STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 22125: Bakersfield Breakfast

I got back to Corinne from Logan a little before noon. I did the drop and hook and left for Las Vegas about 1300. I made the deliveries and drove to the WWW arriving about midnight. I took the 6th off to prepare for the trip to Bakersfield. I had laundry and other miscellaneous chores to do.
I left Vegas at 1030 and arrived in Bakersfield about 1500. I checked in to the Motel 6 near Uncle Doug’s house. After I was settled in we (brother Don, aunt Helen, aunt Mary and myself) went to Bill Lee’s for dinner. We managed to eat most of the dinner, but I was a little disappointed in the quality of food. It was good, but not up to the usual high standards of quality. After that, we relaxed for the rest of the evening. About 2030, I began to get sleepy, so I decided to go back to the motel. Before I left, I offered to cook breakfast for the four of us the next day.
I arrived a little before 0800. I was smoking after letting the MMM loose in the back yard. Aunt Helen informed me that I was cooking for 12 now instead of just the four of us. After I left last evening, she and Mary decided to call all the cousins and invite them as well. I started the “slicing and dicing” as soon as I went into the house. The guests started arriving about 0900.

On the left, the chef and the sous chef (or more accurately the Pam-chef). On the right, aunts Mary, Francis, and Helen.

Left: Donald, Francis, Ernie, and Helen. Right: Don Baise, Jay, Donald.

Left: Helen, Denny, Paula, Pam. Right: Pam and Frank.
I made my delicious fried potatoes and scrambled eggs with ham and cheese in them. Pam saute’d the onions and peppers and aunt Mary made the toast. It was a nice visit.

Life Day 22122: Loitering in Logan, UT

The return trip form Cheyenne was uneventful, thank God. No wind or ice to contend with.
The next morning, it was snowing heavily. We got about 8 inches of new snow overnight. I recieved a PrePlan to Pueblo, CO. I whined and bitched a bit but accepted it (there are no “snow days” in my profession). At the last minute, I “dodged the bullet”. I got a load to Grand Junction, CO instead. It had a higher priority than Pueblo evidently. At least I won’t have the Wyoming wind to contend with, or the three 10,000+ foot mountains on I-70. The trip went smoothly until just east of Green River, UT. It began to snow rather heavily. The snowplows were out and doing a good job of plowing and sanding it. I was able to run about 50 mph safely, so I was only slowed down a little. After I was unloaded, I decided to just stay there at the store rather than begin my return trip. I’m really, really, really, really, really tired of driving in the snow at night.
Yesterday, I left Grand Junction about 0900. I drove directly back to Corinne. The storm was over. The road was clear except for a few icy spots. I recieved 2 prePlans. The first was a local delivery to Logan, UT. The second was a load to Las Vegas. I accepted both. The Logan load was ready about 1800, but I didn’t get out of the yard until around 2100. I got stuck in the ice trying to hook to the trailer. I had to have the shop come and pull my tractor away from the trailer so I could put on my chains to complete the hook-up. I’m sooooooo ready for Spring.
Today, i’m still in Logan waiting to be loaded with my “back-haul” to Corinne. Then i’ll pick up the Vegas load and be on my way.
I just found out this morning that my Uncle Doug passed away quietly Sunday evening. Therefore, i’ll be taking some extra time off to spend some time in Bakersfield with the family. Good God!! I just realized that with Uncle Doug’s passing, i’m now the patriarch of the Wood family. That’s scary.

Life Day 22119: More Weather Woes

I’ll just pick up from where I left off last time. I left Laramie a little after 1400. The winds had subsided a little (I thought). About 40 miles East of Rawlins, the icy spots began and with the wind, driving became treacherous rapidly. This is the infamous Elk Mountain. In the 40 odd miles to Rawlins, I was nearly “jack-knifed” by the wind 3 times. I’m guessing that the wind was still blowing at over 40 mph. The DOT really should have stepped in and re-closed the highway to light and high profile vehicles long before they finally did. Anyway, I successfully corrected for the problem mostly because I was “ultra alert” and began my correction(s) at the first indication of trouble (this isn’t my first time at this Rodeo). A few weren’t as lucky. There were about 3 “big rigs” (one from our terminal in Corinne) and numerous pick ups with travel trailers strewn all over the median and shoulders of the road. For the novices, let me try to explain the physics involved. A 53 ft. trailer exposes about 500 sq. ft. of surface to the wind. In high winds this acts like a “sail”. On dry pavement with a cross wind, the rubber meeting the road and the forward motion is usually enough to counteract all but the most excessive winds. You’ll get some buffeting and your fuel mileage goes “in the toilet”, but it is manageable. On ice with a cross wind however, there is no friction between the rubber and the road, so the that trailer (if empty or carrying a light load) is naturally pushed in the direction of the wind. The tractor is still pulling the trailer forward, except the wind is trying to take the trailer in another direction. The jack-knife occurs when the wind “wins” the “tug of war”. The only correction possible is to accelerate into the direction of the skid, then after corrected, SLOW THE *&%$ DOWN or stop until the wind dies down (preferrably with a barrier between you and the wind). Anyway, it was just as bad West of Rawlins for another 40 miles. I almost lost it one more time in this stretch, but after Wamsutter, the wind died down and the road was dry, and it was easy runing the rest of the way to Corinne. If I had any hair left, it would probably be a few shades grayer.

My next load was to Las Vegas and San Bernardino. The trip itself was uneventful. No weather worries. The predicted storm in Utah (see previous post) fizzled. When I returned to Vegas from San Burdue, I decided to do a 34 hour re-start before returning to Corinne. I had some luck gambling. In total, I made about $800.00. It started off innocently enough. I saw a dealer who had just returned from Mississippi where she had moved about a year ago. I sat down at the Blackjack table where she was. While we were chatting, she was dealing. I was at the table by myself. Before I knew it, I was over $100.00 ahead, so I quit. The next morning, I was sitting at the bar playing 25-cent video poker. I discovered the “double up” button. If you have a winning hand, you have a chance to double your bet. If you accept it, the machine deals a 5-card hand of poker with one card face up, and the other four face down. You then select one of the four cards. If it is higher than the “dealer’s” card you win. It then offers you the chance to double again, etc, etc, etc. The purpose, of course, is to get you to keep going until you lose, thus negating your original win. The trick is to not fall for it, and just take the $$$$ if you win the first “double up”. The bucks add up fast if you do this. I made another $100.00, from a $40.00 investment. Next I went to the 21 table. I was again the only one there (that’s the was I like it). Out of a $100.00 invesment, I made $270.00 (plus my original investment). I stopped for a while, but was soon back at it when the afternoon shift came in. Again, I made an original investment of $100.00. This time I made about $220.00 profit, so I quit again. I had more success at the video machines. I ate for free, as is usually the case with all the coupons I get as a Players Club member. All in all, a good stay.

On my return to Corinne, my first load was to Colorado Springs, CO (the trip I am currently still on). I started out bad and went downhill from there. The load was ready about 1345, but I didn’t get out the terminal until 1545. First there was a line for fuel, which I desparately needed. I finall reached the pumps at 1430. The QualCom was being persnickety. My dispatch didn’t come through until 1500 (I can’t leave until I do a “loaded call”, and I can’t do a loaded call until i’m dispatched). Then I had to have a trailer light repaired before I left. All this delay put me right in the middle of the “Morman 500″ (what we call rush hour in Utah) through Ogden, Salt Lake City, and Provo. I-80 was closed, so I was routed over I-70. It was snowing when I left, which further complicated things. US-6 had blowing snow and wind much like those mentiond earlier in this post, but not as severe, and I was loaded with about 30,000 lbs. From Price to Grand Junction, the road was good and I made up a little time. By the time I reached Glenwood Springs, CO, it was snowing again. I was ahead of the snowplows, so it was about 40-45 mph max speed just to be safe. At Vail,. I had to stop and install my chains. I had to run on my chains for about 50 miles (at 20 mph max speed to keep from “shredding” them) all the way past the Eisenhower Tunnel. By the time I made it through all that, un-chained, and made it to the truck stop in Downieville, CO, it was 0630.  My 14-hours had expired at 0430. I called in and said that I wasn’t going to make the 0500 appointment, but they had already figured that out. I wasn’t the only one. I left Downieville about 1630 and drove the store in Colorado Springs (a little over 100 miles). I arrived at 1900. The weather had improved considerably. I was finally unloaded about 2200. The store was overwhelmed with trucks because of the weather. I drove to Cheyenne, WY where I stopped for the night, and currently am. As soon as I finish this, I’ll head back to Corinne. The roads are currently open. Wish me luck.