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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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200624 MN-ND Heading to ND with a mixer. ??? I got a call early looking to see what I would and wouldn't do (I thought this was on the 'wouldn't do' list.) And I found out that a dispatcher that had been with the company for <> 10 years left during the slow down / virus. I'll have to see if I can find her number, spent a lot of years working with her. Shortly after that call I got a call from the head dispatcher saying it was my lucky day. I needed to go in for a drug test. I ended up going to the one in Hudson WI, partly to stay away from the crowds. I got to the drug test on time, no wait to check in but once they called me in it took a while. They didn't have any of the right paperwork so they were trying to edit one that might be the closest and kept making mistakes and having to start the paperwork over. Actual test didn't take long and for once I had had time enough to drink 30+ ounces so I was good. Too many times I have had to sit there and drink gallons of water because I didn't have enough the first time. And when it is diluted like they the need to send it off to somewhere else and it takes a couple of days. In the afternoon dispatch calls back and asks if I will take this run, it's not what I'm looking for but I want to stay active with the company. A few minutes later the safety person calls for my availability, he hadn't gotten the message. He was still working off this AM's list. And still later dispatch calls back to see if BB and I can run to Plymouth yet tonight or before the run in the AM. After a quick chat with BB, I called back and said no. Sounds good. Any other day we would have done it. But if we did it tonight it would be in rush hour traffic and the shipper would have gone home by the time we were done if there were any issues. And doing it in the AM, again, during rush hour. And yesterday reminded us how a 3 hour job can turn into a 7 hour job and we are up against the weekend to get the main truck delivered. I asked where these new trucks were going and 'they didn't know.' ?? Those are the trucks I was hoping to be running this week or last weekend. Tonight we picked up the paperwork, and I ran into the boss. Talked a few minutes. Lots of drivers out. Saw 22 cars in the drivers lot and no trucks. Plan for tomorrow is to leave the house at about 7:30 and hopefully get to within 100 miles of the drop. Then drop on Friday and be home Friday night. That was another reason moving the two trucks before we left was not a good idea. Right now we have one motel on this coming trip. Add 4-6 hours to the day and it's a two night trip and the extra earnings go to an extra nights motel. This isn't my first trip. IA loadboard is holding at 50+. Still some runs that would work to the northwest and southeast. MN loadboard is still under 10 and WI is down to under 5. It looks like those WI trucks were another one shot deal. Total loadboard is still going up. 170. 200625 MN-ND 1 mixer to Dickenson ND ... spending the night in Bismarck ND Rolling from home by 7:30. To the shipper by 9 AM. No issues so far. But the code I have for the lock box doesn't work. The number I have is something like 8765 and the lock box has a bar with 1 through 5. Something has changed. And I go outside when I call dispatch so when I am talking to them everything isn't clicking. It clicks once I start keying the correct numbers in. Sign on the building door here says masks and temp taken. Not sure if that was for only the employees but no one stopped me from walking in. It's been a while since I've been down here, looks like there are still eight companies moving new units from here. Plus the location has two extra lock boxes, one is currently not being used and my other company is using two lock boxes. Just now, 12 hours later, realized that BB could have been looking for my truck while I was trying to access the lock box for my keys. That isn't what happened. So after I have the keys, we each walk down a row of trucks and don't find anything. So we switch rows and I find it almost right away ... I had walked past the rear of it and somehow missed it the first time. Kenworth. All checks out good. I thought I had everything I needed in my backpack so I left my '2nd bag' in the car. Opps, soon found out I needed my tape to hold my placards on (not sure when that got moved.) So BB had to come back to the shipper, she had already left. Later I realized my cap is not in my back pack nor is my juice or water. Did have an issue getting the hood open, I'm guessing it was just stuck. AND this thing is a stick. It's been a while. At first I was trying to use the clutch but I never did master that on any truck and didn't today either. So back to finding and grinding. Not much grinding, sometimes it was dropping right in without even rolling. 1st stop (after pickup) 100 miles to the TA in Rogers MN. Burger King is closed, that was one of the places we were going to walk to. I see a small lot and pull in and realize the sign says 'commuter parking only.' So I left even though there were other trucks parked there. I headed to the main truck lot at the TA. Their lot is about 75% reserved/reservations only and the other few spots were full. So I thought I would just go back to the Burger King lot. BUT no left turn and once I was heading the opposite direction I wanted to go there was no parking signs and no vacant lots. I did get back to where I could have turned to go to Burger King, but then when we left I would have to go through all this again. Instead I pulled across the highway and into a Target lot. And called BB who had no idea where I had gone. She found me and we went through the drive thru with the car at Arby's. Neither Wendy's or Arby's allows counter ordering, drive thru only. Back to the topic of the TA. The only restaurant this one has is closed due to the virus, so it was just going to be a place to park while we drove somewhere. 2nd stop, after another 100 miles. Pilot in Alexandria. I thought I would miss one of the stops BB wanted to make but this truck is thirsty. I wasn't going to make it a 3rd 100 miles to Fargo. Opps, another thing that wasn't in my back pack. My fuel gloves. And this place doesn't even have paper dispensers. Most gas stations / truck stops do. So I was careful of what I touched after I fueled. Used one had to steer, shift, etc. And then went in and washed good. Had to get a fuel receipt inside. BB was just walking up to the store when I was. Called the drop before I left the truckstop. My contact didn't pick up so I left a message. Hope they get it. We plan to drop before noon. But if we only make it to Jamestown that will be a 700 mile day to get home Friday. 3rd stop, after another 100 miles. Petro in Fargo. Google said they had a Popeye's Chicken but when we got there we also saw a Charley's Cheesesteak. We both ordered Cheesesteak, BB ordered chicken and I had the beef. After waiting a half hour, which should be our total break, I noticed that they were serving numbers higher than ours. So I asked them ... 'Ah ... you didn't get your food yet.' "No, and it's been over a half hour." They said they would start it right away (as there was no food on the grill.) Soon someone walking past us said the grill wanted to talk to us. They gave us our money back. And we had our food and were done eating within 15 minutes once I talked to them. So it doesn't take long. Then we noticed a couple of people who ordered right after us go up to the counter, it seems they had somehow forgotten / lost three orders. My back was to the grill so I don't know if they got their money back also. Food was good, but never as good at the airport in Atlanta. I've even emailed back and forth with corp as to why that location is so much better and there shouldn't be any difference. Rain had been coming down in buckets by the time I walked in. It wouldn't have been but it looked like rain was coming so I looked for my cap in my back pack. And during that time it started to pour. But an hour later it was all gone. Also noticed when I pulled in that this location has fuel islands with DEF on the right side. Where it is on the buses. So I wouldn't have to back in. When I left, I stopped and took a picture and saw a company name on those islands. Soooo, I don't know if just anyone can use those islands. And I haven't found an email and don't want to call, unless I go this way with a bus. I spent a lot of time looking at farm fields. Good crops, bad crops, last years crops. At least three different farms of 80+ acres in different areas of last years corn still in the field. Then one place just before we shut down tonight I could smell the freshly harvested corn. And there were the three combines and two grain wagons in a newly harvested field. In the last week of June ?? 4th and final stop, another 100 miles. The Quality Inn in Jamestown. I had hoped to get to Bismarck but that would be another 100 miles and it has already been a 12 hour day. The EcoLodge had the best reviews and is the lowest end motel. The Comfort Inn is the high end motel but was cheaper than the Quality Inn. The Quality Inn showed it was serving hot breakfast so here we are. And their hot breakfast is made to order, we find out once we are here. Lots of truck parking and also lots of trucks. Load boards. IA - 41 MN - 10 WI - 2 200626 MN-ND 1 mixer to Dickenson ND, and headed home ... spending the night at home Last night we had gotten in to the motel late so I didn't get everything done before bed that I had wanted to. And knew the alarm was going to go off at 6 AM so we would get to Dickenson before noon. But BB and I talked for a bit before falling asleep. When I first got into bed, I rolled onto my left side and ... POP ... or at least that is what it felt like. Felt like my shoulder snapped out of joint. Painful if I moved the wrong way but not too painful to sleep. ... and we did talk for a while so we didn't end up getting our 8 hours of sleep, which will come back to us later. In the AM call down to order breakfast at 6:30 so they would have plenty of time to make it before we needed to leave. 'Ready in five minutes.' ?? And it was. After I got mine, I showered before I ate so might wasn't real hot. But three strips of thick (good) bacon, plus eggs, hashbrowns and toast and juice. Really makes the price of this room cheap if you subtract out the breakfast. Got going at 7:30 as planned. BB stopped for fuel and I headed out. I had thought I would make it to Bismarck with 80 miles of fuel to spare but I was 50 miles short of Bismarck at Steele when the low fuel light came on as I slowed on the exit ramp. In the old days I likely would have thought there was at least 20 miles left once it is flat on 'E' and if there was, I would have made it. 1st stop, TA/Shell in Steele ND for fuel. Not where I planned but I seemed to be using a lot more fuel than I expected. Yesterday I was getting 6.5 mpg so I took the miles I had left and used 6 mpg and put in two extra gallons to be safe. I was able to pay at the pump at a TA without a perks card. Doesn't happen often. But I still had to go inside to get a receipt. BB had stopped there also and called me when I couldn't pick up, then she was backing out of her parking spot when I tried waving her down. Quick chat and we were gone. 2nd stop, Tiger gas station in Dickenson. Even with all that extra fuel I put in, I am still down to 1/4 by the time I get here and have another few miles to go. And the gauge kind of bounces around so I put in another 2-1/2 gallons to go five more miles. It should have been five more miles, ended up being nine because I was looking for Exit 58 and there wasn't one. I should have taken Exit 59 but had to drive to Exit 56 to get turned around. Besides the exit number I was also looking for Biz-94, but that does not show on Exit 59 coming from the east. It only shows that info coming from the west. 3rd stop. Found the drop and someone is trying to point me where they want me to go but I am too far away to figure out what they mean and park somewhere else until someone comes in a pick up and verbally tells me. They do a quick check over, I get all my stuff out of the truck, they sign and we are ready to go. And as soon as I am out of the truck, someone is wiping down everything inside that I might have touched with Lysol wipes. They didn't say anything about it to me and no one here was wearing a mask so I didn't either. The inspection was done outside ... Opps just realized now that this AM I had thrown my motel receipt into my notebook on the dash of my truck. Shortly before the drop, the paper blew to the far side of the dash. It's still there and I am back in MN. Even with the extra fuel I put in, the gauge still showed below 1/4 when I took the picture. The person who inspected it put the fuel level down as 1/2. Not sure they looked or if they looked at the DEF gauge. Before we leave the lot, BB does the tiny scanner and gets a copy of the paperwork to the office as requested on all delivers for this shipper. 4th stop. Then we take the back streets until we get to where food is, we end up at Taco Bell ... for a long time. We get to the drive thru speaker and they tell us it will be a bit until they can take our order ... a few minutes later the same thing ... and again. A few of the cars at the end of the line came and left but we were never able to back out and couldn't see if we would be blocked in to go forward. I'm guessing we sat there 20-30 minutes, another thing to cut into our driving time today. We did finally have our order taken and from then until we had our food was about the normal time. BB had a salad and I had a quesadilla and a pineapple freeze.* * * * Now to head home ... Going on in the back ground for the last couple of days is that it now looks like my father-in-law who ended up in the hospital a week ago may not have just had an infection, it is starting to look like his cancer is coming back. The cancer was to a stage 3 last time and he beat it but his health has gone down hill in every way since that. So there are lots of conversations going on that have nothing to do with work and some conversations that should have happened about work, didn't. 5th stop. Back at the TA/Shell in Steele for gas, rest room and logs. I had seen a six month package of logs without a price on shelf this AM when we were there and now I decided to by them. Once I get them home and look at them closer I see they are not quite what I wanted but we'll make it work. Now that most of the country has gone to the electronic log, paper ones are getting hard to find. Somewhere along here our granddaughter calls looking for a set of keys she thinks she left in this car. And I hear BB tell her that we will be home tonight and she can look then, but it will be late. (so, OK, we are heading all the way home tonight.) Before too late in the day it is decided that we are not going to grab any runs for over the weekend. That means no CA trips as we would have to leave Sat to be home by our vacation. And I also don't call the local dispatch. I had told them I was available this week. That usually means M-F. And I had said that if I wasn't already gone over the weekend I would be NA for the last two days of the month. Local dispatch didn't call me and I didn't call the. But the RV company started putting loads on the board, including a bunch to within 30 miles of where I pick up the buses in CA. Here is where the late night last night comes in. No enough sleep and that means not ready to commit to heading out on a long trip. A lot of the RV's are Cruise America www.cruiseamerica.com At some point BB realizes she is behind on her paperwork and we can't take a trip until she is current, even if she hasn't been working. It's close to close of day for corp so that was the final 'we aren't going anywhere over the weekend' Father-in-law also plays into this picture, the unknown. But with the virus situation, we can't see him and there is nothing we can do if we are here. It is more do you want to be dealing with emotions and peripheral issues from home or miles away. Somewhere around Bismarck or Jamestown the highway dept is raising the roads because of raising water. They were doing that five years ago when we were going this route and it seems they are having to do it again. One place there are a couple of farm sheds that now could be used for boat storage. On a 20 mile section where they are rebuilding the freeway the speed limit was 60. So I am going 60. And I get someone who for a good part of that ways is coming right up to my bumper then backing off and coming right up to it again. After about 15 miles the guy starts swerving from the white line to the shoulder a few feet off my bumper and when when we get to entrance ramps it looks like he is going to pass on the right. All this while we can see we are following another group of traffic a quarter mile ahead of me. Finally a couple of miles before the end of the construction we meet a cop and the guy backs off for the rest of the construction. Then 1st comes the 75 mph hour sign and he stays right on me, and as soon as there are no more cones he sails by me at 85+. I didn't look over at time and he kept going. His co-worker (same logo on the their trucks,) almost cut me off and there was no reason to get back into my lane that quickly. Didn't notice they did that with anyone else they past. 6th stop is the rest area in Moorhead MN 7th stop is at the Culver's in Alexandria. Drive thru line is long so we go inside. They do have in door seating but ours is to go. We each get a treat and we split a rueben. By now BB is getting tired of sitting in the car but the conversation doesn't go much beyond that. Finally 14 hours into our day, we both find out we are trying to get home yet tonight because we thought the other person wanted to. Interesting conversation. 8th stop, home again, save at last. 14 hours driving, 16 hours on the go. We are too old for this. Loadboard IA - 72 MN - 2 WI - 3 |
