Saturday, December 27, 2008

Back in Ontario !



Hi all, well things went a little bit wrong so any plans I had went up in smoke.
The easy run to Edmonton was interupted by a trailer switch on Xmas day and although I didnt ask I have a feeling that the switch was because the other driver 'doesnt do Ontario'. The reason for this is the weather was bad, the roads are single lane and the speed limit is 56mph which is no good for speedy running and big miles.The 'I dont do that or go there' excuse seems to becoming increasingly common !!!



So with nothing open on Xmas day and my not doing the shopping early resulted in Xmas dinner being Ravioli and Hot Dogs. I felt sorry for Tom but he knows the score and I will make it up to him pretty soon, the BBQ will be saved until next time and I will be stocked up with goodies....maybe New Year.

Dropped the trailer in Mississauga this morning and have been planned for another load to Alberta but....I need the truck putting through its MOT and I need 24hrs off to keep myself legal in Canada. I think I have enough time to roll both things into one but things change and anything can happen.

The weather has been awful the last few days in Ontario, snow slowed me down to 20mph the other night and conditions havn't improved much. Its 49f (9C) outside and it feels like summer, how quickly the weather can change never ceases to amaze me.



So, Tom and I will be Alberta bound probably tomorrow morning, the route will be the same as I described in the last post.
Will keep you up to date as the trip progresses.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas

To family, friends, people who I know from the blog and the readers who I dont, I would like to wish you all a very very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Thanks for following my travels, for all the comments that have been left as well as the signings in my guestbook.

Best Wishes, Phil

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Plans for Xmas are being made.

Had a nightmare at the border Port Huron Michigan/Sarnia Ontario !!!
Paperwork was missing from the load when I left Schuyler but I had a cover note stating that the missing items would be faxed to the border before I arrived. Well that turned out to be 'not' the case so I arrived at the border 4pm Monday and left this morning at 10.30am which is not exactly brilliant.
All deliveries were now late plus part of the load had been lucky enough to get an 'inspect'. Things looked up when I received a macro telling me to drop the trailer in the yard at Mississauga Ontario and there was another one waiting for me to head off back across to Edmonton Alberta. That should keep me busy for a few days and also gives me time to plan Xmas dinner for myself and Tom.
A while back I wrote about buying a BBQ, well its still brand new and might get an airing in the middle of nowhere in Northern Ontario, Tom laughed at the idea but seeing as how we both have winter clothes and providing the weather isnt too bad I think it will make Xmas 2008 a memorable one.

Tom's visit to White Castle

Not looking forward to the drive back across Canada but its got to be done and its the first time Tom has been to this neck of the woods.
For anyone following the trips the routing is as follows......Mississauga Ontario.....North Bay Ontario....Hearst Ontario....Thunder Bay Ontario....Kenora Ontario....Winnipeg Manitoba....Saskatoon Saskatchewan...Lloydminster Saskatchewan....Edmonton Alberta. The trip is roughly 2150 miles and should take about 3.5 days providing the weather isnt terrible.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Multi drops in Ontario are beckoning.

Whoops !The windscreen, ice on the inside forms when the night heater screws up.

Hi all, well the sitting in High River was interrupted by having to bring an empty trailer from Calgary which took 7hrs and therefore wiped any layover payment to which I was due.
Eventually I was good to go from High River and set off south heading for Waterloo Iowa. the first night Tom and I stopped at Beach North Dakota then Clearwater Minnesota. Up to that point the weather hadnt been too bad but that changed on Saturday morning as we ran to our destination, snow, wind and ice hampered us but we made it to Waterloo, dropped the trailer, picked up an empty and was promptly planned to load from Schuyler Nebraska. The trip from Waterloo to Schuyler was pretty hairy and a few times I think Toms knuckles turned white as strong winds and blowing snow buffeted and blinded us as we trundled down the Interstate.
This morning..Sunday, we ran into Schuyler and picked up a preloaded trailer which has 3 deliveries for Ontario Canada all of them for around the Toronto area and due for the morning of the 23rd.
Stopped today to show Tom the "Biggest Truckstop in the World", the 'Iowa 80'. This place has parking for 800 trucks, a cinema, Dentist, chrome shop, Chiropractor and god knows what else. Its huge.
Christmas is looking as if its going to be spent in Northern Ontario (the backside of the world) unless despatch send me back south to somewhere like Florida which is highly unlikely but I can always dream.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Back in wintery Canada

Kitted out for the extreme temps

Thats -30C in english !!

Poor visibility is normal this time of year

Hi people. Reloaded out of Salt Lake with 6000lbs of car accessories and headed north in blizzard like conditions. The weather seemed pretty bad and got steadily worse and colder as we hit the Canadian border.
The trailer was dropped at Calgary and I spent the coldest night of my life near Calgary airport as the night heater decided to give in and the temp "inside the truck" dipped to -5F (-20C). Virtually the whole of the inside of the truck was covered in frost from both mine and Tom's breath, I have never been so cold and it took a good hour for the pair of us to warm up.
Took an empty to Brooks, a loaded to Lethbridge and another loaded back to Calgary.
Yesterday I bought a heater from Home Depot just incase the night heater gives in and it seems to be working well and gives out plenty of heat without blowing the fuse in the inverter which runs it.
So, up to the present....sat at High River waiting for paperwork as usual which in turn means a leisurely trip is turning into a race against time. The temperature has warmed up a little but is set to plummet again tomorrow. Not good news !!!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Salt Lake City. Utah

Picked Tom up from the airport on Monday night, from the flight landing to him walking out through customs took 25 mins which is pretty impressive.
Ran down to Lethbridge on Tuesday as there was some confusion over how much time off I had booked but once that was cleared up I picked up a loaded trailer in the yard and ran south to Salt Lake City. Initially Tom was refused entry into the States as there were some wrong details on the Ace Manifest and to add to the time wasted the load I was carrying which was cat litter is deemed as radioactive so an inspection was necessary.
Arrived at the customer last night and off loaded this morning at Costco which went really well and took just over an hour.
Sat at a Flying J waiting for a reload and by the sounds of it we are heading back north to Calgary

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Walked to Fremont Street Las Vegas.




Unless you are an Olympian don't attempt to walk the length of the whole Strip like I did. I made it from MGM to Fremont Street and this morning(Sunday) I can barely stand.
Fremont Street is the original Las Vegas, where "Sin City" originated from. I had a great night there and was escorted around by a street bum who showed me 'The' places to eat, drink and generally hang out. I say street bum but actually it was a guy called Tom who had been down on his luck lately. 99 cent world famous shrimp cocktails and $11.99 Steak and lobster dinners could be washed down with $1 bottles of Bud and 99c Magaritas if so wished.
Fremont Street is basically an open air stip mall which is covered by a roof that doubles as I presume the worlds biggest TV. At 1500 feet long and containing 12.5 million LED bulbs its an awesome sight and when its partnered with a 550.000 watt sound system its a sight to behold.
In the early hours I took a cab back to the truck and $22 later the driver said the walk I had done was about 9 miles, that doesnt include walking around inside the Casino's on the way up the Strip.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

A taster of the pics coming




The Bellagio Fountains shot in HDR (High Dynamic Range) and the tweaked a little using Photoshop Elements. As before, 3 identical shots are taken at different exposures then the highlights,shadows and colours are taken from all 3 and merged.
While I am on here, are there any web designers who could give me a code to allow rollover Images to be added to my blog. Thanks in advance.

Cheers,Phil

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Ran out of days, not hours.




Hi everyone. As I didnt get chance to reset last weekend I have been counting the days down because, to enter Canada I need to have had a 24hr period off duty as I have been on the go for 14 days. The ruling only applies in Canada so in theory I can enter Canada on day 14 and as long as I leave the same day I can do another trip back into the States.
Things have worked out pretty well for a change as not only can I take my time off in Las Vegas I will also be in Calgary for Monday 8th which means I can pick my son Tom up as he is back over for Xmas and New Year.
Loaded bananas today which rarely causes any problems and was in and out within the hour. Due to improvements in security in the USA I have to register for an identity card which will allow me access to Ports and suchlike in America, without it I will be refused entry. So, as I had some time to kill I rang the information line and found out its a "walk in service", got the address off Port security and tapped it into my Satnav. Had I followed its directions to the letter I would of ended up in a field so the card will have to wait until next time.
Going to really make an effort to get some good photos while I am having my time off so expect to see them soon.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

California bound




Hi all.
Left this morning and headed to Winnemuca Nevada, just as I pulled into the Flying J the satellite beeped and informed me that a truck had broken down (Hi Rob) and I was to deliver his load into California.
All was well and good until I looked at the delivery times and realised I had a fair shift ahead of me to meet the times.
Met up with Rob at Sparks Nevada and set off to the first drop.
I am literally a stones throw from San Francisco Bay and had I the time I would of jumped into a cab as Downtown San Francisco is just across the bridge from me....not the Golden gate. Still I know for next time as its one of the places I would like to see, hard to believe I am only a few miles from Alcatraz.
Once this delivery is done its across to Tracy and from there its anybody's guess.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Work as usual.

Hi, got all setled at Edmonton for a reset and ended up having to drag an empty trailer to Brooks which threw a spanner in the works. As it turned out I didnt have the time to throw in another reset as I would of missed meat inspection at the border.
Picked up a loaded trailer and did the usual checks then set off for Sweetgrass Montana, cleared customs with no problems and parked on a door waiting for the inspection the following morning which was Sunday.
Had no worries Sunday morning and set off heading for Idaho. Once again, and just how I like it, I have loads of time to reach my destination so called it a day at Dubois Idaho, leaving me about a 6hr drive to the customer.
Today I left late as I have a late delivery and spent a few hours at Jerome Idaho, caught up on my emails and did some laundry then ran to the customer.
I arrived tonight at 7pm, was on the bay for my booking time at 9pm and all done including paperwork by 9.45pm....lovely!
It seems like I am heading down into California tomorrow but as of yet I dont know which part.
Thats about it for now folks, will update soon.

Pics coming soon, the connection was slow slow it was taking forever to upload.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

A reality check.

About Me

I am a truck driver; I have always been a truck driver and probably always will.
I know my job and very rarely can I have the wool pulled over my eyes.
I have driven trucks in more than 25 countries and have covered what must be millions of miles over a 24 year period.
I consider myself to be a rare breed; I enjoy my job to such an extent that if I did not need the money I would do it as a hobby.
I am not a “dreamer” nor am I a “liar”. Yes I am from this planet and no, I do not pleasure myself too much.
I am not a Mentor, Prophet, God or a Guru. I write about what happens to me, things that affect me, how I handle situations and the way my life is panning out.

About this Blog

This Blog was created with the intention giving my family and friends a way to keep up with my travels and how I am keeping. As far as I am concerned that is the reason why I keep it up to date and post regularly.
However, I now have readers from all over the world who, thanks to the Internet have a portal to virtually travel with me and share my experiences.
This Blog is not a recruitment advertisement for the company I work for, nor is it a stone tablet into which is written the rules of driving and living in Canada.
Everything written is how I see it, if I express an opinion then that’s all it is, an opinion. If I write about my wages, hours I have worked or anything factual then its fact and can be proven.
At times, if asked, I will give advice to drivers looking to come and work in Canada. This is given with the best intentions and is nearly always based on my observations and experiences.
Occasionally, some of the things I say are taken out of context or I express details which may be privy to certain parties. I have no problem with editing or removing part of a post should this situation arise, likewise if a post is deemed to be offensive. However if I express an opinion or a thought then it will most likely not be removed as that’s all it is…an opinion or thought.
Finally I would like to thank you all for reading and taking the time out to log in. As always your comments are appreciated and can be left at the bottom of each post by clicking the “comments link.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Bad start to the week but picking up now.

This is the view I have had pretty much all day driving from Brandon to Edmonton.

Bonjour, well Monday wasnt too bad I suppose, tipped the trailer, ran to where we park our trailers, dropped it and picked up a loaded one ready to go to Regina.
Did two deliveries Tuesday morning and ran to Saskatoon where I dropped the trailer which still had one drop on for the following morning.
Took the truck in for service so Tuesday was a pretty lazy day but things were about to change.
Wednesday saw me pick up a trailer in Saskatoon and run to winnipeg, drop the trailer at the customer and run to the yard to collect a loaded one which I ran with and ended up parking at Brandon Manitoba. Did 1100km that day and was ready for bed but ended up watching a movie called "Taken" which was pretty good.
Left this morning and had another busy day ahead. Started at 7.15am pretipped the truck and ran to Regina where I ate. Set off after an hour and other than stopping for fuel I ran into Edmonton and dropped the trailer again at the customer exactly 14hrs and 1200km later. Phew !!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Thats it....trips over.

Well, the posts regarding this pretty standard trip show how things can go badly wrong.
Rang the customs brokers to confirm I was clear to cross the border and low and behold the customer, who assured me that the papers had been faxed, had failed to do so.....another hour wasted faxing 11 sheets of paperwork.
Eventually left Fargo at 11am after not even setting the alarm clock and reached the Border at Emmerson (a new crossing for me). For a change all went extremely smoothly and within 30 seconds I was in canada. Ran to and parked at the Flying J Headingley which is 13 miles from the customer and thats me, all done for the day at 3pm. The load delivers at 0930 Monday so I will be there an hour early and hopefully, fingers crossed its whipped off the trailer at lightening speed.
So, to summarise both the outbound and inbound trip.

Hrs driving: 46.75
Other work: about 11hrs not including waiting time of 7hrs at shipper
Miles covered: 2700.
Approx wage inc bonus's :$1224 (minus tax)$820
Cash spent on expenses: $55.

This trip could of been so very different had a thing or two gone my way but thats life eh.

Last day of the weeks trip today.



Hi all, well left Romeoville yesterday and ran hard all day. Covered 1044km in 10.5hrs and was parked at Fargo for 8.15pm which leaves me with 229 miles for today.
Had the news which I didnt want to hear that I have to unload the trailer at Winnipeg on Monday morning.
H&R's wage payment structure works from Sunday-Sunday which means that as this load will not be delivered until monday I wont be paid for it until next week, thats 900 miles and a collection gone from this weeks pay.
Will update with some figures when I get chance at Winnipeg.
Cheers,Phil

Saturday, November 22, 2008

A week continued...part 3

Thoroughly enjoyed my day off but come Friday morning it was time to set off again.
Left waterloo after fuelling and the pretrip at 6.30am and drove to Romeoville Illinois where I arrived at the shipper an hour early. I was told to report back in a hour which I did and was put on a bay. That was at 2pm local time. I was loaded by 6pm but then had to scale the load to check it was legal before they would give me the bills. Did that and reported back that all was good only to be informed that a USDA inspector (Vet) had to check the load....... so I sat and waited and eventually at 8pm I was ready to go.
I had less than half an hour left for my working day so returned to the truckstop where I had scaled and told that parking was $10 unless I fuelled there or spent $75 in the forecourt shop. Looks like my wallet will be a little lighter.
My earnings for the day topped out before tax at approx $150, thats for a 14hr shift and includes the loading bonus, I have lost count as to how many hours are classed as "other work"

So leaving Romeoville this morning and heading for Winnipeg Manitoba, its around 900miles. I dont know as yet as to whether or not I am unloading it or dropping the trailer in the yard, we will have to wait and see.

Bye for now.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Detention

Just a quick one. I am at the customer loading for Winnipeg and in the Despatch office there is a sign which states "Detention paid 2hrs after booking time"
At the minute I have been on the bay for 1hr and nothing has happened so in an hours time H&R can in theory can start to claim from the customer.
I might sit here all day but as the load is not Carghills I only receive the $30 loading fee, somehow that doesnt seem fair !

The week continued...

19 November

Ok, so I left you on the last post in Fargo North Dakota but that morning had left Bismark. Started at 07.45 with the standard pretrip then ran into Fargo for fuel and some brunch. Updated the blog and had a chat with another one of our drivers then punched it straight through for 7.5hrs and dropped the trailer into waterloo for them to unload. Didnt finish until late as spent so much time in Fargo but was all done for 21.30 so it was time to watch a movie then hit the sack. Other work only accounted for 30mins and all in all it was a good day, covered 1046km and it took 10.5hrs.

20 November

Was up and about by 0700 so sent in my daily macro's (messages) and waited for my next job. This came through pretty quickly and was to load from Chicago area the following afternoon. The collection was 280miles away so what do I do, I had all the time in the world to get there plus I could easily make the delivery. I made up my mind and would take the day off and leave in the morning.
So, I tidied the truck up, did a bit of shopping, bought a new game for the Xbox then proceeded to hammer that for the rest of the day and night.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

A week in the life of me.


Ok,I have done this before and have documented a round trip but its been a while so as this trip to Waterloo Iowa is pretty standard its time to do it again.
"OW" defines Other Work. This is stuff that is done for free but has to be entered on the logbook.

Monday 17th Nov
Received notice that load was ready for collection at 10.15am so ran to the yard, picked up an empty trailer and pretripped it (OW), put it through the wash which took 45mins (OW)then ran to High River. Dropped the trailer, collected and checked the documents for the load then picked up the new trailer, pretripped and scaled it (all OW).
Ran to Lethbridge and collected the Ace (electronic manifest) then ran to the border. Joined the queue waiting to get into the states, cleared my paperwork and set off for meat inspection.Total time for the above was 1.5hrs (OW)
Cleared meat inspection and ran to Havre Montana where I called it a day.

Started the day at 10.15am and worked until 9pm. During the day I took 15 mins off, drove for 550km. "Other work" accounted for over 3hrs of the day.

Tuesday 18th Nov.
Started the day at 0730 and spent 15mins pretripping the truck (OW) then left Havre. Drove 6hrs straight to Beach North Dakota where I fuelled the truck and trailer (OW) and had a break of 2.5hrs. Drove a further 2.75hrs and ended the day at Bismark.
Worked from 0730 until 1930, drove 810kms and other work accounted for 30mins of the day.

Presently parked at Fargo North Dakota having some lunch. Have 453 miles to go to reach Waterloo Iowa so in theory I will be there tonight.
Bye for now...

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Layovers made clear.....at last.

The following is an extract from a letter received in drivers wages...

A layover is defined as: a period of driver idle time caused by H&R due to lack of a load or other work.

Detention is defined as: a period of driver idle time caused by the customer,i.e waiting for loading or unloading. There are no plans to pay drivers for detention time, other than for Carghill.

Now, get a load of this.
A new system has been introduced which will virtually fully automate layover eligibility and will require no human input other than the final authorization for payment to be made. So does this new system have a cool acronym for a name.....no...its....

.........................."Removed by request".........................

So basically if you are sat in Calgary waiting for a load, once the 12hrs period which will qualify you for a layover payment is nearly up, the system will alert despatch that they need to do something with you. You will be offered a job of some kind, lets for arguments sake say that they want you to check all the trailers in the yard that are empty and you will be paid hourly for it. If you say no then you wont be paid a layover as you have refused work, if you do the trailer check you have sat all day for $16. Clever system eh.

Not being paid while under "Detention" is a pain, customers see you as mobile storage and will gladly leave you sitting all day long.
"Demurrage" (an hourly rate charged to the customer by the haulier for periods of excess waiting time) has been charged in Europe for god knows how long and i dont believe for one second that companies over this side of the pond dont charge it.

To summarize, you have more chance of .............Removed by request..........than you do of qualifying for a layover.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Speed limiters tightened



H&R go green....the policies, not the trucks.

Speed limiters on trucks are in the process of being turned down as and when trucks go near the workshops. Speeds originally limited to 65mph are being set at 62mph in a bid to help with enviromental issues.
This in my opinion is all well and good, I do my bit and recycle when I can but the limiting of trucks affects me personally and I am not too chuffed with that.

The main reason is that I am paid by the mile, limit my speed and you limit the distance I can drive in a set period of time, for an example 10hrs x 65mph = 650miles......10hrs x 62mph = 620miles so I need to work for an extra 30mins to cover the same distance.

H&R say that the Blue Chip companies we haul for have asked them to show how they are committing to enviromental issues and this is one step in an ongoing cause.

I believe that the drivers should be compensated and a payrise should be in order which reflects the percentage of the cut in top speed (approx 5%). The savings in fuel should easily compensate for this alone and in return would not only prove to the Blue Chip companies that H&R is doing its bit but also that it is looking after its drivers....the very people who are delivering the loads to them.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Winnipeg.

Hi all, sat in the Flying J at winnipeg having quick hours break then going to clash on and try to get a few more miles under my belt.
Winter is closing in, temps are just above freezing and patches of black ice have caught out a few unwary truckers. Its hard driving big hours when you are constantly monitoring the road conditions and watching for stray animals on the road as the nights are drawing in and its normally dark by early tea-time (especially in Ontario and Quebec because of the time difference).
If all goes well I should be in Calgary tomorrow afternoon which is Saturday and going to reset before picking up a load to Iowa which is due to be ready Monday morning.
I must apologise for the lack of pictures as in all honesty there has been nothing to photograph which is driving me mad as I need some new stuff not only to post on here but also to play with on Photoshop.
Come tomorrow afternoon I will have more time to update you on stuff including H&R's move to help save the enviroment...!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

HDR pictures

Before, an over exposed picture.
After, the finished result
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range.
Basically the same picture is taken 3 times, under-exposed, normal and over-exposed.
The highlights and shadows are taken from them all and blended into one picture.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Montreal bound

How do. Enroute to Montreal, weather is terrible,very cold but thankfully no snow in this neck of the woods.
Just about to fuel at Nipigon then that will leave me 915 miles to go to reach my destination.
Switched trailers with a lad last night who will arrive in Calgary later than I would of if I had delivered the load, go figure eh......
Posts on here might be a bit thin on the ground for a while, its difficult to get a connection to the internet but dont panic, I will update as soon as I can with hopefully some good news as things have been a little grim lately.
Nanoo Nanoo

Friday, November 7, 2008

The last week or so...

Hello. If I remember rightly I was at Gary when I last posted and on my way to Montreal.
I crossed the border at Windsor where a very obnoxious female customs official allowed me into the country.
As I was bringing meat into the country I was hauled in for a full inspect but thankfully I was in and out within a few hours. Ran to the other side of Toronto ready for the final leg of the journey into Anjou Quebec.
The following morning I was advised the load had been rebooked for 0400 in the morning and if I liked I could drop the trailer and city would deliver it, so thats what I did.
At this point I was told that I wouldnt be paid for sitting in Storm Lake, was given the reasons and am waiting for this to be sorted as we speak.
So, was preplanned to go to Calgary, city would load the first drop at 13hr and then I was off to Trenton Ontario to load the second at 2000hr. It all went wrong from the start with the trailer not arriving in the yard until 1700hr, then dispatch didnt know which yard the trailer was at so a lap around Montreal airport at rush hour cost another hour. I arrived at Trenton at 2230hr and was loaded in an hour and a half.
Because of time lost I will be late for the delivery which had very tight parameters in the first place and of course.....its my fault as I shouldnt of accepted the preplan !!!
So, as far as I know I am switching trailers with someone who can make the ontime delivery and I am heading back to Montreal which I am looking forward to !!!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Happy Halloween....sorry its a bit late


This was written on the 31st so excuse everything being in past tense.


The delivery wasnt too bad this morning, arrived at the wrong gate last night but it wasnt a problem. Had the internet courtesy of the company having an unlocked signal which is very good of them.
Sent the "empty" call to despatch and horror of horrors its back to Storm lake Iowa, the place I sat for two days only a few weeks ago. The load is going to Quebec which isnt too bad as at the minute I have plenty of time to get there plus its good miles.
So, have dropped the trailer and will check on it in the morning, have been shopping in Walmart and bought some photo paper so I can check to see how my efforts look in print......yes I have a printer in the truck. Initially I bought it to scan paperwork so if there ever was any dispute over the work I had done then I had it in print. Due to lack of use, not because I didnt do any work but I was to lazy to scan everything the black ink cartridge has dried up but as of today there is a fresh one in there.
Its Halloween tonight, people over here love it. Everyone I have spoken to are taken there kids "trick or treating", staff in the shops are dressed up, even the security girls at Carghills joined in the spirit of things.
Its nice to see the kids enjoying themselves, unlike the UK where all the kids (teenagers) scrounge for money with the threat of wrecking your property if you dont cough up some dough.

Back to the present time now....

Carghills screwed me again. I arrived at Storm Lake Iowa 1400hrs on Friday 31st, dropped the trailer and went back for it bright and early the following morning. It was loaded which was good, I had to scale it to confirm it was legal, ok so far, then I had to wait until 1930hrs for the paperwork which is exactly the same problem I had the last time I was here. In my eyes there is no excuse for this, I understand that the load has to be inspected by a vet but the trailer was sealed and all of this had been done. Its a massive waste of my time.
So an easy trip has gone wrong again courtesy of someone screwing up or just not doing there job. Its arse !!!!!!!!!!
Parked at Gary Indiana, could of done a few more hours but whats the point, will just do a big day tomorrow and make up time.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Greetings from billings Montana


Hello all. After waving tom goodbye it was work as usual which involved a switch (swap trailers) at a place called Craigellachie as I didnt have enough time to do the British Columbia load, reload and be back at High River in time for the load I have now which will take me to Sioux City Iowa.
Customs was a bit of a pain this morning as it was busier than usual and an hour was wasted in the line waiting to enter the States however meat inspection was a dream and I was there for no longer than 15mins.
As the title says I am parked at Billings as I only had 30 mins available to work. I think someone is looking over me as its notorious to get a parking space here but after fuelling I found what must of been the only free slot and low and behold I have a cracking internet signal. Glorious !!
Its a busy day tomorrow and will need to run the full 11hrs driving time which will still leave me a few miles over to run into Iowa for the delivery on the morning of the 31st. I prefer to get to the customer the night before but things dont always happen that way.
Most of my spare time lately has been taken up by photo-editing, I even bought a book on how to do it which is the size of a yellow pages. Things are slowly clicking into place but its all still a little confusing. The big pic at the top of the page shows the results of a lot of grief and swearing, the smaller picture is the untouched version which was taken running across to BC.
Hope you like them !!!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Tom's trip is over......


Since I was 17 and joined the army I have always found it easy to just get up,wave goodbye and go. The same was true when I did the European driving, gone for months at a time and didnt bat an eyelid about leaving people behind, I suppose its been bred into me.
Waving Tom off at the airport today was one of the hardest things I have had to do. To be honest it was bloody awful.
You all might not know that before I came to Canada Tom and I didnt see eye to eye on a few issues and I left without really speaking to him. While over here I didnt really think about him that much (thats horrible I know) The last 6 weeks have woken me up, he is almost an adult now and has grown really quickly into a very nice young man, just as I had hoped he would when he was a baby.
Tom, if you read this, and I hope you do, I love you very much indeed and will miss having you around. Who is going to make my coffee on a morning or fill my mug at the soda fountain? The truck windows will never be as clean again.
Make sure you carry out or at least try doing some of the things we spoke about, Darlington is not everything and your mates wont be there forever. Give life your best shot, look at me !
I hope your flight is a good one, as I write this you will be sat in the departure lounge no doubt checking out the air hostesses or trying your luck with some lady who is on the same plane.
Good luck Tom, I will always be here for you.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

To bring you up to date...




Well, after a few trips across the rocks I find myself sat in Calgary. Tom flies home tomorrow so its been difficult to get any decent work as I dont want him to miss his flight. So, just hanging around for the time being and waiting to see if anything needs running to Lethbridge or Edmonton which I dont think is going to happen.
The gossip factory seems to have been working overtime and word has got back that I am not happy with the way things are going. Its true and yesterday I had a chat with Steve W who said he would have a look into whats going on and fingers crossed things should get back on the same track they used to be.
Like I said, nothing has really happened this last week, I havn't even taken many pictures but come Monday things should get back to normal.

Just a scary thought to leave you with. Tom has found out that you can drive a truck over here at 18yrs old, now that puts the fear of christ into me....

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Water Fountains at Bellagio Las Vegas.

Vivid setting on camera works well in Idaho




Survived Las Vegas so its homeward bound.



Called in at Peggy Sue's diner on the way to Las Vegas to get a few shots we missed the first time.

Cool backdrop


Caesars Palace


Waiting for the fountains to start at Bellagio

Hi, showed Tom the sights and came out pretty unscathed other than a lighter wallet and sore legs from all the walking.
Hit the Strip around 3pm and set off, first call was Excalibur then we took the skytrain to Mandalay Bay which was cool as its one of the casino's I havn't been into. Back on the train to New York New York then across to MGM Grand.
Basically we tried to cram in as much as possible which is not really advised as there is so much to see and do.
Toms highlights were Caesars Palace, the fountains at Bellagio and possibly the one he will never forget which was having his pic taken with a Hooters girl.
The day flew past so quickly and before we knew it the hands on the clock were pointing to 4am...oh my god. Luckily I could start driving until after midday but yesterday was a tough one and last night we both slept like babies.
Parked at Payson UT last night and have now called it a day at Butte montana.
Have left myself with 477 miles tomorrow which is no big deal, I could of done some more driving tonight but I wanted the internet to be able to put up this post.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Screwed again by Consignee's

Once again the customer is always right, or so they say !!
Arrived at my last delivery bright and early this morning, 6am to be precise, only to be told that the goods inwards opened at 7am. OK....
Went back at 7 and was told I wasnt booked in....OK....
Said they would unload me at 9am, cool...
Went back at 9 and was fobbed off with "we will call you" ...OK
Eventually I was put on a bay at 2pm, was told I might be a while and was asked for $150 to be unloaded. I was furious, called them 'effing' bandits then stomped back to the truck to arrange an EFS Cheque.

Time was now running out, USA despatch had worked out a trip for me that was loading a day early which meant that I had an extra day to make the delivery appointment back in Calgary, or to put it in other words I had time to reset in Las Vegas. Thanks to Mark/Doug for arranging the load, its much appreciated.

Arrived at Port Hueneme to load bananas with 30mins to spare, was loaded in less than 20 mins and set off on my merry way.

Today could of been so much easier and less stressful, the blame lies totally with the consignee and the way I was messed about. I wonder if these people have the same laid back attitude when there cable goes off and they are told it will be a few days before it can be repaired. Welcome to my world.........!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

First delivery off, one to go.






After ploughing through the snow we made good time and parked at Payson Utah for the night then ran the next morning into Arizona and Nevada. The plan is to stop at Las Vegas on the return leg of the trip so we bypassed The Strip and ran to Primm to do a little retail therapy in the outlet mall there.
Spent more than I bargained for as Toms face lit up when he saw the Nike store, Kenneth Cole and Tommy Hillfiger.

Left there and then called it a day parking at a really cool place in California which was Peggy Sue's 50's Diner. Peggy Sue was a Hollywood Starlet and in 1954 opened a Diner in favour of acting. The place is full of old memorabilia, signed pictures of Hollywood stars and the food is really good. I recommend a visit, dont forget your camera like I did. If you are lucky you may see an old man sat at the end of the bar called Pops, who will happily chat away and ask you a ton of questions, it was after our meeting with him we found out he is Peggy Sue's father and lives next door to the diner.

So, arrived at the first delivery this morning and after a bit off a carry on getting onto the dock was unloaded in quick time, all for a lumpers fee of $40.
Tom spotted another huge outlet mall and once again adidas ,Timberland ,Rockport and suchlike did there best at offloading my hard earned cash.

Its now Tuesday night, we are parked at Ontario California and are an hours drive to my last delivery in Vernon. Hopefully, fingers crossed we will get a load of bananas and be parked in Las Vegas for tomorrow tea time.

Little Bighorn battlefield





Bit late with this post as I forgot we had been.
If you drive south through Montana heading for wyoming you come across the place where General Custer and 210 of his men got there arses wupped by Indian Warriors from Cheyenne, Arapaho and Lakota tribes in 1876.

There is no commercial access to the battlefield, parking is available either on the road or if you are lucky next to the gas station, then there is about a 2 mile walk to the site. Entrance is $5 and allows you entry to the site and the visitors centre.

To be honest, unless you have a genuine interest in that sort of history then it might be considered a bit of a disapointment i am sorry to say.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Taken this morning, snow...arrgghhh

Winter is here.........already !

From this.......
To this in less than 2 days
First casualties of the snow and ice

Howdy, on my way to sunny California, taking Tom to Las Vegas and winter decides to kick in, bloody awesome !!!
Woke at Helena to a light covering of snow which got steadily worse the further south we headed. As far as I am aware the Interstate is closed about an hour down the road so I will sit and keep an eye on the Idaho website until it opens. An easy trip is now going wrong...again.

The last week.

Tom at the observation tower in vancouver
The tower in Vancouver is on the far right
The Chinese gardens in ChinatownWierd and wonderful stuff for sale at the Chinese Markets

Hi, sat in Delta for a while then decided to go into Vancouver itself and check out the city. Caught a bus from just outside the yard which took us to the skytrain station then jumped on the skytrain which took us to Metropolis which is Canadas second biggest Mall, back on the train to the Waterfront where we checked out the observation tower which isnt that tall when you compare it to the picture (tower is far right).
Then it was off to Chinatown where our eyes were opened by the stuff the markets have for sale and what is offered in the restaurants, no part of any animal is off the menu.
So, picked up a trailer and headed in Washington to deliver on 9th Oct then reloaded fries back to Lethbridge. Yesterday morning ran to High River to pick a trailer up for Palm Springs and Vernon california which is good news as Tom will get to see Las Vegas plus add a few more States to his list.
All was going well until this morning, Sunday 12 Oct...........