Atlanta, GA to Southeast Missouri - 495 Miles

Well last night I was supposed to drive down to Jacksonville, FL. But as I awoke from my nap around 7PM to get ready to drive, I received a message stating my load was canceled. Arrrggggg!! In a rare achievement of actually getting a good nap before an all night drive, now I have to try and sleep again tonight. Which I did finally just after midnight.

Anyway, so I wake up this morning about 6:30. Waited and waited, finally getting a load assignment about 9:30. I drove about 6 miles away over to the Forest Park area of southeast Atlanta to O'Reilly Auto Parts. They finished loading my trailer at 11:00 AM with a bunch of junk car batteries. 38,700 lbs worth.

Let there and headed around the I-285 loop, north to I-75 and stopped in Cartersville, GA for fuel and lunch. I also scaled the load which was a good thing because I was 3,000 lbs overweight on the trailer tandems. So I had to slide the axles back.

Now back on the way north on I-75 to I-24 west, through Tennessee and into Kentucky. At Paduca, KY I got off the interstate and onto US60 west down some 2 lane back roads into Missouri. By then it was dark and raining. And with the narrow roads and the narrow 2 lane bridges crossing both the Kentucky and Mississippi Rivers, it was just a little tense. I think I've been this route before, but it was during the day. At night and in the rain though...

But I made it to Scott City, MO to the battery recyclers where I will unload in the morning.

That's another day in the life of a trucker. See ya tomorrow.

From Arkansas to Kentucky - 633 Miles

I'm Back!! Well after a month without posting, I decided to start up again. I'll try it daily, but I may miss one here or there.

Today I started out in Lake Village, AR. It's a small town in Southeast Arkansas along the Mississippi River. Just a few miles north of Louisiana and west of Mississippi. There was a small truck stop there and that's where I finished up last night with a load coming up from Houston, TX.

A nice cold morning at 34 degrees, but clear skies. The sun was just starting to rise up from beyond the horizon when I crossed the US82 bridge over the muddy river.

Just a few miles into Mississippi, I turned north onto US61 all the way into Memphis, TN. Instead of heading east at Memphis towards Ohio, I crossed the river back into West Memphis, AR. I wanted to stop in to our terminal there and talk to the dispatcher.

I was thinking of swapping this load with another who may be needing to get to Ohio and I would take theirs south towards Florida. Just wanting to make sure that I get home for Christmas! After a brief discussion, she concluded that I shouldn't have a problem getting home in time. We'll see next week!

Back across the Mighty Muddy River into Tennessee and headed east on I-40. I stopped at exit 85 in Jackson, TN to grab a geocache, fuel, and lunch at Denny's. By 2PM, I'm back on the highway.

East on I-40 into Nashville, then north on I-65 to Louisville, KY, and then east on I-71. I finally decided to pull over into a Love's Travel Center near Carson, KY for the night around 8PM.

While the day started out clear and cold, it ended WET and cold! Chance of snow tomorrow in Ohio. YUK! Hopefully it will have passed by the time I get there.

That's it for now. See ya again next time.

From Missouri to Georgia

A long day today. I started out this morning at 8:30 in Wright City, MO after a quick bite to eat at McDonald's. It was east on I-70 into St Louis, then east on I-64 in Illinois, to south on I-57.

I stopped in southern Illinois around 12:15 at a rest area in Metropolis to stretch my legs for 30 minutes. I was going to grab the Geocache there, but there were too many people around.

From there I turned onto I-24 eastbound through Kentucky, Tennessee, and into Georgia.

At 5:30 I pulled off into a truck stop along I-75 in Sugartown, GA. I saw a sign that said BBQ so I thought I'd give it a try. The small restaurant was pretty busy, so I took a seat and sat there for a while. Looking around a bit, I never did see any waitresses. About half the people were eating and most of those were burgers. I didn't really see or smell BBQ. And after about 5 minutes without seeing a waitress anywhere, I finally just got up and left.

I continued south on I-75 for another 45 minutes and just pulled into a T/A in Cartersville and ate there. The buffet looked better than it tasted.

After that I drove a bit further and came to a stop in Patillo, GA about halfway between Atlanta and Macon. That's 665 miles for the day. ONLY 378 miles for tomorrow and I get to see my wife and sleep in my own bed for a change. I'll be passing right by home on the way to Pompano Beach, FL. The load can't deliver until Tuesday morning so I'm taking a HOME day off.

WOHOO!!

Well, that was my day today. See you on the road...

From Texas to Tennessee in Two Days

Yeah I know I forgot to post yesterday. Last night I was just too tired I guess.

I started out in Brownsville, TX Wednesday morning when I woke up about 4:00 AM local time. Couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to get out and see if the loaded trailer I was waiting for was on the yard yet. Yep, it was there. So I walked over to the guard shack to get my paperwork. Well the lights were on, the TV was on, the door was open, but no guard inside. Hmmm.

I walk back over to my truck and pulled it around to hook it to the trailer. Turn on the laptop and get my Street & Trips ready. Start a new page for today's logbooks. Then walk back over to the guard shack. Now it's just a few minutes after 5 AM and I see someone get out of the nearby car and walk to the shack. Turns out it was the guard. He must have been taking a nap. I'm glad he decided to wake up now. I get my paperwork for the load and hit the road driving north on US77.

My original plan was to take US77 all the way north until I-10 east, then I-10 to Houston and US59 north there. That would put me at mile marker 674 on I-10 near Shulenburg. Then going east from there, I'll pass through Columbus at mile marker 698 where I can stop at Jerry Mikeska's BBQ for lunch. That was about 305 miles away from Brownsville.

As I was driving though, I was considering my fuel level. I was down to 1/4 tanks which would probably get me to lunch, but going that route my next fuel stop wouldn't be until Houston over 400 miles away. I didn't think it would stretch that far.

I stopped at a Dairy Queen that had some truck parking around back after about an hour to look at the map and reconsider my options. My company does have an approved fuel stop at the T/A in Ganado, which meant turning off US77 in Victoria onto US59 going away from Jerry Mikeska's. Hmmm? But wait... Then I could take State Road 71 north in El Campo and go right into Columbus at mile marker 696! That'll take me about 30 miles out of route, but that's within range on a 1156 mile run right?

OK, so now that's the new plan and I'm again on my way. OH, and I grabbed another Geocache that was hidden at the Dairy Queen while I was there also! Couldn't skip that either!

Now back to driving. After turning onto US59, I stopped at another rest area in Inez around 10:00 to look for another Geocache. There were two at the stop and I only needed one to reach 1200 Geocache finds! I looked for the first one about 15 minutes without success and proceeded to the other. I found it fairly quickly. WOHOO!! #1200 cache finds in 47 states the Canadian Yukon! The only states I'm missing are NH, VT, and HI. One of these days...

A short drive up to Ganado and a quick stop for fuel at the T/A. Still pondering the detour for BBQ and seeing some billboards along US59 advertising BBQ ahead, I decided not to take the detour and go out of route. I would just take the chance and hope that one of those BBQ places ahead had truck parking.

Well, I was getting worried. I passed several and no truck parking was available. Lot's of cars outside them so they must have been good. Finally in Wharton, TX I came across a small fuel stop with only about 3 parking spaces for trucks along the back side. Right next door was Hinze's Bar-B-Que. It was busy and IT WAS GOOD! Smoked beef brisket and sausage, baked beans, green beans, and carrot salad! That made my day!

OK, now that I've found my 1200th Geocache, finally got to eat some Texas BBQ on this visit, I can finally focus on driving!

I continue north on US59, take the I-610 loop around Houston, and continue north again on US59. Non-stop for the next 6 hours and I make it all the way to a rest area in New Colony, TX when my 11 hour clock expired at 6:15 PM. That's about 30 miles shy of Arkansas, 632 miles northeast of Brownsville and I STILL wasn't able to make it out of Texas.

That was yesterday. Today I woke up at 5:30 AM and by 6:15 I'm rolling. No breakfast, just a Little Debbie Nutty Buddy bar. Continuing on US59 to Texarkana and get onto I-30 east, in Little Rock picking up I-40 eastbound. At 10:15 a quick bathroom break at a rest area along I-40 in Arkansas. In Nashville, I picked up I-24 south just a few miles to La Vergne, TN. Here I pulled into a T/A for the night.

My delivery isn't until 10:00 AM tomorrow just 2 miles down the road. And I can't deliver early.

So that was my last two days. I hope you've enjoyed another day in the life of a trucker. See you again tomorrow.

From Iowa to Tenneessee

Today was pretty much an uneventful day. Woke up this morning around 6:00 AM and drove around to the side of the Wapsie Valley Creamery in Independence, IA. Shortly after I backed into the loading dock, someone came out to say they were going to start loading. It didn't take too long, about 30 minutes, and I was inside the office signing the paperwork.

A short way down the road and I saw a small truck stop with a McDonald's where I just had to pull over for my usual breakfast and sweet tea.

About 6 more hours, I stop for fuel at a Pilot in Okawville, IL. Next door to the Pilot was a family restaurant called The Hen House. So I decided to go ahead and have some lunch too. Fried catfish, coleslaw, fries, and a salad. Wasn't too bad. I'll have to stop there again next time through.

Then it was non-stop all the way to Murfreesboro, TN and another Pilot truck stop. Here is where I'm staying for the night. That's about it for today. Like I said it was pretty uneventful. See you back again tomorrow.

Memphis South to Mississippi

Woke up this morning after a great nights sleep. I was so tired by the time I was able to lay down. I stayed overnight at one of our company terminals in West Memphis. Before leaving this morning to cross the Mississippi River and deliver my load to the receiver, I checked in with the local dispatch to try and get an idea what was next for me. I still had a couple of hours before my delivery was due.

Anyway, because I am highlighted to go home this weekend she looked up the available loads headed to Florida. After I unload this morning in Memphis, TN, I go just a few miles away to pickup my next load at 3:00 PM. It's a short 212 mile run down to Jackson, MS. After that she sets me up with another pre-planned load going from Jackson to Marianna, FL. WOHOO! Closer to home! Normally I wouldn't be too happy with the back to back short trips (remember I get paid by the mile), but when I'm trying to get home it's to be expected.

So I leave the terminal and head out. I stop at the McDonald's there in West Memphis for you guessed it; a # 2 combo sausage egg and cheese McMuffin with a large sweet tea! Then I crossed the river, looped around the I-240 south and deliver my load. Here I was able to drop my loaded trailer and hook up to an empty. This is always a lot quicker. I send in my empty message over the Qualcomm (kinda like an onboard computer that most trucks have) and get back the info for my next load. I program the addresses into my laptop, send a copy of the map to my lovely wife via email, and drive the couple of miles around the corner to the next shipper.

While waiting there for a few hours, I look up some geocaches but there's nothing close. The nearest was 2.7 miles away and that's in a straight line! Using the roads, probably more like 3.5-4 miles away. I didn't want to ride my bike this time because it may be tomorrow before I get to a shower again. But at that shipper, I was able to drop my trailer upon arrival. So I checked the satellite image and it looks as though there could be parking nearby. So I bobtailed over there and found the cache. Hmmm. I didn't know there was a government earthquake research center in Tennessee. But that's where this cache was hidden. That's one of the things that make geocaching fun, finding interesting places. Anyway, back to the shipper.

They get my load ready at 3:00 PM. I hook up to the new trailer and head south on I-55. A straight shot on down to Jackson, MS 212 miles away. I arrived here about 6:30 PM. I dropped the trailer and went inside to turn in the paperwork. I'll be picking up my next load here also at 5:00 AM tomorrow so this is where I'll be sleeping.

First I go about a mile back up the road where there was a Flying J Travel Center. Order me an ice cream sundae to eat and drive back after I finish. That's about it for me today. See ya tomorrow over in Florida!