A Few Thoughts to End the Week on

It has been a whirlwind day today. It started in Kingman, AZ and has finally ended in Amarillo, TX, just a mere 743 miles. It has been a day that started with sunshine and had a raincloud of bad news of the passing of Mr. George Jones, The Possum. It has been wonderful to have Sirius/XM radio and get to hear all the interviews with some of the greats in country music tell their stories of the man they loved.

I am not by nature an environmentalist by any stretch. I actually consider myself more of a conservationist and am growing into that mold more and more each day. traveling East of Flagstaff AZ though there is a disturbing scene taking place. Like most guys, I love to be behind a nice pair of jeans, especially if they fit well.  One of the popular styles is the stone washed jeans, as they fit and feel nice. If you are wondering how do they get that look and feel, well, I'll share it with you.  The stone in stone washed is actually pumice stone.  It can be found in abundance in volcanic fields.  I was disturbed a little as I drove by on I-40 and have really been noticing a hill disappearing, literally.  It is strip mined, or in this case it is surface mined and they are removing an entire series of hills to provide the product.

As you can see from this photo an entire hill is being stripped away just for a fashion statement.  There is no reclamation possible here.  In the case of a lot of surface mining for coal, reclamation takes place on a daily basis.  I'm just providing this information for some of my environmental friends as they protest in parks wearing their stonewashed jeans.

On another note, I did say yesterday that I would share a photo of the trailer I am pulling from Burbank, CA to Laval Quebec Canada. So here you go!

Enough for today, see you on the other side!!

Total Thursday

Today has been a day, a full one for sure.  I started some fifteen and a half hours ago and am winding it down. I started in Barstow, CA early to make it to my delivery before the L.A. rush hour. It is always a challenge in a big city to know just the right time to leave to slide in before traffic but not so early that you arrive at a destination and have no where to park. I was able to get in, get business taken care of there and then move on to the next load.

It was a short jaunt up to Burbank, just 21 miles or so. I was early and got the good news, your trailer is not gonna be ready today but if you want to run illegally we have one for you now. No thanks, I'll wait for a better offer. Sure enough they offer me another trailer that is sitting there ready to go, and once everything is cleared with management I am on my way to Laval Quebec. I have a nice light trailer and it even has a pretty mural or wrap on the sides. I'll post a picture tomorrow.

See ya'll on the flip side!

A Hard Day and an Easy Day

Well, like most things in trucking, just wait till tomorrow. Yesterday and today were two completely different days and that is one of the things that I like about this lifestyle and also what I dislike about it.

Tuesday actually started Monday evening. It was a typical spring night in Oklahoma City, 70 degrees at 9 pm and a comfortable breeze when I went to bed. At midnight I was wide awake! HAIL!!! Well that all calmed down and I went back to my restful state. At 5 AM I awoke to freezing temperatures, high winds, and blowing sort of freezing precipitation. I dealt with the strong cold northerly winds the entire day. The only good part was that by the time I reached Santa Rosa, NM the clouds were gone, but it was still very windy and cold. I settled in at a truckstop in Gallup, NM, made some soup and went to bed.

Today when I woke up it was a cool 16 degrees, clear skies, and no wind. It was a chilly walk to go in and get my coffee and a shower, that hot water is a miracle worker. I traveled today all the way from Gallup, NM to Barstow, CA. Sunny skies, a light breeze, and good roads. A day when I traveled some 537 miles and ended the day feeling refreshed and not beat up.

Tomorrow is another story again. I deliver in Pico Rivera, CA, then run just up the road to Burbank to pick up a show load going some 3000 miles to Laval, Quebec, Canada. I'll see you on the flip side!!

I am Back Again!

Well, after many technical problems I am back to my blog, I am going to endeavor to make at least a short entry here everyday. First I would like to thank Jessica from Godaddy.com for helping get my domain back and operational. This is probably my most pleasant experience I have ever had with any technical support ever! She was friendly, addressed the issue, and made me a very happy customer. Now if the workers at Taco Bell could just get the sour cream all the way across the taco instead of just one end, well better not push the individual exceptionalism here.

I am back on the road after a couple of weeks off due to illness and a short fishing trip. Well I was for a few days till the old truck broke down and set me back $3000, ugh, so goes life in trucking. I am back at it and here in OKC tonight headed out to L.A.(for my MS friends that is NOT Lower Alabama!). I have a stack of chassis' going to Pico Rivera.

Well enough for today, see ya'll tomorrow!!