A very boring drive through the endless scrubland in West Texas this morning.
Had a fuel stop in Pecos, TX and my break in Sweetwater, TX, before finally coming to a stop in Rockwall, TX which is just to the East of Dallas, for my 10 hour break.
After what seemed a very long drive I arrived at the drop point in Fort Wayne, IN and was unloaded quite quickly, it was then that a plan was hatched to get me back to Texas for my home time on Monday. After unloading I went to the truck stop at Beaverdam in Ohio for the evening, arriving at around 3pm. I stayed here until around 3:30am.
I set off to drop my loaded trailer at the drop-yard in Medina, OH and finally got it unhooked at 5am, then it was a short bobtail dash to pick up my next load in Streetsboro, OH and this was frozen Mac & Cheese bound for San Antonio. I departed at 6:30am and headed south towards Texas and home. I did 542 miles today and ended up spending the night just south of Louisville, KY in a truck stop in Shepherdsville, KY.
Monday 6th April 2015
I arrived at the truck stop in Leary, AR around 6am (via a 10 hour break in Palestine, AR) expecting to head straight to the Dallas drop-yard and home, but boy was I wrong. I ended up leaving the Love's in Leary at 8:30am on Tuesday morning, so spent 26 hours with only the choice of McDonalds or Subway. But there were a few entertaining sights in the truck stop to keep me amused.
Tuesday 7th April 2015
At last I was given the go ahead to take my load to Dallas and left around 2:30am. I got to the drop-yard and finally dropped the load at 5am, after hooking up an empty trailer I headed for home arriving at Nacogdoches around 7am. I parked the truck and got taken home for a well earned rest after 6 weeks out on the road. All was good with the world.
Thursday 10th April 2015
Thursday marked a good day as we bought a new car, a red Toyota Corolla S+ with only 18 miles on the clock.
I got my next load assignment in the afternoon this time to drive empty to La Porte, TX and pick up a load bound for Clarksville, AR.
Saturday 11th April 2015
Set off early for Houston and the pick up in La Porte, TX and arrived via the truck wash at Americold, where I got loaded with 20 tons of bananas. There was plenty of time on this trip so I decided to spend an extra night at home and left for Clarksville, AR on Sunday afternoon.
Monday 13th April 2015
Tried to get my load dropped early, but with no joy so spent most of the day in a truck stop at Russellville, AR, which had a good selection of shops and restaurants. I chose Cici's Pizza for the dinner buffet. I left for the Clarksville drop around 5am on Tuesday.
Tuesday 14th April 2015
After checking in I got unloaded and was on my way out by 730am. I got my next load within 30 minutes of leaving the Walmart DC, this time it was from Fort Smith, AR to Laredo, TX. Fort Smith was about an hour away, but my appointment wasn't until 4pm (no harm in arriving early I thought). I sat for a while and had a doze and at 4pm inquired about my load, and was told it would not be ready until 8pm, so once again I waited. I was eventually ready to leave with my 20 tons of chicken at 11pm, 7 hours late.
Wednesday 15th April 2015
I drove for a few hours and then stopped for a few hours sleep before
heading off down the I-35 to the Flying J truck stop at Jarrell, TX for
my 10 hour break. While parked I received a call from SLC telling me I would be transferring to the Relief/Recovery fleet when I get to Laredo, this should be much varied work and a whole new challenge. I will be setting off for Laredo around 1:30am for my final drop on the D3 fleet.
Thursday 16th April 2015
I arrived at the Laredo yard around 7am and after having the truck checked in, I went to drop my trailer at the export yard as it was bound for Mexico. Back to the yard and breakfast before receiving my next load. I was to pick up a loaded trailer at the yard and take it to Ogden, UT. This trailer was
full with 21 tons of Hershey Candy.
Friday 17th April 2015
I drove through the night and ended up having my break near Abilene, TX, where there was some stormy weather about.
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| One of the storms moving through North Texas |
Saturday 18th April 2015
Today and Sunday were spent travelling through New Mexico, Colorado and Utah with some very interesting scenery, with lots of strange rock formations.
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| An old style diner in Grants, NM |
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| Grants, NM |
I spent the night at the Ute Mountain Casino Resort, which had a large truck park and an excellent Prime Rib buffet for $10.
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| The view of rain on the peaks from the truck stop at Ute Mountain Casino |
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| Snow on the mountains ahead |
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| A small rest area in Colorado |
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| Birds helping themselves to the bugs I managed to catch |
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| The West Winds diner in Green River, UT (again good food) |
Monday 20th April 2015
I arrived at Salt Lake City late on Sunday night and waited my 10 hours before going on to Ogden to unload. This was done and dusted by 5am and then back to the yard via McDonalds for breakfast. I sat in the yard all day resting. I managed to get a haircut while here and popped over to Walmart.
Tuesday 21st April 2015
Still waiting for a load, and it finally came over the QualComm. I was off to Pennsylvania (or so I thought). There were 2 loads for me one was a short hop from the Salt Lake yard to Layton, UT a grand distance of 30 miles but the other was a 2200 mile trip from Dannon in West Jordan, UT with a load of yoghurt bound for Allentown, PA.
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| A lone rider in Wyoming, at a rest area |
This trip I had a companion in the form of another relief/recovery driver named Ryan. He was trying to get home to New York and so we ran as a team for these trips. We drove in relays until Indiana where we had to swap loads with another driver in Richmond, IN.
Thursday 23rd April 2015
With the loads swapped in Indiana by 5pm, we were back on the road and now bound for Union City, NJ, and due at 7:30am the next morning.
Friday 24th April 2015
We barely made it but were unloaded by 9am on Friday and off to the drop yard in Kearney, NJ, so Ryan could travel home.
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| Nice bit of New Jersey parking |
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| New Jersey streets..... |
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| .......and New Jersey traffic |
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| The busy drop-yard in Kearney, NJ under the Pulaski Skyway Bridge |
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| The beautiful scenery in Pensylvania and Virginia |
At my rest stop in Toomsuba, TN I had a little problem .....
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| A strange name for a town, named from the Native-American game of Chunka, which was played nearby |
Sunday 26th April 2015
I arrived back in Nacogdoches around 10pm via a stop in Tennessee and Mississippi, and was welcomed by my wife (who misses me). I slept well that night and was greeted in the morning by my 2 year old grandson (who also misses me). After eating out and shopping I finally had to leave around 10pm on Monday evening, bound for Laredo, arriving Tuesday morning and all drops completed by 10am.
Wednesday 29th April 2015
Received my next load at midday, this time bound for Iowa Park in Northwestern Texas. There was a short hold on the job as the trailer came in from Mexico with an electrical problem, but this was fixed and I was on my way by 5:30pm. I got to the drop in the early hours of Thursday and after swapping trailers headed to a nearby Pilot for some sleep.
Friday 30th April 2015
From Wichita Falls, TX I dead-headed over to Friona, TX (about 250 miles) for a pick up at a beef processing plant.
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| Sunset over New Mexico |
I stopped overnight at a nearby Love's in Clovis, NM and at 5pm headed up to get my load. When I arrived I was stunned to hear that it would not be ready until ..... 11am on Saturday (17 hours from then). So I bedded down and got some sleep.
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