September 16-25, 2021

Thursday, September 16, 2021

I was glad I was alone in that part of the campground last night,

because I unplugged my van, and pulled out of my campsite at 4:20 that morning. I drove the 7 miles back into the little town of Fall River, and filled with fuel. I was at the hotel to pick Eddie up just before 5, and he was right on time.

We got to the loading site at about 5:15, and he started up his truck, and we went inside the plant along with the other driver to find out who was loading first, and when.

You’d think that would be something simple that could be shared long before now, but not so. It is always a great mystery right up until the very end, for some reason. It always seems that whoever I am with loads second, and that was true again today. So they backed theirs in, and all four of us went right to work spreading out the bottom tarps. It was a pleasant 56° outside, so they left the plant door open for us as we worked. We had the bottom tarps done,

the piece loaded, covered with felt, the tarp on, tightened down, and ready to be chained down just 5 hours later, at 10:30. He pulled out, and I steered ours in. By then it was getting hot,, and was already in the low 70’s. We got the bottom tarps right on, and loaded the piece

in no time! We had ours finished and out the door in just over 4 hours! Both crews then worked to put the finishing touches on, like adjusting shims to get the loads level, and adjusting the height to give as much ground clearance as possible without going over the 16 foot height we are permitted for. We gave a final tug on all the chains, and secured all the blocks and chain ends before 5 PM. My driver decided to take his truck to the hotel, and as we both drove out, we passed another one of our empty trucks arriving to load in the morning. We knew he was coming, and already decided that both teams would help him load in the morning, and all leave together since we were all going to the same place.

I arrived at the campground, exhausted and filthy from a hard day, so stopped for a shower on my way in. I drove down to my site, and found three other sites taken in my favorite area. But three left their sites to go get supper, just after I arrived. Perfect!

So I ate supper in peace and quiet, and got to fly my drone again without disturbing anyone! It was now back down to about 65°.

What a nice spot! I had some leftovers, and searched for properties for sale in our new search area in the Blue Ridge Mountains as I listened to the bull frogs, and birds, and sounds of nature, while enjoying the view.. Once the neighbors came home, started up their radios and loud talking, I went inside and turned on my AC. When I was young, campers were some of the most friendly and considerate people we found. Not any more. Why bother to go camping at all, if you’re going to bring your distractions along? There’s plenty of time for that at home! So leave your radio and TV there!

This was my 11th night in a row staying at a campground in my van. I figure that I saved at least $70/night by doing so. That means I saved/earned an extra $770 over that time. Can you see how the extra money I spent on buying a new van, and making it into a tiny house has paid for itself many times over? I will likely need to stay in hotels for the rest of this trip, though.

Friday, September 17, 2021

Once again, I was pulling out of my site before 5 AM, but I didn’t feel badly for my neighbors. Not after all the noise they made last night while I was trying to sleep. Actually, it didn’t bother me a bit, because with my AC running, I didn’t hear a thing!

Today was even better than yesterday,, as it was just 48°, a perfect temperature for loading. Because of the steady breeze, i put a short sleeve shirt on over my tee shirt until we got inside and moving around. We left the door open, though. That third truck backed in just after 5 AM, and with 6 of us working on it, we had him out the door before 9! Mine was the second truck of the pack, and that third truck had to wait for his paperwork, so didn’t leave for over an hour later.

We left at about 9:30, had lots of back roads, several turns for me to steer, a round-about to maneuver, and several RR tracks to tower up for – and we still made it 458 miles to Atlantic, Iowa!

We parked in a vacant lot next to a truck stop as darkness rolled in.

Everyone went to a restaurant and hotel except for Eddie and I. Here is a better picture of the trucks, but Eddie was still gone getting filled with fuel..

After he fueled up his truck we spent almost 2 hours fixing our loose tarp, and some other minor maintenance issues, and slept in our vehicles. It was after 9 PM at that point, and we each had some leftovers to eat for supper.

Saturday, September 18, 2021

We were the first to pull out in the morning, but just as we did, our HP car said her radio and lights were not working. So we stopped right there in the driveway, as Eddie went up to investigate. In just a few minutes, he called me to come up there. It was an electrical problem, and a wire connection was melted. He knows I was a Journeyman Electrician in Alaska, so wanted me to take charge. The fastest way to solve the problem was to abandon the current feed wire, run a new feed line directly to the battery, and fix it later. So I pulled out some spare wire, and my tools, and we went to work. Instead of trying to do it right, and pull the wire through the firewall, and never be seen, I decided to just bring it out of the hood, and through the driver door to save time for now. So that is what we did, and if you look closely, you can see that wire on the right side of this picture.

We got off 40 minutes after we planned, but it was still another great day, with mostly back roads across the rest of Iowa and into Kansas with all back roads. Our goal is to get as far as we can each day, so we can roll into the site on Monday, and be unloaded Tuesday. We are still going to stay on our schedule, even though we found out late yesterday that the site has delayed our unload schedule to Thursday. There are several possible reasons for that. They have so much to coordinate at the site, that when something totally unrelated to us gets delayed for parts, it affects us. For instance, if the electricians have a part backordered, which prevents them from finishing a certain job, the landscapers might have to delay on backfilling that area, which means the forms can not be set to pour the slab for the pad they will set our generator on. Once the concrete is poured, it has to cure for a certain amount of days before they can unload our generator and set it on. Nope, there is absolutely no place to unload and set these generators while they wait. In fact, that would double the crane fees because they would be doing the job twice in two locations. As I have always said, the only thing that does not change in our world is change itself!

We had another excellent mileage day, driving 450 miles, and parking in the Peterbuilt dealership lot in Great Bend, KS for the night. Eddie and I walked half a mile to a restaurant, just for the exercise, after we checked in to the hotel there. We have become good friends over the past year, because we have worked together so much. We have very similar values in work ethic, organization, family, cleanliness, and efficiency.

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Once again, up as early as we can so we can leave at sunrise. The numbers on the clock are getting bigger, which means we sometimes get 7 or 8 hours of sleep on these days. The trouble is that the office is now used to us getting these jobs done during the longer days, but since the days are shorter now, and we can only drive from sunrise to sunset, it becomes more important to get every minute in that we can each day!

Check out this remodeled camper that passed us! It’s one of those old bubble campers, but has been redesigned to add a longer raised roof with an AC, and new varnished wood siding and roof. I really like the creativity and workmanship on this one!

It was another successful day, because we went as far as we could, although that was just 306 miles. We parked in Texhoma, right on the OK/TX line. There was no other place to park within striking distance before sunset, so we were checked in to our hotel by 4:30 or so.

Tomorrow we plan to make it to the site just south of Albuquerque by late afternoon, and park there. We will have to sit in a hotel there until we can unload on Thursday.

Monday, September 20, 2021

We were up early again, and made our way across the top of Texas, only about 85 miles.

Our third truck had one Pilot Car that needed to be certified, so they stopped at the NM line. We reached the New Mexico line, and pulled into the Port of Entry where our load and permits were checked, and each of us Pilot Cars were checked, with certifications verified. The other Pilot Car pulled in shortly after we drove on, got certified, then drove back to the third truck, and they came on in to NM about an hour behind us.

New Mexico has it’s own beauty, with the raised sections of rock,

and small mountains.

As planned, we arrived on site, and pulled into the gate where we could park and wait to be unloaded. This video shows how Eddie can gain room on a turn by pulling too far ahead and backing up. He does it twice here, so we can make the turn without having me steer it. I did have to have him stop so I could raise the back so we wouldn’t scrape the bottom on the hump in the road. This is in 3X speed.

We  parked our two trucks there at the site.

We checked in to our hotel, and I got a call to meet everyone at the Buffalo Wild Wings next door for an early supper. It was 4:30 when I walked over. Why is it that I am still surprised when I walk in and see all 5 of them sitting at the bar, drinking. Of course, they had no plans of actually eating any time soon! I don’t even think like that! I endure these situations only for the benefit of the team. I did have a little time to talk with Eddie and our HP car, which I think helps build a team. The third truck driver and his two Pilot Cars arrived shortly, along with the three drivers of the enclosure tops, and things began to get loud. I ordered my food as soon as they all got giddy, started making stupid comments, and getting loud. I ate my supper, and left. As I left, one driver who was outside smoking said to me “Dave, why are you leaving so early? After such a great job getting us down here safely, you deserve a night out on the town!” I was polite, but was thinking. . . “Oh, this is reward? I thought it was punishment!” I’m so glad the Lord spared me from a life like that where losing control of yourself is somehow twisted into being fun! I’m so very glad, and blessed that I can go and find such peace and comfort in my room by calling Annalou to discuss our days. Whew!

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Well, Eddie and I planned to have breakfast together, and then provide a permanent solution to the HP car, by doing a professional job on the rewire. BUT, plans changed with a single phone call! On our route through Tucumcari, we had to pass right through the center of town where the wires are low. After we had passed through, another Oversize Load hit a big wire, and pulled it down. There was a crew going to be there today to replace it, and the office wanted Eddie and I to drive back, and make sure the new wire was high enough for our next trucks to pass through. It needs to be at least 16’6″. So we still went and had breakfast, but drove 200 miles back, measured the new wire at 16’8″,

and we got back almost 5 hours later. I got a few things done on my list, but had to push almost everything onto tomorrow’s list. I had supper with Eddie and our HP gal. Tomorrow is another day. . . . .but I got paid well today!

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

I got up, and hit the road running.

We rewired that HP car together, and then went our separate ways. I got an oil change and washed my van, and Eddie called me on the the phone to say I just passed by him and the HP gal. They were getting a chicken sandwich to take and have a picnic by the Rio Grande, and wanted me to join them. When will THAT ever happen again? So I got some Chicken Fingers and met them there. The river was completely dried up, and nothing worth even a picture! But here is the shady spot we stopped at.

That afternoon, I did my laundry, bought an electrical tool I need to rewire several of my own roof lights, did book work, bought groceries, caught up on some blogs and had supper with my team.

Thursday, September 23, 2021

Finally! Unload day! The drivers and steermen met at the trucks at 5 AM and each team began pulling the 500 bungie cords off their tarps, putting them in bundles, pulled the top tarps off, folded them up, pulled the 6 or 8 felt pieces off, folded them up. It was perfect weather for unloading tarps. No wind, and 48*. The third truck has their unload date delayed until Monday! Poor guys have to sit here until then! But our two trucks were ready at when they called to drive under the crane. As usual, we were the second to unload. This a video of the crane lifting our piece off. I stopped the video after I steered him out from under the crane, and onto the road because there was a long delay, but they swung it all the way around and placed it right on it’s pad. By then it was well into the 80’s. This is in 2X speed.

We drove off, and I steered him around a gravel lot to make a U-turn, and we drove back out to the spot we started from this morning. As we drove by the crane, the two trucks carrying the two enclosure tops were pulling under the crane to get unloaded. We shrunk up the trailers, piled up the rolls of felt and tarps, put them onto the empty trucks that carried the enclosure tops, and both trucks left at about noon with the enclosure trucks right behind us! It was 91* so I was very happy to get in and crank up my AC! They passed us as soon as we got onto the highway, because now they are just legal sized flatbeds.

We went through NM

and drove into Colorado.

At one point we had to stop and wait for a group of cowboys as they moved a herd of cows across the road from one.pasture to another.. How cool is THAT!!

We drove 334 miles and stopped in Colorado City, CO for the night, just south of Pueblo. I took this shot after I backed him into this gravel lot to park for the night.

I took a hotel, because after unloading in that heat, I wanted a shower as soon as possible, and will take another one in the morning. The trucks got split up, so the three of us walked across the street for supper together.

Friday, September 24, 2021

As usual, we were pulling out as early as possible. In Colorado, we can travel in the dark, so we left before daylight at 6. We wanted to clear Pueblo before the 7-9 curfew hit, and we had plenty of time to spare as we went through.  We drove well into NE, and once we had only highway left, we no longer needed a lead car, so our HP dropped off and headed for home. She will meet us next week near Madison after we get loaded, and will be out HP again right back to Albuquerque. We stopped in a vacant lot so Eddie could get fuel for his truck, and I stayed with the trailer. I took a walk, and a few pictures.

Because of the early start, we had a very productive day, traveling 560 miles to Grand Island. I have stayed in this truck stop several times before. Eddie and I had supper together, and then slept in our vehicles. This is the perfect time of year for that. Though it is still pretty hot (anything over 70*) it cools right down to a very comfortable temperature (below 60*, but above 15*) so I don’t need to run the generator for AC or heat.

Saturday, September 25, 2021

It’s a bit of a long shot, but we plan to make it all the way back to the shop today! Right now, unless something comes up for me, I will be off Sunday through Tuesday, and leave again Wednesday with Eddie to go load near Madison, in Fall River WI to take another generator back down near Albuquerque. I already have a list of things to get done that is too big for that amount of time, but will push off the list if work comes up!

We pulled out of the truck stop, and had to make a left to get back on the highway to start our trip. In this video, you will see that to make the left, Eddie has to begin his turn as far to the right as possible. Watch to see that he has his blinker on, so it is obvious what he is doing, but as he goes right, that leaves me with three lanes to block. The guy in the pickup tries to get by me on my left, so I move left to block him, but that leaves the black car wide open, and he goes for it before I can even start to cut him off! Watch as he tries to beat the truck, and almost gets run over for it! I said on the radio “One escaped, and he’s going for you!” That black car goes into oncoming traffic to get around him while he’s still moving, and runs across the grass median to get back in his lane. Makes you wonder where the fire was! What did he save, a minute or two? As I always say, common sense is no longer common in these last days! This video is at life speed.

Once we got on the highway, it looked as if the truck had a halo as we drove off into the sunrise through the rest of Nebraska.

We had a great day, and never stopped at all, making it 580 miles in 10 hours to the shop. Look closely, and you will see how many miles my van had before empty as we pulled into the yard and parked it.

Eddie said “WOW! You better go get fuel right now!” Ha Ha but I know they don’t give you an exact count, so I’m guessing there was still at least 15 miles left of fuel, but I went right over to get fuel while he unpacked his truck. I have to admit that as I sat at the stop light, so close, but yet so far from the gas station on the other side

and planned how I would push it across if I had to! LOL But as I suspected, there was no issue, and could only fit 29 gallons in the 31 gallon tank, so had at least 15 or 20 miles left in it. I went to my favorite restaurant here, Pizza Ranch for a huge salad, and a chicken dinner. I did break my Keto diet tonight by making a root beer float for desert. But when I got back to the shop and parked, I also had a glass of cold Strawberry/peach Keytones! I’m looking forward to going to Church in the morning, and getting some things crossed off my list over the next few days!