After our Saskatoon break, it was onwards to Edmonton. We arrived bright and early and delivered our freight. Dispatch was looking for a Vancouver bound load for us, but couldn't come up with one on Monday, so we ended up spending Monday night in Calgary, bound for Coaldale, which is just east of Lethbridge. After Lethbridge, we were directed back to Calgary, and picked up granite counter tops going to Edmonton.
So we ended up back in Edmonton Tuesday night, and delivered first thing Wednesday morning. A load to Vancouver materialized, and we were at the warehouse by 8:30 local time, ready to load. They weren't ready for us, and asked that we return in about 90 minutes. Back to the truck stop we went, and had a not very healthy but oh so tasty breakfast buffet, and Mike fueled up for the trip home. Diesel is less expensive in Edmonton than gasoline...that's the only place where it isn't more costly. We made our way back to the warehouse and found four other trucks there. It turned out that the company was moving to a larger warehouse that day, and not only were they moving their inventory, but also trying to ship freight. It was chaos. We'd hoped to be on our way by noon, but didn't pull out of their yard till 3:30 p.m. We had to tarp the load, and as there was a stiff wind blowing, it took over an hour with both of us working on it. I have no idea how poor Mike manages to tarp by himself.
We stopped for the night in Hinton, and walked down the main street, exhausted and hungry in the rain, and found a self-serve restaurant that had declious calamari and greek salad. The rain stopped after dinner, and we nestled into our beds around 8:00 p.m.
The alarm woke us at 2:30 a.m., and after stumbling inside to use the loo, I settled back to bed while Mike drove. I woke around 5:30, and climbed into the passenger seat just in time to see a black bear at the riverbank that runs beside the road. Five minutes later, we saw another bear. Mike spotted a moose but I missed it. A few km further there was another bear, and after a coffee stop in Blue River, we saw a fourth one!
We arrived home just after 8:30. I am here to stay, but Mike had to carry on later to Surrey to deliver. The truck is being worked on in Langley today, and Mike will be home for a week off late tonight.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Corner Gas
Rouleau, SK doubles for the ficticious Dog River on CTV's excellent sitcom Corner Gas. All that's missing is "The Ruby" sign on the cafe.
We are doing an early reset today in Saskatoon, and set off to Edmonton in the wee hours Monday morning.
We are doing an early reset today in Saskatoon, and set off to Edmonton in the wee hours Monday morning.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Miscellaneous Photos
We are in Fargo, North Dakota tonight.
Yesterday was a long, long driving day...Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa. Southern Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri are nearly as lovely as Kentucky and Virginia; lots of gently rolling hills and farmland.
We started this morning in Iowa, and have driven north through South Dakota, into North Dakota. Tomorrow we'll cross the border, and be back in Canada! As we have travelled north today, we have watched spring recede again.
Here are a few random photos from the last few days:
Mike took this shot at a truck stop in South Dakota...beehives! They are covered with a mesh tarp to contain the bees. Up close, there were bees climbing around on the outside of the hives.
Look closely in the mirror to see Cody! He is a great little traveller, and is well used to being a trucker now. This trip has been his transition period. He has been very attached to me, and now he's had the opportunity to spend tons of time with Mike, and will be his travelling companion full time.
A sunset photo through a bug splattered windshield in Virginia. I think of all the states, Virginia is probably my favourite.
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and the Mississippi River.
Farmland in Iowa...this happened to have a hill behind it; otherwise it is pretty flat.
Yesterday was a long, long driving day...Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa. Southern Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri are nearly as lovely as Kentucky and Virginia; lots of gently rolling hills and farmland.
We started this morning in Iowa, and have driven north through South Dakota, into North Dakota. Tomorrow we'll cross the border, and be back in Canada! As we have travelled north today, we have watched spring recede again.
Here are a few random photos from the last few days:
Mike took this shot at a truck stop in South Dakota...beehives! They are covered with a mesh tarp to contain the bees. Up close, there were bees climbing around on the outside of the hives.
Look closely in the mirror to see Cody! He is a great little traveller, and is well used to being a trucker now. This trip has been his transition period. He has been very attached to me, and now he's had the opportunity to spend tons of time with Mike, and will be his travelling companion full time.
A sunset photo through a bug splattered windshield in Virginia. I think of all the states, Virginia is probably my favourite.
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and the Mississippi River.
Farmland in Iowa...this happened to have a hill behind it; otherwise it is pretty flat.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Catching Up
We've been without Internet access for the last few days; and I have managed to connect to the network of the truck service place where we're currently hanging out in Lexington, Kentucky. The truck's electronic dashboard display has been providing Mike with doomsday messages for the last few days about engine faults, and while the truck seems to be running well, today it developed some odd noises, so here we are.
Hanging around mechanical repair places to me is excruciating; to Mike it is no big deal...I have abandoned him to hovering over the mechanic, while I get my Internet fix.
We had to do a "reset" in Kentucky, which means 36 hours off after 80 hours of work within a prescribed time period. It is mandatory, and aimed at preventing truckers from driving endlessly day after day without proper rest.
Time was up at 3pm Sunday, so off we went. Within minutes, we were at the West Virginia state line. WV is "the mountain state", and mountainous it is. And very, very beautiful. There are endless rounded mountains with deep valleys and beautiful deciduous forests. Many of the trees are unfamiliar to me, and I will be looking them up when we're home. The air is fragrant at this time of year with wild lilac, cherry blossom, magnolia, and honeysuckle everywhere. It was dark by the time we stopped for the night in Lexington, Virginia. We spent the night at an older, but well appointed truck stop.
First thing Monday morning, we headed northeast to the suburbs of Washington, DC for two deliveries. The remaining freight was for Tuesday delivery. We stayed at a horrid truck stop for lack of anywhere else to be. It is the only place we have stopped that had less than pristine ammenities. We left so early that I didn't get up, but by the time we arrived at our first drop at 7 am local time it seemed a reasonable time of day to move from the sleeper to the passenger seat. We had rough directions from our first drop in Orange, but the receiver gave Mike a more direct route, so we followed his suggestion. We found ourselves en route to Charlottesville via the most scenic road you could hope for. We were deep in the heart of affluent horse country, with very posh farms on each side of a winding country road, sporting names like "East Belmont" and "Foxcroft Farm". I'm sure everyone who lived on them had hyphenated last names like Huntington-Smythe. After Charlottesville (which was the closest town in "The Waltons"!) we backtracked to Staunton. I was thrilled to see my first cardinal ever, sitting on a wire fence! There are so many birds we've seen that I can't identify. The birdsong sounds completely foreign from what we're used to at home.
Once we were unloaded, we headed along Interstate 64 to Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach is as far east as you can go; we crossed Chesapeake Bay by causeway, tunnel and bridge. It is nearly tropical in its climate and foliage, with vines and creepers growing on all the trees.
I am quite enchanted with Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Perhaps it is because of their lush greenness after seeing nothing but snow for six months, but they are places I would like to return to one day, to explore much more thoroughly.
And now we are on our way to Edmonton before heading home. We'll be taking much the same route as we took heading out, I think.
I need to stop...I'm sitting on a terribly uncomfortable metal chair. Time to get up and wander around. I do have some photos to download and post; I will try to do that tomorrow if I can find somewhere to log on.
Hanging around mechanical repair places to me is excruciating; to Mike it is no big deal...I have abandoned him to hovering over the mechanic, while I get my Internet fix.
We had to do a "reset" in Kentucky, which means 36 hours off after 80 hours of work within a prescribed time period. It is mandatory, and aimed at preventing truckers from driving endlessly day after day without proper rest.
Time was up at 3pm Sunday, so off we went. Within minutes, we were at the West Virginia state line. WV is "the mountain state", and mountainous it is. And very, very beautiful. There are endless rounded mountains with deep valleys and beautiful deciduous forests. Many of the trees are unfamiliar to me, and I will be looking them up when we're home. The air is fragrant at this time of year with wild lilac, cherry blossom, magnolia, and honeysuckle everywhere. It was dark by the time we stopped for the night in Lexington, Virginia. We spent the night at an older, but well appointed truck stop.
First thing Monday morning, we headed northeast to the suburbs of Washington, DC for two deliveries. The remaining freight was for Tuesday delivery. We stayed at a horrid truck stop for lack of anywhere else to be. It is the only place we have stopped that had less than pristine ammenities. We left so early that I didn't get up, but by the time we arrived at our first drop at 7 am local time it seemed a reasonable time of day to move from the sleeper to the passenger seat. We had rough directions from our first drop in Orange, but the receiver gave Mike a more direct route, so we followed his suggestion. We found ourselves en route to Charlottesville via the most scenic road you could hope for. We were deep in the heart of affluent horse country, with very posh farms on each side of a winding country road, sporting names like "East Belmont" and "Foxcroft Farm". I'm sure everyone who lived on them had hyphenated last names like Huntington-Smythe. After Charlottesville (which was the closest town in "The Waltons"!) we backtracked to Staunton. I was thrilled to see my first cardinal ever, sitting on a wire fence! There are so many birds we've seen that I can't identify. The birdsong sounds completely foreign from what we're used to at home.
Once we were unloaded, we headed along Interstate 64 to Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach is as far east as you can go; we crossed Chesapeake Bay by causeway, tunnel and bridge. It is nearly tropical in its climate and foliage, with vines and creepers growing on all the trees.
I am quite enchanted with Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Perhaps it is because of their lush greenness after seeing nothing but snow for six months, but they are places I would like to return to one day, to explore much more thoroughly.
And now we are on our way to Edmonton before heading home. We'll be taking much the same route as we took heading out, I think.
I need to stop...I'm sitting on a terribly uncomfortable metal chair. Time to get up and wander around. I do have some photos to download and post; I will try to do that tomorrow if I can find somewhere to log on.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Kentucky
Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to go to Kentucky. I used to spend hours designing plans for the perfect horse farm, drawing pastures and barns, with each stall being labelled for a specific horse. I spent an entire family driving vacation wedged in the back seat between my big brothers, ignoring breathtaking scenery in favour of filling page after page with my designs.
Today we happened to be in Kentucky on its biggest day of the year, Kentucky Derby day. We drove through Louisville about 3 hours before race time, and though we couldn't see Churchill Downs from the Interstate, we could see the Goodyear blimp, so we knew where it was. We drove through the state, passing pristine farms with white post and rail fences, with magnificent thoroughbreds grazing in bluegrass fields. We listened to all the pre-race commentary on the radio, and I felt I was somehow part of something special, being so close on horse racing's holiest day. Big Brown won from his far outside post position...and Eight Belles, the field's only filly placed second. Sadly, she went down just after the race, fracturing both front ankles, and was euthanized on the spot.
Some dreams just don't come true the way you'd hope.
Today we happened to be in Kentucky on its biggest day of the year, Kentucky Derby day. We drove through Louisville about 3 hours before race time, and though we couldn't see Churchill Downs from the Interstate, we could see the Goodyear blimp, so we knew where it was. We drove through the state, passing pristine farms with white post and rail fences, with magnificent thoroughbreds grazing in bluegrass fields. We listened to all the pre-race commentary on the radio, and I felt I was somehow part of something special, being so close on horse racing's holiest day. Big Brown won from his far outside post position...and Eight Belles, the field's only filly placed second. Sadly, she went down just after the race, fracturing both front ankles, and was euthanized on the spot.
Some dreams just don't come true the way you'd hope.
Friday, May 2, 2008
A Late Night Scene from a Truck Stop Diner
Written this morning, after a late dinner last night:
It's 11 p.m. local time in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We leave the warmth of our truck, and after taking Cody to a patch of grass to do doggy things we put him back inside. I put up the hood of my jacket because the wind is so biting, and we walk briskly along the rows of idling trucks, and are soon inside the convenience store. We walk through the store to the restaurant and are immediately assaulted a haze of cigarette smoke.. We have stepped back in time to a place where smoking is permitted in restaurants. There isn't even a non-smoking section. I am ready to turn around and leave, but we decide to stay. The room is large, with an empty buffet in the centre, and booths around the periphery.
A small thin elderly man harriedly brings two menus to our table, and announces that he is "the only one" and asks for our patience. "No problem," we say. We're in no particular hurry, even though we're tired and hungry. I order a hot chocolate, and Mike asks for a diet Coke. The waiter painstakingly writes down our order in full on his note pad, and then hurries off. I watch him for a while. He is busy and quick, but entirely inefficient and disorganized.
My attention drifts to the occupants of the next booth, the one in the corner. After being together for the last few days and both being tired, Mike and I have temporarily more or less run out of conversation, so a little eavesdropping seems in order. Four people are at the booth. A very large bespectacled woman in her early forties has brought her two equally large bespectacled daughters, both in their early teens, along on a first date to meet a loud, obnoxious heavily tattooed man in his mid to late forties. The have talked on the phone before, but this is their initial meeting. The first question that enters my mind is "Why are they meeting at 11 p.m., and why aren't these poor girls at home in bed?"
The waiter scurries back to our table to take our orders. He writes down our orders in his longhand, and asks us what we'd like to drink. Um, a hot chocolate, and a diet Coke, please. "Right!" he says, "I knew someone wanted hot chocolate." Off he goes to the computer to enter the order.
The conversation next door progresses. She works hard, being a single mom, and all. He plays the drums, and has a photograph of his "ex" scotchtaped to the underside of one of his drumskins. She likes Fleetwood Mac and the Rolling Stones. He listens to country music. She blithely lights up cigarette after cigarette, while her youngest daughter intermittently sucks on a ventolin inhaler.
Our appetizer arrives, and our drinks arrive on the same tray, only to be taken away until the waiter circles around an empty table with them, before finally dropping the off to us. My hot chocolate is lumpy and the mug is slightly over half full. Soon after, our meals arrive, and they are surprisingly good.
The romance in the next booth is blossoming at breakneck speed. They happy couple not very subtly suggest to the two girls that they go watch some TV in the drivers' lounge, and once they are alone they immediately snuggle up together. He puts his arm around her; she kisses him on the cheek. They plan their future; he'll be moving in. The girls return, obviously not interested in watching Fox News. Tattooed-Guy asks the girls' permission to move in with their mom, then tells them he's doing it whether they approve or not. He chuckles. I feel slightly sick.
We finish eating, and eventually locate a sullen cashier. She grudgingly completes the cash transaction, and we head back to the truck for the night.
"God Help America," I think, as I drift off to sleep.
It's 11 p.m. local time in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We leave the warmth of our truck, and after taking Cody to a patch of grass to do doggy things we put him back inside. I put up the hood of my jacket because the wind is so biting, and we walk briskly along the rows of idling trucks, and are soon inside the convenience store. We walk through the store to the restaurant and are immediately assaulted a haze of cigarette smoke.. We have stepped back in time to a place where smoking is permitted in restaurants. There isn't even a non-smoking section. I am ready to turn around and leave, but we decide to stay. The room is large, with an empty buffet in the centre, and booths around the periphery.
A small thin elderly man harriedly brings two menus to our table, and announces that he is "the only one" and asks for our patience. "No problem," we say. We're in no particular hurry, even though we're tired and hungry. I order a hot chocolate, and Mike asks for a diet Coke. The waiter painstakingly writes down our order in full on his note pad, and then hurries off. I watch him for a while. He is busy and quick, but entirely inefficient and disorganized.
My attention drifts to the occupants of the next booth, the one in the corner. After being together for the last few days and both being tired, Mike and I have temporarily more or less run out of conversation, so a little eavesdropping seems in order. Four people are at the booth. A very large bespectacled woman in her early forties has brought her two equally large bespectacled daughters, both in their early teens, along on a first date to meet a loud, obnoxious heavily tattooed man in his mid to late forties. The have talked on the phone before, but this is their initial meeting. The first question that enters my mind is "Why are they meeting at 11 p.m., and why aren't these poor girls at home in bed?"
The waiter scurries back to our table to take our orders. He writes down our orders in his longhand, and asks us what we'd like to drink. Um, a hot chocolate, and a diet Coke, please. "Right!" he says, "I knew someone wanted hot chocolate." Off he goes to the computer to enter the order.
The conversation next door progresses. She works hard, being a single mom, and all. He plays the drums, and has a photograph of his "ex" scotchtaped to the underside of one of his drumskins. She likes Fleetwood Mac and the Rolling Stones. He listens to country music. She blithely lights up cigarette after cigarette, while her youngest daughter intermittently sucks on a ventolin inhaler.
Our appetizer arrives, and our drinks arrive on the same tray, only to be taken away until the waiter circles around an empty table with them, before finally dropping the off to us. My hot chocolate is lumpy and the mug is slightly over half full. Soon after, our meals arrive, and they are surprisingly good.
The romance in the next booth is blossoming at breakneck speed. They happy couple not very subtly suggest to the two girls that they go watch some TV in the drivers' lounge, and once they are alone they immediately snuggle up together. He puts his arm around her; she kisses him on the cheek. They plan their future; he'll be moving in. The girls return, obviously not interested in watching Fox News. Tattooed-Guy asks the girls' permission to move in with their mom, then tells them he's doing it whether they approve or not. He chuckles. I feel slightly sick.
We finish eating, and eventually locate a sullen cashier. She grudgingly completes the cash transaction, and we head back to the truck for the night.
"God Help America," I think, as I drift off to sleep.
The Dakotas
From Moose Jaw, we headed to Weyburn, where we picked up paperwork, and then set off toward Estevan. The fields along the highway were dotted with small oil wells, and as the daylight faded, flames from natural gas wells became beacons across the landscape. We crossed the border into North Dakota late Wednesday evening, after being questioned by a tired border guard who asked us everything twice because he'd forgotten that he'd already been through his list of questions. He declared Cody to be not very viscous looking, and sent us on our way. Mike drove for about another hour, and we parked for the night at a tiny truckstop in Kenmare.
Thursday morning, we were on our way to Fargo. Mike is quite good natured about finding me restroom stops, only rolling his eyes slightly with each request. We arrived in Fargo around 2 pm, and had to go to the Volvo dealer for an oil change and routine service. Our stay there dragged into over three hours, and because we had Cody with us, one of us had to be outside all the time because no pets were allowed in the lounge. It was very, very windy all day. I found a lovely discarded truck seat tucked behind a dumpster and sat and sulked there until the truck was ready. Soon we were on a major Interstate Highway, with frequent rest areas. My GPS lets me know when we're getting near the next rest area.
By 5:30 we were back on the road, destination Sioux Fall, South Dakota. (All times are Pacific. Truckers keep their log books in their home time zone to avoid confusion). Mike tuned the radio to NOAH, which provides local weather updates, and we were slightly horrified to learn that that tornado watch #243 had been issued for a county we were heading straight towards. As it got dark, an enormous thunder storm got underway. We drove through torrential rain and were treated to some very dramatic forked lightning. The lightning continued every few seconds for over an hour. Eventually we passed through the storm, and heard shortly after we went through Hamlin County that the tornado watch was cancelled. (We saw on the morning news in the truck stop that tornadoes touched down in Missouri and Oklahoma during the night.) We arrived in Sioux City around 8:45 pm and went into the restaurant at the truck stop for dinner. The happenings at the next table are worthy of their own post. Stay tuned.
Thursday morning, we were on our way to Fargo. Mike is quite good natured about finding me restroom stops, only rolling his eyes slightly with each request. We arrived in Fargo around 2 pm, and had to go to the Volvo dealer for an oil change and routine service. Our stay there dragged into over three hours, and because we had Cody with us, one of us had to be outside all the time because no pets were allowed in the lounge. It was very, very windy all day. I found a lovely discarded truck seat tucked behind a dumpster and sat and sulked there until the truck was ready. Soon we were on a major Interstate Highway, with frequent rest areas. My GPS lets me know when we're getting near the next rest area.
By 5:30 we were back on the road, destination Sioux Fall, South Dakota. (All times are Pacific. Truckers keep their log books in their home time zone to avoid confusion). Mike tuned the radio to NOAH, which provides local weather updates, and we were slightly horrified to learn that that tornado watch #243 had been issued for a county we were heading straight towards. As it got dark, an enormous thunder storm got underway. We drove through torrential rain and were treated to some very dramatic forked lightning. The lightning continued every few seconds for over an hour. Eventually we passed through the storm, and heard shortly after we went through Hamlin County that the tornado watch was cancelled. (We saw on the morning news in the truck stop that tornadoes touched down in Missouri and Oklahoma during the night.) We arrived in Sioux City around 8:45 pm and went into the restaurant at the truck stop for dinner. The happenings at the next table are worthy of their own post. Stay tuned.
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