Playing Catch Up

OK, so I got lazy again about my daily updates. Time to catch up.

After Omaha, NE, I went back to the Tractor Supply DC in Waverly, NE and picked up another load going to a store in Independence, MO on Monday January 19th.

Tuesday morning at 0700 I unloaded and then waited most of the day for my next load assignment. It finally came around 3PM. I picked up in Kansas City, MO and had to haul it 428 miles all the way across Kansas to Hugoton, KS. What a drive! It was a heavy fog after sunset and going down through the back roads and small towns was difficult at times. But I did arrive there at 2 AM and was VERY tired to say the least. I unloaded that morning at 0700.

After unloading that morning, I reversed course and headed back across Kansas to the K-Mart DC in Lawrence. There I picked up a load which delivered to 2 K-Mart stores around Wichita on Thursday morning the 21st.

By noon the 21st I left the last K-Mart store and drove a few miles away to SFB Plastics there in Wichita, KS. I then picked up a load of empty plastic jugs and hauled them 743 miles down to El Paso, TX. They were going across the border to be filled with something and probably brought back over here. But that's for somebody else.

On the way down o El Paso on Friday morning of the 22nd, I encountered some snow along US 54 south of Santa Rosa, NM. Here's a few pics:

After dropping the trailer there in El Paso, I only had to wait a few hours before getting my next load. I left Friday night driving 1379 miles to LaGrange, GA hauling a load of vacuum cleaners to a WalMart DC.

I arrived in LaGrange on Sunday evening of the 24th and delivered at 6:30 AM on the 25th. Yesterday was Monday the 25th and I sat around all day in the truck waiting for my next load assignment. Which by the way never came.

Finally at 10 AM this morning I received my next load. I left LaGrange and drove north on I-85 into Atlanta where I pick up my load this evening headed to Jacksonville, FL.

That's what I've been up to. Sorry for the long gap. I'll try not to let that happen too often.

See ya tomorrow.

Las Cruces, NM to Oklahoma City - 646 Miles

What a long day today! I woke up around 5 AM in Las Cruces, NM at the T/A truck stop. After reading another chapter in my book, I got out of bed and went inside for breakfast. French toast was the meal for the morning and it was good.

After topping off the truck with fuel, I hit the road at 7 AM. I had a lot of stops planned for the beginning of my run today due to some Geocaches along the route. Starting out on US70 east and then onto US54 north. Passing through the White Sands Missile Range and the White Sands National Monument, lots of mountains and beautiful scenery.

During that stretch between Las Cruces and Santa Rosa, I found 6 Geocaches and took plenty of pictures. However the battery on the camera died and I can't upload them just yet. Gotta find the charger.

In Santa Rosa, NM I merged onto I-40 eastbound. By the time I got to Amarillo, TX I was getting hungry. I wanted to stop at The Big Texan again and try one of their steaks. However, since I had been playing most of the morning I needed to keep moving. So I pulled into a McDonald's for a quick burger.

After eating quickly, I continued on down to Calumet, OK which is about 20 miles west of Oklahoma City. Tomorrow's going to be a long day with no playing around. Gotta drive 720 miles tomorrow for a Friday morning delivery. Come back to see how I do.

That's it for now. See ya on the highways.

Amarillo to Albuquerque - 299 Miles

Today was a short drive to a warmer climate. Started out in Amarillo, TX at about 19 degrees out. It took a while to venture out into the cold, but I eventually did.

I was at the Flying J on the north side of I-40 and drove across the highway to the Tourist Center on the south side to look for a Geocache. Spent about an hour and could not find it. I just don't like it when I come up empty.

Then I drive a mile down the frontage road on the north side again heading west to an abandoned gas station where there was supposed to be another Geocache hidden. I didn't find that one either. ARGHH!! Strike 2!

OK, one more to go after. Another mile down the frontage road was The Big Texan Steak House. One of the roadside attractions from the Route 66 days. I did find the Texas sized Geocache there. It was the size of your typical plastic storage bin you keep all your Christmas decorations in. After finding the cache, I decided to go inside and eat. It was still a little early, so I had breakfast instead of BBQ.

Finally about 11AM, I'm out on I-40 westbound headed to NM. Just over an hour later I stop at the New Mexico welcome center in Glenrio to grab another cache. This one I found also.

Then continue west all the way to Albuquerque where I am parked for the night. A short drive today, only 299 miles. I did get to temperatures as high as 57 degrees across NM, but as I climbed higher towards Albuquerque they dropped back down into the upper 40's.

Tomorrow I deliver at 7am about 20 miles north of here. But there's no place to park there. So I'm staying put here at the T/A.

That's it for now. Here's a few pics for you to enjoy. See ya later.

I also passed by Cadillac Ranch along I-40 on the west side of town.

Still Cold, But the Snow is Gone in TX - 476 Miles

Finally out of the snow and sub-zero temperatures! Hello everyone and welcome back to A Truckers Day.

Well just as I was falling asleep last night, the truck starts talking to me and wakes me up. Yes, it does that. When I receive messages over the Qualcomm, a voice plays over the speakers telling me I have a message. I think it was about 11pm last night when I received the message to go visit the local dispatcher. So I get out of bed, get dressed for the cold, and walk inside.

I get my choice of a load going to either PA or a 2-stop load going to NM and AZ. Hmmmm. Let's see. I have a choice between colder or warmer. I choose warmer! And the first stop in New Mexico isn't due until Monday morning. Good, I'm going back to bed!

So I wake up around 7 AM this morning and decide to do laundry first there at the terminal before taking off. At 9 AM, the laundry is completed, I hook up to my load, fuel up and head for the truck wash. By 9:30, I'm on I-44 and driving westbound.

But I don't get very far. Just a few exits down, I hit a Hardee's and grab a sausage egg and cheese biscuit. I hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday and was getting kinda hungry.

A quick stop and back on the road. At 1:15 PM, I stop at a rest area in Kellyville, OK to grab a Geocache. At the next rest area in Stroud, OK, I stopped again for another Geocache. WOHOO!! That makes 1400 Geocaches found so far around the country.

About half-way across Oklahoma, I stopped seeing the snow on the ground. While it is still cold out, in the mid 20's, it is still warmer than what it had been in Joplin, MO the past few days.

I continue driving westbound, now on I-40, all the way to Amarillo, TX. There I pulled into a Flying J for the night. That leaves with with an easy day of just over 300 miles for tomorrow.

Well that's my day. Thanks for riding along.
See Ya down the highways.

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.

Going As Far South As Texas Can Go!

I didn't get very far today. Just a mere 150 miles. Yuk!

Finished unloading at the first Tractor Supply store in Alice, Texas about 8:15. Then headed down to Kingsville, TX 30 miles away to the second and last stop. They finished unloading around 10:00 AM.

Now comes the sitting and waiting part that we get to deal with all the time. I stayed in the Tractor Supply parking lot at first. There was a Geocache just a 1/4 mile away so I walked over and found it.

After that I started looking up nearby truck stops in my directory. The directory gives you detailed info on the locations along the Interstates concerning what amenities are included at each location. But on other US Highways and local roads, it doesn't. So I went to the first one about 1 1/2 miles away and the only thing it had going for it was a McDonald's. OK, grabbed a sweet tea while I was there!

But the main thing I wanted was a shower! Continuing my research, I found a Love's Travel Stop about 3 miles to the north on US77. Now I know they have showers! So off I went. Now I felt much better.

Continuing yesterdays saga, now it's day 4 in Texas and STILL NO BBQ to eat! A ham and cheese sandwich in the truck again today.

After that, I looked up Geocaches again and there's a rather large cache just a half block away from the Love's store. COOL! So I walked over and grabbed that one too!

Finally at 3PM, they tell me to drive down to Brownsville, TX which is right at the very southern tip along the Mexican border. So I drive on down US77 and grabbed 2 more Geocaches at a rest area along the way.

I arrive at the drop yard in Brownsville around 5:15 PM but the load hasn't made it across the border yet. It's a nice long load going to Tennessee. I map out my trip in the laptop making a few adjustments to the suggested course. Instead of taking US77 to US59 into Houston, I take US77 all the way to I-10 first, then into Houston. That's so I can finally have BBQ brisket before leaving! So, be sure to check back in tomorrow to see if I was successful.

Until then, see you on the highways.

My Third Day in Texas and Still No BBQ!

Well I'm still here in Texas. Woke up at the Flying J in Waco this morning. It was still wet and cloudy. A few lite sprinkles here and there with the temps around 60. My pickup time at the Tractor Supply DC was at noon, but you never know when they may actually have you ready.

They were just 2 miles down the road, so I went over there about 7:30 AM to check in. Nope, not ready. But I did drop my trailer there none the less. There were a few geocaches within a half mile, but the gloomy overcast weather dis-swayed me from finding them. So I bobtailed down to the Pilot Travel Center just another 2 miles down I-35.

There I waited for a while contemplating McDonald's breakfast next door, but decided on the Little Debbie Nutty Butty bars I had in the truck. The gloomy weather really can have an adverse affect on you sometimes!

Finally around 10:00, I went and topped off my fuel tanks before heading back over to Tractor Supply. But still they did not have my load ready. I talked to a few other drivers who were coming and going. One was surprised about my load considering his was ready but wasn't due until 6PM. Sure rub it in!

But it didn't bother me so much because I couldn't deliver until 7AM tomorrow and it was only 300 miles away. No problem! Well they finally got me done right at 12:00 O'clock. I hooked up and I was on my way.

Instead of taking I-35 south to San Antonio, then I-37 over to Corpus Christi, I decided to take a slower but more direct route. It was about 20 miles shorter down US77, but time wise longer due to the small towns along the way. But it was a new route and I had plenty of time to spare.

Another reason to take this new route was to find some geocaches. I pretty much already got those on I-35 having been that way many times. I managed to find 4 today at each of the old picnic areas in which I was able to get the big truck into.

I was also hoping to find a BBQ place to eat at today. My third day in Texas and I still had not yet had any BBQ beef brisket and sausage! THAT'S JUST NOT RIGHT! Where I passed the BBQ restaurants that had truck parking available, it was still breakfast time. During lunch or dinner there were none to be found. Plenty of BBQ places, but nowhere could I park 70' of truck and trailer!

Finally, hunger won me over and I pulled into a Mexican restaurant around 5:30 in Refugio, TX. I should have just made a sandwich instead and saved a few dollars. I ordered the beef enchiladas which were OK, but nothing to brag about.

After eating, I continued south on US77 to Corpus Christi, then west on Hwy 141 to Alice, TX. That's where I sit tonight, behind the Tractor Supply store there for my 7AM deliver. They'll get half the load and then I'll drive down about 40 miles to Kingsville where they'll get the other half. But that's tomorrow and I'm getting ahead of myself.

That's my day today. Thanks for dropping in and keeping me company. Use the comment link below to say hi every once in a while. Till next time...

A Rainy Day In Texas

Welcome back to another one of my tales of a day in the life of a trucker. This trucker in particular.

Today began early. I'm not quite sure what time it was because I had been sleeping. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning it began to rain and that woke me. Fortunately I was able to fall back into sleep.

The next time my alarm awoke me at 6:00 AM. And it was STILL raining! It didn't take long though and I on the road just a couple of miles to the next exit at the Lowe's DC in Mt. Vernon, TX. Dropped the empty, hooked up to the loaded trailer, and I'm heading south by 7:30.

A quick 5 minute stop at 8:30 for a McDonald's sausage egg and cheese McMuffin and sweet tea in Caddo Mills and I'm back on I-30.

At 10:00, I pull into our terminal again in Lancaster for fuel and am now heading south on I-35. From there I continue south to US-190 west and then US-281 south, arriving in Marble Falls, TX at 1:30 PM.

The drop was a Lowe's store. They had three dock doors, but for whatever reason we had to drop our trailer in the middle door. But first, I had to drop my loaded trailer in the parking lot, hook up to the empty and move it out. Then hook back up to the loaded trailer and back it into the middle dock. Unhook again and back to the empty. Finally, I'm done!

On the way down, I had already received my next load assignment for Monday. Therefore, I headed back in the direction of the shipper in Waco, TX. Since I had plenty of time, I made it more enjoyable.

Coming south on US-281, I had noticed quite a few roadside picnic areas. (the old rest stops without facilities) So upon returning northbound, I stopped at 3 of the 4 in which I was able to park the truck at. One was just WAY too small for me to be able to get into it! And of course the reason for stopping at these was to find the Geocaches located there, which I quickly did. Yeah!

By 6:15 PM I'm back up to Waco, TX and parked at the Flying J for the night. The rain has stopped now, but it was a wet day for the most of it. Fortunately it had stopped too while I was caching.

That's it for now. See you on the highways!

A Little Bicycling, A Little Caching, and A Little Driving

Today was an easy day. I started out at our terminal in Lancaster, TX, just southeast of Dallas. While waiting for a load assignment, I decided to go out on the bicycle for some Geocaching. It was just a short trip this time. I only went 9.1 miles today and found 5 caches.

I posted some photos below. This first was a rather large house which was way out of place for the street which it was on. The neighbors houses looked more like the shed off to the right in the photo.

The next set of pics are of the Wheatland Methodist Church built in 1959. The steeple and stained glass windows were added in 1912. The church is still in use to this day, every Sunday.

About the last half mile it began a lite rain so I was peddling fast so not to get the camera wet! I made it just in time.

Before I got even back, I had received my next load assignment so I jumped into the showers real quick. Made a sandwich for lunch while I mapped out my trip info. (More like dinner actually! That was the only thing I ate today come to think of it.)

By 6:00 PM I was on my way. A short drive this evening over to Mt Vernon, TX, about 112 miles away. That is where I'm at now. I have a 7:00 AM pickup tomorrow morning.

So I leave you now with my photos from today. Enjoy and I'll see ya tomorrow.

A Visit With An Old Friend

Welcome back friends. And speaking of friends, one of the advantages of being a truck driver is having an occasion to visit with friends who may have moved on to other parts of the country. Today was one of those occasions.

I woke this morning in Independence, MS, which is about 30 miles east of Jackson. I drove the short distance to Jackson and parked over at the Pilot Travel Center about 7:30 where I was finally able to get a shower. I was hoping to get here last night but my clock ran out.

After my shower I drove across the highway to the Flying J for some breakfast. There I was to meet an old friend whom I hadn't seen in 17-18 years. She showed up around 10:00 and we chatted over coffee and sweet tea. I had the sweet tea of course. It was good catching up, but we both had to get back to work. We said our goodbye's around 11:30 and I continued on I-20 westbound.

A quick stop in Shady Grove, TX at a Pilot with a McDonald's around 4:30 so I can get a sweet tea to go. My intentions were to go back to the truck and make a sandwich, but I couldn't resist the aroma of a burger so I got one of their 1/3 pounder Angus burgers too.

Then by 6:45 I am in downtown Dallas at the Sear's Distribution Center dropping my trailer. Picked up an empty and proceeded down I-35E south 11 miles to Lancaster where we have a terminal. That is where I sit now and will probably be until tomorrow.

So until then, thanks for stopping by and I'll see you out on the highways.

You Can Drive Forever and Never Leave Texas

Well I got the knock on my truck door about 2:30AM this morning. The warehouse where I was sleeping told me to back up to the dock and they'll get me unloaded. It didn't take long. I got up, got dressed, backed in, they unloaded, I parked back where I was, I sent in an empty message, and went back to bed. All that in about 30 minutes.

I woke up again on my own around 7:00AM. Got up again and drove a block down the street to a Jack-in-the-Box which had a few truck parking spots. Begrudgingly, I decided to eat breakfast there too. A sausage, egg, and cheese croissant which had almost ZERO flavor. But their sweet tea wasn't bad.

After I finished eating, another Con-Way driver pulled in too. He was unloading back at the warehouse when I left. We chatted for a bit and then I returned to my truck to wait for my next load assignment.

Finally about 11:00 AM they sent me my next load information. Yippee! I thought I was going to end up with another low mileage week, but they gave me a nice long run to finish out the week not too bad. After writing the info down in my book, I program my mapping software in my laptop. A few minutes later and heading east on I-10 towards Baytown, TX to pick up a load at the WalMart DC.

I couldn't leave Texas without BBQ, so I stopped at my favorite Jerry Mikeska's BBQ at exit #698 in Columbus, TX. One of these days I'll remember to take my camera inside for some pics to post here. It's got a really cool interior decor!

Anyway, back on the road. I get to Baytown around 5:00PM, hook up to the preloaded trailer and head back north. A quick stop for fuel at the Pilot there in Baytown, then west on I-10 back towards Houston. Once I reach the outer loop around Houston (the Sam Houston Parkway), I take it northbound. Looping around, I hop onto US59 north all the way to Nacogdoches, TX where I pickup US259 north. I continue on until I spotted a small truck stop in Henderson, TX about 10:30 PM. That's where I'm at now and that's where I'll be spending the night.

Cause I'm tired! Good night and see ya tomorrow.

A New Road For Me To Travel On

Hello again. Today was an early day. I was up and going at 5AM and headed east on I-20 out of Shreveport, LA to Simsboro, LA about 72 miles away. There I picked up a load of empty glass jars that looked to be about 10-12 oz size. Because they were empty, I was expecting a lite load. However once I received my paperwork and saw the 44,000 lbs, it hit me that they were glass! And glass is heavy!

Anyway, they finished loading me around 8AM so I head back down I-20, only now I'm going westbound. I stopped at the first truck stop, a Love's 20 miles down for the CAT Scales. I was 30,000 on the drives and 33,000 on the tandems; with the tandems about half-way back. Then again back at the Petro in Shreveport where I stopped for breakfast.

Before leaving there I checked on line at Geocaching.com, and sure enough there was a cache hidden there about 400' from where I parked the truck. So of course I had to find it and sign the log before I left.

After that, I continued west on I-20 and crossed over into Texas. I decided to take a new route down to San Antonio today since I don't have to deliver until tomorrow. It's a more direct route, but could be slower since I'm heavy and will be passing through some small towns with 35mph speed limits. So instead of taking I-20 west to I-35 south, I decided to turn south in Longview, TX on US259 a little ways until I pickup US79 southbound. Although US79 goes more southwest than south.

I've never traveled down US79 before, so this was all new to me. It's good to see something new every once in a while. It was a pretty nice drive, not too bad through the small towns. (not too many stop lights) I saw a few restaurants that looked like they may have been good to eat at, but I wasn't hungry at the time. I continued US79 all the way to I-35, just north of Austin. Also, just in time for rush hour in Austin!

By now I'm hungry but wouldn't you know it that I can't spot any BBQ with truck parking available! So finally, just before I arrive in San Antonio, I pull into a Pilot Travel Center with a McDonald's. It may not be BBQ, but at least I get my sweet tea!

After eating I finally arrive at the receiver, Bay Valley Foods, around 7:15 PM. They have parking available here, so here is where I'm sleeping tonight. They said the third shift may be able to unload me tonight, so we'll see. If not I'll just have to wait until morning.

That's "A Truckers' Day" for me anyways. Thanks for dropping by. I'll see ya tomorrow.