STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life day 22480: Farewell to Fontana

Not much has happened since I left Las Vegas. It has been a frustrating couple of days, but I think that I’ll finally be leaving here tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.

Now, on with the chronicle of my recent adventures.

Sunday, the 25th: Today, I just relaxed and geeked on the computer all day. I needed to recover from my relaxing day in the sun yesterday. I started the post about my “Quartzsite Quickie” yesterday, but ran out of time before I could finish. I had trouble with the ‘HTML’ editor on WordPress, or more accurately Microsoft Word and WordPress colliding. I gave up and went to bed about 1900. After all, 0400 comes early at my age.

Monday, the 26th: I awoke at 0300, exercised the MMM, did my toilette, and then drove to the Shipper in Henderson. It took about 2 hours to be loaded. I left at 0600 and drove to the Consignee in Fontana, stopping once at a Rest Area for the MMM. I was unloaded in a timely manner, as soon as I arrived. When finished, I drove the odd mile to Cowboys Burger and BBQ for lunch. They have no website that I can find, but they are similar to Farmer Boys. I had pretty good Sourdough Bacon Cheese Burger with Fries and a bowl of Chili. After lunch, I drove to our terminal in Fontana where I fueled, then settled in to wait for my next load. It turned out to be a long wait. I received no PrePlan for the rest of the day. While I was waiting, I tackled the pesky “post” again. I discovered that WordPress didn’t like the way Microsoft Word converts (I/2) to a reduced size text, because it adds about a bazillion lines of gibberish to the ‘HTML’ text. I guess it is OK as long as you aren’t using the ‘HTML’ to post pictures. Once I solved that problem by changing to the narrative (half), things went well and I finally finished the Post. I continued geeking until I went to bed about 2300.

Tuesday the 27th: I awoke about 0700 with a PrePlan on my QualCom. It was a weird one. It was a “stage” load. I have never heard of a “stage” load before, but here is how it works, at least in theory. The driver (me) drives to the Shipper (in Carson, CA for this load) at a prescribed time (1600 for this load). He then checks in with the Shipping Clerk. Then he (me) waits for a prescribed period of time (until 2000 in this case). If there are no “extra” loads coming from that customer, he (me) checks out with the Shipping Clerk and sends a QualCom message stating that there were no extra loads. The Planner is then supposed to re-set his (my) PTA back to where it was originally so he (me) doesn’t lose his (my) place in line. For all of this rigmarole, the driver is to receive $100.00 if there is no load. At any rate, there was no load, so I did the above. I first drove to our terminal in Wilmington (the closest ’safe haven’ to the customer in Carson). The lot was full, so I drove back to our terminal in Fontana where I was fortunate enough to secure the last available parking spot. I went to bed as soon as I arrived (after walking the MMM of course).

Wednesday, the 28th: This morning, once again, I awoke with a PrePlan on my QualCom. This one picked up in Walnut, CA and delivered in Hazelton, PA. Thinking that my day was planned, I took a cold shower at our terminal. When I returned to my truck, I discovered that my load had been canceled. Seems it was actually scheduled to be shipped by rail. DRAT, that was a good one. About an hour later, I received a second PrePlan. This one picks up tomorrow morning at 0500 in Van Nuys, CA and delivers in Laredo, TX. After I accepted it, I decided to leave the terminal and drive to the above mentioned Farmer Boys to wait there and have breakfast in the process. As I was doing my Pre-Trip inspection, I noticed a flat tire on my trailer. Delays, delays, delays. It took about an hour to track down the mechanic (who was doing trailer inspections in the yard) and have the tire changed. Evidently, sometime in yesterday’s goings about, I managed to find a huge bolt with my right rear trailer tire. Anyway, with that finished, I did actually leave the terminal and drive here to Farmer Boys, where I’ll stay until early tomorrow AM. That is unless this load is canceled too. I’ll know tomorrow morning.

Life Day 22477: Quartzsite Quickie

Saturday, the 24^th :  Today, I woke up with a PrePlan on my QualCom. That is good news, bad news, good news. The good news is that I received a PrePlan at all. The bad news is that it doesn’t pick up until 0400 on Monday. The other good news is that it offers the opportunity to take a “day trip“  to Quartzsite to visit brother Donald and family.
On a ‘picture perfect’ day, I left Las Vegas at 1030 after checking with Donald to ensure that they would be there when I arrived. As I was approaching the US-93/95 split near Boulder City, I realized that I was driving my car, so I could actually drive over Hoover Dam, so I altered my planned route and took US-93. It has been restricted for trucks since 9/11. My first stop was at the Lake Mead Overlook, just before you drive over the Dam. I took these pictures there.

The Marina (above left) has been moved three times is as many years due to the decreasing water level in the lake. The Chipmunk (above right) is waiting for his ‘treat’. A man was feeding peanuts to all (furry critters) who showed up. The Chipmunks would grab their ‘goodie’, scamper off to bury it, then return for another. I was using two different cameras today taking duplicate pictures. The pictures of Lake Mead above were taken with my Nikon D-40 with a Tamron XR DiII 18-200mm zoom lens. The Chipmunk picture was taken with my little Kodak Easy Share Z712IS. It just happened to be the better picture, in my opinion. The Chipmunk picture taken with the D-40 was a little “fuzzy”. With the D-40 with the Tamron lens, you have to be VERY CAREFUL with the focus.
Anyway, I’m rambling. After I left the Overlook, I drove across the Dam and stopped in the first pull-out I encountered. I took these pictures there.

The new by-pass bridge (above left) is progressing nicely. The picture in the middle is Hoover Dam. On the right are the origins of Lake Mead. All of the pictures in the sequence above were taken with my Kodak.
About half a mile farther along, I came across the “real, official” Boulder Dam Overlook, so I stopped there as well. Had I known of its existence, I wouldn’t have bothered with my previous stop. In fact, if you look at the left or center picture below, you can see the parking area (middle right in either picture) from where I took the sequence of pictures above.

This is a good opportunity to illustrate why I often use two cameras. The picture on the left in the sequence above, is a ‘wide-angle’ shot of Hoover Dam taken with my Nikon. The picture in the center is the same ‘wide-angle’ shot taken from basically the same place with my Kodak. Notice that the “Nikon” picture encompasses a much wider periphery, due to the 18mm lens than the “Kodak” picture with it’s 24mm lens. The picture on the right is just a telephoto of the rocks around the Dam taken with my Nikon.
After this photographic extravaganza, I left Hoover Dam. About 15 miles farther down the highway, I stopped at a “View Area” overlooking the Willow Springs Campground on the Colorado River.

Despite signs forbidding it, a Native American woman was selling her wares in the View Area. I took these pictures with the Kodak.
After spending a few minutes at the View Area, I drove on to Lake Havasu City, AZ, home of the London Bridge. The Chamber of Commerce here must be brain dead. There is not one sign directing travelers to the London Bridge. I spent the better part of an hour before I finally found it. I almost gave up in disgust, but persevered until, at long last, I happened to stumble upon it. It became my own personal quest for the “Holy Grail”.

I took the Panorama picture above with the Nikon. Be sure to click on it for the full effect.
Upon arrival at the bridge, I parked in a lot and walked across. I took these pictures with the Kodak along the way.


While I was walking across the bridge, I spotted the location from where I took the pictures below. In fact, I took them from the little beach area in the picture above, lower right.


The first two pictures in the top row above again illustrate the difference between the lenses on the two cameras. The picture top left was taken using the Nikon; top center with the Kodak. The pictures in the bottom row, above, show some ducks enjoying the nice, sunny day.
After wasting way too much time in Lake Havasu City, I drove directly to Quartzsite. I was going to stop and visit Parker Dam as well, but time was getting tight. Blame the Lake Havasu City Chamber of Commerce for my not having enough time to stop at Parker Dam. I arrived in Quartzsite right at sunset, a little after 1700. I met Donald and family at their campground. After a quick walk for the MMM, we went to dinner, or at least we intended to. Dinner turned out to be a genuine, Grade-A, industrial strength, fiasco.Their first choice of restaurant was the Mountain Quail Cafe. Business was booming there and we arrived too late. They were no longer seating anyone. Their next choice was Sweet Darlene’s. The restaurant wasn’t all that busy, but it took the waitress a half hour to get around to taking our order. In fact, she left in the middle of taking our order to go take some food to another table. We waited another hour after the waitress took our order, and we still not only didn’t have dinner, we didn’t even have our salads. We decided to leave and eat at the RV. Lou made some corned beef sandwiches with horseradish cheese (really tasty), potato chips, and some Ranch Style beans. For desert, we had an apple pie which I had purchased at Sweet Darlene’s (before we found out having dinner there would be a career). We had a nice visit during dinner. I left at about 2130 to go back to Vegas.
I routed myself back to Vegas via Bullhead City, NV and Laughlin, NV. I stopped at the Riverside Casio parking lot, which is on the Bullhead City side of the Colorado River (they have a boat which shuttles people across the river to the Casino).
Be sure to click on the panorama above for the full effect.


It took a little hiking along the river in the dark, but I think the pictures came out well. The pictures will be self explanatory once you click on the small image. The picture lower right is of the (above mentioned) shuttle boat. All were taken with the Nikon, which excels at low light photography. The ones taken with the Kodak were not Blogworthy.
When I finished in Laughlin, I drove back to Vegas and the WWW finally arriving about 0200. A long day, but it was worth it. The MMM and I had fun.

Life Day 22475: Static in Sin City

Just a few words to bring you up to date on my activities since I left Tucson.  For a change, I want to be caught up with this BLOG before I leave Las Vegas tomorrow.
Continuation of Tuesday, the 20^th, and Wednesday, the 21st: As I mentioned in the previous post, I left Tucson at 1800. You have to keep in mind that I had already been up since 0630 waiting for a PrePlan. I arrived at our terminal in Phoenix (Corporate Headquarters) a little after 2000. I needed fuel or else I would have by-passed it. I hate going in there. While I was fueling, the mechanic “Red Tagged” my empty trailer (something to do with the ABS system). Like I said, I hate going in there. Anyway, that meant I had to obtain another empty trailer from Equipment Control. All of this rigmarole delayed my picking up my load for about 1 ½ hours, so I didn’t arrive at the Shipper in Tolleson until about 2200. I did the drop/hook pick-up and was on my way about 2230. That left me with 7 hours to drive to Las Vegas (about 320 miles). On a good day, with a moderate load, the drive can easily be made in that time-frame. However, this load weighed 45,000 lbs. All of the 2-lane roads, and hills, made the schedule much tighter. I drove to Kingman, AZ where I took a 15-minute break for the MMM. I then finished the load, arriving at the consignee at 0515, 15 minutes early. YEAH ME!!!   I had to wait until a little after 0530 because there was another truck in the dock. It took the customer about 2 hours for the unload. At 0730, I left the customer on the north side of Vegas and drove to the WWW on the south side of Vegas. It was 26 miles. I arrived at the WWW at 0800, exactly the time my 14 hour window expired. WHEW, just made it. By this time I had been awake for more than 24 hours. I tried to sleep, but was too ‘keyed up’. I got back up and drove to my mail box and retrieved my mail. My car insurance was due, so I paid that. Still wide awake, I went to Fuddruckers for lunch. After lunch, I geeked on the computer for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening, I wandered around the WWW, mostly vegetating at the bar. About 2200, I finally ‘crashed’.
Thursday, the 22^nd: I woke up at about 0930, rested and refreshed after the grueling ordeal yesterday and the day before. I’m getting too old for that kind of stuff. Today was laundry day. It took about 4 hours because one of the machines that I used malfunctioned, and the manager had to call in a repairman. The door wouldn’t open after the load was finished. When, he did finally get the door open, my clothes were still wet, so the manager transferred them to another machine. After that mini-ordeal, I returned to the WWW for more geeking. In the evening, I went into the casino and had a “Wild Burger” at the bar. The “Wild Burger” is a ½ lb burger with bacon, choice of cheese, and fries. It is really good, and filling. After dinner, I played a little Black Jack and won $200.00. I went to bed about midnight.
Today, Friday, the 23^rd: I didn’t do much of anything today except geek. Later, I’ll go in for dinner and maybe see if I can increase my winnings. A few more $$$ never hurt anyone.
I’m scheduled to leave tomorrow. Hopefully there will be freight available.

Life Day 22471: Tucson Tedium

While I’m here in Tucson waiting for a load, I may as well bring you up to date on my latest ventures across the country. I experienced more frigid temperatures back east, but for the most part, it was a good week. The only trouble I had was a breakdown in Harrisonburg, VA that cost me a couple of days in a motel with the MMM.

Now on with the chronicles.

Sunday the 11th: I left Warrenton at 0700. I drove to Mt. Vernon, IL where I stopped for a late breakfast at Huck’s Travel Center. They have a good restaurant here. It also borders on a “Wally World”, but I resisted temptation this time. I left about 1100 and drove to Waddy, KY. I took a short break for the MMM here. I then finished my day by driving to Cannonsburg, KY. I didn’t use my entire 9.25 hours for today, but I used most of them.

Monday, the 12th: It seemed like I was really busy most of the day, but I didn’t get a lot accomplished. I drove from Cannonsburg to Greenville, VA where I took a break for fuel, lunch, and exercise for the MMM. From here it was less than an hour to my final destination of Elkton. I drove there, did the drop/hook delivery, then drove to Harrisonburg, VA (about 18 miles away) to wait for my next load. My next PrePlan arrived soon after I had parked, so I took a quick break, then drove to Raphine, VA to pick up the load. I arrived in Raphine at 1700. I had to wait about 1.5 hours before there was a dock available to load my trailer. It took another 2 hours to be loaded. This load was supposed to deliver in Jonestown, PA but I got sidetracked. I drove back to Harrisonburg to call it a day because my 14-hour window was rapidly closing. I made one circle around the truck stop looking for a place to park. I found a place on the end of a row, but I never made it. As I was making my “final approach” I heard a horrible crunching sound coming from beneath my truck, so I immediately stopped. I thought I had dropped a driveline, but when I checked, I couldn’t find anything wrong. I called ‘on-road’ who in turn called a wrecker to come and tow me to the Kenworth Dealership. My truck would not move. About a hour later, the tow truck arrived and towed me across the street to the dealership. The shop said that it would be about 0730 in the morning before anyone would be able to check out what was wrong. I just slept in my truck for what was left of the night (it was already 0030 local time).

Tuesday and Wednesday, the 13th and 14th: I checked in promptly at 0730 on Tuesday. I knew that I was going to be there for at least 1 day, so I asked about a motel for the MMM and I. I also made arrangements with Swift to T-Call my load. About 1030, the mechanic came for my truck. The dealership gave me a ride to a Super 8 motel. It was less than a block away, but there were no sidewalks and I didn’t want to wrestle the MMM, my bag, and my computer down the shoulder of a busy road, or across a muddy field (the only two routes available on foot). I checked in around 1100. It cost $75.00 per night for me and the MMM. $49.99 + tax for me and $10.00 each for the MMM. Ridiculous for the quality of the rooms. The rooms are much nicer at the WWW. I settled in for the siege. I ordered some mediocre Chinese take-out about 1600, then called the dealership for a update on the status of my truck. The problem turned out to be the pinon gear in my front (primary) differential. They said that the parts were on order and would be in about 1000 in the morning. After that I continued the daunting task of channel-surfing between the Food Network, Animal Planet, and the USA Network.
Wednesday, I got up around 0700. After taking the MMM for their morning stroll, and having the complimentary Continental Breakfast, I checked again with the dealership. They said that the parts should be there soon, but that it would be late in the afternoon or early evening before my truck would be ready. I decided to extend my stay for another night. I didn’t feel much like checking out of the room at noon and wrestling with the MMM all afternoon in the cold (it was in the 20’s) waiting for my truck to be ready. I then settled in for more channel-surfing. I ordered Italian for dinner today about 1530. I had some pretty good Chicken Alfredo and a piece of Cheese Cake. The dealership called around 1730 (local time) and said that my truck was ready. I told them that I would pick it up in the morning. The tow cost me $121.86. My share of the repairs totaled $327.00. It could have been worse, but thankfully much of the repair was warranty.
Thursday, the 15th: I picked up my truck around 0830 (local time), then drove back to the motel to gather up the MMM and check out of the room. The driver who took my load yesterday had left his empty trailer for me, so that solved another problem. After I was finished at the motel, I drove back to the dealership and picked up my trailer. Then I drove across the street to the truck stop for breakfast (I skipped the breakfast at the motel). When I returned to my truck after breakfast, I had PrePlan waiting for me. It picked up in Elkton at the same customer to which I delivered (so long ago), and delivered in Austintown, OH. It was only about 340 miles, but at least it was a start. I did the drop/hook pick up then set off for Austintown. The farther north I got, the colder it got. When I arrived in Austintown, right at dusk, it was -5 degrees. YUK!!!  I settled in for the night at the TA truck stop there. It was only about a mile from my consignee.

Friday, the 16th: No relief from the cold overnight, in fact, it got worse. It was -8 degrees when I arose. I delivered the load at 0730. While waiting to be unloaded, I received and accepted this PrePlan to Tucson. YEAH!!!  Soon I may thaw out again. When I was finished with the unload, I drove to the shipper in Mentor, OH (just northeast of Cleveland). I arrived around 1030. Again, I had to wait a while to be loaded. I left Mentor at 1230 and drove to our terminal in Columbus, OH for fuel and a little break. I left Columbus about 1700. I drove to Brazil, IN and called it a day. I didn’t see temperatures above zero until I was well into Indiana. When I arrived in Brazil, it was +16 degrees, but there was a 10 mph breeze to go along with it. BURRRRRR

Saturday, the 17th: I left Brazil at 1030. I drove to a Service Plaza on the Oklahoma Turnpike about an hour north of Oklahoma City where I stopped for the night. I made stops in East St. Louis, IL and Joplin, MO along the way. All is well with the world. The further south I drove, the warmer it got. It was in the low 40’s when I stopped for the night.

Sunday, the 18th: I left the Service Plaza at 0900 and drove to our terminal in Oklahoma City for fuel and a break. I left OKC at 1130 and drove to Amarillo, TX. I took a short break here, then drove to Roswell, NM. I debated stopping here for the night, but I didn’t like the truck stop, so after a short break, I continued to Alamogordo, NM where I had to stop for the night due to that pesky 14-hour rule. Actually, I stopped at a parking area just outside of town, near White Sands National Recreation Area. Shirt sleeve weather for the whole day. From parka to polo shirt in 24 hours.

Monday, the 19th: Today was easier than I wanted it to be. I left Alamogordo at 0830 and drove to Lordsburg, NM. I had a snack and walked the MMM. I left at 1230 and drove here to Tucson. I did the drop/hook delivery at 1500, then NOTHING. I’ve been sitting ever since. About 1700, I sneaked over here to the TTT truck stop (about 2 miles from the customer and our drop yard here). I had Enchiladas for dinner. When I returned from dinner, I was about to take the MMM for a walk when I noticed that someone else was using the area where I intended to walk the MMM to walk his goat. Yes, I said GOAT. I waited until he finished, then exercised the MMM. I don’t think the MMM and the goat would have got on too well together. The goat was just a “kid”, but still, a goat in a truck??????? No thanks, the MMM are enough for me.

Tuesday, the 20th: Congratulations President Obama. I happened to be watching TV when he was administered the oath of office. I was busy administering a few oaths of my own, but of a different kind. Mine were much less urbane. As of 1030, I still don’t have a PrePlan. About noon, I decided to get my truck washed. I’m tired of hauling around half of the Terra Firma of Montana on my truck. Below are before and after pictures. If you have trouble distinguishing which is which, consult your Optometrist immediately.

While I was getting my truck washed, I finally received a PrePlan. It picks up in Tolleson, AZ and delivers in Las Vegas, NV tomorrow at 0430. The problem is that pesky 14-hour window. The only way for me to deliver the load legally is to wait here in Tucson until about 1800, then drive all night to pick up the load and deliver the load and get from the consignee on the north side of town to the WWW, all within a 14-hour window . If I leave any sooner, I’ll run out of time and have to take a 10-hour break, thus screwing everything up. It is a ‘live unload’ so there is no way around it. Thanks Planner!!! Couldn’t you have planned me on this load earlier so I could get some rest before making the delivery. Oh well, at least I’ll be at home: Uber-tired, but at home.