A Long Drive From Oklahoma to Illinois - 710 Miles

This will be short because I'm fairly tired. Started out this morning at 6:30 AM in Calumet, OK, just west of Oklahoma City. I drove for 1 1/2 hours and stopped in Stroud, OK for breakfast at McDonald's.

After eating, I continued east on I-44 into Missouri and stopped again at 2 PM for fuel and a Subway sub. I relaxed for about an hour, taking my time eating.

Then back on the road, merging onto I-70 in St Louis, then north on I-57. I arrived in Pesotum, IL at a rest area around 7:45 Central Time. I'm about 19 miles from my final destination where I deliver tomorrow morning at 7 AM.

That's about it for me today. Not much excitement today. Just a long drive.

Good night for now and see ya back again 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.

Tucson, AZ to Las Cruces, NM - 289 Miles

Another early morning today, waking up around 4 AM local time here in Tucson, AZ. Temperature wasn't bad at 49 degrees. Today actually got up into the 70's here.

But I started out at the TTT Truck Stop and drove the 8 miles over to where I was delivering. I got there around 6:30 and they started unloading soon there after. It was only about a 1/3 of the trailer left if that, so it didn't take long. By 7:40 they were done.

I already had my next load assignment to pick up there in Tucson later in the afternoon. I looked up Geocaches and there was one about 3 tenths of a mile away, so I walked down and made the find.

I drove back over to the TTT Truck Stop for breakfast and then over to the shipper to see about picking up the load. You never know, sometimes they can get you done early. Sure enough I had a 3 PM appointment time and they had me loaded and ready by 1PM.

Afterwards I walked across the street into an open field for about a 1/2 mile. There was a regular sized Geocache there and I made the find. I also dropped off a Jeep TB which I had been carrying for a while. I've been waiting to drop it off out west here to go 4wheeling with some real Jeeps.

At 2:45 PM, I jump onto I-10 eastbound and go non-stop all the way to Las Cruces, NM. It had just gotten dark when I arrived there, so I stopped for the night. If I didn't, I'm not sure of anyplace I could stop for the next several hundred miles. You'll see tomorrow why so.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by again. Here's just a few pics from today in Arizona.

Albuquerque to Tucson - 551 Miles

Woke up this morning around 2:30 AM local time. Of course, my body is still on Eastern Time and I went to bed about 10:30 (8:30 here). Anyway, couldn't get back to sleep. So I read another chapter in my "The Exemplary Husband" book. I recommend it to all the husbands out there. (And for you wives: The Excellent Wife book to go along with it.)

Around 5 AM, I decide to go inside and get something to eat at the T/A. Then at 6 AM, I drive the few miles down the road to Rio Rancho, NM and find the consignee. It was kinda strange pulling up to them because it was a residential street. Their work shop was in their backyard and a school across the street. By the time they arrived so I could back down the side of the house, the school was getting under way. Needless to say I caused a big traffic jamb by blocking the street! Oh well...

From the top of the hill there I got a nice view of the sunrise over Rio Rancho.

 

At the end of the street was a Geocache, so of course I found it before leaving too!

By 8:45 AM, I'm back on I-25 headed south. I stop at a rest area in La Joya, NM for another Geocaching break. Then at 1:30 PM, I stop in Las Cruces, NM for fuel, lunch, and a shower.

Now at 3:15 PM, it's non-stop all the way westbound on I-10 until I reach Tucson, AZ where I park at the TTT Truck Stop for the night.

That's it for today. Here's a few more photos through NM for you to enjoy.

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.

Back In The Truck And Ready To Roll!

Well hello everyone and welcome back. These last two days have been well quite boring! I waited around all day yesterday and they finally got the truck into the shop around 4PM. About 8PM, they finally sent me to the Holiday Inn to get a room.

This morning I get back over here around 7:30 AM hoping they completed the work overnight, only to find that it was STILL being worked on. I hung around here all day in the drivers lounge. Then I checked once again around 6:30 PM and the truck is finished! Yea!

Well what they worked on was finished anyway. I had 3 things that needed fixing that I knew about. 1) windshield cracked: replaced; 2) check engine light on: still on; and 3) engine noise: they replaced a cracked exhaust manifold. Well a cracked manifold needs to be replaced, but a cracked manifold doesn't make the same noise as what I heard. But of course it's not making the noise anymore. Just like it did a few days before Christmas. The noise was there for about an hour and hasn't repeated itself until a few days ago. So we'll see.

But now I'm back in the truck to get a good nights sleep tonight. Hopefully I'll be able to get a good long road to a warmer climate. LIKE HAWAII!! Well as soon as they build that Pacific Highway anyway! One can always hope.

That's it for now. See ya down the highway...