January 11-17, 2021

Thursday, February 11, 2021

I slept in only until 7, partly because both the people in the room above and beside me were up at 6, and I heard all the footsteps above, and the closing doors beside me! Just one of the many reasons I’d rather be in my van!

I had breakfast, started my van (it was 14 below), made the 3 loads of non-freezables back into my van, checked out, and was at the shop by 10. I met with dispatch, and now the site is willing to unload us on Wednesday, instead of Friday. Right now, the plan is for us to leave by noon, travel over to Columbus, WI, load tomorrow, leave Saturday, and travel as far as we can.  Then, while my driver waits there, I’m to drive back to Columbus and be the guy who lifts the low wires for the two loads a day behind us. Then, once they both catch us, we will all go on to the site Tuesday, and unload Wednesday.  Let’s see how THAT works!! LOL Right now, this trucking company has 9 Superloads that have been delayed or postponed by the cold weather. The sites are just not having their crews come to work all day outside when it is 20 below zero!

My driver didn’t arrive on site until almost noon, but then we backed him into a bay in one of the shops. . .

. . .so we could stretch him out to 15′ wide where it is warm and the hydraulics actually work, like we did on the last load.  This truck does not have a sleeper,

so I suspect I will be taking the driver to and from a hotel and restaurant every night. Though this trailer is not one of the oldest in the fleet, it took us over 2 hours to stretch out, with the help of a fork lift pulling on the sides!  I have done it before in 40 minutes! The reason is that it has not been properly cleaned out after each trip, and road dirt has worked it’s way into the moving parts, causing intense friction.

By the time we had that done, it was too late in the day to make it to the site by sunset curfew, so my driver decided we will leave at 4:30 AM because we can drive in the dark in MN but not WI. When everyone left for the day at 4, they told me I could pull in the shop for the night, so I did.

I plugged in, and turned my heater on, and cooked supper.  A can of green beans mixed with fire roasted tomatoes, with two fried sausages,

topped off with Strawberry/Peach Keytones! Yummo! I went to bed at 7, because I was getting up at 3:30.

Friday, February 12, 2021

I knew this would be a long day! My driver was there on time, and warmed up his truck. I had already gotten my van ready to travel. When he opened that door just after 4:30, and the cold air rushed in, I had to think again if I was really ready for this trip!  I’m getting tired of this subzero weather! It was 20 below zero outside, and we are not going far enough south to make it much warmer, and I will be outside steering, and fighting with that pony motor to start in the cold, and pouring gas into the tank, and my van will be a mess again from all the snowy weather! I took a deep breath, and off we went into the early morning darkness.

Since we could not drive until sunrise in WI, we had to stop and wait 45 minutes for the sun to rise at the closed weigh station at the line, before driving on. When we pulled out onto the highway, and it was now light enough to see,

I realized why we had passed so many cars and trucks in the ditch on both sides! Yes, that was black ice at certain points! But once the sun came up,

things got much better! Then the last 30-40 miles were on the small roads, and they just had some hard packed snow on them.

I was so very glad that we had already stretched out the trailer before we left, because the last thing I wanted to do after that 6 hour drive, was to struggle getting the pony motor running, and stretch out the trailer at 11 below zero in the wind! Instead, we backed right in to get loaded. This time I had to back him in between our piece, and another one, leaving enough room on each side for the man-lift to get through.

This time we don’t need to tarp the load, because the enclosure is already attached. But, as a result, it will be 17′ 4″ tall when on the trailer. That is almost 4′ taller than a normal semi! Our HP guy has worked with us many times before, and he had come to help us load. We were loaded before long. . .

and since we were the last truck for them to load that day, they let us leave it inside for the night. Another sub zero night, so another hotel night! As we were about to leave, our next truck arrived, who will load in the morning.

Saturday, February 13, 2021

We checked out, and arrived at the site before 7, so we could pull out and be on our way.  It was 11 below zero and very windy, but contrary to the forecast, it had snowed several inches, and now was expected to snow several more before stopping at 2 PM. We pulled out of their plant, and I steered him back to park in their lot until we could see if they were going to treat the roads well enough to see the lines in them (which is what is required for travel in WI), so we could leave. It was very windy, snowing, and extremely cold. I was shaking uncontrollably by the time I walked back inside!

That next truck backed in, and we stuck around and helped them load. As the day progressed, it became obvious that it was not going to clear up enough for us to travel legally or safely. When that second truck was fully loaded, I steered him out to park because his steerman had gone to get an oil change.

Just then the third one arrived, and I stayed to help them load as well. Since it was Saturday, after he pulled out and parked, they allowed all three trucks to disconnect and park inside their plant for the night.

Sunday, February 14, 2021

It was 15 below with a chill factor of almost 30 below.  For those of you who have not experienced it, that is extremely cold! Especially when you are not dressed for it.  All I have to wear is two layers of sweatshirts and an insulated bomber jacket, but I do still have the sheepskin hat that Annalou made for me in 1980 before we went to Alaska, although it is beginning to rip because it is starting to rot. That is the warmest hat I have ever had, and I was wearing it at the coldest temperature I’ve ever experienced, which was 45 below, not including the chill factor. I also now have heated gloves which help, but are nowhere near as warm as the sheepskin mittens she made me, which wore out years ago. I have nothing for my face, and the wind makes it sting!

We all struggled to get our pony motors running by adding ether, and jumping the batteries from the vehicles . . .

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. . . while the drivers warmed up their trucks in the building.

It took us several hours to get everything working, but pulled out before noon.  All three trucks have a HP in front and a steerman in the rear. In addition to that, we had 2 extra HP cars to run ahead and find low wires, and lift them before we get there, so we don’t hold up the traffic behind us.  We put the truck in front whose driver had done this route the most, the slowest truck next, and ours last because it is the fastest. That way we could all stay together so that when a wire is lifted, we all pass right under it. That put me last in our parade.

There were quite a few low wires, traffic lights and overhead signs to avoid, but no turns to steer. This was the first time I was glad about a day like that! Wind chill was 30-33 below all day, and I was happy not to have to get out. In fact, I felt bad for the three guys who constantly had to get out to direct traffic, and lift wires long enough for the tree trucks to pass under. We drove about 300 miles to Forest City, IA where we got fuel for all the trucks,

and then each steerman had to steer their trucks back to park them for the night. But for me, the building blocked the wind, though I improvised using a clean rag to cover my face, held on by a face mask!

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Everyone but 2 of the drivers went to a hotel, because it was going to be very cold!

Monday, February 15, 2021

It was 22 below when I left the hotel, so once again, we spent almost 2 hours getting all of the pony motors going. There is one for every truck, but ours has two. My rear one handles the steering, and raising the rear tower. The driver has one up in thee front of the trailer which raises the front tower. The drivers decided it was time to replace all the batteries on the pony motors except for mine. They had been using ether and had to jump all of them too often. However, I was able to start mine each morning without either a jump or ether.  I felt bad for the guys who had to use the metal tools and unbolt the cables and securements without gloves. I did my share of that during my 5 years in Alaska, so took a back seat this time, and just watched and gave moral support!!

Whenever we got to an intersection, the tree cars up front would direct traffic so we could all make the turn together and run the lights or stop signs. In the long run, it is far quicker for ereyone that way.

Once we complete the turn, the trucks would snug over, as all three of them would race past us in order to be ready for the next turn or low wire. One time, one of them misjudged, and got too close to the snow as he was passing my truck, which then sucked him right into the ditch. I edited this video of the insident from my dash cam and added music.

LOL Neither he nor the vehicle had any damage. We parked that evening in Canton SD.

Everyone went to the hotel that night, which was another cold one!

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

It was 20 below again, but the pony motors started much easier because none needed a jump start. However, our front one was blowing blue smoke. We know why that is, too. The guys had been using too much ether, so probably damaged the seal in the rings, causing it to burn oil. We were hoping that motor will keep running long enough to lift and lower that front end for the two RR crossings we knew we were going to face.

Nebraska was beautiful as the sun was beginning to burn through the clouds.

We hadn’t seen the sun since. . . . well, I can’t remember!

You know, there is one really good thing about this cold weather! Even though I have had to spend lots of money on hotels, I have saved money on food. When I was up in MN several weeks ago, I saw a 4 lb. pork loin on sale for $13 and couldn’t resist it. I cooked it down to pulled pork at the hotel in my Instant Pot.  I knew I’d have trouble eating all that along with the rotisserie chicken before it spoiled. But, because it has been so cold, I have just left it all in my van each night, so all that meat has been frozen solid all month! So I basically have been eating lunch and supper on the $50 I spent at the beginning of the month, and still have at least another week of meals left! That doesn’t make up for the hotel bills, but does make me feel warm inside!! LOL

We parked at a tiny truck stop near Omaha, and the temperature had risen to 8 ABOVE! Woohoo! A heat wave! What a huge difference! Just two sweatshirts, no gloves, and a stretch hat was all I needed to steer him back into place! What a relief! Still too cold for a night in my van, because it was going down to almost zero, but a great relief!!

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

It was about 11 above when we arrived at the trucks. Everything started fine, and then we waited for the local power company. They are required to travel with us through the city of Omaha so that they can lift their own wires, and were scheduled for 10 AM departure. Since they were on time, and everything was working, we pulled out early at about 9 :45.

I just got this one shot as we passed down the city streets of Omaha. Needless to say, the guys up front had a lot of traffic control going on!!

We drove that last 52 miles, and arrived on site before noon, in a balmy 14 degree temperature, with the sun shining. Snow was melting off the trailer as we took the wire guards off the trailers, and pulled under the crane.

However, plans changed! All the escorts were released to other jobs as soon as we arrived, except for me and our HP, and we were both re-assigned. I helped my current driver prep for the unload, then helped my “new” driver do the same, because he was scheduled to unload first.  I will stay with him now for his next trip.

Once we unloaded, we kept the trailer at 15′ wide because of the cold, and the fact that his pony motor is not working properly. I steered him around the last turn to get out of the site, and off we went.

Here is the new plan. We need to cover for a truck that is stuck in Texas without a TX permit, so can not drive until the DOT office opens again and can issue their permit. So I will steer for this driver as we go empty to Walcott, IA by Thursday. We will stop there and repair the pony motor and then shrink the trailer to 12′. Friday we will drive on to Batavia OH, widen the trailer back and get it ready to load. BUT, we can not load until Monday.

Guess what!!?? Statesville NC is less than a 7 hour drive from there – so I’m going to drive home at the end of the day Friday, visit with Annalou Saturday and Sunday, and drive back in the afternoon so I can be back to load first thing Monday morning!! I can hardly wait to see my best friend, and the best wife I have ever had!     EVER!