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.

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

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.

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.

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 !!!

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.