Tues-Wed, Feb 17-25.... Way Behind!

Seems like I left off when we were in TX... ok... so Trapper reminded me it's been a week since I updated the blog... then a friend of mine (Misty) sends me a friendly email reminder... so here is our week in review... this is trucking!

Tues (2/17) You would have found us sitting in San Antonio, TX waiting and then waiting! The worst part of trucking is the waiting you do at times. We were dispatched to LaPorte, TX to pick up at Dow Chemical.

The second worst thing in trucking are the directions you're given at times. Our street address was 9705 and we figured since it was Dow Chemical it wouldn't be hard to find... the directions said Hwy 225 to Millercut Rd exit... that's all the directions said... ok so Hwy 225 was easy enough to find and Millercut Rd exit was clearly marked.... but after 3 trips up and down the access road we can not find 9705 or anything that says Dow! I talked Trapper into stopping at the truck stop on the corner and I told him I'd run in and get directions. He laughed at me and in his manly "I am man... no directions needed" voice he says, "You probably won't get any information."

I walked in and asked a fella that looked to be a local resident but it was a fellow driver who spoke up and told me precisely what I needed to know. I thanked him and found my way back to the truck.

Trapper was on the phone with our dispatcher, who was also looking for correct directions, and Trapper asked me if I found anything out....

In my "I am woman... hear me roar" voice, I repeated exactly what the other driver had told me! The building we were looking for was marked Exel and it was way behind 9705... through the gate, etc.

Morale of the story.... Never underestimate the power of a lost woman at a truck stop!

We were loaded and on our way to Warrenton, GA...

Wed (2/18) We drove all day! We stopped, for the night, in Newnan, GA. Two memorable things happened here... one... there were tornado watches out (which ultimately ended up yes... there were tornado's in the area that night) and I was weather.com(ing) a lot! Especially when it started hailing!

Then, the most touching thing happened. A man knocked on the cab door, explained he didn't mean us any harm and didn't want any money... he simply asked for food. Neither of us hesitated to fullfil his request.

Thurs (2/19) We delivered our load in Warrenton, GA to a place that only had one car in the front. We originally thought we were at the wrong place. I was thinking maybe the place had closed up shop during our trip there. Turns out it was their warehouse. They make plastic film for bags, etc. and we had hauled 42k pounds of these tiny platic pellets to them!


After sending the empty call via the qualcomm... we sat and waited. Our preplan came across the qualcomm and we were to pick up (relay) a load at the drop yard in Atlanta, GA on Friday morning. Finally, we had a place to go!

Never know what you might see on the Interstate.... Red Bull anyone?


Fri (2/20) The drop yard in Atlanta had been changed since Trapper was there last. I had to wonder, when I saw the State Penitentiary close by, if they moved from the original lot for security purposes??? I'm not sure if I would have stayed here had I been alone in this truck.

Our relay was made at 9:30 a.m. this morning and we have to be in Richmond, VA tonight at 10:00 p.m. This is one of those runs that every driver must hate. We passed within 15 miles of our house and were within 30 miles of my son, who lives in Charlotte, NC. Absolutely no time to stop at either place. It's depressing to say the least. But, you have to remember this is your job and with every job comes disappointments.


Here is a picture of the peach water tower in Gaffney, SC (I-85). This has been a peach since I can remember and so far... by far... the most interesting water tower in the USA!

I-85 doesn't pass close enough to downtown Charlotte, NC to get a good picture, but the city has a gorgeous downtown area.


Sat (2/21) We were loaded early this morning in West Point, VA at a paper mill called Smurfit. No one at the plant looked real excited about working on Saturday. After driving all day, looking for a truck stop was my top priority. We stopped in a place called Nitro, WV and the only thing on our minds were showers and a movie.

Sun (2/22) I woke up early, freezing cold, and a little lost. (Imagine that) We had the curtain up in the truck, which was diffusing the daylight... or so I thought. It had been really nice and warm yesterday and now Nitro was supplying snow! I knew I should have checked the weather!






Today took us right through the town that Trapper's son lives in, so we made a stop to see him and his new car!



After our little visit, we finished our run to Indianapolis. Stopping at a TA truck stop for the night. You never know how long you're going to be sitting.... maybe an hour, maybe a day... I thought it would be best to finish dinner, shower, do laundry.

It was a balancing act that went something like this.... get the laundry out, get the shower stuff out... go to truck stop... go to shower... shower... go to laundry... start washing clothes... take stuff back to truck... back to truck stop... throw clothes in dryer... 67 minutes drying time... back to truck... finish dinner... clean up dishes... pack up dishes to wash... back to truck stop.... clothes are still wet... add change to machine... wash dishes... check clothes... take clean dishes to truck... back to truck stop... clothes are still wet... wait around... Trapper shows up because he was worried about me and it's taken forever... clothes are finally dry... fold them... back to truck... put everything away in truck.... day is done! Whew....

Mon (2/23) Our delivery was made at 8:30 a.m. but we sat until our appointment time at 10:00 a.m. We returned to the truck stop, from last night, and at 2:00 p.m. today we have been dispatched to pick up tonight at 9:00 pm in Plainfield, IN. Trapper has been resting off and on today (I'm sure we'll be driving all night) and I've taken time to finish my son's taxes, work on the blog, and work on our budget. Sitting and waiting is the hardest part of this job.

We picked up our load, on schedule, and headed towards PA. I stayed up with Trapper until the sleep fairy struck me in the head and I had to crash for the night.... I left Trapper in good hands though... a diet pepsi and a bag of white sugar coated donuts.... comfort food!

Tues (2/24) We stopped last night somewhere close to Columbus, OH. I made my way to the front of the truck and it looked like someone had had a white powder sugar fight! There was sugar all over the front. By the looks of the donut bag... the donut's lost the fight!

We finished our trip to Greencastle, PA and dropped our trailer at the terminal. With our empty trailer we found a local truck stop and parked it for the night.

Wed (2/25) Of course we woke early and we were ready to hit the road... problem is... we haven't been dispatched.

Finally at 9:00 am the beeps start and we are off to Hagerstown, MD to pick up a load and deliver it today at Sam's in Newport News, VA. A couple of weeks ago we were running the land of the outlaws and today I feel like we're running the land of the first settlers.... Williamsburg, Jamestown, Newport News.....

I will hand it to VA.... they have a handle on their poop problem. I snapped this at a rest area.... I have not seen this anywhere else in the US and for some reason it just struck me as being funny.




Our load was delivered safely to Sam's Club and while I ran across the parking lot to Wal-Mart, for a few items, we were dispatched to pick up a load tomorrow morning in Colonial Heights, VA and take that load all the way to Laredo, TX. And just for the curious.... that's approximately 1660 miles....

And just to think... this time last year, Trapper and I had our first real date. We boarded the cruise ship Sovereign in Port Canaveral Florida and headed to the Bahamas for the week... I'm glad he asked me and I'm really glad I said yes!

Tues-Mon, Feb 10-16.... Trucking Glory!

It's been a few days, I know... what a week we've had... trucking at it's best!

Our week:
Tuesday, (2/10) We left LaPlace, LA with our sugar. (The security at the sugar refinery was due to it being considered a "port"... I suppose it falls under Homeland Security... good thing I didn't decide to snap pictures!) This was delivered in Memphis, TN at Kroger late Tuesday night.

We were immediately dispatched to the terminal in West Memphis, AR. Our Tuesday night was spent "rocking and rolling" in West Memphis, AR as the storms that produced tornadoes in OK rolled through the area. I was ready to strap myself in the bunk when it was time to try to go to sleep!

Wednesday (2/11), we were 9 on the board. We were 3 on the board, then we were 4 and then we were 3 again... we were finally dispatched to Bylahia, MS (which is only 39 miles away) and we were to take this load to Joplin, MO so it could be relayed and be delivered in CA by someone else. We were carrying 20,000 lbs of little electrical parts. That's alot of little parts!

We arrived in Joplin, MO late on Wednesday night. When you get to Joplin you have to go through the trailer inspection and drop your trailer. All that being done, Trapper takes the paperwork inside and I decided it was time for me to retire... just as I was turning the bed covers down... (that's right...) BEEP... BEEP... and a series of beeps! Ok, so much for going to bed.

Trapper returns to the truck and I had all the notes made and maps set. We found our empty trailer and at 1:00 am we left Joplin headed towards Napoleon, OH.

Thursday (2/12), we drove all day. Well, Trapper drove... I rode. This was probably the longest day of our lives. Time was clicking off as slow as the odometer. I'd check the gps and it would say 250 miles left on the trip and it seemed like six hours later it would say 225 miles left. We did make it to our Campbell Soup delivery.

Friday 2/13) We were unloaded relatively quick at Campbell Soup and our preplan was to pick up at Silgan Can Company. Luckily, this was at the same location just a different dock. Our pick up wasn't until 3:00 pm so we sat, at the dock, until it was almost 3:00. Eventually, the truck stopped rocking (from being loaded) but the light never turned green. You know... the light that tells you it's ok to pull away from the dock. Anyway, this gentleman walks up to the door... I open the door... and he says, "What are you waiting for?" For the light to turn green, I replied. He says, "You have to pull up first." My thought... what's the purpose of the light then??? The light is the "ok" to pull away, but you need to pull up first????

Nevertheless... we were then on our way to Del Monte in Crystal City, TX. It's late Friday afternoon and it delivers in TX on Monday morning 8:00 am. Absolutely no play time on this trip.

Saturday and Sunday (2/14 & 2/15)... Saturday started on a really good note. A surprise Valentine card from Trapper and my kids called to say "thanks mom" for the little Valentine notes I mailed them. They both were tickled because they were mailed from Missouri!

Saturday we drove our total complete legal hours. Sunday we drove our total complete legal hours. We arrived in Crystal City, TX which is really no more than a dot in the desert in southwestern Texas.

Monday (2/16)... We delivered our can templates at 8:00 am and went back to the truck stop that was a 1/2 mile away. Trapper was having a little trouble with someone at headquarters trying to decide who's dispatch territory we were actually in. Turns out we're under Joplin's jurisdiction.

I decided it would be wise to run across the street and do the laundry. One thing about living out here, if you have a minute to do anything... you better do it!

Just as I was finishing up, in walks Trapper announcing we are on the way to San Antonio to drop the trailer we have and bobtail three miles to pick up an empty trailer from a different location. A little strange....

We are now sitting in San Antonio, TX getting our much needed 34 hour mandatory reset. The last couple of weeks have been non-stop and the break is needed.

Our map for the past few days... trucking at it's best!


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Mon, Feb 9..... A Hooker, Katrina, and Sugar!

We were beeped late Saturday night with our new destination... Shreveport, LA.... to be delivered on Monday morning at 9:00 am. Not a bad drive, only 565 miles. The trailer was at the terminal yard in Laredo, so we pulled around and hooked to it and decided not to leave until Sunday morning.

Sunday we drove all day and arrived in Shreveport, LA around 6:00 pm. It didn't take either of us long to do the dinner thing and settle in with the movie "The Contract".

Monday morning Trapper was up and about early while I was enjoying my much needed slumber... which was rudely interrupted by some strange crisp female voice inquiring if Trapper needed any "interior detailing" done! I laughed (silently) and turned over.... way too early for all that biz-ness....

We delivered our load of 4-wheelers... bright shiny red ones.... to the Honda place in Shreveport. Our directions indicated that the building would be on our right, a big white building with no name on it... as fate would have it... it was on the right side of the road... a big tan building with a brown overhang and the bright red letters of HONDA on it. I love directions!

Trying to second guess our next dispatch was interesting... I said we'd pick up in Louisiana and go to Florida. I'm getting spoiled with the warm weather. But, within an hour of delivering, we were being deadheaded to New Orleans, LA to pick up a load of sugar. We deadheaded 350 miles to the load and we will deliver it 400 miles away in Memphis, TN on Tuesday night.

If you've never been lucky enough to visit the state of Louisiana... you should, especially if you have a fascination with bridges. I haven't researched it, but Louisiana must have the most miles of bridges in the country. There are at least two serious of bridges that span 22-25 miles in length and one extremely long bridge that spans across 3 rivers. This picture is going around/through/over Lake Ponchatrain, on the west side.

Louisiana also has the most interesting town names and they are the only state that refers to their counties as parishes. City/town names such as... Maringouin, Plaquemine, and my favorite Atchafalaya.

As we arrived in New Orleans we started through the parishes that Hurricane Katrina effected three years ago. We all know it wasn't so much the hurricane, but the levees that didn't hold, which resulted in massive flooding. I was in amazement when I looked around and there is still, to this day, so much evidence of the disaster. This ongoing evidence would either make you very humble or be a constant reminder of such a horrible event...

This is an entire apartment complex that is now sitting, in ruins, completely deserted. Parts of this city look like a war zone.

Another completely empty, deserted apartment complex.

And yet more ever evident destruction from 3 1/2 years ago... 3 1/2 years! I remember seeing this on television, reading the reports, but it sticks with you when you see it in person.

We arrived in St. Bernard's Parish, the parish that was effected the most, and there are half sunken boats sticking out of the water, mounds of lumber, and bits and pieces of buildings still in a trash pile in various places around town.

We are picking up sugar at Domino's Refinery aka Fort Knox? I couldn't believe the security measures they have in place. The guard asked for Trapper's ID and then made me produce mine. One guard actually got in the cab to make sure no one else was on board. If there had been a pet in the truck... we would have had to check the pet in also!

Once we cleared security... we wiggled and waggled our way to the very back of the plant where we met 8 other trucks waiting in line and 6 trucks backed into the docks. I decided it was time to finish and serve dinner.... we were going to be here awhile....

During our 4 1/2 hour wait and loading time... I did some research on the Domino Sugar company. The company was started in New York in the late 1800's... this particular building looks like it was built in the late 1800's but I couldn't find any history of the building. The company has survived many trials and buy-outs and this refinery employs 320 people... 286 of which lost everything in Katrina.

It is the largest employer in the area and in the aftermath of Katrina... the company moved 200 families into FEMA trailers that were parked on the property of the refinery. There were a total of 722 people living and working in the very same location.

We were loaded and leaving the bayou country... headed to Memphis, TN...

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Sat, Feb 7... 7 Days! 8 States!

Today is Saturday... whew!... day off....

We're number 32 on the board and the parade of trailers from Mexico is pretty heavy today. This simply means that showers, laundry, and clean the truck out is our top priority.... we could get beeped at any moment!

This week I feel like I've seen more, done more, and laughed more than I have in years. The trade off is you miss family and friends. There has to be a balance that you must find for yourself.

My daughter called a couple of days ago and she was sick... I wanted to fly to where she attends college... my son called and was discussing a little trial he was having.... I wanted to fly to where he was... every mile I've travelled in the past seven days... there's not been one that I didn't wish my children could see what I have seen.

Everyone looks for balance between work and home. When your home moves from city to city and state to state... well, it makes it a little more difficult, but doable. I have the support of my children and they have mine... which enriches my life. If anyone reading this blog is "thinking" about driving otr... be sure you have the support of your family.

Since last Sunday we've crossed 8 states and been in and out of 3 time zones at least 2 times... we were just beeped by the qualcomm which says we are picking up a trailer, here at the terminal on Sunday, and we must have it in Shreveport, LA bright and early Monday morning.

I'm going to join Trapper now in the middle of his "West Wing" marathon...

(This past week in review)

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Fri, Feb 6.... Rollin' to Laredo, TX

I have officially added New Mexico to my list of states visited! I think I have five states left....

We're headed to Laredo, TX with a load of appliances that are destined for Mexico. We will get to Laredo late tonight... go through the trailer check at the terminal, get the truck washed, fuel up, and get on the board.

I spent the trip from Las Cruces, NM to El Paso, TX reading about the King Ranch located in Kingsville, TX. This ranch is the largest in the US and they were the fore runners in a number of things that still exist in the ranching world today. I dare you to read about it... http://www.king-ranch.com/ (you won't be disappointed). And just a note... For me, this blog is fun... my travels are fun... my life with Trapper is fun (and so much more) so it would be a crying shame to find myself, in such a great moment in life, and not learn a little history along the way.

Back to the story... We've all heard the reports of the "great border wall" the government is dead set on completing on the Texas border... right? According to the news, there is a total of 1200 miles of Texas border with Mexico. There are 880 miles across Texas on I-10, just for reference. The area of El Paso, TX and it's sister city in Mexico, Ciudad Juarez, is the hot spot that the news highlights.

I have heard the reports and I've seen pictures, but until you see it in person, you can't understand. The two cities are literally split by a dry river bed (the Rio Grande) with a fence running through it.

It is hard to distinguish where one city stops and the other starts. These pictures were taken in El Paso, the river bed is noticeable at the bottom of the picture and Mexico is on the hill. What a project a border wall will be...



Our entire day was spent in Texas. Here we are in Texas.... admiring the desert.

And more desert beauty.

Nothing in Texas is small. This oil refinery is huge!

The empty space in Texas is huge too! Hundreds of miles... millions of fence post... The trip down I-10 and Hwy 83 through western Texas is the epitome of wide open spaces. It's beautiful by it's own right!

And when you're just about to give up on scenery or towns.... you cross the Pacos River! The river runs into the Rio Grande.



Our day ended with us arriving at the terminal in Laredo. Upon arriving, you must go through a trailer inspections and as luck would have it... our trailer needed a rubber seal around the door. We got that fixed, got the truck washed, and fueled.

We are both exhausted and we are calling it a night!

Thur, Feb 5... New Mexico

Last night we stopped just across the Arizona border (coming south out of California). I feel funny walking around without my vest, jacket and snow boots.

I wished to see snow measured in feet and I wished us to California... in one week... both wishes have come true.

This picture is for my daughter... (this is Phoenix!)

Today has been really interesting... we stopped at a rest area in Arizona and there were vendors set up like what you would see at a flea market, Arizona is full of RV and camp sites, and I've seen warning signs for poisonous animals... I'm going to put a post together one day of "funny things from the road"... there is always something to see...

Has anyone heard of pink rattlesnakes? Maybe I dreamed it? Trapper laughed when I asked him... he said I should ask one of the people at the rest area... I decided to keep my mouth shut...

Not only do they let you know not to smoke at the rest area, Arizona is also pushing for a "smoke free" state.

One of my favorite sites in Arizona are the large cactus!

And we're calling it a night in Las Cruces, NM.

Tomorrow we'll follow the Rio Grande along NM and Texas...

Wed, Feb 4.... GoodBye LA

We delivered this morning at 6:00 am in Ontario, CA and drove the 10 miles to Fontana, CA to pick up our consumer solutions... aka small appliances!

Our appointment was at noon and we arrived early... 8:30 am.... they wouldn't budge on the pick up time so we sat in the parking lot.

Trapper decided it was time for lunch, so he's in the back getting everything out of the fridge... I'm in the front working on my blog!

The phone rings and the qualcomm goes off.

Trapper comes up front to get the phone and we are being sent about 6 miles down the street to Target Distribution center to move a trailer for them. Evidently it was to be a live load but the fellow driver left the trailer and now Target needs it moved.

We set the map and the gps and started toward the street... as we were leaving the parking lot we hit a huge bump and the next sound was a crashing sickening sound! The fridge fell AGAIN! We just looked at each other.... I'm sure we were both silently asking ourselves, "Was I the last one in the fridge?"

A few months back I was the faulty one... we were in LA and I forgot to put the bungee cord around it... this time however.... I was no where close to the fridge! Trapper didn't yell at me the first time so I sat quietly this time. I was having flashbacks...

We make it to Target and everyone was confused on what we were suppose to be doing. We find the trailer and it's loaded... that's not good... so we check again and they want it put in the dock... we do... and then the shipping dept says someone has to pick it up in 6 hours. We were actually under load, so we leave to go back to our original pick up place and call headquarters.

Finally, around 2:00 pm we are loaded and ready to roll. The fridge was back together, hooked down and we were headed out of California.

Coming through Palm Springs and Desert Springs you can't help but notice the diverse landscape... palm trees to snow covered mountains.

My fascination with these windmills is still alive and well. There were literally hundreds scattered through this desert area.

And on a closing note for tonight... sunsets in California are remarkable! I've had the opportunity to see the sunrise on the east coast and set on the west coast....

Tues, Feb 3... VEGAS!

What else can I say... we have time to stop in VEGAS! We left Parowan, UT early this morning. The local time... I don't have a clue... I run on eastern time, Trapper stays on central time because headquarters is in Joplin, MO and our log stays on central, I think we are in mountain time, and I know we're headed to pacific time. And everyone wonders why I stay confused.

Today will take us through UT, AZ, NV, and finally to our final destination in CA. We only clip AZ and NV... this is why I refer to cities as "nowhere"... who knows where we are? I'm such a tourist... it's a good thing that this entire run from Salina, KS to Ontario, CA only entailed 2 turns... once we got on I-70 we merged onto I-15... this made my job very easy and allowed me time to take pictures... 252 in two days!

These states are beautiful! Our plan is to stop in Vegas for a couple of hours. We really don't want to get to CA any earlier than necessary... CA doesn't like trucks! No idle laws and the 55 mph for trucks (speed limit for cars is 70)... well... we'd rather spend our extra time in Vegas.

Arriving in Vegas... was smoggy... the last time I was here with was my family about 9 years ago. It was really clear that day... today... smog. There is no where else on earth like Vegas! Minus the sex and gambling... for me, the casino architecture is worth taking a second look and the history of the town is worth reading!

After touring some of the local sites... The Luxor, MGM Grand, New York New York... and having lunch at the Excalibur... we were back on the road to Ontario, CA in which we arrived at 8:00 pm pacific time!

Ontario is in the suburbs of Los Angeles... driving into the city I noticed the police helicopter in the sky with the large beam light pointing to the ground... on the freeway I was having flashbacks of OJ in the white Bronco... and I am going to sleep with the sounds of sirens in the background. I guess if you live (d) here you'd get used to it.

We've been preplanned to pick up our next load tomorrow in Fontana, CA at noon and we have to be in Laredo, TX by Saturday... more warm weather!





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Sun/Mon... Feb 1-2... Wild Wild West!

When you wake up in Vail, CO... there's a little voice in your head that says... it's going to be a good day!

We arrived at this little "rest area" just east of Vail last night. It's funny, when we are in such a gorgeous place... we both stand outside the truck just taking it all in.

Our elevation is roughly 8,000 feet (down from 11,013)... the air is very crisp! Last night, standing outside, my only thoughts were how close the stars look.

Today will take us through Vail, Aspen, Glenwood Pass, No Name, Co, Grand Junction and then on into Utah. We're both intrigued by the west... not just for it's history... but that the history hasn't been that disturbed.

In Utah, along I-70, there are tributes to the Outlaws of the wild west that hid out in the canyons... espcaping the law...

Our day will end in Parowan, UT right off of I-15.

The pictures in the video will hopefully show you what I mean. This is where work and vacation merge!

Sat, Jan 31... Midnight Run!

Our relay load was delivered in Tulsa, OK last night, successfully. We found a nearby truck stop and called it a night.

Big Brother Beeping woke the house up at 7:30 am! We are being dead headed to Salina, KS to pick up a load that delivers on Wednesday morning in Ontario, CA. I had to look at the zip code to be convinced it was California and not Canada. I can't believe we're dispatched to CA!! This means I can add 4-5 more states to my list. This leaves me just a few before I reach the goal of travelling through all 48! I've never had a desire to see Alaska (no offense to anyone) but I would put Hawaii on the short list! (I'm more warm weather and Trapper's already been to Alaska.)

It's Saturday morning and we don't pick up in Salina, KS until 12:30 am Sunday morning. We're killing time at the truck stop and we'll have a pretty easy run for today. I'm checking the weather, just in case! I've visited Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada a few years ago, but I'm so looking forward to "driving" through these states on this trip.

Rest areas, travelling across America, intrigue me as well as the different turnpikes we have been on. On the turnpikes you don't have "rest areas" or "welcome centers"... you have Oasis in IL, Plazas in NJ, and Concessions in OK... rest areas, in most cases, represent the history of the state... TX has the grandest rest areas, but then again, everything is bigger in TX. OK has depictions of tee pees... and KS has a map of the cattle drive paths that the cowboys used in the early 1900's when the area was being settled.

Stopping at a "truck parking only" spot in KS, Trapper notices a small hole in the trailer. Some places are very strict on the condition of the trailer they are putting their goods in... so the mountain man got out his man tools to fix the problem.... that's right... a hammer and duct tape! If that doesn't fix it... nothing will!

Exit 4.... Last FREE Exit! A few signs earlier said FREE Restrooms... I still haven't figured that one out!

Kansas.... extremely windy today! And we're empty!!

Our day coming to an end, for now. We're parked in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas. We're roughly 5 miles from where we are picking up tonight at midnight.

My blog keeps my sanity and let's Trapper read what I really think about being a professional passenger. But, he is also an avid Arrowhead hunter and we thought we'd get out and search for some rocks... I only came up with one that looked like a heart. No arrowheads... we're not in a good place.

The rest of our evening was spent at Wal-Mart and mapping out the rest of our trip. We'll have enough hours to drive a little of our midnight run tonight, but we really want to make the majority of this trip in the daylight.

I can not wait to get to Colorado!! We'll also be going through Utah, a little of Arizona, Nevada, and then to California.

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Fri, Jan 30... Life at the Terminal

A day in the life of waiting at the terminal....

Let's see... morning came early, it's warmer here, and the to do list is short! I rolled out of the truck early this morning. I even beat mountain man out this morning! That's a rarity.

Since we have 4-5 hours before our relay arrives... I decided I better take advantage of the moment and wash clothes, take a shower, and give Trapper some alone time.

Life is pretty boring at some terminals. Everyone tries to be extremely politically correct and if that doesn't work the surveillance cameras do the trick!

There are 3 good things though... 1) you don't have to stay at the terminal, 2) showers are abundant, 3) the laundry machines are cheap!


I'm glad to report our NO SMOKING policy is still intact. We have sworn off smoking in the truck. We live in the truck and we work in the truck... you can do the math!

But seriously, it's the best thing we ever decided to do. I am so proud of Mr. 2-3 pack a day former smoker... Trapper is proudly down to much less than a pack a day! (And so am I) And we're both still alive! This is a good thing.

Today is going to be a long hard run. We're leaving West Memphis, TN and deliver in Tulsa, OK tonight at 8:00 pm. It's a hot load so there will be no play time!

Today, while listening to Fox News, they mentioned a 27 year old guy that is challenging himself to find 50 jobs in 50 states in 50 weeks. He is highlighting the main industry of the state and finding employment in that industry. His goal is to eventually write a book about his experience. If you have time, you should check this out. The website is livingthemap.com or you can look under my favorite blogs for the link.

Here is my map for tonight's trip... I wonder where Saturday will take us? Somewhere hopefully... the weather this weeks was a killer on miles run. Maybe I should google local attractions in Tulsa... incase we spend the weekend there!


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