January 27 – February 1, 2021

Wednesday Jan 27, 2021

Although Kansas was still getting fresh snow early this morning, the lead driver wanted to keep moving with the hope that they would clean off the roads quickly, treat them, and then the sun would come out and melt them and turn them to black so we would be legal to enter the state. That is a LOT to ask when the boarder is just over 100 miles from us, and the temperatures are below zero!  But the roads were black right here, so he wanted to try it.

I’m glad I didn’t try to sleep in my van last night, because when I go up, it was 4 below – and that’s a lot colder than the 9° that was predicted! We pulled out at sunrise onto black roads.  Within 15 miles, that changed!

And it didn’t get any cleaner – or much warmer, either!  After an hour, the temperature had risen to 1° above, the roads were more covered, and so were we!

So after 102 miles, we were forced to stop at the last truck stop before the boarder, and call it a day at 11 AM.  Though it was still just 8°, the sun was bright, so my driver and I took out our 2lb hammers, and began to clean off some of the 4″ of ice coating the trailer. Because this ice was full of dark road debris, it drew the sun, and that road debris was full of treated salt and sand.  So it was dripping, but still too hard to break off with our hammers.  We spent well over an hour and got all we could off. Then I washed my van at the self service car wash next door, and checked in to a hotel.

Thursday Jan 28, 2021 

What a difference a day makes!

Clear and black roads! So on we went on into Kansas!

Passing through Dodge City. . . .

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. . . . it brought back memories of the day Annalou and I took a full tour of the city, and learned all about the history and the legends there several years ago when we were working together and had the day off. When we left this morning at the state line, it was 4°. We traveled through Kansas, Oklahoma, and into Texas, where it was 56* when we stopped before sunset in Perryton, Texas. The last three days in a row, I used a full gallon of window washer fluid, and today only half.  I only had to use it today because there was a steady stream of all that melting ice and sludge off the trailer, which kept coating my windshield with that white film.

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There is another loaded truck that got loaded a week after us, but because of our weather delays (we were already supposed to be unloaded and heading back by now) they will probably catch up to us tomorrow.  I have mentioned before that New Mexico is one of the few states that does not reciprocate with any other state concerning Pilot Car certifications.  Every escort that passes through NM must be certified by NM. That certification requires a physical inspection, and is good for one year, or the date your auto insurance renews – whichever comes first.  So even though I was last certified there on November 28, 2020, my certification expired on December 28, 2020 when my insurance expired.  Between all three trucks there are 4 of us that need a re-certification at a Port Of Entry. There are 3 possible locations near our route. The best location, located just 20 minutes from where we hope to stop tomorrow closes at 4, and doesn’t open again until Monday. We have to be there by 3:30 tomorrow, which would really be pushing it. The next possible option would be to stop earlier in the day, and be 90 minutes away from another inspection.  The last resort would be to stop even earlier, and be about 2 and a half hours away.  We are supposed to get to the site Saturday, and unload Monday morning, so are hoping for option one.

I offered to call when they open tomorrow and see which location will work best for us, based on our progress during the day, and schedule appointments for us all.

Woohoo! I get to sleep in my own bed tonight! I fried up some leftover meatloaf, with green beans for supper, and will stay at the truck stop.

Friday January 29, 2021

It was a great night in my own home last night! Everything I need is right here with me. So much better than checking in to a hotel, carrying everything in, including cooking hot plate and utensils, filling the refrigerator, and then reversing it all in the morning! It was also a great sunrise as well!

We made excellent time through the planes of Texas,

and almost all the ice melted off the trailer,

before we reached our first choice destination.  Because of that, and the fact that we realized that we gained an hour at the boarder due to a time change, we were all  able to make it to the Port just 20 minutes away by 2:30 their time!  My driver wanted to get a hotel room, so I took him with me to the Port.

I was shocked that for the first time (I have been NM certified at least 4 times before) my van failed this time! WHAT? I always go above and beyond the requirements, and this time that hurt me. See, NY is one of the other states that requires it’s own certification. Part of that is to have their special yellow emblem on the front doors of the vehicle. Magnetic ones scratch the paint, and also blow off, and get stolen.  So I’ve always had permanent ones put on my van.  New Mexico now says that they look too much like an official state emblem,

so I am not allowed to work in their state with them on! Are you kidding me? So I said “well, can I just cover them?” and he agreed. So I took out two pieces of paper and taped them over the insignias, and called him back to inspect me.  Then I passed! How ridiculous! Knowing they would blow off once we reached 20 mph my driver and I each reached out our windows and tore the paper off as we drove away.

I took him to a hotel, drove to a truck stop, taped over the emblems,

made supper,

and slept in my van right there. It was a windy 45*.

Saturday January 30, 2021

My alarm sounded at 3 AM local time, and I woke up as my van was rocking in the wind! 40 mph winds! I went in for a nice long and hot shower, ate a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich (actually, when I buy them, I get two so I can take the insides out, and throw the biscuit away to keep it Keto) and was running ahead of schedule, so sat on my couch and read the Bible for a while.  I was over to pick up my driver up 15 minutes early, and we left for the truck at 5 AM with plenty of time to stop for him to buy some breakfast and lunch.  When we crossed the line back into Texas, we lost an hour, so we arrived at the truck at 6:15.

When I am dealing with a time change between where the truck is parked and where I sleep, it can be tricky.  One time when Annalou and I were working together, we had a long discussion the night before as to what to set the clock for, since the time change thing confuses us both. We both want to be on time (which means 15 minutes early as my Dad taught me) so we carefully set it correctly on her phone alarm.  Then, apparently in the middle of the night, her phone decided to change back to the truck time because the time line was just a few miles away. YIKES! We realized we were an hour behind, but still made it to the truck on time (but without the 15 extra minutes) In this business, if you tend to be late, you will not make it. Drivers understandably have no patience for escorts making them start late, because the state makes them stop on time, and he loses miles and money.

We did our pre-trip checks, and were ready to leave at sunrise once all the other escorts showed up.

Please excuse the dirty glass and crack in the windshield. I’m trying to make it another month or so before replacing it. I try to keep it down to just 1 or 2 windshields a year.

I have no idea who paid to make these matching signs, but I have passed by both ways before in New Mexico and seen these neighbors!

After a long ride through the NM desert, crossing part of those mountains ahead. . .

. . .we made it to our destination south of Albuquerque afyer about 320 moles, and parked at the delivery site just after lunch.  Whew! We finally made it! The two trucks carrying the housings for our two generators were much lighter, and were able to travel just fast enough to stay ahead of the storms we hit, so they have been waiting here since Tuesday! Of course, they can not unload until our units are unloaded and secured. They are owner/operators, so only get paid for the trip – no matter how long it takes, so are extremely anxious for us to unload, so they can get back to work earning a living again!

The other crew left for the hotel, but I stayed to help my driver inspect the load. We loosened all the tarps, pulled them back, inspected the frame for any damage, and then put the tarps back on.  That took us about 2 hours, but it was worth it.  My driver was worried, and I know a lot about worry! So I wanted him to know one way or the other, because we can’t unload until Monday. It was fine!!

When we got there, we found out that the hotel was now sold out, but stayed and had a cookout with the rest of them.  There were the four drivers and us two steermen there for venison and bacon with fried potatoes. I grabbed the last room at the hotel down the street, and checked in.

Sunday January 31, 2021

I really wanted to visit a local church this morning, but this state is still in lockdown, so they are all closed. In fact, many businesses here hire security guards at the doors to be sure everyone entering is wearing a mask that covers their mouth and nose! So what do I do when stuck in a hotel for a paid day off?

I got groceries, did my laundry, caught up on entering receipts into the computer, and on invoices and deposits, caught up on this blog, and made phone calls.

Monday February 1, 2021

We all checked out at sunrise,

and met at the trucks at 7:30.  We never know what an unload day will be like.  We don’t know if the crane is actually there and ready, who they will unload first, and if they have to take 4 hours to move the crane in between loads. So we all come prepared to unload and leave, or stay all day and wait.

Here are our 2 trucks with generators, their 2 trucks with the enclosures, and a third truck with the enclosure for the next generator.

The other truck was told to go ahead and take the tarps off, because they would be unloaded first. Then at about 8:15 we were told they planned to unload us today, right after the first truck, and it’s enclosure.

So we took off our tarps and padding and rolled them up.

And here is what the generator all unwrapped and ready.

They were ready for us at about 10:00 so we moved across the site, under the crane, took the chains off, got unloaded, drove out and through the gate, pulled the bottom tarps off, folded them, shrunk the trailer down from 15′ to 12′ wide, loaded all the tarps and padding onto our now unloaded and empty enclosure truck, and got our schedule change.

We need to be back in Wisconsin by the end of Wednesday so we can load Thursday morning! It’s almost 1,500 miles, so we need to hustle!!

Our front car was waiting for us, so we pulled right out of the site at 12:30, and headed back toward Wisconsin!