STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

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.