Up at 6 am and headed to Sioux City.   Sun is just starting to come up.

Got to our stop this morning and it’s first come first serve to unload.  Great.   So much for the 7 o’clock appointment time. Apparently that’s when everyone’s appointment is.   We are 4th In line.  One guy has been here since 5 pm yesterday.

It took them 6 1/2 hours to get to us and get us unloaded.   Over half of Greg’s driving time spent waiting.

Sioux City was a small place.   A lot of trains, grain storage and mills and a meat place.   Apparently, this area is known for some corn but a lot of soy beans.

Also, this is the place where Sergeant Floyd died.  He was a man from Kentucky who was on the trail with Lewis and Clark.   They think he died of appendicitis.   He is buried where the Floyd River and the Missouri river come together.  They have a really tall monument for him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Floyd_%28explorer%29

Now we are off to Worthington, Minnesota for a load of meat to take to Lenoir, North Carolina.

Well, we aren’t headed for North Carolina tonight.  Got the trailer and it has a flat tire.   What is it with tires this week?   Got to tire shop and getting it fixed but it looks like we are stuck in Worthington for the night.

DG:  This is one of the first places we came when Annie joined me on the road. It’s warmer now than it was then but not much as it is still very windy.

Got the tire fixed. Wasn’t really the tire but the wheel. Someone had hit something really hard and dented the rim to the point the tire lost air and became separated from the wheel.  Now my tandems won’t slide so I have to take it to the repair shop next door to the truck stop in the morning and get that fixed. Beginning to look like they don’t maintain their trailers very well.

That’s it from the heartland. Good night and God bless.

Up at 5:30 heading to Anheiser Busch for beer to take to Souix City, Iowa.    They finally got the load ready we were to get yesterday.   One thing I have seen is the bigger the company, like this and Walmart, the less they feel the need to keep appointments timely and help their truckers who is distributing their product.   We should be working as a team but alas, they are the big boys.

I am going to try to keep from crying today.  This is the first Easter I have missed with my babies.  I don’t like it one bit.  Hope they have a great day finding Easter eggs and going to church.

Saw quite a few turkeys today.   All the males have their tail feathers out.  Guess it’s mating season.   As many turkeys as I have seen in Kentucky and North Carolina I have never seen a turkey with their feathers out like that before.  So cool!  

I feel some better now.  The kids FaceTimed me and I got to see them and talk to them.  They showed me their Easter baskets and cards.  Gregory has been sending me pictures throughout the day too so that helps.

We stopped at a rest area about 30 miles from Sioux City.   Got to be there at 7 so not up too early.   So glad I got to see pictures of my angels today even though I wasn’t with them.

DG:  Turkeys and prairie dogs. She didn’t mention the prairie dogs did she?  I didn’t see it if she did. Anyway I’m driving through Nebraska and see movement of to the side of the road about ten yards from the shoulder. I look again and there are dozens of little dirt mounds many with prairie dogs standing on them just watching the traffic go by. Very cute.

648 miles in 13 hours and papaw is tired. Annie said I could go to bed right after this so it is going to be short.

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter. I know we did.

God bless and good night all.

Up at 4:30 and hitting the road.   Got to go 178 miles in 3 hours so pushing it a bit.  No worries.   New tire.  Ready to go.

We got to see the lunar eclipse this morning starting at about 5 o’clock.   We were just thinking that if we hadn’t had the flat tire we would have missed it because we would have slept through it.

According to Jewish lore, this one is very significant.  It is the 4th one to happen in a year on a Jewish feast day, which this is Passover, and always in the past when this happened something significant happened to Israel or the Jewish people.   In light of all that’s going on with Iran and Israel and our own government’s hand in it, I feel we should be very watchful and prayer minded.  Here is one of the articles I read on this.   Of course, we will need to wait and see.

http://m.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2014/February/Divine-Sign-for-Israel-Hagee-Explains-Blood-Moons/

Got to our appointment a little early.  Dropped our trailer and picked up another one.   I was so glad it was not a live load.  We were at Walmart 5 hours last time.    Stopped at a Flying J to wait for load.

We have been sitting all day.  No load until tomorrow.   Not making us very happy.   Now it’s getting close to ballgame time so we are going to a TA which usually has good internet.   Can’t miss that game.

We did get out and go for a big walk.   They have a “walking trail” here at the truck stop.  Actually its a dirt road, but still it was fun.    The lady at the counter said around here they measure the lots in miles so if we went to end of the wheat field we have gone one mile.   Go all the way around it and we have gone four miles.   We went two miles.   A mile down and a mile back.    Found lots of neat rocks and quartz in the dirt which was pretty neat.   The walk felt good after sitting for so long.   I think my hips and legs really appreciated it.

I have been watching a hummingbird’s nest on Explore.org.  I love this app and website.  Abby showed it to me a year or so ago and it is so fun.  I love to watch the bears in the Alaska cam, the osprey in Maine and now the hummingbirds in California.   Here is a link if you want to check them out.   She has two eggs!

http://explore.org/live-cams/player/ivy-hummingbird-cam

Well, we watched the Kentucky game.   That’s all I’m going to say about that.

Going to turn in.  Not sure what we are doing tomorrow still at this point.    Goodnight, y’all.

DG:  Well, it was a good season.  Should have won it all, but those are the breaks.  It’s just a game.

Big pat on the back to us for getting our load delivered on time despite two flat tires.  A drive tire with a nail in it and a trailer tire that blew out, and I do mean blew out, on the road last night.  But we delivered on time.  However, it’s the weekend and one thing I have learned about this company, for some reason they have trouble finding freight on the weekends.  Don’t know why, but they do.  We could have gone to Ft. Collins, CO again and picked up a load of beer but when I called Budweiser they told me it wouldn’t be ready till tomorrow night.  Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, well, you get the picture.

So here we sit at the TA.  Of all truck stops we have been to, Pilot, Flying J, Loves, Sapp Brothers, and several independents, TAs are definitely the nicest and have the most amenities.  Did I mention Iowa 80, the largest truck stop in the world is a TA?  Well it is, so there you go.  Anyway, as Annie pointed out this one advertised walking trails on its web site.  Well, how about walking trail.  Dirt road.  It was a nice walk though and we enjoyed it.  You had to watch for cars though.  I think two went by while we were walking.  Must be terrible during rush hour.

That picture of the sunset pretty much says it all about the landscape out here.  All fields and big sky.  I read that some of the men accompanying Lewis and Clark started to panic after a few weeks on the prairie as they had never seen so much land without any trees.  It reminds me of an ocean of grass.

Well, we should be well rested by the time we get our next load.  I am going to ask if we can go to other parts of the country.  I was told they service all 48 states here on the mainland and so far we have only seen about 15 and many of those several times.  It’s time for a little change of scenery.  LOL.

Well, hope all are well and remember tomorrow is Easter, He is risen.

Good night and God bless.

Sorry, only a picture of the sunset tonight.

Cheyenne, Wyoming

First off we want to say Happy Birthday to Kaiden this morning.   We love you buddy.   Hope you have a great day!   Don’t eat all the cake by yourself.

We are up at sunrise ready to roll in to Wyoming today.   It’s starting to sprinkle a bit but praying that’s all it does.   Looks like the bad weather is south of us which is good.

Stopping for lunch in Alda Nebraska.   300 miles to go.   At least the weather cleared up.  Bright and sunny but chilly.  Had to get our jackets back on.   47 degrees.   The wind has been awful though.  So glad we are heavily loaded or I think we would be on the side of the road.  Greg has really had to fight it sometimes.

Saw several fields with these big birds in them and then saw signs talking about the Sand Hill cranes in the area.   Apparently they are on their way to Canada.  There were thousands and thousands of these birds in the fields for miles.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/sandhill_crane/id

http://visitkearney.org/sandhill-cranes/

Well, snot.   So close.  Only 178 miles from our stop and a tire blew on the trailer.   Heard a boom and Greg saw pieces of the tire flying out.  Pulled off to wait and see what they want us to do.   At least it’s on the trailer and won’t cost us $600 this time.

Well, tire is fixed but now we are out of time.   Looks like we are spending the night on the side of the exit.   Oh well. Gotta be up at 4:30 since we lost time today so goodnight, y’all.

DG:  Blow out!!!  Just a tire.  All fixed and bedding down for the night.  Got an early morning and an 8 o’clock appointment to make.  Got some good pics today.  Check em out.

Good night and God bless.

Up and on our way.    Final stop Cheyenne.   We won’t get that far but tomorrow hopefully.

Rain off and on today but now it’s sunny as we head to St. Louis – again!

Good morning Nashville!

Nashville rush hour

I took a few pictures as we went around St. Louis this time.  The route took us around a different way this time for some reason and we got to see some parts we hadnt seen before.  At mostly only seeing the side where the stadiums and the arch are I was surprised at all the run down buildings and destruction on the other side.   It seems like we went for miles just looking at the broken windows and torn up buildings.   The sad thing too is that it looked like people were still living in some of them.   The graffiti was everywhere and just a sadness prevailed over the area.   It reminded me a lot of Detroit.   How does a community let this happen in 2015 and in the United States?   Is this how the cities want their neighborhoods to look like?    Very sad to see.

On a happier note, we saw a few farmers out today getting fields ready.   Also, the sunset tonight was amazing in Missouri.   I got a couple of pictures of the Missouri river.   You can almost see Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer floating by.

Still amazed at the number of trucks out here on the road, in truck stops and rest area, must be millions.  LOL.  That’s an understatement.  Get a kick out of the names too.  Anybody with a truck is a trucking company and some of the names we see are quite funny.  “Empty Pockets” was on the side of one truck.  We have a list of several hundred and that’s not even scratching the surface.  We haven’t written down all the names we have seen and see new ones all the time.

Spring is here and the colors are really starting to show.  The farms are coming to life after a long winter and people are getting out more.  As I drive along these long highway roads, even though we have been over the same ones several times now, I still am amazed at the beauty and vastness of this country.  Thank God I’m an American.

Well, you are looking tired so I will stop now and let you all get to bed.  We all need our rest.

Good night and God bless.

Up and headed to Wyoming. By beautiful sunrise this morning here in sunny Florida.

What a day to be going through Georgia and Tennessee.   The hills are just alive with so much color.   Spring is definitely on its way.   At some points it almost looks like fall because of all the different colors in the trees and bushes.

Not much going on today but driving.   Same route so I tried not to take pictures of everything all over again.  I did get the lake we pass in Chattanooga because it is always so pretty and this time there were boats and birds on the water.

I also seem to get that red barn just on the north side of Chattanooga.   It just always seems to stand out to me.

The fields are really turning green and there were some farmers out today starting to plow and burn trees and debris from the garden.   Planting time will be here soon now that its April.

We have parked for the night at a Pilot in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, south of Nashville.   There are some stars who live around here but doubt we will see them at the Pilot.

Enjoy the pictures.  Hope spring is looking as beautiful in your neck of the woods.

DG:  Beautiful day in a beautiful country.  Almost 600 miles today, lots of traffic around Atlanta, as expected and then heavy traffic around Dalton, GA.  Not usual.  Getting ready to chow down on some lasagna.  I think we may do a cookbook on cooking in a truck.

Didn’t squish anybody today.  By the Grace of God.  Everyday there are people who appear to be trying to get squished by big trucks.  Crazy.

Passed a heavy hauler today that had probably 36 wheels on his trailer alone.  He was carrying what looked like a transformer for some plant or power station.

Tennessee sunset.  Long way to go.  Plenty of time to get there.

Any mathematicians out there?  We are trying to determine whether it is better to drive at the speed limit and rack up miles or drive slower to conserve fuel.  Math’s not our forte and we keep coming up with more questions than answers. Would appreciate any help.  Thanks.

The lasagna is smelling good so think I am going to stop here and have some dinner.

Good night and God Bless.

At the dock at 6:30.   They don’t open until 7 but another trucker came around and told us that the farmers market had coffee so we walked over there and got a biscuit and coffee for Greg and a muffin and Diet Coke for me.   Now the gate is open and we are ready to go in and hopefully get unloaded in good time.

Got unloaded in about an hour which is fantastic.   Now on our way to Auburndale, Florida to the Coca Cola distribution center.

We tried to hook up with Gregory or Johnnie on the way through but couldn’t get the timing right.   We have to be in Cheyenne by Saturday so need to get on the road.   Sorry guys!   Will try again next time.

We had to get a trailer washout after we dropped our load off and the closest one was in Haines City.    Can’t have any possibility of meat in the trailer when picking up orange juice or whatever.

Got our load of 42,000 pounds of orange juice and lemonade.   Heading north.

It amazes me every time we go through this part of Florida, around Gainesville and Ocala, all the beautiful horse farms.   There are cows too but dozens of horses with big fences and houses like Kentucky.   So beautiful.

It’s a gorgeous night.  70 degrees with a light breeze.  We walked over and got a shower and just mozied back to the truck to eat dinner.

Yummy dinner if I do pat myself on the back.  LOL.  We had chicken and dumplings tonight and they were so good.   I had the chicken and chicken broth in the crock pot since about 10 o’clock this morning and then threw some canned biscuits in while we took our shower.   So good!

Well, bellies are full so we are going to rest a bit and get on the road early.   Long trip ahead of us.

DG:  In the land that Mickey built.  Lots of new construction on International Drive.  The hotel where I used to work is still there, but I don’t think they use the pool bar anymore.  Last time I was there was the 48th Daytona 500 won by number 48 Jimmy Johnson.  Cousin John, Gregory and myself went for the two days of racing.  Saturday was warm so no need for coats or jackets.  Sunday we were scrambling for something to keep us warm.  Rainy and cold.  It was a good time in spite of the weather.

Speaking of good weather, this was really one beautiful day here in sunny Florida.  I will appreciate it more as we head north and not so warm climates.

Looking forward to the long trip.  Those are so much better than a bunch of short ones that eat up your clock and don’t pay as well.  Annie has the truck kitchen tuned in and the meals are only getting better.  If she starts making deserts we’re in serious trouble.

Precious is doing fine.  She rides in her basket and looks out her little window when she is not sleeping.  The bumps and the noise don’t seem to bother her.  She is eating well also, getting the scraps of our delicious meals and even the turkey and ham from our lunch sandwiches.

For those that have not tried it, there is a brand of turkey and ham that we now call our favorite and guess what, it is made right there in Kentucky.  It is called Kentucky Legend and if you haven’t tried it I encourage you to do so.  Very good ham and turkey and you can get it sliced or not sliced.

Okay, going to go get some copies made of my trip sheets and then off to bed.  Early day tomorrow with lots of road time, which means lots of time for me in the seat.  There’s a part of me that’s never going to be the same after all this.

Good night and God bless.

Good morning Georgia.   7 am and headed to our first stop.

Passed a fairground area with the sign out front saying Rattlesnake roundup.   Apparently it’s a big thing here in Georgia.   They catch between 300-600 rattlesnakes and the redneck with the biggest, heaviest or most gets a prize.   There is even a Miss Rattlesnake competition.    I did mention we were in Georgia, right?    Apparently we just missed this years event.   Shucks!    If they catch that many snakes a year and have for many years, imagine how many rattlesnakes there would be around here if they didn’t do this.   Scary thought!

http://www.claxtonevanschamber.com/events/rattlesnakefestival.html

http://m.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/geography-environment/rattlesnake-roundups

Well, this has been a day of sitting.   Our next appointment is for in the morning at 7 am in Jacksonville.   Got in about noon and went to the place anyway hoping they could take us early but they said no unless we paid the overtime for the staff to unload it at the whopping price of $350 so here we sit.   Took a big long nap now going to get a bite to eat before we go back to sleep.   Guess we needed a break after all.

It seems weird to be in Florida but not close enough to my babies to go see them.  Boo hoo.    It’s been a gorgeous day though.

DG:  Finally, back in Florida.  I swear the sun seemed to brighten by several degrees as we crossed the state line.  We actually had the air conditioning on for the first time, I think, this year. Of course it’s only March so that’s not all that unusual.

Took Precious for a nice long walk in the grass and she didn’t hurry to get back in the truck. She’s such a funny dog.

Dinner in the restaurant tonight. We took a nap, woke up hungry and didn’t feel like cooking.  Well, not as good as truck/home cooking, but fills the hole.

Gonna get plenty of rest before our next trip. Hope it’s a long one.

Well, sitting here thinking I had something more to say but I guess not.

Good night and God bless.

Over two months now.  Time has really gone by fast.

Greg is still up talking about the Kentucky game.   Figure I am going to hear about it all day. LOL

Stopped at the TA in Nashville.  Been here many times already and was really hoping we could take another route but so glad we stopped this am.   Ran in to one of God’s Angels behind the counter.   This little old lady who said she was 79 years old and had been working there for 33 years.   She was the happiest, smilingest person I think I have ever met.   She was talking about how she works every Sunday and talked to her pastor about it because she didn’t want to miss church but he told her God had her right where he wanted her.  She said she tells everyone to have a blessed day and she said even the nastiest trucker will say thank you.   She has several pins on her jacket that said 50 on them and when we asked her about them she said her truckers take good care of her.  That’s points for all the wonderful comment cards that she has gotten over the years.  50 for every 50 pin.   She had to have had 15 or 20 of them.   She said sometimes she will start talking about The Lord and others will join in and they will have a little church service right there at the counter.  She said too that sometimes a trucker will try to get nasty with her and she says when that happens 4 or 5 other truckers will come up behind him and say you don’t talk to her like that.   They all call her Granny.  So glad we stopped in this am and now I have a good reason to come back through Nashville again.

Sign on the bathroom door.  Only in Nashville probably.

Got the soup on for tonight.  Used the rest of the beef roast and some veggies and it’s been cooking for a couple of hours already.   By the time we stop in about three more hours it should be yummy!!

We drove through Alabama and in to Georgia this afternoon.   Finally stopped at a Kangaroo truck stop about 30 minutes from our stop.   We cant be there until 8 am so going to stop and rest a good bit tonight.

A lot of the trees are starting to bud out in Alabama and Georgia.    All the different greens of the buds are showing.  Next time we come through there will probably be leaves.    The azaleas and Dogwood trees are blooming and so is the wisteria (one of my favorites). Its amazing to see the wisteria climbing all the way up to the top of the pine trees in some spots.  We had them in North Carolina when we lived there and it was a joy to see in the spring.  All that pretty purple and the smell.  Wonderful!

So much green down here.  Its beautiful, especially after all the snow and ice we have been through this winter.    Several peanut farms here in Georgia as well as some other fields that will be bringing you watermelons and cantaloupes in the summer.    They have already started tilling up the ground.

We ate our vegetable beef soup tonight and my, it was delicious.   I get so tired of fast food places so every time we get to eat homemade it just tastes so much better.   We need to make more of an effort to get to a Walmart more often.   Most of the time we don’t go because its late or we are tired or in a hurry.

After we drop off part of our load tomorrow we are heading to Jacksonville, Florida to drop the rest of if off.   Not sure where to after that yet.

DG:  A rocket in a rest area.  Only in Alabama.  They have a space center here you know.

On to Cairo, GA in the morning, then to Florida.  It is so good to be in some warm weather for a change.

Beef stew was delicious.  Barely any left over.  Maybe enough for lunch tomorrow.

Listened to the Louisville, Michigan State game on the radio.  Was hoping Louisville would beat them so we could have an all Kentucky final.  Yes, I am that confident UK is going to be in the final, and they are going to win it.  Number 9.  So fine.  Write it down cause it’s coming around.  Poet and know it.

This job is all about timing.  Adjusting speed to conserve fuel when possible, but getting to your next stop on time with time on your clock.  Cars, well their drivers in particular, are really getting to annoy me.  How many times can someone get away with coming up on the right side, on the shoulder, just to get around a truck without getting squished?  What’s wrong with passing on the left anyway? Are they really in that big of a hurry?  And the driver who slows to 45 in a 70 zone to look at an accident that’s on the other side of the highway.  AAARRRGGGHHH!!  There needs to be more intense driver training.

Okay, how are you today?  Thanks for letting me vent.

Trucking is a world all to it’s own.  Unlike any other profession, we are alone out here.  Our only contact is other truckers, truck stop clerks and the company people we talk to on the phone.  Yes, there is the CB, but that’s filled with such profanity these days it is hard to listen to and I only turn it on to get information regarding a wreck ahead or weather conditions.  I remember when my dad first got a CB, he had one at the house and one in the car, the FCC prohibited profanity over the airways.  You also had to take a test and get a license for one.  I guess somebody complained it was messing with their First Amendment rights not to be able to say what they wanted, and I agree with that, but I also feel that people should display some degree of decency when communicating in this way.  Guess I’m a little old fashioned that way.

All in all we are still having a good time.  It gets pretty silly in the truck sometimes as there is no one here but Annie and me and we do get off on some tangents once in a while.  That’s what the incident in Missouri was all about that I hinted at a few days ago.  She went blubber mouthed on me and just started blubbering out of the blue.  So that’s when I started laughing and said somewhere in the middle of Missouri on day 56 Annie lost it.  She recovered fine and has maintained a degree of normalcy since so no need to worry.  I, on the other hand, well, do I need say more?  I don’t think so.

Going to make an early day of it tomorrow.  Get to our stop early, so we look good, then wait while the hourly employees take their good sweet time getting to us and getting us unloaded. Why is it everyone but me in these scenarios is getting paid but me while I wait?

All is good.  Good night and God Bless.

Cold!   Woke up to 17 degrees this morning.  Brrrrrrr.  Sun is shining though so it should warm up pretty soon.  Plus we are headed south.

Good thing we parked at Walmart last night.   Forgot a couple things and had to get back in before we left.   I didn’t have potatoes or onions.   Hard to make a roast without those!

I finally decided to give the Nuwave oven a chance.   I kept meaning to but the crock pot is so handy but clean up can be difficult because we have to take it in to the truck stop to wash and it seems they have tiny sinks.  So I bought some of those baking bags and going to try that in the oven and see how it goes.  I did bagels in it this morning and they were good and toasty.  Put the roast in around lunchtime so we could have it for dinner.   Pretty good.  I would have liked to have had it a bit more tender but next its going in soup so it will have time.

We went through Louisville, Kentucky tonight before we stopped in Glendale, Kentucky.  Got several pictures driving through.  Sorry UK fans.  I know there was some Cardinal pictures in there.

DG:  UK WON!!!!!! What else is there to say.  WOW!  What a game.  Last minute win for the Wildcats.  I can breath now.  Annie is making fun of me cause I get so wrapped up in the game.  Whew.  Good game but don’t like them that close.  All is right with the world now.

Came through a little town in Michigan named Marshall, see pic below.  I did this by mistake as I missed my exit on the interstate and when at the next exit there was a sign saying emergency route to south 69.  I figured that was a cut through so instead of backtracking on the interstate I turned right and headed through town.  Glad I did.  Very interesting architecture.  As it turns out this little hamlet is one of the nations largest national historic landmark districts with over 850 buildings on the registry.  Population 7000+.  That’s a well maintained city.

Then on to Louisville.  Lots of highway construction.  Can’t wait to see what the new bridge is going to look like.  The pillars are like nothing I have ever seen before.

So on to Georgia tomorrow and warmer weather.  It was really cold in Michigan.  There were still big piles of snow in places.

Well, got hamburger to deliver Monday so better get some sleep, got a long drive tomorrow.

Good night and God bless.