STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 21321: Searching for Squirrels

The MMM and I arrived at my brothers’ abode in Palo Alto, CA a little after Noon on Thanksgiving day. The MMM became agited as we were crossing the San Mateo Bridge because the knew where they were heading. As we took our exit off of CA-101, the became apoplectic in anticipation. By the time we arrived they were ready to jump out of the windows. Alas, the cause of all this is not my brother and his family, but rather his back yard, which is often frequented by squirrels. Squirrels are always fun to bark at and chase up trees.

Immediately upon arrival they headed for the back yard and began a ‘grid search’ with their noses.

There are numerous places for the elusive squirrels to hide, and the MMM seldom find one, but they know they’re there.

After ensuring the yard is free from vermin, they can relax and enjoy themselves. In the photo above right, Walter is saying “Wheeee, grass is fun”.

The photo above left is of “the girls” chatting and relaxing in the afternoon sun.

Life Day 21315: Soliloquy From Sayre, OK

Tick-tock, tick-tock. Today, the 20th, i’m just ‘geeking’ on the computer accumulating consecutive ‘off duty’ hours. I’ll have accumulated my 34 hours ‘off duty’ on Monday at 0945, so i’ll leave then. I could leave just after midnight on Monday, but then, I would just be picking up what ever hours I had for the corresponding day last week (in this case, 8.75 on Monday and 8 on Tuesday, etc, etc). Since Planners use ‘available hours’ as a criteria for planning loads, waiting until 0945, when I will have a full 70-hours available, will be much more beneficial in the long run. Now, to continue with the ‘daily grind’.
On the 18th, the Planner offered me a ’round-trip’ Walmart load which picked up in Moberly, MO, had 1 stop in Cedar Rapids, IA, then returned to Moberly, MO (152 miles empty and 452 miles loaded). I get paid at the ‘loaded’ rate even though i’ll be returning empty from Cedar Rapids. Also, he offered me a follow-up plan which picked up in Harrisonville, MO and delivers in Plainview, TX (155 miles empty and 638 muiles loaded). I accepted both and drove to the Flying J in KC, MO for breakfast and to wait for my load to be ready. I need to fuel, but fueling starts my 14-hour workday, so if I fuel too soon, I may run-down my 14-hour clock to the point where I can’t make the delivery. While I was waiting, the Budweiser Clydesdales’ trailer briefly parked in the lot. The ‘Clydesdales’ weren’t with him. DRAT! He was enroute to St. Louis to pick them up. I was allowed to take these pictures.

There are 6 different Teams of 8 matched Clydesdales each. They are located regionally throughout the US (St Louis, Miami, Los Angeles to mention a few). I forgot to ask him how they transported the wagon that they use for their shows. This trailer doesn’t look large enough to accomodate the 8 horses and the wagon, although it might.

The picture on the left was taken from the front of the trailer facing rear. The picture on the right is the opposite. The trailers are fully self-contained.
At noon, my load was ready, so I fueled and drove to Moberly. I picked up my load and drove to Cedar Rapids. I arrived at 2030. The nice thing about this load, was that they had to unload me as soon as I arrived because on this load I was basically driving for Walmart. I was out of there by 2100. I drove back to Moberly and went to bed. I worked 11 hours, driving 573 miles in 10 hours.
Speaking of hours, I only have 11.25 available for the 19th, then zero for the 20th. The load which I pick-up today going to Plainview delivers anytime before midnight on the 22nd, so this isn’t really a problem. I can use my 11.25 hours, then take 34 off to re-start my 70-hour clock on Monday. Then I can worry about getting to the Bay Area for Thanksgiving. I’ll run out of hours somewhere between Okahoma City and Amarillo. Hopefully there will be a good Truckstop wherever that happens to be.
Anyway, I left Moberly at noon and drove to Harrisonville. This was a drop/hook customer, but all didn’t go exactly smoothly. I arrived at 1500. The first problem that I encountered was that the load was loaded on a 57-ft trailer, which is illegal in Missouri. I don’t have a clue to how it got there, but I suspect that some idiot rookie driver with incredible luck managed to get it there. All the State Weigh Stations must have been closed that day. 57-ft trailers are legal in Oklahoma and Texas, so after being assured by Week-end Dispatch that Swift would re-imburse me if I got stopped, I consented to take the load. The second problem I encountered was that the trailer was parked so close to the next trailer that I couldn’t raise the ‘landing gear’. The ‘yard man’ was gone for the day, so there was no help there. I called Dispatch (again) and told them that I could move the trailer next to mine (which belonged to Werner), then get mine out, but since it was basically an additional drop/hook, I wanted to be paid for it. They gave me $35.00. I hooked to the Werner trailer, and moved it to a place that had 4 open spots in a row. I dropped it at an angle across all 4 just for spite so the idiot ‘yardman’ (hopefully the same one that blocked my trailer) would have to move it again later. There, take that. Last, but not least, the load weighed 45, 700lbs. I wasn’t sure that I could even get it legal. The Tandems were in the rear-most position, so I once again did my WAG calculations and adjusted the axle. This time I was dead-on. I had 11920 lbs on the steer axle, 33880 lbs on the drive axle and 33760 on the tandem axle. I gave myself a mental ‘pat on the back’ and drove to Joplin, MO. I had dinner, then drove to Oklahoma City. After bringing my Log Book up to date, I discovered that I still had 1.5 hours available. What the heck, I might as well use them. I’ll be that much closer to Plainview on Monday. I left OKC at 2215 and drove to Sayre, OK. There is a Flying J here, so my day off won’t be too bad. I worked 11.25 hours using 10.5 of those to drive 639 miles.

Life Day 21313: Kansas City Karma

Today, i’m waiting in Kansas City for my load to be ready. It’s a “round trip” WalMart load, meaning that I pick up the load, deliver it to a store (Cedar Rapids, IA in this case) then return to WalMart. I am then planned on a load which goes to Plainview, TX. From there, I will get a load heading west.
Since my last posting, i’ve been pretty busy. After taking enough time off in Fort Pierce, FL to re-start my 70-hour clock, on the 13th, I left at 0900. I drove to Jacksonville, FL After a 1.5 hour break, I drove to Columbia, SC where I stopped for the night. 513 miles in 8.5 hours.
On the 14th, I left Columbia at 0730. I drove to Fort Chiswell, VA where I fueled both my truck and myself. From there, I drove to Winchester VA, did the drop/hook delivery, then went to bed. Along the way, between the North Carolina state line and Ft. Chiswell, I saw a post-cardesque view of a valley with a small town, rolling hills, and farmland all resplendent with Fall Colors. Alas, I could not stop for a photograph. There was nowhere to stop. Those pesky “Emergency Parking Only” signs. I don’t think that a Virginia State Policeman would share my view that stopping along the shoulder in heavy traffic to take a photograph for my BLOG would constitute an “Emergency”.
On the 15th, I accepted a load which picked up in Aspers, PA and delivered in Morehead, KY (94 miles empty and 457 miles loaded). I left Winchester at 0600 and drove to Aspers. This was a drop/hook customer, so all went quickly. I left Aspers at 0900 and drove to Jane Lew, WV for a break. At 1430, I departed and drove to Morehead, KY. I drove directly to the Consignee and went to bed.
What a difference a day makes: When I went to bed last night, the temperature was in the low 60’s and the Morehead area was under Tornado watch until after midnight. Before I was finished with the day, I had encountered ice, snow, and temperatures that would send a Polar Bear into hibernation. On the 16th, I made the drop/hook delivery at 0630. I accepted a load which picked up in Hebron, KY and delivered in Northlake, IL (109 miles empty and 299 miles loaded). As you might suspect from the name, Northlake is in the greater Chicago environs. The Planner also gave me a load which picked up in Elk Grove Village, IL (also greater Chicago) and delivered in El Paso, TX, but it was scheduled for T-Call at our terminal in Edwardsville, KS (14 miles empty and 512 miles loaded). I accepted it as well. Theoretically, I was to deliver the Northlake load then pick-up the Elk Grove Village load and drive toward Edwardsville until I had utilized all of my hours. In practice, it turned out quite differently. The Northlake load had a delivery window between 1800 and 2300, indicating a drop delivery. However, upon arrival, I found out differently. I arrived at 1745 and was told I would have to wait until 1900, then be “live unloaded”. Still not a problem, I could still at least make the Elk Grove Village pick-up and get out of Chicago before retiring for the night. Again things did not work out according to plan. It turned out to be a “cattle call” type delivery . All the drivers are ‘herded’ into the recieving office to check in, and then assigned doors according to some seemingly arbitrary selection process. Additionally, you were forced to stay in the immediate area, because if they called you and you weren’t there, you were moved back to the bottom of the list. All they had for us to sit on was a wooden bench. I was there for 4 1/2 hours before I was finally unloaded. This, of course meant that I was already far in excess of my 14-hour window for driving. Needless to say, Dominicks Grocery Warehouse will NEVER be graced with my presence again. Ever hopeful, I drove to the shipper in Elk Grove Village to see if I could still ’salvage’ my day by at least picking up my 2nd load. Alas, the shipping department was closed when I arrived. I parked in their employee parking lot and went to bed after calling ‘Dispatch’ with the bad news.
On the 17th, I was loaded and left Elk Grove Village at 0900. This load was 3 rolls of steel each weighing 13,000lbs+. I had to use the WAG method to figure out where to have the loader place each roll in my trailer. When I weighed the load, I found that I had guessed right, but just barely (hey, I don’t do these type of loads everyday). I could have had him place the back (3rd) roll about a foot farther back in the trailer to even out the weight distribution. I had 11,780 on my steer axle, 33,600 on my drive axle, but only 29,100 on my tandems. Legal, but sloppy. Anyway, I drove to Walcott, IA and took a break for breakfast. With the 1 day delay in being loaded, I asked if the T-Call was still in effect. The load was supposed to be delivered in El Paso tomorrow at 1000, but there is no way to make that now, even with a ‘team’ on it. It will have to be re-scheduled, therefore, I could make the delivery myself and be set up nicely for my approach to Northern California and the Thanksgiving holiday. Before I left Walcott, no decision had yet been made. Between there and Des Moines, I recieved about 10 QualCom messages; yes, no, yes, no, etc, etc, but the bottomline was that I was still to T-Call the load in Edwardsville because there was a ‘team’ from El Paso waiting for the load so that they could get home themselves. I arrived at 2030, and was beseiged by the waiting team immediately upon my arrival. I dropped the trailer in the driveway just past the entrance, and took the paperwork into Dispatch for processing. I then re-set my PTA to 0800 went to bed.

Life Day 21306: Veterans Day Vivification

On the 6th, I left Grand Junction at 1430 (a bit late, but I was enjoying the day). I drove to Denver where I fueled and had dinner. I left Denver at 2000 and drove to North Platte, NE where I stopped for the night. Both of the 10,000+ foot passes were clear (Vail & Breckenridge), so I encountered no adverse driving conditions. A scenic, but routine drive.
On the 7th, I left North Platte at 1030 and drove to Gretna, NE. I took a short berak here to walk the MMM, then drove to Des Moines, IA. I fueled here, took another short break, then drove to Davenport, IA where I stopped for the night. Boring driving on a lazy day.
The 8th became greuling as the day progressed. It began by my driving the 125 odd miles from Davenport, IA to Morris, IL where I dropped my loaded trailer. This customer has no empties, so I had to drive to our terminal in Gary, IN to get one (about 60 miles). Sixty miles doesn’t seem far until you factor in Chicago Metroplex traffic and the perpetual construction on that portion of I-80 over which I had to travel. A 1 hour drive became 2+. The Planner, over the course on my slumber last night, offered me a load which picked up in McCook, IL (Chicago) and delivered in Reynoldsburg (Columbus), OH (38 miles empty and 332 miles loaded). This meant that I had to “run the gauntlet” again. Traffic was lighter going back the other way (I guess that there are more people leaving Chicago than trying to get there). At any rate, I arrived in McCook at 1430. I left an hour later with about 350 miles to drive and 6.75 hours remaining in which to do it. Most of this driving was on OTF (other than freeway) roads in 55 mph States. I arrived in Reynoldsburg at 2200 after driving non-stop from McCook, did the drop/hook delivery and went directly to bed at the customer. I had 0 hours remaining to drive for the day, so there was no other option. An arduous day driving, but uneventful. I worked 12.5 hours, driving 564 miles in 11 hours.
With my 70-hour clock soon coming into play, I awoke on the 9th with a Pre-Plan. The load picked up in Chillocothe, OH and delivered in Miami, FL with 2 interum stops; one in Columbia, SC and the other in North Charleston, SC (45 miles empty and 1152 miles loaded). I accepted the load, knowing that once I deliver in Miami, i’m going to need to take 34 hours off to re-start my 70-hour clock. I left Reynoldsburg at 0830 and drove the 50 miles to Chillocothe. I did the drop/hook pick-up and left at 1000. I drove to Wytheville VA. I took a 30-minute break and then drove to Columbia, SC where I ended my day. It began to rain as I entered West Virginia and just south of Charleston, WV I drove into a horrific maelstrom. It only lasted for about 10-minutes, but it was nasty. After that the weather cleared and all was well. I drove 511 miles in 9 hours.
I began my day at 0500 on the 10th by making the 1st delivery of this 3 stop load. The time difference between Eastern Time and Mountain Time (on which I base my log book) can make for some seemingly early appointments. This customer was located in a small industrial complex. It wasn’t made for OTR trucks with 53′ trailers. I had to ‘blind-side’ back into a dock next to a building. I had very little room in front of my tractor in which to maneuver so that compounded the difficulty. Little did I know that this would be the easiest backing maneuver of the 3 stops. After this, I drove to North Charleston, SC and my next ‘adventure’. At this stop, I had to again ‘blind-side’ back except this time it was from a 2-lane street, around some concrete ‘construction-type’ barriers (obviously put there for the sole purpose of protecting his mailbox ) into a 12′ wide driveway between 2 buildings. Par for the course, the obtuse, ignorant, imbecilic, moronic 4 wheelers cut me no slack. They wouldn’t stop and let me do my job. No, no, their time is much too important. They were driving on the shoulder going around me as I was backing. Those that weren’t were honking their horns. Due only to my driving skill, I managed to avoid all of them and complete the maneuver. Sometimes I wish I could just go “Postal” on these A__Holes!! Anyway, I finished at this stop at 0830 and began the trek to Miami. I drove to Richmond Hill GA, fueled, ate and walked the MMM. The truckstop restaurant was under renovation, so I had to eat at a Waffle House (a chain of restaurants rampant throughout the south). This form of torture should be reserved for only the most odious of our species. (Waffle House makes Denny’s seem like a 5-star Bistro). The U.S. Military should consider using it as a means of obtaining information from Terrorists. [Oh no!! We have withstood being stripped naked and forced to wear womens’ undergarments on our head; we have withstood the threat of being ripped to shreds by your mangy canines; we have even withstood your acts of sacrilege against our most Holy Koran; please, please Mr. infidel oppressor do not force us to eat at Waffle House. We will tell you everything you want to know].
I left at 1200 and drove to Fort Pierce, FL. This is the closest “civilized” truckstop to Miami, so I stopped here for the night. By “civilized” I mean without (or at least with fewer) prostitutes, pimps, or panderers. Besides, I didn’t have enough hours remaining to make it all the way to Miami anyway (it’s about 120 miles away). On this day, I labored for 10.5 hours, using 9.5 to drive 565 miles. Aside from the ‘blind-side’ backing is was relatively unstressful.
On this Veterans Day, my decision to ‘lay-up’ in Ft. Pierce proved to be sound. I left at 0500 and drove to Miami. I arrived at the customer at 0715. The dock area at the consignee was microscopic. I, yet another time, had to ‘blind-side’ back into their dock. This time, besides confined space, there were numerous obstacles as well. These photographs may help illustrate the difficulty.


With the help of the consignee, I made it into the dock. There was no way I was even going to attempt this without a ’spotter’. After I was unloaded, I had to wait for a Pre-Plan. This was a deliberate calculation on my part. Because of the dwindling availability of hours on my 70-hour clock, I had set my PTA for Sunday AM to insure that I would be left without a PrePlan until I knew my exact situation. I confered with my DM and let her know my situation, which was as follows: I began the day with 9.5 total hours available for the day, with none available to ‘pick-up’ at midnight. Therefore, 9.5 available for both today and tomorrow combined. I used 2.25 driving to Miami and another .5 in my safety check and spotting my trailer at the consignee. This meant that I now had 6.75 available for the next 2 days. My intention was to pick up a load in the Miami area and T-Call it at our terminal in Ocala, FL 300 miles (5 hours) away, then take the necessary 34-hours off to re-start the 70-hour clock. She re-set my PTA, then informed the Planner of my situation and intentions. Miraculously, the Planner managed to find a load which has enough time in the ‘delivery window’ to enable me to make the delivery and re-start my 70-hour clock. No T-Call necessary. It picked up in Medely, FL and delivered in Winchester, VA (10 miles empty and 1085 miles loaded). I accepted it and departed for the shipper. This was a drop/hook customer, so all went quickly. While I was there, I noticed that they had some recent hurricane damage, either from Katrina or Rita. I don’t think Wilma hit this far south.

It must not have been too bad, because the building seems to be relatively undamaged. Anyway, after leaving the customer, I drove to Fort Pierce, FL and called it a day (or actually 2 days). I could have moved closer to Jacksonville but traffic was heavy due to construction and I was tired. I’ll be able to leave Sunday AM (with a fresh 70-hours) and still deliver before the Monday PM deadline.

Life Day 21301: Change of Seasons

First let me bring the daily journal up to date.
On the 1st, I left Tulsa at 0930 and drove the 45 miles to Muskogee, OK. Things went quickly and smoothly because this is a drop/hook Customer. At 1100, I drove to Oklahoma City, OK. I fueled (i’m pleased to announce that diesel prices are dropping). I paid $2.36 per gallon today. After lunch and a good MMM walk I left at 1515. I drove to Amarillo, TX. I took a short break here for the MMM. At 1930, I drove to Moriarty, NM where I stopped for the night. I worked 11.5 hours using 10.75 driving 673 miles. All in all, a good day.
On the 2nd, I left Moriarty at 0915 and drove the 40 odd miles to Albuquerque. I topped off my fuel tanks to take advantage of the lower fuel prices and left at 1030. I drove to Winslow, AZ. I had lunch here and walked the MMM. At 1530, I departed and drove to Kingman, AZ. Another short break here for the MMM, then off again. At 1915, I left Kingman and drove to our Drop Yard in Henderson, NV. I did the drop/hook (i’ve learned my lesson about being in Las Vegas without an empty trailer) then drove to the Wild Wild West Casino and Truckstop. I worked 11 hours expending 10.25 of those driving 621 miles. Another good day, made even better by the fact that i’m home at last.
The 3rd & 4th, I spent in preparation for Winter. The first thing on the agenda was to do laundry. With everything clean, I proceeded to phase 2, my storage shed. I took out all but about a half-dozen short sleeved shirts and replaced them with my heavier, long-sleeved shirts. I also got out my heavy winter jacket. While I was there, I also took the TV out of my truck. In the 2 years i’ve owned the truck, I have yet to turn it on, so it was just occupying space which can be better utilized. I cleaned out some other miscellaneous ‘junk’ from my cab as well. This took care of Thursday quite easily.
On Friday, I replaced one of the struts which hold up the hatch on my Jeep Cherokee. I purchased 1 strut. I couldn’t determine how to remove the old ones without destroying the hatch door (they appeared to be riveted into place, and the new strut came with no hardware), so I sat and pondered the situation for a couple of hours. Finally, I grabbed my reading glasses to enable me to read the instructions (when all else fails, read the directions). Before I read the instructions however, I looked up at the strut with glasses on and had an Epiphany. With my glasses on, I could not only see the retaining pins, but how they were installed. After that, it was a 5-minute job with a screwdriver. As luck would have it, I actually only needed to replace the 1 strut, and by serendipity, I had selected the defective strut on which to experiment. Once it was replaced, the hatch door remained open without assistance from me (or more accurately, my head and shoulders). A 5-minute job completed in just over 2 hours (record time for me).
After completing this daunting task, I decided to apply my efforts to something for which i’m eminently more qualified; shopping. I went to Wally World. I bought food for the MMM. I also bought 2 leashes to keep in the car. Countless times, i’ve moved from truck to car with the MMM only to discover that I forgot their leashes (food and water, I remember, but leashes are another matter).
The weather was beautiful for my entire stay at home. Mid 70’s with just enough high clouds to break up the monotonous blue sky. The MMM (especially Walter) enjoy riding in the car, and now that the weather isn’t so forbiddingly hot, I’m using the car as my main means of transportation again. To give you some idea of how little I use the car in the Summer, I filled my gas tank on the 12th of May, and it is still just below 1/4 full. I’ll have to fill it again the next time i’m in town.
On the 5th, I made myself available at 0800. The Planner offered me a load which picked up in Henderson, NV (25 miles from our Drop Yard, but still technically Henderson) and delivers ASAP in Morris, IL (0 miles empty and 1708 miles loaded). A good load with which to start my driving cycle, so I accepted it. The only thing noteworthy about Morris, IL is the restaurant at the truckstop. It offers a “free” 4lb hamburger (with restrictions, naturally). You have to eat it, and all of the fries within a half-hour (similar to the 72oz steak in Amarillo). The bun alone is the equivalent of a loaf of bread. The fries are on a separate platter and are ‘heaped’ on liberally. Then there’s the burger. It would take most of the day to get 48oz of hamburger done enough for me to eat. If you don’t succeed, it costs $15.99. I have enough to do eating a 1/2 lb burger with fries. No way i’d try to eat a 4lb burger.
I left Las Vegas at 0930 and drove to Henderson to pick up my load. This was a drop/hook customer so I was in and out rapidly. I drove to the Flying J in North Las Vegas for breakfast and to mentally prepare to get ‘back to the grind’. I left at 1130 and drove to Beaver, UT. I took an hour break here, then drove to Green River, UT. A quick break for the MMM, then I drove to Grand Junction, CO where I stopped for the night.