Monthly Archives: March 2016

Day 418, March 21, 2016; Nipton, CA: Ontario, CA

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Got to sleep in until 8 am. Woo hoo!   Then had to spend half an hour cleaning up after I spilled my Coke all over everything.   I spilled it in the seat on top of my jacket, on the rugs, in my shoes, on the dash.    Didn’t just spill a little.  Had to spill most of it.  Well we are starting out with a clean truck even though I’m sitting on a stack of towels because my seat is soaked.   Just lovely!   Praying the day gets much better!

My babies this morning.   Maddi is feeling better.   Alex is such a happy baby!  Sadie had a tooth pulled love her heart.   They wanted a thousand dollars to do a crown on a 6 year old.  I’d have pulled it too.    Crazy!

So beautiful!! 

  
DG: We have beautiful grand kids don’t we? I think so.

A California cell tower.  Haha 

 

A couple of pictures I forgot to send yesterday.

Annie finally found her Tootsie Roll Pop.

This is the urinal in bathroom at Cima Mining Co. convenient store.  It’s a waterfall in case you couldn’t tell.

Got to our receiver three hours early and they wouldn’t take me so  we went to the truck stop around the corner and had lunch.

Back at receiver around 2:30.  Got a door and getting unloaded. Trying to get another trip so we’re not sitting for long.

No trips. Planners go home at five which was 3:00 our time so I hadn’t even gotten unloaded by then. They get in around 7:30 Central time which would be 5:30 our time here in California but I ain’t getting up that early to check. Who am I kidding. I’ll be up.

We’re enjoying the nice Southern California weather. It looked like rain here around dusk but then I remembered the song “It Never Rains in California “.  But it do. But not tonight.

No pictures from me but I think Annie may have a few.

A few pictures from today.   Not too many as we only went about 180 miles today.    The sunflowers are blooming and were everywhere.   I tried to get some pictures of the mountains but the ones in the background were very hard to see and couldn’t get a good picture of them.   The fog or haze or whatever it was just hung around them all day.   Never could get a clear shot.

Well, I hear Greg snoring so I guess its time to turn in.   Goodnight, y’all.

Day 417, March 20, 2016;  Grand Junction, CO; Nipton, CA

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6 am.   Up and headed to California.   We are only 30 miles from Utah.  It’s warmer today than yesterday at 39!  Got caffeine.   Ready to roll.

Gregory texted me and said Maddi was in the ER having trouble breathing.  She must have breathed something at the air show yesterday.

Boy we have seen some sights today.   I don’t know how I am going to decide what pictures to upload.  I took 927 yesterday thanks to my digital camera and I probably have that many today.  Took me two hours to sort which 120 to upload last night.  I’ll be doing the same tonight.   Haha.  Hope you guys enjoy them.

4 pm.  We stopped at a truck stop outside Las Vegas.   The thermometer in the truck said it was 104!   Time to go!   I’m going back to Utah where it was 39!

DG:  Well we didn’t go back and I keep telling her it’s a dry heat. We have stopped in Nipton for the night. Didn’t think we were going to find a place. I was running out of time and traffic was heavy, at a standstill for a good while. My GPS said there had been 83 minutes added to my arrival time and I had only about an hour and a half on my clock. We were trying to get to a rest area that is still some 40 miles away and I wasn’t going to make that with the time I had left. So we saw this gas station, didn’t see any trucks at pumps or any in their lot at all but across the street was this big dirt field with a couple of trucks already parked for the night so we joined them. We’ve all got our own corner of the lot and about 100 yards from each other.  Should make for a quiet night.

Don’t know why but traffic has been very heavy both leaving and going into California.  We surmised the traffic leaving Nevada was from Las Vegas but don’t know what all the traffic going to Nevada is all about.


Hope you can see the string of lights going in both directions.  It’s been like this for hours.

When we first approached the traffic Annie checked an app she has that gives traffic alerts and conditions. You can text back and forth with people using the app and asked about conditions up ahead. After speculating that it was either construction or a wreck the person up ahead said no wreck, just people don’t know how to merge. And sure enough once we got up there, that’s exactly what it was.

So we are settled in for the night. Have about three hours to the receiver in the morning and load is not due until 3:00 pm.

Here’s a couple more pics like you don’t have enough already. The store and filling station is called the Cima Mining Company and they have these moving, talking robotic miners out front that tell you to watch out for some raccoon that is in the area and if you go inside and buy some veggie chips he is likely to follow you around till he gets some. This is all while he is panning for gold. The miner, not the raccoon. Didn’t see a raccoon but that is a neat marketing tool.


Besides the usual travel souvenirs and snacks they umpteen different kinds of soda pop and their own brand of beef jerky. I bought a bottle of Dog Drool and three bags of jerky, original, sweet and spicy and cowboy style.


Can’t really describe the flavor of the soda but it was good and the jerky was very tasty. Precious likes it when I get jerky.

Annie – 

Green River Utah. 

   
 
Truck stop in Vegas.  Guess what Greg found.    Guess we’ll be driving with the windows down for a while.  Haha 

  
California!   
California cacti.   There were a lot of buds on the cactus.  I bet in another week or so this place will be gorgeous.   

 
Here is Greg walking off in to the sunset with his bag of ice and soda pop.  

    

Turning in.   Goodnight y’all. 
Here are some pics from today.    There are a few from a canyon we went through in Arizona.   Absolutely gorgeous.  It was such a lush green growing on the mountains.   Just beautiful.

DG: Goodnight from starry California.  God bless. 

Day 416, March 19, 2016;  Ogallala, NE;  Grand Junction, CO

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREGORY!!
5 am. Up and trying to get warm. It’s 19 degrees. So cold! When you expect cold it seems not to bad but when surprised with it then it’s really cold. Haha. Temperatures have been so mild for us lately that I forgot it’s not really spring yet. Going to have to get my coat back out if this keeps up. We are headed in to Colorado today and according to the weather report we may have some snow. Definitely going to need the coat.
7 am. Stopped at a rest area in Sterling, Colorado. They have this beautiful statue titled Metamorphosis. Love the butterfly!


Kaiden had a Boy Scout event at a radio controlled airplane show.  Sadie watching with the binoculars



At our highest altitude today.


We had a little truck trouble today. I’ll let Greg tell you about that. So we stopped to have lunch and this is what happens to the squeeze mayo at 10,000 feet.  It was siracha mayo.   I bet his sandwich was hot!


A few pictures of the Colorado River.     

    

Abby had a dance tonight and went with her boyfriend Caleb.  Aren’t they adorable?   

Gregory’s birthday present from Melissa was pictures of Alex.  Isn’t he adorable?  Yes, I am a very proud grandma.        

DG:  Well, this will be the day that the mountain kicked my behind. 

Going up a mountain ain’t so bad. It’s slow, depending on how steep the mountain and how heavy is your load. It just takes longer. 

Going down is another thing. You can use your engine to hold you back but you have to watch that you don’t let your engine rev too high. That could damage some things. So you use your brakes, but just enough to keep your speed at a controlable rate. You also have your Jake brake that uses your engine to retard your speed. Well, somewhere on the downhill I used my brakes too much and things started smoking. After they start smoking, if you don’t stop and let them cool they will quit on you. That’s when you look for the runaway truck ramp and hope your life insurance is paid up. Well, I stopped as soon as I saw the smoke rolling. I was watching for it as I knew I was braking too much and as soon as I saw it I pulled over. I wasn’t parked five minutes and the safety patrol pulled up behind me and asked if I was having trouble. Once I explained to him the situation he told me he would let the tunnel know I would be moving in about 30 minutes. Since there were several tunnels on this mountain I guess they have to keep track of any trucks that may be having trouble. He as very nice and I thanked him for stopping. 

We got a little higher than that first picture of my GPS data indicated. 

  
That’s why my condiment bottle spewed all over me. It had come up the mountain from near sea level and when I opened it the lack of that pressure holding it in allowed it to escape. If you need further explanation contact Bill Nye. Science guy. 

Here is the perfect wife holding the phone so her husband doesn’t miss any of the Kentucky game while he is fueling his truck. She is just the greatest. 

  

Well, got more mountains to tackle tomorrow so better get my rest. Y’all keep ’em straight up there. Byyyyyyyyeee. 

God bless. 

 

Day 415, March 18, 2016;  Mason City, IA;  Ogallala, Nebraska. 

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6:30.   Up and heading to California.   Probably just make it across Nebraska but it’s the right direction.   

Good Morning Iowa.  

  

Omaha Nebraska 

  

Maddi watering her flowers.  

  

The Sandhill Cranes are back.  Spring must be on its way.   We’ve seen field after field of birds.  

  
Of the odd things we have seen on the road I think today tops the cake so far.   We went by a farm with several lots of cows and right in the middle was a dead cow.   She was lying on her side with feet straight out.   Yep.  Dead.  

We have stopped at a truck stop in Ogallala, Nebraska.   There is a Mexican restaurant across the street so we went over and had dinner.  Such a good dinner.  Nice change from fast food.    Also had my first margarita in over a year.  It was delicious!   

Going to watch a bit of TV and turn in.  Goodnight y’all.  

DG:  Nebraska.  Corn country. And cows. We stopped at a truck stop a ways back and the parking lot was full of livestock trucks. You can always smell them long before you see them. 

Saw a guy hearing his cows today on a four wheeler. Guess the horse has been replaced again. 

Nighttime in Nebraska. Sounds like the name of a Broadway musical. I will sing us to sleep tonight. Beginning now. Goodnight y’all and God bless you. 

 

Day 414, March 17, 2016;  Cameron, MO; Des Moines, IA;  Mason City, IA

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Good morning Missouri! 

 
6:30. Up and heading to Des Moines, Iowa this morning.    Not too far to go.   Just hope it’s a drop and hook as these meat companies can take forever to load and unload sometimes.   

Also – Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

  
Wishing you a rainbow

For sunlight after showers—

Miles and miles of Irish smiles

For golden happy hours—

Shamrocks at your doorway

For luck and laughter too,

And a host of friends that never ends

Each day your whole life through!

DG:  Well, looks like the Cherokee tapped into her Irish roots to partake of the festivities. Sitting in a truck wasn’t my plan for celebrating St. Patty’s day but when you are with the one you love everyday is a celebration.  

It’s a beautiful day here in Des Moines. The sun is shining, the sky is clear and the temperature is just right. Okay, now it’s time to move. But wait, no trip. What? There’s nothing being shipped from Des Moines?  Come on. 

Well, I could take a nap. Okay, talked myself into it.   

Annie. Look at this gorgeous sky!   


  
Well Greg decided to lay down a minute while we wait to be unloaded and the emails came across for another trip.   We are headed to Ontario, California.    He got that taken care of and thought ok now I can lay down.   Nope!  Already done unloading trailer.   Time for us to get back on the road.  Too funny! 
    

Barilla pasta 

 
   
 

Made it to the shipper in plenty of time for appointment but clock running low so hopefully they don’t take too long to load us.  

We had a visitor on the way to the truckers lounge.  Didn’t seem too scared of us. Probably used to people giving him food.  

 

  
7:45 pm.   Leaving Kraft with 34,000 pounds of jello.   That’s a lot of jello.   Unfortunately we only have 45 minutes left on clock so headed to truck stop for the night. 

DG:  Shower time. We are at a Kwik Star in Mason City, IA. Really nice place with a big store. Looks to be fairly new and it wasn’t on our truck route app so I’m guessing that’s a good assumption.

Annie – Sitting in the truck watching Shadowhunters.  Greg is in the truck stop watching the UK basketball game.   

DG:  Another win for the Wildcats. Awesome. Okay, bedtime. Heading southwest in the morning. Headed for sunshine and blue skies. Hold it, that’s what we have here. But it is in the 30s. CA, southern CA, is warm this time of year. Mmmmm. So good night and God bless all you good people. 

Day 413, March 16, 2016;  Lancaster, TX; Cameron, MO

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5:30.  Time to get up.  I’m not ready!  Greg is already up and dressed.   Ok. Ok.  I’m up!  

6 am.  Getting connected to the trailer the guy brought in last night.  We have 39,000 pounds of meat.   We are going to Cargill in Des Moines, Iowa.   

7:30.  Good morning Texas! 

  

We stopped at a truck stop in Texas.   Cool name. 

  
Look at that beautiful face!

  
Kansas City, Missouri. 

  
  
  

7:30.  We have stopped for the night in Cameron, Missouri.   We have about 3 hours to go in the morning to reach the receiver and load isn’t due until 11 so we should have plenty of time.   Going to watch a little Mercy Street and turn in.   

Goodnight y’all. 

DG:  614 miles today in 10 hours. That’s kicking it y’all.  It was a beautiful day. Sunshine, blue skies. Perfect. Still amazed at the beauty of this wonderful country. 

We are in Missouri as my beautiful navigator pointed out and it is a lovely evening with a clear star filled sky. Cool enough we won’t need the A/C, and not too warm that we can’t snuggle. 

So with that update I will say good night and God bless. 

Day 412, March 15, 2016;  Big Cabin, OK; Lancaster, TX

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6:30.  Up and heading to Lancaster, Texas.   Should be in  around noon or so.   Then hopefully we can get a load to somewhere else.   

Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

  
9:30 am.  Stopped for a break at a service center.  They had a little garden area and these monuments. 

   
 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 

  

Hi from the Easter bunny in Dallas.   

  

3 pm.  Pulled in to Lancaster with plenty of time on clock.  We got a trip back out pretty quick but it’s a swap and unfortunately the guy we are swapping with isn’t here yet.  So we wait.   

4 pm.  The guy we are swapping with still isn’t even loaded yet so he isn’t on his way yet.  Clock is ticking.  

5 pm.  Still not loaded so I guess we are spending the night in Lancaster.  

7:30.  Back from a great dinner with Doc and Sherrie.   Went to a place called Luby’s.  Cafeteria style.   It’s always great to visit with them when we can.  

8:30.  Guy still isn’t here.  They will email when he gets here so we can take his load.   Going to Iowa so have to head out early in am. 

DG: Trailer is here. It’s about 10:15 so I have to get to bed to get any sleep before heading out in the morning.  Come to find out it has been here for several hours but dispatcher forgot to tell me. Doesn’t matter though as my clock had expired and couldn’t go anywhere before my government mandated rest period is over. 

So, off to sleepy town. Sweet dreams me. God bless. 

Day 411, March 14, 2016; Troy, IL;  Big Cabin, OK

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 8 am.  Up and waiting on trip.  Nothing yet. 

9:30.  They want us to take trip Greg turned down yesterday but it’s a short trip and 4 days til delivery.   Greg calls the planner and he says we can drop it in the KLLM lot in Lancaster tomorrow and probably get a trip out from there and in two days someone else can take the load on to the receiver.   Here’s hoping! 

DG:  Two days in a motel has ruined me. I’m spoiled. I want the room. I want the big bed, the private bathroom, the TV.  Alas, this is the life we have chosen. Going back to that day when the decision was made that I would go to trucking school and learn how to drive a big rig and then do it, it all seemed so romantic and adventuresome.  And right from the beginning it was not quite so, but now it is more so as we get into the groove but sometimes the groove goes deep and we long for the surface again. 

Annie – 8:30.  Pulled in to the Big Cabin Wood Shed for the night.  Greg and Precious had dreams of a big chicken leg for dinner but the kitchen closed at 8.  He can deal with Precious.  He has been telling her for an hour about getting a chicken leg.  

10:30.   Turning in.  We have 300 miles to go in the morning.  Goodnight y’all.  

DG:  Well, Precious was not too disappointed as I still have some of the liverwerst I bought in Vermont. She almost foundered on it a few days ago when I attempted to see just how much she could eat. She eats more than a dog her size should be able to eat. 

It’s getting warmer so we thought about opening the windows tonight but there are a couple of cattle trucks in the parking lot so we are running the A/C with the windows closed. 

Annie didn’t take any pictures today cause I think you all have seen everything on this route several times over. Illinois to Texas via St. Louis. We did approach the arch from a new and different angle this time but Annie said 400 pictures of the St. Louis arch was enough. If you need to see it again just scroll back through the blog a little. It’s in there. 

Hope you had a wonderful day. I know I did. Good night and God bless. 

Day 410, March 13, 2016;  Troy, IL; 

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7:30.  Called KLLM but no trip yet.  Looks like we will be here a while.  

9 am.  Went down for the continental breakfast.  Bagels and hard boiled eggs.   Yay!  Uugghh.  Had a cinnamon bagel.   Greg had a bagel and the eggs.   

10:30.  Called KLLM again to check for trip.    They have one to Texas but it’s only 800 miles and due in 4 days.  No thanks!   So looks like we will be staying until morning.  Going to splurge and stay in the hotel another night.   A mini vacation!   

8 pm.   Walked across the street to Cracker Barrel for dinner.   It has been a long time since we have been in one.   There were some neat signs in the lobby for sale.  

  
   
 
They had some gardening stuff too.    
This is what happens during dinner when Greg has something he wants to read.  Haha.  Gregory sent me an article about the Hatfield and McCoys he found so I sent it to Greg.   Guess I should have waited until after dinner.  Haha

  
The daffodils are blooming in Illinois.  It’s almost spring! 

  

DG: Well, whatever I added earlier got deleted and I don’t remember what I said. But it was insightful and life changing to all who might have read it. So sorry. 

Anyway, today has been great. Relaxed all day and had a tasty dinner at Cracker Barrel. 

This job is so different from anything I have ever done I am constantly finding new ways to think about it. There is no set schedule, I like that, the scenery changes constantly even if we go to a place we have been before it is usually a week or more since we were there so there is no monotony in the daily routine, I like that too. And the actual work part, driving is easy enough requiring good concentration but relatively little physics exertion. All in all it ain’t bad. 

Who knows where we will be going tomorrow. Find out in the morning. 

Good night and God bless. 

Day 409, March 12, 2016; Kingsville, OH; Troy, IL

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Good morning Ohio.  

  

6 am.  Up and on the road.   605 miles to go today so going to have to push it. Unfortunately speed limit for trucks is 55 in Illinois but hopefully we can make it.  

4:40 pm.   Made it to our stop in plenty of time.  It’s a drop and hook which is great because we’ve only got an hour to get done and get somewhere to spend the night.  Clock is ticking.   Just as well. Greg is beat.   It’s hard on him driving 600+ miles and dealing with a ticking clock.   He had the pedal to the metal though.   

Yay!  Freebies!!

  
Bad news is they don’t have an empty trailer for us to hook up and take with us.  This means we have to come back in the am for the trailer if they can’t find us another one. 

6 pm.  Well we don’t have a trip yet and there probably won’t be one this late on a Saturday so we decided to stay at the Red Roof Inn tonight and rest and relax, shower, laundry, TV, rest, sleep, rest some more.   We are tired.  It has been a long week.   The hotel was right across the street from the truck stop and since we dont have a trailer we can park at the hotel.   A big treat for us.   

7 pm.  We ordered from a local pizza place.  St. Louis style pizza.  I was worried it would be Chicago style.   It was really good and the pasta we had too was delicious.  Nice change.  

DG:  600 miles in a day, no problem. We did make good time. I even took a short nap at one point. 

They must have changed the speed limits in Illinois or I had them confused with another dtate but I don’t think so. Speed limit was 65-70 for most of the trip and as the truck is governed to 70 mph, that’s all I could get out of it. 

The trip through Vermont and New York was really interesting. We stopped at one truck stop that wasn’t on any map or app that we have but the fuel was $0.10 a gallon cheaper than anywhere else in three states.  The Lord looks out for us. 

Hotels are great after a long trip. Well worth the price. 

I am falling asleep here so best stop now. 

Good night and God bless.