My story of trucking in North America: Living Memorial Sculpture Garden

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Living Memorial Sculpture Garden

A sombre place which in a way very much reminded me of Dachau; the Nazi concentration camp in as such the Living Memorial Gardens are deadly quiet even though a busy highway runs only a short distance away.
Dedicated to veterans of all conflicts the Living Memorial Sculpture Garden is located 15 miles North of Weed California on the 97.
Metal sculptures and memorials pay tribute to veterans of wars but also to the unsung heroes like nurses and those loved ones left behind.
If its warm outside take a bottle of water with you as its a good old hike to see all of the sculptures.
There is loads of parking both inside the Memorial and also in a large pullout area at the entrance.

The website should you be interested is HERE

6 comments:

ROGER TRUCKER said...: Hey, how's it going?
You will see me on the road soon driving an H&R truck, just like yours...
It's a pleasure to follow your blog!
Cheers,
RT; June 3, 2009 at 6:50 PM
jbmchad said...: ya know ive passed that living memorial several times but never stopped to take a look. definitely have to check it out next time im that way. its nice when you have loads where you get to take your time and smell the roses but they are few and far between; June 4, 2009 at 1:34 AM
Steve--the Rooster said...: Hey
See u got it then!
I've gone single too truck number 85298
See you soon pal
Steve; June 4, 2009 at 1:59 PM
Montedarlo said...: Hi Roger, welcome to the Big Red Team (how corny).
Hope things work out well for you.
Best wishes,Phil; June 6, 2009 at 9:32 AM
Montedarlo said...: Hi jbmchad. The memorial is worth a visit if you have time. I suppose if you rushed it you would probably need 30 mins or so.
I try to make an effort to get out and see things. I had time on that load because nobody had messed up and I wasnt having to cover their arses which is normally the case.
Cheers,Phil; June 6, 2009 at 9:34 AM
Montedarlo said...: Hey Steve, long time no hear, hope things are going to your liking.
How will you sleep without the truck bouncing about ?
Good luck matey.

Phil; June 6, 2009 at 9:35 AM

Your bank, its your choice.

I have already covered a bit about credit here but something has come to light.
When you arrive in Canada you will be taken to a bank and an account will be opened for you.
You are no way obliged to open an account at a branch you dont want.
I have had a few hiccups lately with ATB, the latest being having to wait 2.5hrs to have it authorised for me to be able to but my new laptop as I was going over my daily withdrawl limit.
If you are not happy with your bank then you can always change it, just as I am about to do

Rubbish pic but I have seen it

The Salton Sea is an inland saline lake, occupying the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink, part of the larger Colorado Desert in Southern California, north of the Imperial Valley. The lake covers a surface area of approximately 376 square miles (974 km²), the largest in California. While it varies in dimensions and area due to changes in agricultural runoff and rain, it averages 15 by 35 miles (24 by 56 km), with a maximum depth of 51 feet (15½ m), giving a total volume of about 7.5 million acre-feet (9.3 km³). Sea inflow averages 1.36 million acre-feet per year (53.2 m³/s).

Facts about Canada

Canada invented the baseball glove in 1883
Canada does not own the North Pole.
Santa Claus does !!
Its population equates to 3 people per square Km
Canadians rank 6th in the worlds standard of living
Canada has almost 2 million lakes
Cigarettes and Alcohol are cheaper in the UK
Hockey is the national sport
The word Canada translates as "Village"
it has the longest highway,7604km long
Canada has 42 National parks
25% of the worlds fresh water is in Canada
Second largest country in the world
There are 3 oceans on 3 sides
Canada hs the worlds longest coastline
population is roughly 33 million
6 million of those speak french
It has six time zones

Winter is coming and its serious

A few weeks ago my night heater packed in through the night. I woke at 2am and the temp in the cab was -2. I was freezing in my pants and summer quilt. I told a canadian lad about it and received the biggest bollocking. How was I to survive if I got stuck somewhere for a few days in temps as low as -30 ? Basically I would die so the need for proper winter clothing is essential and needs to be in the front of the mind of lads coming over in the winter time. I have added a list of what I consider essentials and a rough guide to the prices.

Bank accounts and Credit

When you arrive in Canada you will be taken to open a bank account which is easy enough. Unless you can prove your credit worthyness from the UK its unlikely you will be offered a credit card. You will need one in the USA unless you pay cash for everything. The answer is to put cash up front. Mastercard/visa will give you a card if you put say $500 up front so in theory you are spending your own money but it will build you a credit history in Canada. Its worth budgeting for this before you arrive over here.