STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 21450: Idaho Falls Incongruity

April 4, 2006 on 2:45 pm | In On The Road, Travelblogue | No Comments

Time to bring this thing up to date again.
On Saturday, March 25th, after a few relaxing, if not productive, days off I left the WWW at 0930 and drove to the Shipper in North Las Vegas and did the drop/hook pick-up. At 1030, I left and drove to Kingman, AZ. I had lunch here and then drove to Winslow, AZ. I took an hour break here, then drove to Albuquerque, NM where I stopped for the night. I drove 606 miles in 10 hours and worked a total of 10.5 hours using 13.75 hours of my alloted 14 hour work day.
On the 26th, I left Albuquerque at 1130 after a leisurely morning. I drove to Amarillo, TX. Along the way, I noticed that my truck seemed to be running about 10-degrees hotter than usual, and that my A/C wasn’t working cooling properly. I checked everything out and couldn’t find anything obvious, so I decided to press on. I left at 1730 and drove to Wichita Falls, TX where I stopped for the night. I drove 507 miles in 8.25 hours. I used 9.5 hours of the 14 to work 8.5 hours.
On the 27th, I left Wichita Falls at 0830. I drove to the Consignee in Fort Worth and did the drop/hook delivery. I was given an “equipment relocation” trip to bring an unservicable trailer from a Customer in Roanoke, TX back to the Lancaster terminal. I arrived in Lancaster at 1345. I had decided to have my truck checked out while I was there, so I reported to the shop. I obtained 2 service requests (”red tags”); one for the trailer, and one for my tractor. After completing the red-tags, I dropped the trailer in the ‘red-line’, and parked my truck in the shop waiting area. After about a 3 hour wait, the mechanic came for my truck. I took the MMM to the canine calaboose and began the wait. About 3 hours later, I was out of the shop. The mechanic couldn’t find any reason for the truck to be running hotter. The cooling system was normal, there was no dilution of the oil (ie: a bad fuel injector), and the engine fan was operating normally. He blew the dirt out of the fan housing. The A/C problem turned out to be the Temperature Control Panel. Poor truck is just getting old I guess. I drove 178 miles in 3 hours, and used 5.5 hours of the 14 to work 4 hours.
On Tuesday, the 28th, I recieved a PrePlan which picked up in Greenville, TX and delivered in Shafter, CA (60 miles empty and 1502 miles loaded). I accepted it. After finding an empty trailer, I left Lancaster at 0930. I arrived in Greenville at 1130 and did the drop/hook pick-up. I left at 1215 and drove to Wichita Falls, TX. I took a short break here, then drove to Amarillo, TX. I decided to have dinner at The Big Texan Steakhouse (home of the free 72oz steak).

On the left is what you have to eat in the 1 hour time limit. On the right is where they take your picture if you succeed.
I left at 2030 and drove to Santa Rosa, NM where I stopped for the night. I drove 612 miles in 10.5 hours. I utilized 13.75 hours to work a total of 11.25 hours.
On the 29th, I left Santa Rosa at 0930 and drove to Albuquerque, NM where I fueled and walked the MMM. I then drove to Winslow, AZ. I had dinner and walked the MMM. At 1730, I drove to the John Wilke Rest Area about 40 miles west of Needles, CA on I-40 where I stopped for the night. I drove 681 in 11 hours. I used 13.25 hours of my 14 to work 11.5 hours.
On the 30th, I left the Rest Area at 0930 and drove directly to Shafter. I did the drop delivery. I recieved a PrePlan which picked up at the same Customer, and delivered in Ontario, CA at 2130. I hooked to the loaded trailer, did my L-Call, and departed the customer at 1545. Since this load was a ‘live’ unload at 2130, I had time to stop in Bakersfield for dinner. Surprise, surprise, I went to Bill Lees Bamboo Chopsticks.

I had my usual #1 Family Dinner for one. It includes Egg Drop Soup, Pork Fried Rice, Pork Chow Mein, Pork Egg Foo Yong, 3 Fried Shrimp, and a choice of either Sweet & Sour Pork or Vegetable Chow Yuk. I always choose the Sweet & Sour Pork because the Yuk part of Vegetable Chow Yuk describes the flavor and appearance rather than the Dish. They should put a comma between the Chow and Yuk (Vegetable Chow, Yuk!!) :>}

I was amazed to find a convenient parking place(s) a half block away. It takes a full 1/2 a city block to park this rig, taking up about 6 car parking spots. For those who are familiar with Bakersfield, this photo was taken on “M” street between 18th and 19th streets on the east side of the alley.
After dinner I went to Dewar’s Ice Cream and Candy Shop for desert.

I had a Peppermint Stick Ice Cream Shake and bought a pound of assorted Chews. for the road. Yum Yum!!
After Dewar’s, I left Bakersfield at 1730 and drove to the Consignee in Ontario. I was given a dock assignment immediately and positioned my trailer. I then took the MMM for a stroll. It took about an hour to be unloaded. I then drove to our Terminal in Mira Loma and parked for the night. I drove 412 miles in 8.5 hours. I worked a total of 10.5 hours using 13.75 of the 14 hours.
On Friday, March 31st, I awoke with a PrePlan on my QualCom. It picked up in Mira Loma, CA and delivered in Loveland, CO (1 mile empty and 1020 miles loaded). I drove to the Shipper, which was located about a block from our Terminal, and did the drop/hook pick-up. I left at noon and drove to Barstow where I took the MMM for an outing. I then drove to Las Vegas. I had some things to do at Kinko’s, so I took about an hour break here. I then drove to St. George, UT where I stopped for the night. I worked a total of 7 hours, using 8.75 hours of the 14 and drove 348 miles in 6.5 hours.
On April Fools Day, I fooled around. I left St. George at 0900 and drove to our Terminal in Salt Lake City. I fueled immediately upon arrival. I began the day with only 6.75 hours available, so I decided to stop here for the day. It was “snaining” (snowing and raining) when I arrived. I still had 1.25 hours remaining, which would have allowed me to drive to Evanston, WY. But, why would I opt to spend the night in Evanston in the snow, when I could stay here in a city with which i’m familiar. After I fueled, I went to the office to check my ‘Driver File’. My DM said that she had my 2006 truck Registration. It wasn’t in the file, but I found it on her desk. I then went to the shop to pick-up and sign for my PrePass Plus transponder. PrePass Plus allows me to by-pass participating Weigh Stations, Ports of Entry, Vehicle Inspection Facilities, Agricultural Inspection Facilities, and Toll Plazas. I signed up for it about 3 weeks ago and was informed that it had arrived. After that, I just ‘vegged’ for the rest of the day.
On Sunday, April 2nd, I left Salt Lake at 1000, after adjusting the time on all of my clocks for Daylight Savings Time. It snuck up on me this year. I drove to Ft. Bridger, WY. I took an hour break here. I then drove to Laramie, WY and took another MMM break here and had dinner. I then drove to the Consignee in Loveland, CO. Yesterday, I recieved and accepted a PrePlan which picked up at the same Customer and deliveres in Idaho Falls, ID (0 miles empty and 582 miles loaded). I did the drop/hook, then drove to a small truck stop 5 miles away to spend the night.
On the 3rd, I left Loveland at 0930 and drove to Rawlins, WY. I had lunch/dinner here, then drove to Little America, WY. I took a short MMM break here. I left at 1745 and drove to Idaho Falls. I drove 577 miles in 9.5 hours.
Today, Tuesday the 4th, is a day of leisure. My load doesn’t deliver until 2100 tonight. I just recieved and accepted a PrePlan which picks up in Worland, WY and delivers in San Bernardino, CA (361 miles empty and 1012 loaded). I can pick it up tomorrow, so I can go to bed after delivering this load and get a fresh start in the AM. I’ve been awake since 0630, and I really don’t want to drive anywhere after i’m unloaded this evening. I’m not that familiar with the route, and it takes me through some mountainous terrain and possibly some inclement weather as well (it’s been raining here all day), so it’ll be safer too. The WY to CA load doesn’t deliver until 1400 on Friday, so I won’t be rushed by waiting to pick it up until tomorrow.