Sunday July 19th 2009
Cities/States: Chicago IL, Gary IN, Toledo OH, Cleveland OH
We get up, pick up our load at Kellogg’s, and head out of Illinois past the southern tip of Chicago and through Indiana, at times skimming along the Michigan border. We pass Notre Dame and the College Football Hall Of Fame. Then into Ohio.
Kid Rock’s tour entourage passes us going the other direction. On our way through Cleveland I saw signs for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and the Brown’s Stadium, but we won’t be taking that stretch of interstate today.
I’ll definitely drive that way when I’m in my own truck because it doesn’t look like it’s really any longer. Outside of Cleveland I saw a dead wolf (maybe coyote?) on the side of the road. We drive along Lake Erie for a while.
It was getting late so we stopped at a TA in Kingsville Ohio for the night, not too far from the Pennsylvania border. I’m looking forward to going into Pennsylvania because I’d like to stop and buy some Philadelphia Eagles souvenirs.
We get up, pick up our load at Kellogg’s, and head out of Illinois past the southern tip of Chicago and through Indiana, at times skimming along the Michigan border. We pass Notre Dame and the College Football Hall Of Fame. Then into Ohio.
Kid Rock’s tour entourage passes us going the other direction. On our way through Cleveland I saw signs for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and the Brown’s Stadium, but we won’t be taking that stretch of interstate today.
I’ll definitely drive that way when I’m in my own truck because it doesn’t look like it’s really any longer. Outside of Cleveland I saw a dead wolf (maybe coyote?) on the side of the road. We drive along Lake Erie for a while.
It was getting late so we stopped at a TA in Kingsville Ohio for the night, not too far from the Pennsylvania border. I’m looking forward to going into Pennsylvania because I’d like to stop and buy some Philadelphia Eagles souvenirs.
Monday July 20th 2009
Cities/States: Ohio, Erie PA, Buffalo NY, near Niagara Falls, Rochester NY, Syracuse NY, Utica NY, Schenectady NY, near Albany, Troy NY, then an amazing drive on NY Hwy 7 through Pittstown NY, Hoosick NY, VT Hwy 9 Bennington VT, Woodford VT, Searsburg VT, Wilmington VT, Marlboro VT, Brattleboro VT.
We leave Kingsville OH at 8:15am. I had already been up a couple hours, ate breakfast, took a walk, and took some pictures.
We stopped at a Pilot in Pennsylvania to see if I can find some Eagles gear that is embedded with genuine Pennsylvania mojo guaranteed to win games if you sport it! No luck. I had a feeling it was just wishful thinking because we were just crossing the very northwest corner of the state, more in Pittsburg Steelers territory.
We drive through Erie PA. I get another look at Lake Erie. It makes me wish I was laying eyes on my Great Lake, Lake Superior. There were lot’s of vineyards in the area.
I see a sign for Niagara Falls. Whoa! I didn’t realize I was towards that!
It doesn’t take too long to get through Pennsylvania before we arrive in New York. We head into Seneca Nation.
They have billboards saying how people shouldn’t break treaties. I agree. We stopped at a rest area that was in the middle of the Interstate. I have a slice of incredibly average pizza. We head through Buffalo New York just miles away from Niagara Falls. I wasn’t able to see the Bill’s stadium. Along the highway we pass a site of an old Erie Canal lock, then we cross the Erie Canal.
The last part of the trip, from Schenectady to Brattlesboro was awesome. One of my favorite stretches of road I’ve been on yet.
It goes through the Adirondack Mountains, Green Mountain National Forest, Hoosac Range, Taconic Range, Hogback Mountain, and through many awesome small towns from the colonial era. Unfortunately, it was so hilly and curvy that I was too busy shifting gears to be able to take pictures. What a shame. We arrive at the receiver in Brattlesboro Vermont the night before our scheduled appointment so they send us down to the waiting lot for the night.
We leave Kingsville OH at 8:15am. I had already been up a couple hours, ate breakfast, took a walk, and took some pictures.
We stopped at a Pilot in Pennsylvania to see if I can find some Eagles gear that is embedded with genuine Pennsylvania mojo guaranteed to win games if you sport it! No luck. I had a feeling it was just wishful thinking because we were just crossing the very northwest corner of the state, more in Pittsburg Steelers territory.
We drive through Erie PA. I get another look at Lake Erie. It makes me wish I was laying eyes on my Great Lake, Lake Superior. There were lot’s of vineyards in the area.
I see a sign for Niagara Falls. Whoa! I didn’t realize I was towards that!
It doesn’t take too long to get through Pennsylvania before we arrive in New York. We head into Seneca Nation.
They have billboards saying how people shouldn’t break treaties. I agree. We stopped at a rest area that was in the middle of the Interstate. I have a slice of incredibly average pizza. We head through Buffalo New York just miles away from Niagara Falls. I wasn’t able to see the Bill’s stadium. Along the highway we pass a site of an old Erie Canal lock, then we cross the Erie Canal.
The last part of the trip, from Schenectady to Brattlesboro was awesome. One of my favorite stretches of road I’ve been on yet.
It goes through the Adirondack Mountains, Green Mountain National Forest, Hoosac Range, Taconic Range, Hogback Mountain, and through many awesome small towns from the colonial era. Unfortunately, it was so hilly and curvy that I was too busy shifting gears to be able to take pictures. What a shame. We arrive at the receiver in Brattlesboro Vermont the night before our scheduled appointment so they send us down to the waiting lot for the night.
Tuesday July 21st 2009
Cities/States: Vermont, Albany NY, near Poughkeepsie NY, Newburgh NY (about 30 miles from NYC), near Newark NJ.
It’s taking a long time to get unloaded. Al, being as impatient as he is, goes into the receiving office to complain. I’m just guessing, but I don’t think they took too kindly to it because we had to wait a couple more hours before we were finally unloaded. If Al would only learn that being nice and being patient will get you much further than being an @$$#o!e. The good news is, they had a cafeteria there with some pretty good food.
We get another load offer, Fort Edward NY to Bedford PA. So, we get to go back through all the awesomeness of VT Hwy 9 and NY Hwy 7 of the day before. We “get” to go back through it, or “have” to go back through it, depending on which one of us you ask. This time Al was driving so I’m able to take picture. But, it’s raining now, so it’s not the most ideal conditions for photos.
I don’t recall the load at Fort Edward, but afterwards, we head south.
I don’t recall where this fits into the whole scheme of things, but, we were dangerously low on fuel. We stopped at a small truck stop somewhere, but it was not on our list of approved fueling locations, so we have to wait to get authorization from Crete to fuel there. But, Crete’s computer is down so we have to wait. Next to the truck stop is a cool old cemetery so I go over to investigate. It turns out it’s a Revolutionary War era cemetery and has graves from the Civil War era too. It’s actually two small cemeteries side by side. It looks really odd because the graves on the right half of the cemetery had all turned black from age. The graves on the right side were all white.
Anyway, Al gets tired of waiting so we head out with very little fuel in hopes of making it 60 miles or so to the next truck stop. (we made it by the way)
We go through Albany NY and near Poughkeepsie NY. I had always heard stories of how the traffic is hectic everywhere on the east coast, so, I was surprised that we drove about 30-40 miles away from New York City, and all I saw was tree-line interstates. I hardly saw any signs of civilization. The only building I recall seeing was a storage unit. This isn’t what I had imagined at all. We were driving at night, so the traffic was pretty light too. We go by Ramapo Mtn. Then we drive near Newark NJ. Still no sign of bustling big cities. Boy, that Frank Sinatra was full of crap. We stayed in Newburgh NY for the night.
It’s taking a long time to get unloaded. Al, being as impatient as he is, goes into the receiving office to complain. I’m just guessing, but I don’t think they took too kindly to it because we had to wait a couple more hours before we were finally unloaded. If Al would only learn that being nice and being patient will get you much further than being an @$$#o!e. The good news is, they had a cafeteria there with some pretty good food.
We get another load offer, Fort Edward NY to Bedford PA. So, we get to go back through all the awesomeness of VT Hwy 9 and NY Hwy 7 of the day before. We “get” to go back through it, or “have” to go back through it, depending on which one of us you ask. This time Al was driving so I’m able to take picture. But, it’s raining now, so it’s not the most ideal conditions for photos.
I don’t recall the load at Fort Edward, but afterwards, we head south.
I don’t recall where this fits into the whole scheme of things, but, we were dangerously low on fuel. We stopped at a small truck stop somewhere, but it was not on our list of approved fueling locations, so we have to wait to get authorization from Crete to fuel there. But, Crete’s computer is down so we have to wait. Next to the truck stop is a cool old cemetery so I go over to investigate. It turns out it’s a Revolutionary War era cemetery and has graves from the Civil War era too. It’s actually two small cemeteries side by side. It looks really odd because the graves on the right half of the cemetery had all turned black from age. The graves on the right side were all white.
Anyway, Al gets tired of waiting so we head out with very little fuel in hopes of making it 60 miles or so to the next truck stop. (we made it by the way)
We go through Albany NY and near Poughkeepsie NY. I had always heard stories of how the traffic is hectic everywhere on the east coast, so, I was surprised that we drove about 30-40 miles away from New York City, and all I saw was tree-line interstates. I hardly saw any signs of civilization. The only building I recall seeing was a storage unit. This isn’t what I had imagined at all. We were driving at night, so the traffic was pretty light too. We go by Ramapo Mtn. Then we drive near Newark NJ. Still no sign of bustling big cities. Boy, that Frank Sinatra was full of crap. We stayed in Newburgh NY for the night.
Wednesday July 22nd 2009
We continue on in the morning. We go through Allentown PA. We’re just an hour north of Philadelphia. I’m near the Holy land!
Shart?
We go through Harrisburg PA, through the Blue Mountain tunnel, Kittinny tunnel, Tuscarora Mountain tunnel, down the historic Pennsylvania Turnpike, and by Tussey Mountain.
We drop our load at Bedford Pennsylvania which is a ways east of Pittsburgh. There’s no load for us so we’re going to have to sit at a truck stop in Breezewood PA and wait for a load offer.
The truck stop is very nice, and it’s right in town so I’m going to be able to go for a walk, check out some of the shops, and hopefully find some of that lucky Eagles paraphernalia. But, once again, I’m in Steelers territory so I’m not sure how lucky I’ll be. Before I head out on my walk, we get a load offer. There goes that idea. I tell Al that I’m going to run across to the gift shop across the street.
It looks pretty promising because it has a football helmet on the sign. I get to the front of the shop and find out I’m in “Steeler Country.” Black & Gold everywhere. I’m thinking that if I found an Eagles store like this I’d be in heaven. But it’s not heaven. It’s not Cowboys stuff though, so I know at least I’m not in hell! While walking around the shop I start seeing some merchandise from other teams. Browns, Bills, and other teams from the area. Al calls me and asks if I’m checking out yet. I lied and said “yes.” I finally run across their small Eagles section. Yay! I grab a few gifts and ring up. I ask the cashiers if I’m buying the wrong team. They tell me I am. I assure them that I’m not.
Our load offer is deadhead a whopping 142 miles to Clarion PA and take a load 576 miles to West Allis Wisconsin which is basically a suburb of Milwaukee.
We drive north on I-99 through the Appalachian Mountains. We arrive in Clarion PA at 6:30pm.
It takes 3 hours to load and we head out a 9:30pm. I drive ‘til 1:30am. We park for the night at a Service Station which is the northeast’s version of a rest area only they have gift shops and restaurants too.
Shart?
We go through Harrisburg PA, through the Blue Mountain tunnel, Kittinny tunnel, Tuscarora Mountain tunnel, down the historic Pennsylvania Turnpike, and by Tussey Mountain.
We drop our load at Bedford Pennsylvania which is a ways east of Pittsburgh. There’s no load for us so we’re going to have to sit at a truck stop in Breezewood PA and wait for a load offer.
The truck stop is very nice, and it’s right in town so I’m going to be able to go for a walk, check out some of the shops, and hopefully find some of that lucky Eagles paraphernalia. But, once again, I’m in Steelers territory so I’m not sure how lucky I’ll be. Before I head out on my walk, we get a load offer. There goes that idea. I tell Al that I’m going to run across to the gift shop across the street.
It looks pretty promising because it has a football helmet on the sign. I get to the front of the shop and find out I’m in “Steeler Country.” Black & Gold everywhere. I’m thinking that if I found an Eagles store like this I’d be in heaven. But it’s not heaven. It’s not Cowboys stuff though, so I know at least I’m not in hell! While walking around the shop I start seeing some merchandise from other teams. Browns, Bills, and other teams from the area. Al calls me and asks if I’m checking out yet. I lied and said “yes.” I finally run across their small Eagles section. Yay! I grab a few gifts and ring up. I ask the cashiers if I’m buying the wrong team. They tell me I am. I assure them that I’m not.
Our load offer is deadhead a whopping 142 miles to Clarion PA and take a load 576 miles to West Allis Wisconsin which is basically a suburb of Milwaukee.
We drive north on I-99 through the Appalachian Mountains. We arrive in Clarion PA at 6:30pm.
It takes 3 hours to load and we head out a 9:30pm. I drive ‘til 1:30am. We park for the night at a Service Station which is the northeast’s version of a rest area only they have gift shops and restaurants too.
Thursday July 23rd 2009
OK, I didn’t take notes for the next several days, and since the day I’m writing this is the 28th, I’m sure it’ll be a little fuzzy. I’m reconstructing the days by looking at the pictures.
Let’s start this off by saying, one thing I’ll never get used to is brushing my teeth at a truck stop with a trucker taking a crap in the stall right behind me. At least I hope I never get used to that.
We drove through Ohio. There’s a lot of triple trailer trucks here. I’m told that the back trailers flop around so much on triples that the trick is to not look in your mirror or it‘ll scare you to death!
We go back through Indiana.
Then, Al was in a good mood, so he drove right through the heart of Chicago so I could see it and take some pictures. (I didn’t even ask him to do it) I love Chicago. I’ve been here a few times before.
A good friend of mine lives here, so, when I’m in town, he knows all the good places to go. Too bad we can’t take the truck right up Lake Shore Drive or into Chinatown.
Someday I need to take a ride on the El.
We drive through Milwaukee and drop off our load in West Allis.
Look familiar?
Then we get another load offer. Pick up in nearby Jefferson WI and drop in California somewhere north of Los Angeles. This would be my longest run to date.
I drive 7 hours to a rest area just outside Des Moines where we stop for the night.
Let’s start this off by saying, one thing I’ll never get used to is brushing my teeth at a truck stop with a trucker taking a crap in the stall right behind me. At least I hope I never get used to that.
We drove through Ohio. There’s a lot of triple trailer trucks here. I’m told that the back trailers flop around so much on triples that the trick is to not look in your mirror or it‘ll scare you to death!
We go back through Indiana.
Then, Al was in a good mood, so he drove right through the heart of Chicago so I could see it and take some pictures. (I didn’t even ask him to do it) I love Chicago. I’ve been here a few times before.
A good friend of mine lives here, so, when I’m in town, he knows all the good places to go. Too bad we can’t take the truck right up Lake Shore Drive or into Chinatown.
Someday I need to take a ride on the El.
We drive through Milwaukee and drop off our load in West Allis.
Look familiar?
Then we get another load offer. Pick up in nearby Jefferson WI and drop in California somewhere north of Los Angeles. This would be my longest run to date.
I drive 7 hours to a rest area just outside Des Moines where we stop for the night.
Friday July 24th 2009
On my many trips to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to visit my family, We'd see hundreds of windmills in the northern part of Iowa. Now, it hasn't been very long since I've been that way, but, in that short time, many more windmills have sprung up between Omaha and Des Moines.
Al drove in the morning to the Crete terminal in Lincoln NE. We were just going to stop there for a bit and drop off some paperwork then keep rolling. Little did we know that they had different plans. Since we were there, they decided that it would be best if I hopped on a another truck to get my reefer training. So much for Cali. So much for Al. It’s still pretty early in the day, and I learn that my new trainer won’t be here until 11pm. Al gets word that he’s getting a new student in a couple hours too.
I go out to the truck and pack all my gear. I haul it up to the drivers lounge. Several trips up and down the stairs. I try to catch up on my blog, but I’m just not in the right mood for that so I just piddle around on the web all day. When Al’s new student arrives, Al introduces us. Al tells me that I forgot my Mountain Dew in the fridge and I left a sock on the truck too, so I run down to grab them. When I get there, his new student is on there getting his gear situated. He asks me what Al is like. Wow. Where do I start? I warned him about Al’s farting, constant phone use, and figured he can figure the rest out on his own.
I go to the office just to double check on my new trainers arrival time. They tell me he’ll be here at 11pm. They give me his name and number so we can arrange the pick up. His name is Chris Beltz. I call Chris and he confirms the 11pm arrival. Later that night, Chris calls back and says it’ll be more like 11:30 or 12 before he arrives. I’m just hoping he wasn’t going to want me to drive when he got there because I was getting very sleepy.
He finally shows up. And we load my gear into the truck. Yes, that‘s right, I said “we.” He actually helped me carry my stuff. I’m thinking this will be way better than Al. But, anyway, I’ll tell you more about Chris later.
Since it’s so late already, Chris says we’re just going to stay at the terminal for the night. By the way, now we're driving a 2010 International Pro Star.
Saturday July 25th 2009
Chris works on the Walmart account out of the North Platte Nebraska Walmart Distribution Center terminal. Crete does all the reefer loads for that particular distribution center, so they have a terminal right at the Walmart DC. Now, they do things a little differently on this Walmart account. All of our runs begin and end at the distribution center in North Platte, meaning, we’ll take a load somewhere and drop it, then drive all the way back to the DC empty to get our next load. Chris explains that we’ll be driving entirely in Nebraska, Kansas, North & South Dakota, Iowa, Wyoming and a bit Of Colorado and Minnesota.
He drives us from Lincoln to North Platte where we get our first load. The load goes to Rapid City South Dakota. But, it's not a reefer load, it's just dry freight.
Now, coincidently, my brother and family are vacationing through South Dakota and I was kinda bummed that I couldn’t go too. Stupid job! But now it looks like I get to go anyway!
Chris has me do the driving. Since I don’t really know him yet, I decide it’s probably best if I don’t try taking pictures while I’m driving. Too bad too, because the view is awesome. Badlands? Yeah right, whatever! More like BadAsslands!!! I drive right through all them kitschy type tourist traps that I so love to photograph. Wall Drug, Reptile Gardens, the human skeleton walking a dinosaur skeleton, etc. I guess I’ll just have to steal some pictures from the internet. We drop our load at the Walmart in Rapid City then go to a truck stop for the night.
He drives us from Lincoln to North Platte where we get our first load. The load goes to Rapid City South Dakota. But, it's not a reefer load, it's just dry freight.
Now, coincidently, my brother and family are vacationing through South Dakota and I was kinda bummed that I couldn’t go too. Stupid job! But now it looks like I get to go anyway!
Chris has me do the driving. Since I don’t really know him yet, I decide it’s probably best if I don’t try taking pictures while I’m driving. Too bad too, because the view is awesome. Badlands? Yeah right, whatever! More like BadAsslands!!! I drive right through all them kitschy type tourist traps that I so love to photograph. Wall Drug, Reptile Gardens, the human skeleton walking a dinosaur skeleton, etc. I guess I’ll just have to steal some pictures from the internet. We drop our load at the Walmart in Rapid City then go to a truck stop for the night.
Sunday July 26th 2009
Since I didn’t take notes, I’m a little confused as to the order of events, but basically what we did those first couple days was drive up hwy 83 to Rapid City and back to North Platte, then drive up hwy 83 again all the way to Minot ND and then back to North Platte again. 
We saw a bunch of mule deer.
Our second load was supposed to be a reefer load, but Chris noticed that they had accidently set the temperatures wrong on the trailer so we couldn’t take it. They had one of the chambers set to 32 degrees when it was supposed to be set at -20. That can’t be good. Anyway they gave us the load to Minot ND instead. It was another dry van. So much for my reefer training. Well, I guess I did learn one important lesson, check your temperatures before you leave.
We made it as far as Murdo SD where we slept for the night.
Monday July 27th 2009
I drove the rest of the way to Minot ND. We dropped our load and turned around and headed back. Chris took the wheel in Sterling SD at 9pm. This gives you an idea of how many mosquitos we encountered on the road in the Dakotas.
I stayed up and kept him company for a while, but I eventually got too tired so I hopped up in the bunk and went to bed.
I stayed up and kept him company for a while, but I eventually got too tired so I hopped up in the bunk and went to bed.
Tuesday July 28th 2009
I woke up to find that I was at the Walmart DC in North Platte NE. Chris had written a note on the windshield that said he had gone home, we’ll be leaving tonight, and that I’ll be driving first. So, I got up, took a shower, and spent most of the day catching up on photos and the blog. Chris stopped back in for a minute to inform me that we won’t be leaving until tomorrow morning.
Wednesday July 29th 2009
Around noon Chris called to inform me that he'd be there soon and we'll be heading out. It has already been 5 days of so called "reefer training" with almost no actual reefer training. But now, we have an actual reefer load. And, this load is going to take me home for my home time! First, we stop at Walmart in Fremont Nebraska to drop off several pallets. Then we go to Walmart on 183rd & Center in Omaha NE to drop the rest. Then we had a back load out of IBP/Tyson in Council Bluffs Iowa. That was a quick drop & hook, then we headed several blocks up the road to the Crete terminal in Council Bluffs. Yay! I'm going home for several days. It's after midnight.
Thursday July 30th to Monday August 3rd 2009
Home time! It's 3:30pm on August 3rd, and I still haven't heard from Chris as to when he'll be picking me up to go back to work. That's all right though. I'll take all the home time I can get. By the way, I'm still getting paid while I'm home!
Damn, I would hate to be a dry cleaner in Shartiesville!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm just curious. What do the seasoned truckers you are riding with think about you taking pics and blogging?
Al was all for it. Chris, was an a-hole, so I didn't even try (except when I wasn't driving), and Robert didn't mind.
ReplyDelete