantages are 1) a smoother ride, 2) more manueverability in traffic (they bend in the middle so they turn ‘tighter’), and 3) other drivers tend to give you more room when they pass you. The disadvantages are 1) they are virtually impossible to back up (they bend in the middle), so you need to find a ‘pull through’ parking spot, 2) they are “squirlly” in inclement weather, and 3) the extra work involved in hooking and unhooking them (especially with a multiple stop delivery).
This load is unique in that when I arrive in Denver, I am to take my paperwork to the Dispatch Window where they will schedule a “local driver” to deliver the back “pup” (trailer) leaving me only the front trailer to deliver. This thankfully alleviates #3 in ‘disadvantages’ above. I’ll still be paid for the entire unload and all 5 extra stops. An unusual “good deal” for a driver. Anyway, I put the ’set’ together and left Reno at 1215. I drove to Winnemucca, NV. A short MMM stop here, then off to Wendover, NV. Another short stop here for the MMM and a couple of Hot Dogs, then I drove to our Terminal in Salt Lake City, UT where I stopped for the night. I worked 9.5 hours, utilizing 8.75 hours driving 531 miles.
Before I start my “travelogue” for the 11th, let me ruminate about Sept 11, 2001. At the moment America was wantonly attacked by Terrorists, I was traveling on I-10 between New Orleans, LA and Baton Rouge, LA (both of which, as you are aware, have recently been in the news) . I had been listening to a “book on tape” ( Steven King’s “Christine”) so I was unaware of what was happening until I walked into the Truckstop and saw virtually everyone crowded around one of the “display” TV’s in the store. It was tuned to ABC news with Peter Jennings doing the Anchor for the “Special Report. My first emotion was total shock. This was almost immediately replaced by intense anger. “Who the F___ do these “Rag Heads” think they are”. At that point I was ready to “nuke” the entire Middle East into the Stone Age. I had to “roll” so I went back to my truck, tuned my XM Radio to Fox News and left. I soon remembered why I had stopped, and pulled into the next Truckstop and bought a Carton of Cigarettes. During the course of the day, my anger subsided to a “slow simmer”. I made it a short day and stopped in Houston, TX. I went inside the Pilot Truckstop to watch the ‘coverage’. Anyway, 4 years and 2 wars (1 just and 1 unjust) later, I was traveling between Salt Lake City and Rawlins, WY. I stopped for lunch at the TA Truckstop in Rawlins. I had sub-standard Mexican food (3 beef tacos w/ rice and beans). At least the Chips and Salsa was good. I left at 1415 and drove to our Terminal in Denver. I checked in at the Dispatch Window with the paperwork. They did the “Computer Work” and returned the paperwork that I needed to make my “share” of the deliveries to me. I dropped the rear “pup” and the “dolly”, then went to the Fuel Islands. I tried to take on a full load of fuel, but was thwarted by “pump Demons”. The ’satellite’ pump worked properly, pumping at about 30 GPM (gallons per minute), however the ‘primary’ pump was only pumping at about 5 GPM. When the left (satellite side) tank was full, I just shut everything down. I managed to take on 140 gallons of the 200 gallons that I could have taken if both pumps were operating properly. I drove to Lakewood, CO and spent the night in the parking lot of my 1st delivery in the AM. Of the 9.5 hours I worked today, I used 9 hours driving 548 miles.
Today, the 12th, I awoke at 0630. I took the MMM for their morning constitutional, then waited for 0700 (my scheduled delivery time). Nobody showed up. At 0730, an employee arrived, but this was his first day and he didn’t know anything. Finally, about 0745, the rest of the employees started to arrive. I was told where to position my trailer and the unload began about 0815 (1.25 hours late). This was a load of tires, so I had to “tailgate” the load meaning that I had to roll the tires out the end of the trailer. This goes fast at first, but the farther you get into the trailer the harder it becomes. The tires are stacked to the top of the trailer and become ‘wedged’ together from ’settling’ during transit, and can be “buggers” to free-up. A reciever (or 2) then sort and stack them. Car tires are easy, but those huge, knobby, 4×4 pickup tires are heavy and a pain in the Butt. This load was about 1/2 and 1/2. I unloaded 205 tires here. At 0915, I left and drove to my 2nd delivery, also in Lakewood, about 5 miles away. I unloaded 265 tires here, again about 1/2 and 1/2. It took about 45 minutes for the reciever to count the load after it was unloaded. Geeeze, he was slow. They were already stacked and sorted???? At 1145, I left and drove to my final stop in Englewood. I parked on the street because I couldn’t see a way in for my truck and checked in with the reciever. At this stop, in order to position my trailer, I had to “blind-side” back into an alley from one of Englewood’s busiest streets across 2 lanes of traffic (3 lanes if you count having to ‘jump’ the divider into opposing traffic) moving about 45 MPH. The Customer refused top provide a “spotter” or give any other assistance. It took almost an hour for traffic to subside enough to make the maneuver safely. I only had 132 tires to unload here, about 3/4 car tires and 1/4 “knobbys”, so all went quickly once I was in position. After the unload, I went to the restroom to ’spruce up’ as I was “perspiring profusely” by this time. At 1330, I left Englewood and drove back to our Denver Terminal. I had to exchange my 29 ft “pup” for a “real trailer”. Somewhere between stops, the Planner offered me a load which picks up in Denver and delivers in Havre (pronounced Haver), MT (20 miles empty and 800 miles loaded), and I accepted it. I dropped the “pup”, found an “real” empty 5 spots away, hooked to it, then drove to the Fuel Island to “top off” my tanks (fuel is more expensive in Wyoming right now and much more expensive in Montana). The pumps are still not working properly, but I only took 60 gallons so it wasn’t too bad this time. My PrePlan won’t be ready until after 1800, and since it doesn’t deliver until noon on the 14th, and since picking it up at 1800 would mean driving south 10 miles on I-25 in “rush hour traffic”, I’m going to take the rest of the day off to recuperate from the manual labor today. I’m getting “too old for this unloading stuff”. I’m exhausted!! I’ll drive over to the Shipper and do the drop/hook about 0400 and hopefully beat most the AM traffic.

Life Day 21242: Las Vegas Labors

On the 5th, I left Albuquerque at 0730. About midnight last night, the Planner offered me a load that picks up at our Terminal in El Paso and delivers in Las Vegas, NV (263 miles empty and 707 miles loaded). Normally, I would turn down a load with 37% deadhead, but I accepted it this time because it is going to Las Vegas and besides, if I didn’t, I would be stuck in Albuquerque for GOD knows how long. Due to the lateness of the hour, I opted for a nap before leaving. I also fueled before I left. I wasn’t going to put myself in the same situation I faced here with low fuel tanks and heavy loads. I arrived in El Paso at 1145. The load was heavy (42,739 lbs), but it was legal when I weighed it. I left El Paso at 1300 and drove to Tucson, AZ. I took a 15 minute MMM break here, then drove on to Phoenix, AZ where I stopped for the night. Of the 11.5 hours I worked today I used 11 hours driving 686 miles.
On the 6th, I left Phoenix at 0615 and drove to Kingman, AZ. I stopped here for breakfast and an MMM outing. I left there at 1045 and drove directly to the Consignee in Las Vegas. I arrived at 1300. I was sent to a Dock immediately and was unloaded in a timely manner. The trailer on which this load was loaded was a ‘reefer’ (refrigerated trailer) so I was told to drive to a Customer in North Las Vegas and drop it. My options for obtaining a load when I’m ready to leave on Friday would be severely limited with this type of trailer. I hope that I can find an empty, or a load that doesn’t need an empty when I’m ready to leave. After dropping the trailer, I drove to the Flying J in NLV and called it a day. I went in for dinner, then just ‘vegged’ for the rest of the day.
The 7th, was “labor day”. I spent the morning cleaning out my truck and sorting through my storage shed (Yeah, it’s now cool enough in the AM to actually do something). Soon, I’ll do a “purge”. The problem will be getting the “stuff” to the appropriate charitable agency. I won’t have enough for them to send a truck to my storage facility to make a pick-up, but it will be enough to require several trips in my car. Oh well, I hope they appreciate the donation. In the afternoon, I returned to the Flying J. The WiFi connection was too sporatic to update my BLOG. I started a posting but surrendered in frustration. I did manage to send out one e-mail.
For dinner, I returned to the Hofbrau Haus. Being mid-week, it was far less raucous than my previous visit, but the Oompah Band wasn’t. These guys are like Energizer Bunnies. Anyway, this time I had the Bavarian Wurstplatter (4 different kinds of Sausages, Mashed Potatoes and Saurkraut). It was yummy. I had Apple Strudel to finish off my meal. It too was delicious.
Today, the 8th, was “doggie bath” and “play on the computer” day. I re-located to the TA. They seem to have FINALLY solved their WiFi connection problems here. I finished the posting I began yesterday, then took the MMM to PetSmart. While they were getting groomed, I walked around the ‘Strip Mall’ and then waited in my truck. It takes about 3 hours for them to be groomed. After the grooming and the manditory “shopping visit” for treats, I returned to the TA.
For dinner tonight, I ventured over to the Silverton Casino. It’s cool enough after the sun goes down this time of year to make the walk enjoyable. I ate at the Sundance Grill. I had, surprisingly enough, the Chicken Fried Steak. It was served in a unique way, with the Mashed Potatoes on top of the Steak. As far as flavor, quality, and portion size, it rivals the CFS at Harris Ranch. It, however, is cheaper than the price at Harris Ranch by a full $4.00 ($8.95 here). It came with a “cobette” of corn and ample Dinner Rolls as well as the afore mentioned Mashed Potatoes. For the Soup/Salad option, I selected the Tomato/White Bean Soup which was delicious. For desert, which I wound up taking with me, I ordered Strawberry Tall Cake. It is enormous (easily enough for 2 normal people)!! Being abnormal, I’ll have the entire thing for breakfast in the AM.

Life Day 21241: Aftermath Afterthoughts

It is easy to “monday morning quarterback” after any disaster, be it man-made or natural. Hurricane Katrina is no exception. If one watched or listened only to CNN, NBC, ABC, or CBS, they would come away thinking that the responsibiliy for the entire debacle (including the Hurricane itself) rests solely with George Bush and the Bush Administration. If one watched or listened only to Fox News, they would come away thinking that George Bush and the Bush Administration were entirely blameless and that the responsibility rests solely with Louisana Governor Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Nagin. What a bunch of B___S___!!! In actuality, there was a Total Abject Failure from the every level of Government. From the first responders (who basically abandon the people stranded in New Orleans once the levees failed) to FEMA (who was woefully unprepared for the enormity of the situation), all agencies responded with the equivelent of: “Showing up to a Nuclear War with a Sling Shot” (that’s nuclear George, not nuculer).
What really DISGUSTS me is the “finger pointing” and “shifting of blame” that is rampant among those in “power”. True Leaders Lead, they do not try to obviate the situation in an attempt to put themselves in a better light. There will be an appropriate time to play POLITICS and find out who screwed up and how, but, in my humble opinion, that time should be, oh I don’t know, some time AFTER you have rescued your citizens who are stranded on their rooftops without food or water with many needing medicine and/or medical attention.
It took less than 24 hours after the levees collapsed for all the usual suspects to play the “race card”. More B____S____!!! If they really wanted to “help”, they would be down there handing out food and water or rendering some other kind of aid rather than “sprinting” to the nearest TV camera to “poke the Bush Administration in the eye”. Like I said above, there will be a time and place to establish blame.
What conclusions can we, as Americans, draw from this tragedy:
1). “Homeland Security” is a joke. Congress needs to re-write the Homeland Security Act, and, while they’re at it, give us back the 3rd, 4th and 5th Ammendment Rights that they usurped in the original version.
2). What America needs is some “Adult Supervision”. These Childish Morons that currently “represent” us need to GO!!!
3). The “Bart Simpson” (I didn’t do it, no one saw me do it, you can’t prove it) approach to Politics by the Looney Left, is equally as frightening to me as the “Ecumenical” (I was elected to this office because GOD ordained it) approach by the Rabid Religious Right.
4). In the next election, no incumbant (City, County, State or Federal) should be re-elected. They have all been corrupted by the entrenched Special Interests and Lobby Groups whose sole purpose is to get American Taxpayers to cede to their Lunatic Fringe agendas or fund their Pet Projects (usually to the detriment of the Taxpayer). It’s time to Clean House and start over. This system is Broken.
5). Democracy is only as good as its citizens. WAKE UP AMERICA!!! You are the ones who elected these IMBECILES.
6). Democracy isn’t the perfect form of Government, but it is far ahead of whatever is in 2nd place. We need to FIX what we have. End the Bribery and Graft (disguised as “campaign contributions” and “political action committees”) of the current system.
7). Political Correctness is “Political”, but seldom “Correct”. Stop the absurdity of “Political Correctness” immediately. Who the H___ decides what’s Politically Correct anyway???
In conclusion, let me say that unless America wakes up, it is DOOMED. The answer lies somewhere between the extremism of the Looney Left and the extremism of the Rabid Right. Unless we find the answers soon, I fear for the future of my beloved Country!!!!!

Life Day 21238: Microtel Malingering

Yesterday, the 3rd, I hung out at the Microtel watching The Food Channel and playing on the computer. I took some snapshots of the room.

The room was quite spacious.

The room was “stuffy” when I first checked in, so the MMM naturally migrated to the coolest place until the A/C kicked in (above left). After the room cooled, they each ’staked out’ their own territory. Unfortunately for Wolfie, the ‘territory’ that he selected happened to conflict with the ‘territory’ “Daddy” chose for setting up the computer so he migrated to the window seat.
Sunday, the 4th, was a total waste. I checked out of the Microtel at 1145 and drove back to our Terminal to pick-up my load. The load weighed 44,500 lbs, heavy, but managable if the load is properly situated in the trailer. My fuel situation was critical because my tanks were only 3/16 full, so I need to be able to take on some fuel. Since the load was so heavy, I weighed it at the Terminal before I fueled. The scale there indicated that I was over-weight on my drive axle, so I went to the Flying J for a certified weight ticket. The first weight showed that I was 11,300 lbs on my steer axle, 34,460 lbs on my drive axle and 32,900 lbs on my tandem axle. Illegal. There was no adjustment I could make on the tandem axle to help alleviate the over-weight situation on the drive axle because it was already slid forward to the stops. I made an adjustment to the 5th wheel position to move weight forward to the steer axle, and weighed again. This time I showed 11,780 lbs on the steer axle, 34,100 lbs on the drives and about 32, 840 lbs on my tandem axle. Still illegal. No further adjustment was possible because moving more weight forward to the steer axle would alleviate the overweight situation on the drive axle, but would cause an over-weight situation on the steer axle and still be illegal (weight is moved in approximately 500 lb increments when adjusting the weight using the 5th wheel). I took the load back to the Terminal and informed them that I couldn’t get the load legal. They took it back, and offered me another load going to Salt Lake City, UT, but it wouldn’t arrive at the Terminal for about 2 hours. I accepted it and took the MMM for an un-tethered excursion around the perimiter of the Terminal. Right on time, the load arrived at the Terminal. I hooked to the load and did my L-Call. This load, according to the paperwork, weighed 28,080 lbs. However, when I moved the load out of the parking spot, I realized something was amiss. It seemed heavier than the stated 28,080 lbs. I ran it across the Terminal scale and, sure enough, it was overweight on the drive axle and the tandem axle. Bear in mind that my fuel situation is still the same as before. Back to the Flying J for a certified weight once again. It was worse than I thought. The weights were 11,780 on the steer axle, 34,200 on the drive axle and 34, 740 lbs on the tandem axle. It was also over-gross (80,720 lbs). No need to even try to make adjustments this time. Back to the Terminal again to T-Call this load. The man in Dispatch thought I was kidding when I told him that I couldn’t get a load that weighed 28,080 lbs legal. He thought that they had given me the wrong scale ticket or some such thing. When he realized that I wasn’t just some “rookie” and knew of what I spoke, he T-Called the load. He sent a message to the CSR with an explanation of the circumstances. My theory is that there is a 2nd bill of lading floating around somewhere that became separated from these bills, and that both weights combined would be the acutal weight of the load. No matter because it is over-gross, so it will need to be sent back for re-load or re-loaded here. This load came out of Mexico via the Laredo, TX Terminal so anything is possible. They aren’t the “sharpest knives in the drawer” down there. That’s where “the load from Hell” originated. Anyway, at this point it is 1900, and I’ve had it. I re-set my PTA for tomorrow and came back to the Flying J. I’m out $22.50 in scale fees and still don’t have a load!! Nothing logged, nothing gained today.