Gracious, what a day.   Greg drove 615 miles today in 11 hours so we didn’t get out of the truck much.   Boy are we tired.

We started out in Arkansas this am and went through Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and then finally Georgia.   We are very close to the South Carolina border.

We weren’t in Tennessee very long, mostly just around Memphis and over in to Mississippi. We were 7 miles from Graceland but couldn’t stop doggone it.    They don’t make these places easy for a semi to pull in to.   Saw the huge Memphis port where they were getting shipping containers off the trains and putting them on trucks.   What a huge place.   There was some snow but a lot of ice which was surprising for me.  I don’t think of ice and Memphis usually together.    We crossed the Mississippi River again to get in to Mississippi.  Look at the ice on the bridge and then on the trees once we cross the river.   Everything was frozen.    We went by Tupelo but didn’t see any city buildings or anything.   It’s either a small place or we weren’t close enough from the highway to see it.    We crossed over the Tallahatchie River.  It’s actually a very small river, unlike what you would think it would be when remembering the song.   No sign of Billie Joe McAllister though.   (Anybody remember that song?)

We crossed over in to Alabama and drove all the way across.    It was really cold here but at least no ice.  We didn’t see anybody or anything for miles until Birmingham.   Quite a big city nestled right in the Appalachian Hills.   We were in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Alabama and Georgia.   So beautiful.

We saw quite a few coal trains in Alabama.   Apparently they have some really big coal mines.  They range from 1400 to 2100 feet below ground.   Wow!

In Georgia it was pretty quiet and peaceful until we hit Atlanta.   I hate driving around that town in a car, in a semi its terrible.   A lot of people think its okay to pull out in front of an 80,000 pound truck.  I just don’t understand it.    A few people were nice enough to let us over when we needed to change lanes and a few idiots would drive over in the emergency lane to go around us instead of waiting a minute.   We got there right at 5 o’clock and the traffic was unbelievable.   We sat and went a few feet, sat and went a few feet for 2 1/2 hours.   I couldn’t do that every day.   I really couldn’t.     Finally got out of the city and drove another 2 1/2 hours to our stop for the night.   We are in Elberton, Georgia.   Never heard of it, right?   There is a Bubba’s Foods out here in the middle of nowhere that we are delivering to in the morning.   At least we have a 10 am drop off time so we can sleep in a bit.

It doesn’t look like we will get to spend time with the babies this weekend as we had hoped.   They have us going to Ocoee, Florida on Friday but then turning around and heading back to Oklahoma by Monday.   Doesnt leave a lot of time.    I am so disappointed but we are requesting specific time off to go back and get our kisses!

We are having roast, potatoes and carrots for dinner.   I fixed it in the crock pot yesterday.  I forgot to mention that yesterday, I think.    I let it cook all day and it was so yummy.  We had roast beef sandwiches for lunch and tonight finishing off the rest.   We get so tired of fast food and eating at truck stops but our trips to Wal-Mart (the only place that’s big enough to pull the truck in) are few and far between and the refrigerator doesnt hold much so we can’t stock up.   It wouldn’t be so bad if the truck stops would alternate the fast food places in them somehow.   We usually stop at Pilot and almost every one of them has had a Subway.   No more Subways for me ever if I can help it.   Just walking in now and my stomach does flip flops.   It was never one of my favorite places to begin with and now I can’t even think about it.

Well, time for Downton Abbey and then turn in.   We get to sleep late (later than 5 am anyway) and want those extra hours.

Enjoy the pictures.   Goodnight, y’all.

Hello!  I’m back.  Was just too tired last to write last night.  We switched our schedule around a little.  Usually, we pull in, park, eat, watch a little TV, then Annie uploads the pictures and writes her part.  By that time I am too tired to write.  However, tonight we parked, ate and then Annie did her part and I am doing mine and then TV and sleep.

Well, last night I realized I am not a truck driver.  I drive a truck for a living, but I cannot claim the title truck driver after seeing some of the parking maneuvers we witnessed last night.  Pulled into the Pilot truck stop outside Little Rock and the parking lot was quite narrow.  There were a few empty spots so I selected one and did my set up.  I knew it was going to be tight when I stopped and looked at my position.  Started backing and saw that I was going to be too long to hit the spot.  There was really no room for me to pull up anymore.  Oh well.  I saw a spot on the end of the row I was trying to get into.  It wasn’t really a designated parking spot but from the tracks in the snow I could see that someone had used it before so I went around the block so I could pull straight in and back straight into this spot.  Some truckers grumble about people who take up these spots on the end.  Say they do it because they can’t back a truck.  Oh well, let ’em talk.  I got a parking spot and I knew that if I didn’t take someone else would once all the other spots were taken.  I see it all the time.  Heck, these guys will pile in four and five deep from a curb when it gets late and there is nowhere else to park, barely leaving room for a truck to get by.  In fact a guy pulled in beside me not long after I parked but moved after a truck that was leaving the lot scraped his trailer about halfway down the parked trailer.  Then he just drove off.  Didn’t stop to see if he had done any damage.  I have heard storied of guys getting their trucks damaged in the night and no one owning up to it, but had not seen it before.

Anyway, the reason I say I am not a truck driver is that I am not all that good at parking.  And that is a big part of this job.  So far I have been very lucky to find spots with several empty slots so I can back without risk of hitting something or finding a pull through, an open space from the back of a row that you can pull right into.  Heck, there are more and more drivers just pulling into spots that are designed to back into.  Then they back out in the morning when there are not very many trucks around.  See it all the time.  Haven’t done it yet, but that is another option.  That was probably unheard of until just recently.  I can’t imagine my father in law pulling into a spot like that.

Oh, but I didn’t decide that I wasn’t a trucker until I saw a guy pull into that tight spot I was telling you about.  This is after three trucks after me attempted to get into the same spot but gave up and moved on.  So we’re sitting there watching these other drivers try to get into this spot, one was a student with a trainer and the trainer got out to help him but they still couldn’t get in there.  I tell you this spot allowed no room for error.  The other side of the lot was full of trucks so you had only the barest of margins to work with.  Well, here comes this guy pulling in, he eyes the spot, didn’t really give it a long look, made his move to set up, started backing, whoa, tight, no problem, he wiggled that truck back and forth pulling up, then back, easing it in, making more adjustments, and voila he’s in.  Never got out of his truck to look at his blind side, to see how close he was to the truck next to the spot he was backing into, never made a wasted move, every move was calculated and performed to a purpose.  It was pure beauty.  I was truly watching a master.  In walking to the truck stop later, we were walking behind that line of trucks and I looked at where he was in his spot, equidistant from the trucks on either side and straight as an arrow.  That man is a trucker.  I hope with enough practice to be half that good by the time this career is ended.

So, here we are in Elberton, GA.  Dinner was spectacular, as always when prepared by my loving wife and expert, certified, chef.  Good thing we don’t have an oven on here or she would be baking and it wouldn’t be long until I would not be able to get in and out of the truck.

Well, hope you enjoyed this entry to Hills Over the Road.  More tomorrow.  Right now it’s time for Downton Abbey.  Then sleep.  Good night all.  God bless.

o

Mississippi River

Memphis Intermodal facillity

Serious looking, isnt he?

Talladega speedway for all you NASCAR fans.

6 flags over Georgia

Atlanta at 5 oclock

This is what Precious does all day.   She chases the reflection from my camera.

Up at 5 am for our trip to Georgia. Temperature is 29 but skies are clear.

Got some pretty pictures of the sunrise. It’s so flat and open out here and it was amazing to watch the sky change colors.

Kansas sunrise

We started out in Kansas, crossed in to Oklahoma and then in to Arkansas.   I didn’t take a bunch of pictures of Oklahoma or Kansas again today seeing as I uploaded a ton of them yesterday.   It would have just been more pictures of more cows.   LOL

We drove through the Ozarks on our way through Arkansas.   You could see really big mountains off in the distance so we weren’t in the highest areas.   It was beautiful though.  After being in the plains of Kansas and farms of Oklahoma it was nice to see hills, mountains and lots of green trees and some elevation to the land.   There were several very pretty lakes as well along our route through Arkansas.    One big lake had a beach area and at first I thought it was sand but realized it was snow.   There was one guy out there in a boat fishing though.   Brave fella!

We have also been seeing a lot of hawks on our trip.   The Native Americans believe that the hawk is a protector and is able to see the way ahead and warn you of danger so I am going to believe they are working with us to keep an eye out and keep us safe.    We have seen a lot of them in pairs which is neat.   One will be in a tree and a few trees down will be the other one or they will both be flying around.    We have seen so many that its hard to believe its a coincidence.

I am keeping my fingers crossed!   We have a trip to Ocoee, Florida, on Friday and so we are hoping to work it out with the next trip so that we can go see my babies for a couple of days.   We are supposed to give a weeks notice before time off but its hard to get that close and not go.  Ocoee is just north of Orlando, so about three hours away.   I hope we can work it out.  I miss them terribly.    They ask us all the time how many states away we are and when can we get to Florida.   Maddi told Greg today that she missed him so much and was going to kiss him all over his face and hug him all over the place when she saw him next.   Absolutely precious.    Here’s hoping!

We saw a couple more Casinos today.   What is a Native American area without a Casino now a days.  One was real tiny like a convenient mart but it still said Casino.   Another was really big and they were building on.   Go Cherokees!!

There are several pictures of ducks on a pond.   They are blurry unfortunately, but wanted you to get an idea of how many ducks were on this pond.    It had to be hundreds.

I almost missed getting the picture of the Oklahoma state line sign.   We stopped at a weigh station and usually its weigh and go but this time they asked Greg to pull around and be inspected which is very unusual so I got distracted.    Turns out all they wanted to do was measure his trailer for some reason.   Making sure his axles or something were lined up right.

We are parked at our old standby – Pilot, again tonight.  Glad we got here early.   There are no empty parking spots and some are even parked on the road trying to get some rest.   It’s amazing how a parking lot with 100 or even 200 parking spaces for trucks can fill up in a hurry.

Going to turn in.   Got a long day planned tomorrow.   We have to make it or at least get close to Elberton, Georgia.   Its 610 miles.   Its closer to my babies though!!

Goodnight, y’all.

Casino

Casino

Oklahoma. Sorry, almost missed the sign.

Gorgeous!

Tulsa

Tulsa

Bok Center in Tulsa

Tulsa

Tulsa

What a name!

Coke!

Arkansas

First Pentacostal Church

We woke up about 10:30 last night to hear sleet and ice hitting the truck. It rained like this off and on all night.

Woke up at 5 this morning to a frozen parking lot with about 2 inches of solid ice. None of the trucks were moving and we were very hesitant about it ourselves. Our load was due to be dropped off by 6:30 so we waited as long as we could. Finally some of the other trucks started moving and they were doing okay, albeit very slowly. Biting the bullet Greg pulled out very slowly, checking his brakes several times, and moved around to the fuel pumps. We were able to get the DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) (thank you Government for the additional expense) and had to pull back through the parking lot again to get out. Made it to the highway but it wasn’t much better than the parking lot. Nobody was moving fast at all. Fortunately we just had to go about a mile to our destination and made it safely. The only time the truck even slipped a little was in the distribution center’s parking lot but it wasn’t bad and easily corrected. It is only 24 degrees so I don’t see this melting any time soon. Going to be a fun drive to Kansas where it is snowing.

You can see the ice in a couple of the pictures. One truck got stuck and poor guy’s wheels were just spinning. See video. He finally got it going again.

Across the street from the distribution center was an amusement park called Frontier City with White Water Bay water park. Of course it’s closed this time of year. https://www.frontiercity.com

We are all set and headed to Dodge City, Kansas!

The roads are an icy mess. No sign of any salt trucks or road crews of any kind. We saw several vehicles turned around and over. One truck beside us started sliding sideways then got turned around backwards before hitting the wires across the median. Scary going for a bit even at 25 mph.

The sun finally came out and we had a good trip after that. Blue skies and open country.

We saw a bunch of wind turbines again. Boy they can mess up the view.

We saw our first roadrunner. So cool. He was out of shot before I could get a good picture though but it was neat to see.

Saw a lot of open farmland and lots of cows. This is really a beautiful area.

We picked up a load of 41,000 pounds of Oklahoma Beef tonight and then drove across the street to the Love’s truck stop for the night.   The smell is awful but its not as bad as the pork processing center we were at a couple of weeks ago.     We are headed to Elberton, Georgia in the morning.

Well, we are turning in.  Early day tomorrow.    Goodnight y’all.

Just a minute there missy.  Driver Greg here.  Not sure those were Oklahoma cattle as we saw quite a few in Kansas on our way here.  Right now we are sitting in the parking lot at the truck stop across the street from the processing plant.  We watch as one after another livestock truck pulls into the lot, parks and waits for the call to bring their cargo across the street.  I would almost feel sorry for the cows as I watch them take their last trip in this life, but they taste so darn good.  Anyway, as most condemned creatures they are not shy about relieving themselves right in the parking lot so you have to watch where you walk.  Were they ever shy about that anyway?  I think not.  I once talked to a driver who pulled into a truck stop one night to sleep and awoke to find that two cattle trucks had pulled in on either side of him and his trailer was soiled on both sides.  He had to bear the smell until he could get to a truck wash.  Poor fellow.  I am safe tonight as the truck to my left is here for a 34 hour reset as I spoke to the driver when his wife came to pick him up and the truck to my right has a load of frozen meat and he’s here for the night as well.

Well, I didn’t see where Annie said much about Oklahoma or Kansas.  Suffice it to say, both are wide open farm lands with Oklahoma having the more rolling hills contour as opposed to Kansas’ flat as a pool table landscape.  Still, both states have their own beauty that is a wonder to behold.  We truly live in a beautiful country.  I hope everyone is able to see it all sometime in their lives.

Okay, I’m tired, sunrise comes early and I have to be awake before then.  More tomorrow.  Good night.

My words on Kansas and Oklahoma are in the pictures below.   (Annie) 

Frontier amusement park

Icy roads

Yikes

Kansas!

Here comes the rain, or in this case turned out to be sleet but thankfully didnt last long.

Dodge City!

GRRRR

Can you see the cow noses?

Kansas Sunset

Well, not a very exciting day. We can’t drop our load until 5 am so we have spent today sitting in a Pilot parking lot all day. We cleaned, the truck and ourselves, did some laundry and watched a movie. We also watched a couple episodes of Wonderfalls. I think that is our most favorite TV series ever and it was only on one season. I made sure to bring the DVDs with us.

Well, it’s 9 pm and we are turning in. Gotta be up at 4:30 am.

Hope to have more to write about tomorrow and some pictures.

Goodnight y’all.

Happy Valentines Day!

My valentine is taking me on a scenic tour of Missouri in to Oklahoma today. Since we couldn’t go get the load from the guy coming up from Georgia they said for us to proceed with the previous plan and take our load to Oklahoma. Then why did we sit all day yesterday? Heck if I know.

Woke up this am to a little bit of light snow but turned in to sleet. Thankfully we weren’t in it long. Forecast for St. Louis was snow showers so glad to be leaving there.

I was able to get some pretty good shots of the arch as we went around town. Also passed six flags amusement park but surprisingly it was closed sed. Guess not a lot of people want to ride roller coasters in the snow.

There are a couple pictures of the Busch Stadium for all of you St. Louis Cardinal fans.

We went through some of the Ozarks in Missouri.   The part we were in werent very big like you expect mountains to look like but I dont think we were in the heart of the mountains.   It was still beautiful though.   The land around Missouri and in to Oklahoma is mostly just rolling hills and cows (very little corn I am glad to report).   In the very western part of Missouri and all the way through Oklahoma we saw thousands of cows.   Some farms would have a few and then others would have cows as far back as you could see.   Giant farms some of these places.    Several of the creek beds we drove over were dry.  I figure that will change once spring rolls around.

We stopped at a rest area around Conway, Missouri and it was so cute.   The picnic area is set up like a small town, complete with yellow dividing lines going down the center of the sidewalk.   There was a gas station, barber, Motel, Market, Diner and two garages.   The picnic tables are inside the little buildings.   We ate at the gas station.   The weather ended up being beautiful day and was 50 degrees when we had lunch.   Thats about double what it has been for us lately.

We went through several Indian (Native American) reservation areas too.   We saw the Cherokee Nation area which is where the Trail of Tears ended.   I wonder if my great, great, great grandmother and grandfather made it that far.

Oklahoma was so beautiful.   Again, I hope we get to come back this way in the spring when the grasses and trees are green.   I could almost see myself living here.   Get some cows, plant a garden and call it home.   Hmmmm.   (Dont panic yet mom, just dreaming)

We got in to Oklahoma City, OK about 6:30 or so.   Had some Chili that I made again in the crock pot.   I just leave it cooking all the way down the road and it is really good.  I also bought a roast our last trip to Walmart and am going to put that in the crock pot too.

We are all settled in for the night and watching Downton Abbey.  Finally made it to the third season.    Greg says I am the Countess Dowager, which I fully accept.   If you watch the show you will know how she is.   Or just think of me being bossy and it all makes sense.

Say a prayer for me.  My throat has been sore all day and sneezing.  I AM NOT GETTING SICK!!

I took a lot of pictures today.   Making up for not getting any at all yesterday I think.   Plus there was just so much to see.   Hope you enjoy them.

Goodnight, y’all.

Greg here:  All I got to say is God Bless America.  We finally found some warmer weather.  Of course now that the sun is down and the wind is still blowing it is a little chilly outside.  Speaking of chili, mmmmmm……….  Nothing like truck chili that’s been cooking for a few hundred miles.  That’s how we time our cooking out here on the road, by miles, not minutes and hours.

Pulled in early tonight and had our pick of spots to park.  Have to get in a truck stop early or you’ll be parking on the ramps and fringes.

Sunshine most of the way.  That’s good since we haven’t had much of that for a couple of weeks.  However, it can be a little challenging when you are heading due west in the afternoon.  All in all thank God we got through another day without accident or injury.

Well, I must be sleepy, can’t think of much to say this evening.  Hope you all are enjoying riding along with us.  We enjoy telling you about our journeys.  Good night and God bless.

Thank you Lord for our warm houses and family that love us!

Busch Stadium

Eureka!!

Six Flags. Looks so lonesome without anyone on the rides.

Apparently, Jesse James hid out in some of the caverns in Missouri.

Route 66 ran parallel with us for a bit in Missouri.

Rest area outside Conway, Missouri.

We decided to have lunch at the gas station.

Oklahoma

Tulsa Oklahoma

Bubbling crude, oil that is, black gold.

And Reba, Vince Gill, Kristin Chenoweth, Lee Pace, Chuck Norris, Brad Pitt, Garth Brooks, Roy Clark. Sandi Patty, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood and I’m sure a bunch of others who wonder where their sign is.

Sitting……..waiting………

Looks like we aren’t going to Oklahoma. They rescheduled the delivery time to the 16th but instead of us sitting for two days, because we are only 7 hours away, they are having someone else pick it up and getting us another load. But he has to meet us here at the Pilot. Sitting……..waiting……..

Trying to find a walmart and figuring out how to get there. We don’t really like taking The loaded truck in to The parking lot. It’s too big to maneuver. Hmmmmm

Finally got to walmart. Took a cab. Got refills of meds and some groceries. Plan on fixing more chili and a roast with potatoes and carrots in the next few days. We sat all day so we should be ready to hit the road later on tonight and make up some time hopefully. Looks like we are going to Kansas City later on.

Well, the guy was supposed to be here by 5 pm but guess what, his timer ran out and it’s now 9 pm. They want Greg to drive to where he is and get the load and then drive all night back to get the load to Kansas City by 6:30. So….No. Too late to be doing that mess. We have waited all day now they can wait until the am. Greg hasn’t had anything but a short nap today in preparation for getting the load at 5 pm. He does not need to drive sleepy all night. This is crazy!

So. Off to bed we go and see what tomorrow brings. I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures today but they would all be of the parking lot and walmart. I didn’t figure you would want those.

Goodnight y’all.

PS: Almost forgot. Greg and I got a big kick out of a lady coming to the door of the truck tonight. She wanted to know if she could come in and use a cell phone charger. Yeah right. Obviously she didn’t see me sitting in the bunk and when I started talking all of a sudden her phone didn’t need charged and she took off. I told Greg to let her in the truck and I would fix her phone!!!

Woke up to a bit of ice on parking lot and truck. Temp said 24 with snow showers coming later this afternoon. Greg had to scrape his mirrors this morning. He is not a happy camper in the snow and ice.

Precious refused to come out from under the blankets this morning. Not that I can blame her.

Lots of farm land again today it looks like. I’m looking forward to Oklahoma. I’ve never been there before.

The weather got worse as we went along for a while.  Ohio was a mess.   We had a lot of snow and wind.   The roads werent slick though.  Just tough to see, especially on my side for some reason.  Of course if it had to be a side hard to see through I’m glad it was mine, not Greg’s.   My wiper blade decided to freeze up so all I saw for miles was just icy windshield.   We had to stop and get gas (excuse me) FUEL, and Greg cleaned the windshields and wipers really good and put on some de-icer.  I could finally see again.

Once we got to Indiana it was clear again.   Still freezing cold but at least no snow.  It hasn’t been above 24 I don’t think for days along our route.   It’s the type of cold that just bites any exposed skin.   My face feels numb just walking from the parking lot in to the store.

We got stuck for about an hour and a half due to an accident on 70W around Richmond Indiana.   We never saw the wreck, thank goodness, but traffic was stopped on both sides of the highway.    We almost saw another wreck when a truck pulled on to the ramp to get on to the highway and I assume finally noticed the traffic was stopped so he decided to back off the on ramp, and almost plowed in to a car that had pulled up behind it.   Big truck/little car.  It wouldn’t have been pretty but the car finally go his attention and he stopped.   I think it scared the guy in the car because he got out and looked at the front of his car just to make sure he wasn’t hit.

Greg decided after about an hour and twenty minutes that he was going to close his eyes for a few minutes since we were in park and weren’t going anywhere.  I swear, the second he got his pillow and laid his head back the traffic started moving.   I couldn’t have timed that better if I had tried.

We have had a change in plans due to the 3 1/2 hour load time yesterday and the wreck today.  We are not going to make our 5 am drop off time so they routed us to East St. Louis, which is technically in Illinois, not Missouri, but we will wait here until we hear from them in the morning about what to do.   They are trying to reschedule the drop off time.   Greg’s clock is about up for the day anyway so it’s not too much wasted time.   We took advantage of the extra time and finally did laundry.    Household chores don’t stop just because you are in a truck.   Still have to clean, dust, sweep, take out the trash, do laundry, fix meals, just the house is really really small.   Doesn’t take too long which is nice.

We are parked in a Flying J tonight across the river from the Arch.  I have a couple of pictures from tonight but will try to get some better ones in the morning.   The last time we came through here I couldn’t even see it, it was so foggy.

Greg’s turn:  Drive by the clock, live by the clock.  Just tell me where to go and when to be there.  Talk about a loss of freedom.  Imagine being told when to rest and for how long. Just because a few knuckleheads in the past tried to drive when they shouldn’t have, probably had some very bad wrecks, ruined it for the rest of it.  It still hasn’t stopped drivers from driving past their capabilities.  Just fed up with the whole clock thing.

So, yes, we had more snow.  Icy mirrors when I woke up because it rained all night and then froze.  Luckily the big mirrors have heaters but the little convex mirrors don’t.  Not to worry, I bought a bottle of de-icer weeks ago in anticipation of just such an occasion.

Well, I sprayed some on the icy mirror, waited a few minutes and then attempted to wipe off the ice.  Nothing.  Tried again.  Same result.  Now I read the label.  You have to scrape the ice first so that the de-icer can penetrate.  Well, what’s the point.  If you have to scrape it you don’t need the de-icer.  I didn’t have an ice scraper.  Threw mine away when we moved to Florida.  Never wanted to own another one.  What to do.  Then I remembered times in the past when I needed an ice scraper and didn’t have one.  Driver’s license.  Or credit card.  Both work the same.  So I scraped at the ice, roughing up the surface and sprayed again.  Still nothing.  This was some serious ice.  Oh well, the ice was still on the mirror but is was clear now and i could see through it so off we go.  Wipers still icy.  My side would clean and the washer fluid would come out on my side, but not on Annie’s side.  Not a serious problem, but I like a clear field of vision.  Next truck stop, next idea.  Every truck stop has buckets of windshield cleaner at the fuel pumps and long handled scrubbers and squeegees.  The problem is that that scrubber and that bucket contain the contaminants of every truck windshield that came before you.  Idea.  I got out my trusty bottle of de-icer, turned on my wipers and stood there spraying my windshield letting the wipers do the work.  Presto.  Cleanest windshield I’ve had in days.

So we’re in East St. Louis, taking my 10 hour break which gets eaten up with showering and doing laundry, and putting everything away, and having dinner, so not really a 10 hour break if you know what I mean.  But it fulfills some bureaucrat’s idea of what a human being needs to be refreshed enough to guide an 80,000 pound missile 60-70 miles per hour down a crowded highway with dozens of cars around him driven by people whose only training was a semester of high school driver’s ed.  Kind of scary when you think about it.  Anyway, Annie says time to turn in.  She looks after me.  Somebody’s got to.   Good night y’all.

Do you think Precious looks stressed? Worried all this traveling may be bothering her. LOL

Fed ex main terminal is in Indianapolis.

Too funny. Couldn’t pass up getting this picture in Illinois.

St. Louis Arch. Gateway to the West.

12 degrees this morning with a warning from the weather channel for a wind advisory of -15 possible today.   Okay, time to get off the mountain.

First stop is to get the truck washed out.   We have to do this after every load.  Makes sense.   Last load was meat and now we are picking up from Welch’s.

The trees on the top of the mountain are beautiful with all of the frost on them.   I know its freezing but it sure is pretty to look at.

Greg just clocked 10,000 miles since starting driving. Woo hoo!

We passed through the Seneca Nation in the last part of New York.   As you can see in the pictures, the names of the towns were in both English and Seneca.   This is also where we saw the Allegany River.  It was beautiful, even if part of it was frozen.  It was huge in some parts and narrow in others and went back and forth under the interstate.   Also saw a sign cautioning bears in the area.   We didn’t see any though.  Shucks!

I bet the Indians thought this place was heaven.   All the wild game, water, open valleys.   Maybe not so much fun in the winter but it sure was beautiful.  And of course, they now have a Casino!

We passed one lake and you can see the tire tracks on it.   Looks like truck and snow mobile size tracks.   I dont know if I would have enough nerve to give that a try.

Got to Roberts Distribution for our Welch’s products. It was supposed to be drop our trailer and pick up a loaded one but office said they were having “product issues” which means we get to sit here while they find what they need And then load our trailer. Wasted time on our end. Hope it doesn’t take too long.

We passed a couple of wineries around the distribution center.   The vines sure look desolate this time of year though.

Waited 3 1/2 hours but are finally loaded with 42,800 pounds of purple, white and red grape, grape peach and orange juice. Now we have to go weigh and pray we aren’t over and have to go back.

Weight was good so off we go!

We got caught in the Cleveland 5 o’clock traffic.   That was a joy to get through.   Got to the other side of Cleveland and the home office called and said some guy called and said Greg cussed him out over the CB.    Greg said, “it wasn’t me.  I dont have a CB”.  Office said “well, guess it wasnt you then”.    Don’t know what that was all about.    Very strange.

We got to Columbus tonight before the clock ran out.   Glad really that we had to stop.  It is starting to sleet and it is freezing cold.   Probably a good thing to be getting off the road. We still have 13 hours of drive time to get to Oklahoma.   Hope we make it in time. Tomorrow is going to be a long day unless his clock runs out again.  Too bad you cant just drive, take a nap when tired and then drive some more.

Well, going to turn in and try to sleep.   We are really tired tonight.  It has been a long day. Made longer of course when you have to just sit for 3 1/2 hours doing nothing.

Goodnight y’all!

Greg here.  I have seen enough snow to last me a lifetime.

I’m surprised she didn’t mention the NY roads.  I think they are in a contest with northern Illinois roads as to who has the roughest roads.  There were holes that nearly jerked the wheel out of my hands.  At one point we started to hear a knocking that sounded like someone was on top of the truck beating it with a stick.  It seemed to quiet below 55 mph and get louder with speed.  At one point I pulled into a truck stop to look and see if I could find the source of the “pounding”.  Not seeing anything or finding anything loose we ventured on.  There it was again.  Annie got up and started pounding around on the panels inside the truck and finally it stopped.  Apparently all of the jarring and bouncing had knocked one of the panels loose and she knocked it back into place.  I am surprised these trucks just don’t fall apart at some point considering the beating they take.  That was a concern of mine as well given that Annie has had trouble with her neck in the past.  I was afraid all of the bouncing would hurt her, but she says her neck actually feels better since riding in the truck.  Perhaps I am on to something.  Semi tractor spinal therapy. Anybody want a therapeutic ride?  I could do that in between loads.  Just a thought.

Did I mention there is a lot of snow up here?

The bouncing also produces another strange effect that only happens on occasion and with no apparent regularity.  Sometimes when I hit a bump the dome lights in the cab come on and a bell dings a few times.  I told Annie that’s the ghost that rides along with us.  She didn’t buy it for a minute.  It is strange to see this phenomenon especially at night when all of a sudden the whole cab lights up.

There is a lot of snow.

One other thing I wanted to mention to you fourwheelers, that’s what we truckers call anyone in cars, pickups or SUVs, give us space when you’re on the road.  I couldn’t tell you the times I have people in cars cut right in front of me going down the highway and if for some reason they had to put on their brakes really fast there would be nothing I could do but run over them.  I see it everyday and for the life of me don’t understand why.  Not all trucks are loaded but an empty truck is very heavy and takes a lot longer to stop than a car.

Also, show these guys some respect.  This is a lot harder than it looks and the hard part is being away from family and friends.  I am so thankful that Annie came along with me.  We are really having fun with this.  But most of the guys and girls that drive these trucks on a daily basis are doing it alone.  Maybe they like it that way, but it’s a lonely job when you’re doing it by yourself.  And they don’t get a lot of respect, from the motoring public, law enforcement, shippers, and the public in general.  You all want your stuff on the shelves when you go to the store and these are the people that get it there so have some appreciation.  Next time your filling up your shopping buggy think of the man or woman that drove a thousand miles or more just to bring you that can of soup or that bottle of juice.  And believe me, nobody’s getting rich out here, so think about that and say a prayer for them that they travel safe and return home safe and sound.  And say one of those prayers for us.  We need them too.

So much snow.

Time to reset the clocks.  Good night all.

Now thats cold!

Seneca Casino

I think its so neat that the put the deer crossing signs out so the deer know where to cross safely.

24 degrees this morning but thankfully no snow! Still sitting. Waiting on call when we can deliver our load. 11 am appointment but would like to get out sooner if we can. Greg is having a severe reaction to the cold and snow and it ain’t pretty! Lol. Precious doesn’t like it either. They could leave me here if they wanted. It is beautiful up here. I really hope we get sent back this way in the spring or summer. I would love to see what all these trees look like with leaves on them.

Time to head to drop off the load. Unfortunately the gas tank is blinking so got to stop for gas first. No biggee. We have an hour. Well, pull in to Pilot and there’s a line of course but when it was our turn the pump wouldn’t come on. Waited and waited. Still nothing. Pilot guy comes out and says the computer on the pump is frozen so he is going to try to reset it. Nothing. Didn’t help at all. So he shut the pump down. Lovely. We can’t back up and go to another lane because there are trucks lined up behind us, who also can’t move, so Greg ends up going in to the store and buying a 5 gallon gas can and getting gas out of the pump next to us. This at least lets us Get enough gas to get to our stop. And what a stop it was. You hate to see the directions take you in to a neighborhood. Never a good sign. Apparently the distribution center was first and the houses and other businesses were all built around it. We ended up going past it at first because it is down an alley. The guy came out to help direct. Greg backs up and turns down alley then has to pull in to the lot next door and turn around because he is faced wrong. Several stops and starts later we are turned right. Now comes the fun part of getting in to the dock. To start with we were down an alley. Second problem was all the workers park in the alley. To get in to the dock it was up a foot and back a foot, angle this way and back and do it all over again. Took forever to inch it in there and the whole time he is doing that there are cars coming down the alley and trying to go around him. Finally he gets in the spot without hitting anything (big round of applause) with scant inches to spare. See the pictures below. Wow! I need a Valium!

Then! We get all the way back in there, Greg opens the doors to the trailer and the boss guy comes up and says shut the doors and pull up. It’s break time. AARRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!

Finally, they get us unloaded and now there are three trucks in the alley waiting their turn to do what we just did that we now have to get passed them to get back out of the alley. What a tight squeeze. Glad that is over!! Greg’s nerves are definitely better than mine when driving.

While sitting here we see a whole bunch of people lining up behind cars that have pulled in to the alley. One car has Mexican food, one Peruvian and one soul food. Do we risk it? Sure, why not. New experiences and all that. Just hope one of my new experiences isn’t throwing up on the side of the road. I really want the Mexican but figure not having easy access to a bathroom, just in case, might not be a good idea. After crossing the language barriers in both vehicles (we were the only ones who spoke English) I had the Peruvian chicken with a hot sauce that brought tears to my eyes (Love it) with rice, fried plantains and for some reason I can’t figure, a fried egg on top. Threw the egg off (yuck!) and ate the rest. It was really delicious and glad I went for it. Greg, with the iron stomach, had the Mexican food. It was a sandwich with ham, cheese, guacamole, lettuce and a mole sauce. He said it was great too!

Now back to pilot to fill up this time. Then we need to find a truck wash out and go to North East Pennsylvania for next load. We are going through southern New York to get there instead of back through New Jersey and Pennsylvania which will be nice. Better than going back the same way we came. It’s just north of Erie, Pennsylvania and just south of Buffalo, New York. Sounds really cold! Forecast is high of 21 today. Then taking that load to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

As we crossed in to New York there was a sign for West Point Military Academy.   We weren’t too far away.   We have been there before and it is quite an impressive site.

We drove through the Catskills on our way.   These are some of the pictures I was able to take before it got darks.   Lots of little streams and creeks and a few rivers.   Signs all say this is a great fly fishing area and I can believe it.    We passed the Upper Delaware River but it was too dark to take a picture of it.   Lots of old colonial and early American names of hotels and restaurants through here.   Also must be a lot of dairy through here somewhere but I didn’t see any cows.   Lots of signs for ice cream and “this is the real reason you come to the Catskills”.    Must be a big Jewish population up here as well as a lot of signs were in both English and Hebrew.   Several signs for get your Kosher meal here.

Greg here.  Going to embellish and clarify certain things.  Our 11 am appointment was going to be easily made as we arrived within 20 miles of the stop 19 hours beforehand.  I called their receiving department and told them I was in the neighborhood and asked if we could get unloaded any earlier than 11 am in the morning.  The person on the other end was encouraging and said that he would try to get us in at five o’clock.  That would be great.  However, after hanging up the question came to mind, did he mean five in the pm or five in the am.  Wasn’t sure.  Either way we would be ready.  Then I got to thinking about my clocks.  You’ve heard Annie talk about them but not sure all of you understand what that means.  Not sure I do, but I will offer an explanation according to the way I understand it.  I have learned that if you start your clocks you better be ready to move because the “clock” is ticking.

To explain the clocks, you must first understand that these “clock” regulations were developed by some bureaucrats in Washington, none of whom had ever driven a truck for a living and most likely never worked at anything other than making other people’s lives miserable.  And as you will see, they don’t make any sense in the real world and like everything else our government does, they believe us all to be the same and therefore what’s good for one is good for all or what’s bad for one is also bad for all.  Did I make my feelings clear here or did I beat around the bush a little?  Anyway, some knucklehead came up with three clocks.  An 11 hour clock, a 14 hour clock and a 70 hour clock.  The 11 hour clock counts the hours you actually drive the truck in any 24 hour period.  You can stop this clock whenever you stop the truck for bathroom breaks, eating breaks, or rest breaks.  It starts again whenever the truck reaches 20 miles per hour or I can start it myself by pushing a button, but I never do that as those few minutes you save going around a parking lot in a truck stop looking for an empty slot or pulling out can be used for driving.  The 14 hour clock which contains the 11 driving hours plus 3 working hours for fueling, doing macros (more on these later), filling out and sending in trip sheets so you can get paid and the company can bill its customers, reading and responding to the email messages sent to you by your dispatcher or driver manager, going into the guard shack at each stop to check in and get your bill of lading when picking up or getting them to sign the bill of lading when dropping off, taking breaks and anything else you do once that clock starts, even waiting for loading and unloading counts against your 14 hour “work day” clock.  This clock, once started with the pre trip inspection whether morning or evening, cannot be stopped and once it runs out you have to stop for 10 hours in order to reset it.  So, if you haven’t figured it out, if you spend four hours at a loading dock, that’s an hour out of your driving time.  It’s like someone coming into your place of work, making you sit for an hour, and even though you are on the job, you won’t be getting paid for that hour and you can never make it up.  Now the 70 hour clock works similar to the 11 hour clock, that is to say, you can stop this one as well.  Every time you go off duty, it stops.  However, it accumulates the time you drive and are on duty so that you cannot do either once you reach 70 hours in 8 days.  To reset everything back to 0 requires a 34 hour time out, off duty, sleeping and/or a combination of the two as long as it is consecutive.  I wonder what kind of studies the government did to come up with these times.  So suffice it to say, one has to watch their time.  Oh, and I have to take a 30 minute break sometime in my first 8 hours of the work day.  Then I can have some more driving/work time.

About the parking, this was the tightest spot I have been in so far and I don’t wish to get in a tighter spot.  It was like wielding a 53′ scalpel with a robotic wheel while performing brain surgery on a giant.  One wrong move and we both suffer.  Well, maybe not exactly like that, but there was not much room for error.  And you know what happens when a vehicle hits another vehicle or some other immovable object.  That’s right, your insurance rates go up.  And we don’t want that.

One final word and I will stop.  I don’t think a day goes by that I am not amazed or surprised by something.  When we saw those cars pull into the alley and start selling food to all the workers in the area we just had to try it.  I went to see what was for lunch.  As Annie told you there was a van selling Peruvian food, an SUV selling Mexican food out of the back and sedan with it’s trunk open selling fried chicken and ribs.  The Peruvians and Mexicans spoke very little English, but we were able to communicate chicken and beef, spicy and mild.  So Annie had the Peruvian chicken and I had the Mexican.  Both delicious and homemade.  A nice surprise to a day that had not started so well.  Anyway, please check out the pics below.  See you tomorrow.  Greg

These pictures do not do the mountains justice at all.   It was absolutely breathtaking and much steeper than they look in the pictures.  Up and down, up and down.  Almost like a roller coaster.

New Jersey

Neighborhood on way to drop off.

Alley Greg had to pull in to and park.

Parkins spaces are scarce so you find them where you can I guess.

Alley Greg had to pull in to and park.

Well, I guess its a good thing I dont have to get out and Pee!

Peruvian chicken for lunch minus the egg!

Home tweet home

Stopping to get gas.

New York

Hudson river Valley

Heading in to the Catskills.

Welcome to the Catskills everyone!

Finally!!!

Snow at the rest area. Picnic anyone?

Brrrrrr. 19 degrees this morning but no snow here in Ohio. Hope Pennsylvania and New Jersey are clear. The sun is trying to peek through the clouds. That’s a good sign!

It warmed up to 31 and then back down to 21 before the afternoon was out.   We didn’t have any snow though which is great.   We had about an hour or so of icy rain but it didn’t accumulate or cause any trouble on the road.

We drove a little bit of Ohio in to Pennsylvania then all across Pennsylvania in to New Jersey.   We are right on the border of New York in Mahwah, New Jersey.   Never heard of it but it is beautiful through here.   Lots of mountains.   Would love to see this place in the summer and fall.

At least we didn’t have flat corn land today.   The hills and mountains were a nice change. I wish my pictures were better and I could really show you what this looks like but its hard to take pictures of scenery going 60 mph and the windows rolled up.

We got to our destination at about 4:30 but our appointment isn’t until 11 am tomorrow so we put in a call and hopefully they will be able to take us earlier so we don’t have to wait around.  We tried to park at a Pilot but there were only about 6 parking spots and a dozen trucks in the lot so we went across the state line in to New York and stopped at a rest area that was just 5 miles down the road.

Well, 2 hours later and we are still waiting on phone call.   Greg’s clock runs out pretty soon though which means even if they do call we can’t go.

Greg here, captain of the ship, driver, boss hog, etc., etc.  As you all know, I do not like snow.  That being said, this is still one beautiful country.  I know i won’t get to see it all before I pass on from this life, but appreciate what I have seen and am seeing and am constantly amazed and awed at the richness and vastness of this land we call home, America.  Seeing the houses and the towns as we go by makes me wonder, do they know what they have?  Do they appreciate being American?  I think so.  And I don’t think you need to know what’s going on around the world to know that this place is special.  And the sunrises.  Wow!  It had been a while since I had seen one, working the way we used to, but I don’t want to miss another one.  Every one is different and spectacular in it’s own way.  Well, in order to see another sunrise, I had better get some sleep.  Hope everyone is following along and enjoying the trip.  God Bless.

Well, 9:30.  Guess they arent going to call tonight for us to pick up the load.   We are going to head to bed in hopes they call us early tomorrow.   Forecast for tonight here is 2 to 4 inches of snow.   I sure hope we dont get it.

Goodnight everyone!

Frozen lake in Ohio

Oh, I wish!

Pennsylvania!!

Signs says it all really

No thanks

I’ve seen this truck a couple of times. It cracks me up every time I see it.

Rest area in NY. Now thats cold!

I dont know who 42 is but he is awfully proud of his truck and number. It said 42 over the road racing.