Where I have been the last few weeks?

Okay, life has gotten a bit more interesting since I went to work for Doug Andrus Distributing. Now I am available for ALL 48 cont. states plus Canada(must get a passport)! And am making a pretty good stab at them already. Let's see: Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Kentucky, Alabama, Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Tennessee, Washington, Oregon and Indiana. When I ran for Cheney Transportation before moving to Idaho Falls I also drove a lot in Nevada and California. THEN add a few more states I was in for IdaCal in the 80's: Kansas, Michigan and West Virginia, South Dakota and Arkansas. Save for Louisiana I have pretty much hit all states not bordering the Atlantic Ocean! And I do expect I will make the Atlantic sometime, which is cool as I have never seen it.

Now then, here are a few pics I have shot as I cruise America!

Lots of rock pics in Utah and Arizona, this is in AZ

And Sunset pictures......

You should see all the kinds of cactus in AZ!

Rivers all over, this one in Wyoming.

The trees were changing in Pennsylvania.

And in closing, a most unique McDonalds right over the freeway!!

It is really amazing how far you can get in a few days. On a good day I can go about 650-675 miles. We are expected to try for a minimum of 2500 miles per week, 10,000 per month. AND do it legally!!! I can drive 11 hours and work an extra 3 hrs per a 14 hr period. Working means truck maintenance, loading/unloading, etc. The bad part for me is you can find yourself driving thru the night and trying to sleep during the day!! My XM radio keeps me sane!!

Driving America

Judy has inspired me to write a bit about my life. That and the fact I have more time to do so since losing my regular job as a Industrial weigh scale technician due to the economy dunk and falling back on my backup; long haul trucking.

I drove OTR (over the road) for about 8 months last century, circa 1987. Back then one only needed a chauffeurs license and no special training to drive 80,000 plus pounds down the road. But, back then there was a more experienced breed of driver and very few "schools" churning out probies (I love NCIS!). After driving off road in Alaska where I didn't even need a license at all I came back to the real world and found out I needed a CDL license! Got lucky found a guy licensed by the state to give guys like me the easy way ($250 dollars, please!).

So, here I am once again feeding my huge male ego driving the BIG rigs across America!

Everyone should get the chance to drive or at least ride in one of these steel steeds. You sit well above the 4-wheelers (anything with 4 wheels in trucker jargon!) and it seems you can see forever! You drive up to 11 hours per day, and can be "on duty" 3 more loading/unloading, taking a break or even a short nap.

I just drove from our home port at Idaho Falls, ID to Birmingham, AL. I started at 3pm on Tuesday and arrived at 1:30pm Friday, having traveled just over 1900 miles. A good day sees you making 600+ miles. My 2007 Peterbuilt is governed to 62 mph tops. Even though many states allow 70-75 mph for truckers the industry saves a bundle on fuel at these lower speeds without loosing much in time.

Ok, what is it like inside the cab, you say? Well, let's take a look.......

These two show each end of my bunk with shelving and closets. In the left you can see the power converter on the bed I use to power my laptop!

This one shows you my box fan sitting on top of my DC powered Frig!

Okay, flipping around we see the driving end. Pretty cool, huh?! I have verizon wireless internet, at this moment I am in that left chair writing this blog. Notice the CB radio at top center. This truck has a 13 speed transmission, a 3 position "Jake" brake which assists in slowing the truck on downhill runs without using the brakes, and a cruise control system just as good as yours! Oh, that is a curtain I put up on the windows to block out the sun and prying eyes!

Okay, just one more for now. This is the computer system truckers use to communicate with their respective trucking companies. I have a big transponder on top of my truck which links by satellite to home base. I have to report in each morning before 10am AND when I reach a loading point, when I am loaded, when I reach an unloading point and also when I am unloaded. You get the picture, a pain in the ..........

That will be enough for now. My next post will be about the country I roam across. See you then!