Montreal bound again...

Hi all, well the run to Calgary didnt last too long, under 2 days to be precise. A switch was arranged at Nipigon as the drivers heading towards us had time off booked and needed to be back in Lethbridge. Waited for over 3hrs for them to show up which was not there fault as somewhere along the line the times got confused which meant Paul and I could of ran an extra 200 miles and the team we were switching with would of had less to do to get them home.....amazing isnt it that in this age of computers, electronic route planners and times being tapped into a satellite communications system that so much can go wrong !

So we are heading back to Montreal and as we will be early for the delivery the plan is to drop the trailer at the yard and then hopefully it wont be too long until we get a backload.

Highway 11 and 17 are beginning to become a bit of a chore plus its pretty much not stopped raining hard for the last few days which makes it harder to drive into the night. Bad roads,no street lighting,hard rain and the ever present threat of Moose make the trip so much harder and tiring.
Making the most of things at the minute and grabbing some internet time at Flying J truckstop, Kapuskasing Ontario before pushing out another 300 miles to North Bay Ontario where we will call it a night. That will leave 300 miles to run tomorrow to reach Montreal.

No new pictures today as to be honest its been so grey and miserable it hasnt been worth getting the camera out. I did stop at the Walmart and had some printed just to see how they looked on paper and I was pleased with the results.
Next time you hear from me it will more than likely be from the truckstop near to the yard in Montreal Quebec

Montreal or bust

Hi all. Well a few things have happened and a lot of miles have been covered since I last posted. If I remember rightly myself and Paul left you in Mississauga where we picked up a trailer, ran empty to Kitchener and picked up a loaded one bound for Saskatoon. That trip ended in Winnipeg as there was an urgent load which needed to be in Montreal so we dropped ours in the yard and hitched up to the new load.
After working out what time we could be in Montreal we sent in the information and set off. Basically we had in excess of 1550 miles to cover in the shortest time possible but our estimated time of arrival wasnt quick enough and we were informed that the load should be at the customer 12hrs before we had planned. There was no way on gods earth that we could knock so much time off so the load was rebooked and we hit Montreal at 9am local time. The delivery went smoothly enough and after working silly hours to get the load here was are still sat waiting for a reload. A preplan has come through but its anybodies guess when that will be ready.
As always, the layover dodge of city work was offered and graciously declined, we both needed some sleep bigtime so the time off was welcomed.
The preplanned load we have should get us to Calgary around Monday 27th and once again its decent miles (2300 give or take)but at the minute we have plenty of time to do it in which is a blessing considering the recent trips we have had.

Lightning at Minneapolis

Downtown Calgary and Paul's Mentor Trip

Hi all, got loads to talk about but not sure if I have the time but we will give it a go.
I knew Paul from the UK when we both worked for Autocarriers which mainly involved delivering new cars to dealers nationwide. He is over here now and last Saturday got a lift to Calgary so he could start his mentor trip which was to... of course ... Waterloo Iowa, my favourite haunt (not).
The trailer wasnt due to load until the Sunday morning so we jumped in a cab and did the tourist in Downtown Calgary. Paul was a bit dubious about standing on the glass floored observation deck but managed even though he didnt look to comfortable hahahah.
Sunday morning came and as usual the trailer was late in getting released but we still had a chance at get through meat inspection. Called in at Lethbridge for some paperwork and found out that Paul wasnt on the system so therefore he couldnt cross into the States, not a problem was the reply from despatch we can fix it...no we cant...yes we can...errr no we cant so we will see you in the morning.

Monday morning we left for the border, went to meat inspection and was told we had a full inspect which meant more time lost. A couple of hours later we were on our way. As we had lost so much time we had to drive late into the night and wildlife is a problem on the road we had to take. Paul had a very near miss when a deer darted out and I laughed as I told him I had never come that close. Sods law kicked in when it was my turn to get behind the wheel and its at this point when I have to apologise to Bambi's mother as 5 mins later I hit my first deer, not intentionally I have to say.

Saw a massive lightening storm going on around Minneapolis and dropped the trailer at Waterloo the night before it was due delivery and went to bed.
Woke the following morning to a barrage of messages stating we should of loaded at 0800 that morning and demanding to know why we hadnt. Reason 1....we finished at 0330, reason 2... we are not mind readers, nobody told us anything.

Ended up doing a switch just south of Waterloo and then had to one hit the load to Toronto in time for delivery 11am the following morning, its about an 800 mile trip and the time was already 2pm. Managed to deliver on time and sat for over 6hrs while the labour we had to employ at a cost of $80 took his time to get the melons off the trailer.

Dropped the trailer in Mississauga and was preplanned for a load out of Kitchener Ontario to Saskatoon Saskatchewan. Since the mentor trip had started this was the first time we had were Paul could properly work out the times on the preplan and decide if we could do the trip. We agreed there was no problem and we had plenty of time. It was then after Paul accepted the plan that we received a message stating that the load wouldnt be ready until at least 10hrs after what he had planned for. Now for me thats not a problem but for somebody who is learning the ropes it is as it means going back to the drawing board and recalculating the trip.
So, after refusing city work (offered to us so that the company dont have to pay layovers) we both got a good nights sleep and are at present waiting for the beep on the satellite to let us know the trailer is ready

Stampede Pics.

Just a few more, still plenty left if you want to see them.

Calgary Stampede. The greatest show on earth ?

The greatest show on earth...well...errmm....I dont think so. The main reason is I got pretty wound up by the hype and was truly let down when I arrived at the stampede. It wasnt as big as I was led to believe, there was no cowboys riding around and the place was pretty deserted. I particularly wanted to see the Rodeo part of it, riding the bulls and so on but the tickets had sold out, I was offered one by a 'tout'; he wanted $125 for a $75 ticket !!!!.
If you are into cows, bulls and tractors then the show is for you, same as if you want to pay inflated prices for burgers and soda pop. Fancy a pint ? No problem if you are willing to wait in a queue that would shame the ones at Disney just to get into the bar, then after quenching your thirst and having a walk round having to go through it all again.
The highlight for me was watching a 'Pow Wow' put on by the Native Indians, I managed to get some cracking pics and they will be on here in the next few days.

The last few days

Just some pics from the last few days, in Calgary at the minute and planning on going to the Stampede.
More to come very soon.