Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The Jackalope.

On my way down to Sioux City I stopped at a truckstop called "Jumping Jacks" in Belle Fourche..South Dakota. The menu as in a few other truckstops is like a newspaper which not only shows the food menu but has a bit of advertising and local trivia.
I had heard about Jackelopes before but the article gave me a lot more insight. A cross between a jack rabbit and an antelope the Jackalope is extremely rare and even while I was enjoying my lunch 3 old men who sat drinking coffee laughed and ridiculed the other old gentleman in there group who said he seen one about 30 years ago.
Licenses are required to hunt the Jackalope and are issued by a lottery basis however one place to issue the license on a first come first served basis is The Douglas Wyoming Chamber of Commerce.
The terms of hunting must be strictly adhered to. A license allows the holder to take only 2 Jackelope in the season, a male and a female. The Buck must be taken first and then a Doe. Only traditional methods of hunting are allowed and the only means of capturing a Jackalope is by lasso'ing the hind legs; once caught the animal must be killed as quickly and humanely as possible.
As in my last post I stopped at Walldrug and was able if I so wished to purchase a mounted Jackalope as shown in the pictures. The pictures of animals that are alive are taken from the web.
Numerous sites are dedicated to the Jackalope along with details of festivals, sightings and hunts.
The 2 pics below are taken at Walldrug and the Jackalope are available for purchase




Saturday, March 28, 2009

Walldrug..in Wall South Dakota

Places to tether your horse in between car parking spaces

Of all the places I have visited South Dakota comes out top for cheap, easy access things to see. Not so long ago it was the 1880's Town and now its Walldrug.

A small selection from the Western Wear shop


It all started 78 years ago when Dorothy and Ted Hustead bought the drugstore in a place called Wall; home to a population of 326 people. Things were very grim until they came across the idea of giving free iced water to weary travellers as they still do to this very day.

Bronze statues on display in one of the dining rooms


Walldrug is now a 76,000 sq ft attraction which houses restaurants, over 300 original oil paintings and lifesize carvings of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid made from 187yr Cedar tree.

I love this picture...Just one of numerous gift shops


Its worth a visit and there is Truck/RV parking.
Walldrug website can be found HERE

Friday, March 27, 2009

Colourful...unrealistic pictures.

I have had a complaint about the pictures I post on my blog (believe it or not).
Apparently they are not true to life, too cartoon-ish and the colours are unbelievable. I say complaint but I suppose it was more of a critique.
My answer is simple and no disrespect is intended.
I take a picture and if the outcome is not how I saw it at the time I will make it so, or would even go as far as to make the photo look as how I would "like" to see it.
I think that its not only more interesting to look at (even if it looks like a water colour) but also shows my artistic flare (hahaha).
A lot of the time the colours are only saturated a little, in the example below all I did was emphasise the colours that already existed...even if the eye didnt see them.
This picture has been posted before but for some unknown reason I took it again this morning. The buildings sit next door to the meat inspection at Sweetgrass Montana and everytime I go there it catches my eye, maybe its the cracked paint or the colour...I just like it !


No rush but the wheels are turning.




On my way to Sioux City Iowa but received a message stating my delivery had been put back a bit as the receiver doesnt work Sunday mornings. Its no hardship to me as it gives me more time to get there and you know I dont like running hard.
Today I ran mostly cross country and tried to keep off the Interstates, its been a while but a definite smile spread across my face when I looked through the windscreen and saw what was in front of me.



Today alone I spotted Bison, An Eagle, countless Deer, a Skunk and so many breeds of Duck and geese I lost count. Its been a good day. Work may be slow but my wheels are turning, there is money going into the bank and everything still feels new...if you know what I mean.



Only 656 miles to Sioux City so its either a big day tomorrow then a day off, or two easy days taking in the sights and stopping off for plenty of breaks.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Lady of the Mountains.



Not so long ago I posted the following picture, its something I see on a regular basis and therefore its nothing new.
What I didnt know was the story of the Lady plus some facts and figures, she looks so tiny perched on top of the rocks.

Our Lady of the Rockies stands 90 feet tall and in the likeness of Mary, Mother of Jesus, sits atop the Continental Divide 8510 ft. above sea level overlooking Butte, Montana. It is the United States's largest Madonna and the second largest statue. The statue was built by volunteers using donated materials to honor women everywhere, especially mothers. The base is 8,510 feet above sea level and 3,500 feet above the town. The statue is lit and visible at night. The design for the statue was engineered by Laurien Eugene Riehl. He was a retired engineer for the Anaconda Company who donated his engineering skills to the project.

Work on the project began December 29, 1979. Volunteers spent many summer evenings blasting a road to the top of the Rockies, sometimes making only 10 feet of progress a day. The base of the statue was poured in September 1985 with 400 tons of concrete. The concrete was provided by Pioneer Concrete Company, a long time family business in Butte, Montana. On December 17, 1985, a CH-54 Tarhe from the Army National Guard's 137th Aviation Company lifted the statue in four sections into place.

Dark, miserable and gloomy BC



After the lovely drive up through the Grand Coulee I collected apples from 2 collections in BC and since the collections took so long I called it a night at Sicamous and ran into Calgary yesterday where I dropped the trailer at the customer and ran to the truckstop.
As you can see the weather took a few more casualties, I have no idea if the drivers are ok but I sincerely hope so, especially the truck which was heading eastbound as his side has buried itself into the rockface.





It seems as if winter hasnt gone away yet, its 12f (-11c) in Calgary this morning although it doesnt seem to be that cold.
My next planned jaunt is to Sioux City Iowa, yup...Iowa....home to Waterloo. Still waiting for confirmation that the trailer is good to go but experience tells me not to hold my breath .

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Grand Coulee Dam and Dry Falls

Heading up to the Dam

The Dry Falls




As the name suggests, Dry Falls no longer carries water, but is the remnant of what was once the largest waterfall known to have existed on earth. Viewing the 3.5 miles of sheer cliffs that drop 400 feet, it is easy to imagine the roar of water pouring over them. (Niagara Falls by comparison, is one mile wide with a drop of 165 feet).

The Grand Coulee Dam

The Dam was built in 1942 and at the time was one of the biggest concrete structures in the world. Its over a mile long and 550 feet tall, the 9,000,000 cubic meters of concrete that were poured gives it a grand weight of over 24,000,000 tons.
The Dam consists of 4 power plants and 33 generators which provide 6809 MW of power.

Monday, March 23, 2009

EFS Cheques



I dont really know how EFS cheques work but I presume its like how I will describe.
I need some cash to pay either lumpers, wash out or tolls so I request the amount needed via the satellite system in the truck. The received message will give me the transaction number as well as the issuer number, both of these I write on the cheque and give it to say.... the lumper. He then calls a freefone number which authorises and confirms the payment so now the cheque is as good as cash.
It seems as if EFS act as a middle man in handling the cash pretty much the same as Paypal. H&R must either have an account or deposit the cash electronically with EFS and they pay it out, obviously for a handling fee.
Personal cheques can be issued as a cash advance but the handling fee is passed onto the driver
Thats about it really, all it takes is a few minutes and everone is happy

Bye Bye 65





Its been almost 6 months since I kicked off about the reduction in speed regarding the trucks limiters and by ducking and diving, swerving and avoiding I managed to keep Piglet (my truck) running at a top speed of 65mph, until now. She went in for a service at the weekend and now I am limited to 62mph....I know its only 3mph difference but it makes a difference. Anyway, there is nothing I can do about it so thats that !!

I am sat in Moses Lake Washington at the minute after picking up a trailer in Coaldale Alberta, running across the Crows Nest Pass into British Columbia through Idaho and into Washington.



The pics of the Elk are from a farm in Idaho where they are bred for the meat, as I walked up to the fence the Elk ran up although they kept there distance they were very inquisitive and followed me as I walked along.



Will update when I find out what I have next, work seems really slow at the minute so I would be glad of anything.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Lumpers update

The following was left by Trucker Jim on my comments page regarding my post on lumpers and gives more insight into the subject.

Thanks Jim

It is a sham but you only know half the story, let me explain. As recently as a few years ago lumpers were mostly scumbag degenerate types who hung around outside of these major warehouses looking for work. It was possible to negotiate with them and reign in the costs a bit. Then the powers that be saw a profit to be made and only allowed authorized lumpers, AKA the in house service. Some are now going further and like Wal-Mart actually charge you for their people to unload their order out of your truck. Don't want to pay? Do it yourself you say? They will not let you use the power equipment to get the pallets of the truck and if you can't get it done in 2 hours they will charge you and/or kick you out to make another appointment. Wal-Mart is one of the better ones, at least you know it's $50 and will be done in under 2 hours.


Trkrjim said...
I have heard that Canadian drivers unloading their own trucks in the U.S. are violating immigration laws since they don't have a legal right to work in the U.S. other than to drive. It sort of makes sense if you look at it from the perspective of they would be paid for it by their companies. And it does take place in the U.S. so it is in effect taking work away from the illegal alien who would normally do it...

Jims blog can be found by clicking the link on the left of this page for Americas favourite trucker or by clicking HERE

Friday, March 20, 2009

Tracy to Port Hueneme to Lethbridge




Left Tracy in decent time (after paying the lumpers) and headed south to load bananas out of Port Hueneme which is just a stones throw from Los Angeles. Needed to wash the trailer out and had an hour wait at the Blue Beacon truckwash which is a nationwide network and provides a great service, normally very fast, efficient and the staff are extremely friendly.



Loaded the following morning and as we will soon need an ID card to be able to get onto the docks went to the processing centre where I waited for 5hrs and still didnt get my application in so another visit will be required.



Normally I run on my own, not really by choice, its just how it works out but this trip I ran with a fellow German driver and to be honest I really enjoyed the company,so thanks Hartmut...it was a pleasure.



Ended up dropping the trailer in Lethbridge as due to the time lost applying for my ID card I didnt have the hours to reach Edmonton.



Truck is in for service so its a few nights in the hotel then back to the grind on Saturday afternoon for a leisurely drive to Washington (State not DC)




Lumpers...necessity or a con ?

Hi all, I have mentioned Lumpers a few times but dont think I have really explained them so thanks Tom for asking the question on the comments page.

Many of the companies we deliver to...especially the USA require that you pay a fee to be offloaded. This fee varies but can be as much as $250+ dependent on how the product is loaded and stacked.

The money is paid to the Lumper services who from what I can gather are not employed by the company (say Walmart) but are allowed onto the property for the purpose of offloading trucks. I suppose its like Tesco (supermarket chain) in the UK taking on agency drivers, the agency looks after your wages..holidays and sick pay, all you do is turn up and drive Tesco trucks.

I also did hear a rumour that in the USA a truck driver cannot unload himself as its taking a job that somebody else could be employed to do. I am sure I will be corrected on this.

There are advantages to Lumpers in that they do all the work, you simply open your doors and back onto a dock, they will offload the truck and break down any pallets.
H$R will pay the driver to do this but the rate of pay nowhere near matches the rate being paid to the Lumper so its not worth getting your hands dirty and instead I watch a movie or play on the Xbox.

My major gripe with Lumpers is that they are being paid an extortionate rate and therefore should have you in and out as soon as possible, this is not always the case and its frustrating to have to wait 3-4hrs and pay $100's for a job you could have done yourself in an hour.

Any fees are paid by H&R usually by EFS cheque (will do a post on EFS soon)

So there you go, necessity or con ? I believe its a bit of both however I would like a better service for the money paid.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Unloading ....Tracy California



Hello, well the last load got cancelled after waiting 20hrs for it and was replaced with a one hitter to Tracy California so other than wasted time things didnt work out too badly.
Ran down through Montana, Idaho and on the second night parked at the wonderfully named town of Jackpot Nevada. The only real attraction of the town is that its made up of half a dozen casino's and thats about it.
Ended up throwing $20 into the slots and came away 10mins later with $50 so I cashed out and called it a night.



Big day yesterday as I ran straight to the customer in Tracy and arrived late last night. At the minute I am being unloaded and can feel the truck rocking as the beef is being taken off, its all at a price of course....$180 for the privilege of being unloaded.
After I am done here the plan is to run to Port Huenneme California and load bananas back to Edmonton which will unload the morning of 19th so it will be a big push to get there in time.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

High River...you have to hate the place.

Morning, yup good morning Not the time of day I usually post at but I am sat with nothing to do and have done so since lunchtime yesterday. The infamous meat company where I am waiting must have such a bond with the cattle that even after slaughter they dont want to see them leave.



A typical sight at High River, streams of trucks bringing in the livestock

The load is due for delivery in Washington (State) tomorrow morning followed by 2 drops in California and now..once again an easy trip is turning into a bit of a mare and I am not on the road with it yet.
I have done all of my jobs and even vacuumed the truck out. Its amazing that even though my boots go no further into the truck than my floormat the amount of dirt picked up is unbelievable.

So its sit and wait time, the load could be ready in 5mins or it might not go at all if there is a problem. I think its the feeling of being left in the dark thats my major gripe and nobody can give you an insight into whats happening.

Thats my moan over and done with, hopefully in the not too distant future my next post will be positive, happy and full of joy. Hahaha

Monday, March 9, 2009

Washington DC, brief summary.



On my last trip I mentioned that I had driven through Washington DC. The following are just a few facts which not a lot of of people including Americans know.

Washington, D.C, formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790.

Washington D.C does not belong to any State nor is it a State itself.

The city is located on the north bank of the Potomac River and is bordered by the states of Virginia to the southwest and Maryland to the other sides. The District has a resident population of 591,833; however, because of commuters from the surrounding suburbs, its population rises to over one million during the workweek.

The United States Congress has supreme authority over Washington, D.C

The District has a total area of 68.3 square miles (177 km2), of which 61.4 square miles (159 km2) is land and 6.9 square miles (18 km2) (10.16%) is water.

Washington, D.C. was designed by Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant around 1791. It was the first American city planned for a specific purpose. It was designed to be a beautiful city with wide streets and many trees.

The White House stands at 18ft above sea level.

The International Spy Museum can be found in D.C and is the first and only public museum in the United States solely dedicated to espionage and the only one in the world to provide a global perspective on this all-but-invisible profession.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Early finish today so its catch up time.

Last time I wrote I was on the door at the customer in Jarratt Virginia. I was unloaded pretty quickly and needed to have a trailer washout as inside the trailer it was swimming in blood so I was informed there was a wash 15 miles south of where I was so I set off. Suprise suprise there was no wash and my new load had come through which was at Glenn Allen 65 miles north of where I was and the only confirmed trailer wash was 30 miles north of that. Washed the trailer after taking the wrong turning, as the picture shows it doesnt take much to realise I was going the wrong way.


Ran back to the customer and was loaded in record time, my new destination was Mississauga Ontario which would take in Maryland and also Washington DC.
I did plan on stopping the night at Washington DC and was going to take a cab to see the Whitehouse but lack of parking and pretty much not knowing where I was going put a stop to that.
Had an uneventful run to the yard in Mississauga but did cross the border at Fort Erie which is not a million miles from Niagara Falls.
Dropped the trailer and took a 36hr break.

Left friday morning with a load for British Columbia which I will be dropping in the yard at Winnipeg Manitoba. I have travelled this road plenty of times but have never stopped at the Terrance fox memorial at Thunder Bay, the following is an extract from the Terry Fox Run website........





Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977.
While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope.

After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. He ran 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario.

It was a journey that Canadians never forgot.

However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at age 22.



The full story and links to leave online donations can be found at Terry Fox website

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Made it to Virginia



Made it to Virginia in one piece and as I write this post I am sat at the customer waiting to unload.
It was a pretty uneventful ride down, once again thanks to the shipper I was a day late getting away so therefore once again an easy run turned into a flat out blast to get here in time.
Two new states have been added to the my list..both Virginia and West Virginia. Both the Virginia's are pretty much the same but I did notice the speed limits tend to vary more than any other states as one minute its 70mph and within a few miles this can fluctuate down to 55 then up to 60.
The local accent has made me smile a few times as its tinged with a southern drawl.
For those who follow the routes I take this is the way I came down to Virginia.
Winnipeg Manitoba to Fargo North Dakota.
Fargo to Minneapolis Minnesota.
Minneapolis to Bloomington Illinios.
Bloomington to Indianapolis Indiana.
Indianapolis to Cincinnati Ohio.
Cincinnati to Grayson Kentucky.
Grayson to Charleston West Virgina.
Charleston to Richmond Virginia.
Richmond to Jarratt Virginia.

The trip was about 1700 miles and took around 30hrs driving time.

I have been preplanned to load not far from here when empty which with any luck shall net me another new state to add to my list namely Maryland.