OTR - April 2015

Wednesday 1st April 2015

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.

Friday 3rd April 2015

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.

Saturday 4th April 2015

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.

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.

An old style diner in Grants, NM

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.

The view of rain on the peaks from the truck stop at Ute Mountain Casino

Snow on the mountains ahead

A small rest area in Colorado

Birds helping themselves to the bugs I managed to catch

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.  

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.  

Nice bit of New Jersey parking

New Jersey streets.....

.......and New Jersey traffic

The busy drop-yard in Kearney, NJ under the Pulaski Skyway Bridge

My next load was from South Plainfield, NJ and bound for Laredo, so this would give me a chance to pop in to home and drop of some of my things to be able to travel light for my new role in Relief/Recovery. I hooked up my load by 12:30pm and headed out of New Jersey towards Pennsylvania. 

The beautiful scenery in Pensylvania and Virginia

At my rest stop in Toomsuba, TN I had a little problem .....

Somehow one of the trailer cross-beams had come loose and wedged itself under the trailer, breaking the reefer fuel line.  Luckily a good set of mechanics in the Petro workshop had it fixed within an hour and I was on my way south again.

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.  

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.

OTR - Solo Driver in fleet D3 - March 2015

Wednesday 11th March 2015

After a couple of days relaxing at the hotel in Laredo, I finally got the call that a truck was available in the yard.  So without delay I set off on the hotel shuttle bus to go and pick it up.  I arrived at the yard and was presented with the keys to truck number 52523, it needed a couple of bits put right but on the whole was okay for 402000 miles. 

After getting it all set I returned to the hotel and waited for my first load, the wait wasn't long and my first trip was from Laredo, TX to Darien in Wisconsin (1371 miles).  My pick up was due at 7pm but I didn't leave until 10pm and set off northbound.  

 

 A small chapel in the truck stop at Big Cabin, Oklahoma

 Chief Standing Brave watches over the truck stop at Big Cabin, OK

The fishing lake next to the truck stop

The rest stop area in Niangua, MO was made out to imitate Route 66

Saturday 14th March 2015

After a couple of 10 hour break stops, I reached the drop in Darien, WI around noon.  By 4pm my load of 20 tons of Broccoli was gone.  I then had a sleep before setting off for my next pick up in Ottumwa, Iowa. 

Sunday 15th March 2015

I reached the meat plant at Ottumwa around 5am and was out and loaded by 6am, I headed east towards my first drop in Union, NJ.  I had my 10 hour break at La Salle, IL and then carried on to Hubbard, OH, arriving Monday morning, where I had a slight problem.  My left headlight went out and after taking a look found the connector had burned out.  Luckily there was an International dealer nearby and after purchasing the part and fitting it, I was roadworthy once more.

Monday 16th March 2015

My wife, Bonnie's birthday.  After a good sleep I set off around 10pm for my first of 2 drops in New Jersey.  The first was completed on Tuesday by 9.30am and the second in Secaucus was done by 1130am but by this time I was out of duty hours so had to stay in the warehouse car park until around 3am on Wednesday morning, before setting off for Massachusetts.

Wednesday 18th March 2015

I arrived at the first Massachusetts drop in Chicopee at 8am and was promptly unloaded so headed to Avon for the 4th and final drop.  I had a bit of a wait here and finally departed around 2pm.  I was very short of hours by now and had to spend 40 hours in a truck stop in Sturbridge MA.  It was very cold here and snow on the ground, it got down as far as 17F at night.  

 I spent 2 nights here and finally left for my next load on Friday around 9am.

Friday 20th March 2015

My next load was from Peabody MA to Pryor OK around 1500 miles.  I arrived at the warehouse at 11am only to be told the load had been double booked, luckily the other truck was still there and so we swapped trailers and he was given another load from New Hampshire.  I departed around midday and got as far as the TA at Milesburg PA. It snowed quite heavily through Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Saturday 21st March 2015

I drove all day (587 miles) and ended up spending the night in the Pilot at Terra Haute, IN.  This was a good stop as there was a Walmart nearby and several restaurants, so I stocked up for the next part of the journey.

Sunday 22nd March 2015

I was now running about 36 hours ahead of schedule and hoping I could drop my load early at Pryor, so I once again drove all day to Joplin, MO and spent the night at the Pilot there, hoping the company would unload me early Monday.

Monday 23rd March 2015

I arrived at the Pryor drop around 7am and by 9.30am was back on the road, this time to pick up meat in Dodge City, KS.  On the way I stopped for lunch at Billings, OK and found this little Ooopps.

 I picked up my loaded trailer and headed to the nearby Love's truck stop for the night, before settling down for the night I went to explore Dodge City and Boot Hill, (although the walk was further than it looked on the map).  Here are a few photos.

 Downtown Dodge City

 Sure he stopped here??

 Dodgy nightclub in Dodge

 The old Santa Fe offices are now a theater

 Wyatt Earp himself in town

A tribute to the Texas Longhorn which helped create "Cowtown"

 Boot Hill shops

Boot Hill Chapel

A Santa Fe steam loco sits at Boot Hill

After a sleep I "Got the heck outta" Dodge and headed towards Laredo with my load of beef and arrived around 10am on Thursday 26th March via a night stop in Ranger, TX.  Now a short rest before the next load.

Thursday 26th March 2015

My next trip was only a short one picking up 21 tons of Candy Corn and delivering it to Grand Prairie near Dallas.  I left around 11pm and was at the destination and unloaded by 10am on Friday, then I had a short hop to pick up a loaded trailer from the Dallas (did I mention I hate Dallas driving??) and take it to a Target DC in Denton (all of 50 miles).  After this was unloaded around 3pm I headed to the Loves truck stop just north of Denton, where I expected to get a shower, but NO showers.  I stayed here till 2am.

Saturday 28th March 2015

I decided to drive up to my next pick up in Dodge City (again!!), via some very Western Movie kind of landscape in Oklahoma and Kansas, and wait at the Loves there for my 34 hour hour reset, as I didn't have to pick up my load till Sunday evening.

Downtown Englewood

A nice welcome to Minneola

Sunset to the rear

A giant tumbleweed in the truck stop

Sunday 29th March 2015

I had another walk up to the main part of Dodge City on Sunday afternoon and had a great meal at Applebee's with a Sirloin covered in shrimp and Parmesan, with a salad just to be healthy and by the time I had walked back to the truck and had a rest it was time to go get my trailer of beef.  

A "movie star in El Paso" this train starred in Under Siege 2 - Dark Territory alongside Steven Segal

 

I finally left Dodge around 10:30pm and set off for El Paso.

Monday 30th March 2015

I drove through the night and ended up staying for my 10 hour break in Santa Rosa, NM which is about 4500ft above sea level in the desert.  I left around 3:30pm and arrived at the truck stop in El Paso around 9pm, luckily they had IdleAir, which is a AC unit that fits in to your cab window, and best of all the company pays for it.  The unit also has electric outlets.

Tuesday 31st March 2015

I arrived at my drop at around 7:30am and was told that I may have a bit of a wait, but luckily I was unloaded fairly quickly and by 11:30am was on my way back to the truck stop to wait for my next job.  I didn't have much of a wait as the phone rang around 1pm and I was asked if I was ready to go "now".  I was given a pick up at a Pecan factory about 20 miles away in Fabens, TX and promptly left, as the pick up was supposed to be at 11am.  On arrival at the plant I was told as I was late I would have to wait until last to be loaded, and this turned out to be around 4pm, so I didn't get very far that night on my way to Fort Wayne IN.  I stopped at Van Horn, TX for the night.