April 1 – 6, 2021

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Thursday, April 1, 2021

After we were unloaded, shrunk, and set up, we took off just after noon from Los Lunas NM with plenty of time to make it through Albuquerque before their afternoon curfew, so were well on our way with nothing to stop us!

We made our way north into the mountains

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to Raton NM and stopped after 250 miles at a closed down truck stop, where I had to steer him back in beside the old fuel island to park.

I drove across the street to a small truck stop that was open, and parked in the back. I opened my back door to let the cool night air come in, and here was my view.

I fried some chicken patties and steamed some broccoli for supper, and slept there.

Friday, April 2, 2021

When we are empty, and only 12′ wide, we get mostly highway routing, and can travel the speed limit in most states. This time our route was different in order to avoid Oklahoma. They have a flat fee for permits, and they are just too expensive for the short trip across the pan handle, so the office requested this new routing. Instead of going northeast, we went straight north into Colorado!

I just love the huge mountains and landscape!

And this time of year, they are still snow-capped.

Today was a bit different. Even with mostly highway, and even being just 12′ wide, I had to steer him around two turns! He stopped, let me park my van, walk back and start the pony motor, and unpin to steer. This is a video from my dash cam, so is what you would have seen if you were the first car in line waiting for us to make the turn. It was more than a 90° turn, and we had to miss those signs on the inside of the corner. You can see why he has to drive at walking speed, and why I have to be on foot in order to watch all sides of the trailer, and plan my turn.

Our Lead car left us just after we crossed into Nebraska and got back onto the highway after a construction detour. After 517 miles, we parked in North Platte NE at a closed weigh station. I shot some pictures,

and left for the struck stop for the night. I had just been there a few minutes, and my driver called me.  The Scale Master returned to open the weigh station, and wanted him to move the truck to a different spot. So I drove back and steered him to the new location,

and drove back to the truck stop. By then it was about 8:30, and I needed to have supper and get some sleep before my alarm went off at 5, so grabbed some fried chicken for supper, and went to bed.

Saturday, April 3, 2021

We had big plans for today! We wanted to make it across the line into Minnesota by the end of the day, which would leave us just 3 hours for Sunday morning to get back to the shop. So we left at sunrise. Of course, those parking spots we freed up last night by moving, were now full of trucks. In fact, the entire lot was full.

But the way we were parked allowed us to slither right out and be on our way. It was all highway, with no delays, no fuel stops, and one bathroom stop after 6 hours. in this job, with these drivers, a person needs to be comfortable with 5-8 hours between rest stops.

I was amazed at our timing, but we made it well before curfew and just before his driving hours were up! We drove 572 miles, and arrived in Albert Lea at the truck stop by about 4 PM. I went and got fuel, and then parked behind the truck for the night.

This was the view out of my open slider door as I ate supper in my van.

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Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021

Our plan was to leave at 7, and arrive at the shop by about 9:30 or 10.  My hope was closer to 9:30, because there is a church I like just 5 miles from the shop, and I wanted to make a quick change, and be there in time for service.

In the morning, we were surrounded with trucks,

but knew we could get out,

so all looked well for me. My hopes were dashed when another driver we all work with walked up to talk. He is another company driver who was traveling back from his home to his trailer that he left in Illinois a few days ago waiting to load. So we didn’t even pull out until close to 9.

We arrived at the shop by about 11:30, parked the truck, and I pulled right in to wash my van, drove to the laundromat, did my laundry, bought groceries, edited that steering video. After a Chinese Buffet, I parked my van with the Bobtails, and let the cool breeze blow through as I watched a service online.

and spent the night plugged in with AC running. Summer is coming fast, and I need to get my new generator so I can run the AC every night and avoid the hotels. Without the AC, I will not sleep in my van if it is 70° or above overnight.

Monday, April 5, 2021

I slept in again! I got 12 hours of sleep! I went in to the office and picked up the oil and filter for my next oil change that I had shipped there. I also:

• Repaired the plug on my cooler
• Sent out my recent invoices
• Called about stock on my generator, and everyone says it will be 6-8 weeks!
• Called tech support about an issue I’m having with two of my rooftop emergency lights
• Got caught up on book work
• Got caught up with the new Progressive Rep about my settlement, we still don’t agree!
• Called MA about paying my taxes online
• Fixed those rooftop lights
• Solved a connection problem with one of my dash cams
• And checked the weather forecast

Severe thunderstorms tonight, with possible hail. So I packed up my van and moved to where I could drive inside their warehouse. This is a shot of the trucking company yard from 600 feet up. My van is parked in front of the warehouse building in the back.

Those are all the trucks that are NOT out working today!! LOL I went and took a shower, and as I was walking back to my van, shot this video of the storm coming.

So I pulled it inside, and went to bed.

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

I was up and out of the warehouse before the guys arrived for work at 7. I parked back over next to the Bobtails, and plugged back in. After eggs, sausage and cheese for breakfast, I worked on finalizing the business and personal taxes that I just got back from my CPA. Perfect timing, as I actually had the time to work on it, and get the checks ready to send. Because of the accident, and the government shut-downs, my business brought in less than half what it did in 2019. That is why I continue to fight as hard as possible for every penny I lost in that wreck!

My plan was to check in to a hotel by 3, and use their internet to get both laptops and the notebook onto the internet for 3-4 hours and have Quick Books solve the problem. But my CPA also told me that the QuickBooks guy had lied to me, and I never needed all that expensive work they charged me for, and then messed up. So as she suggested, I tried, and was successful in bringing all my data from the 2011 version into the new 2021 version, and by doing that, avoided the password issue they had messed up!

That saved me a hotel stay, so I then called QuickBooks to talk to a supervisor. I just calmly told him that I solved the problem that they caused, which was not even nessesary in the first place, so wanted a full refund on that part. I also explained that throughout my adult business life, if I ever caught a supplier, contractor, employee, or associate lying to me, I immediately cut the tie. Having lost all trust in them,, I have no time to then have everything they ever tell me in the future verified. That has always been an extremely strict rule in my household. He “smelled the coffee” and immediately refunded every penny to me. So I got the new 2021 version of software free for my troubles. Now, THAT’S Biblical resolution!

I’ll sleep in my van out next to the Bobtails again, even though normal rain is expected. I’ll have plenty of time to shower and make breakfast in the morning, and then meet my driver just after 8 so we can leave on our next adventure back to Madison WI to load another one of those really tall (over 17 feet) generators! Woohoo! Those are fun!