Indianapolis, IN

I'm currently parked in back of a pallet recycling plant here in Indianapolis. I dropped a load of CHEP pallets at about 6 AM and I'm outa hours after driving all night to get here from Alabama.

When I come back on duty I am headed west about 50 miles to grab a load of cork which I will take to Anheuser Busch down in Houston. These two loads combined to give me the miles I was looking for to add to my October totals. I had a hard time making this happen though and feel that my manager should have been more forthcoming with me on Friday before she went home.

I owe my friend Patti in Eden, NC for getting me the backup load to Houston, THANKS PATTI!!

The drive up here was very uneventful. I have been listening to audiobooks lately to pass the time and have gotten hooked on them. When audiobooks first started becoming more popular I thought they were just for people too lazy to pick up a 'real' book and take time to read it. However I admit while that may be the case for some, I can see the benefits for a wider variety of consumers.

My personal situation gives me little time to start and finish a book. I like being able to pass the time on the road in this manner. I guess the biggest drawback is the limited variety of audiobooks out there. While you can walk into Barnes & Noble or a good used book shop and find practically anything you want in print, audiobooks are still a much thinner selection of choice.

Still, more and more authors are having thier works published in both print and audio. I think this market will grow as time passes.

Looking outside I see that it's overcast and a bit chilly here.. Old man Winter.. He's a comin'... I'm gonna catch a few more hours of sleep before heading out.

Cullman, AL

Well I've been slackin on the website... I took some time off and have been trying to make up for it so I haven't had much time to post lately. I did another podcast tonight though and after I played it back I have to apologize for my stuffy nose... I have a cold :(

Anyway, enjoy!

Willows, CA

Staying over at the terminal in Willows tonight and dropping the last part of a multiple stop delivery in Rocklin tomorrow. We dropped the bulk of the freight, bathtubs, in Orland this morning.

I got my generator hooked up and running. Sweet. I am totally self-contained now. This generator will run up to 8 hours on a gallon of unleaded gas. Not too shaby. It puts out 2000 watts at peak and has a surge protector built in. I just tested it out and watched a DVD on my flat panel TV while running my laptop at the same time. No problems.

I finalized my decision to purchase a generator after I got a new truck. A Volvo. Yeah the truck is nice. However the company rigs these trucks to shut off after 5 minutes unless the optimized idle is turned on. The problem with optimized idle is that when the cab reaches the designated temperature it shuts off. When the temperature varies by +/- 3 degrees it starts the engine and the environmental control kicks in again. That's exactly what it's supposed to do. The problem is that when you use a power inverter it will cut out for a few seconds every time the engine starts up. This causes the sattelite to have to re-aquire its signal (about a minute and a half) or if I'm watching a DVD, I have to scan the chapters to find where I left off. This is VERY annoying.

Basically I gave up watching TV or DVD's since I got this truck. With my old truck I could just shut the thermostat off and then back on before the engine shut off and it would reset, effectively preventing the engine from shutting down. This Volvo is different and I can't shut off the thermostat.

Now I don't have to run the engine at all anymore unless I need environmental control. With the price of fuel these days, everyone is happier this way.

Klammath Falls, OR

Highway 97. A mostly deserted Texaco truck stop. Dark and cloudy. The rain comes and goes, lasting only fleeting moments before stopping again but the raindrops are the size of nickles. In the distance a factory vomits steam into the night. The occasional sound of a truck passing on the highway. An owl silently lands atop a telephone pole. The sign flickers and then goes black as the station shuts down. The only light now is that of a lone streetlamp at the edge of the highway, its dull yellow glow casting an obscure circle of light beneath it.

The field behind us is pitch black. Even Thor senses something and doesn't stray into the thick brush. He just stands at the edge of the gravel and stares into the darkness, his hackles raised. Something is watching us. Something large yet perfectly quiet as it moves to keep it's scent downwind of us.

I call Thor back into the truck and we lock the doors. We know it will come closer but it won't touch the vehicle. During the night it will circle and dart about but it never tries to gain entry... It wants us to stray.. to come looking.. It wants to stalk us..

Thor whimpers as he tries to nuzzle up to me. The owl is gone. The air is icy though it's only 63 degrees. Shadows creep into the cab and there is movement outside. I close the curtains knowing it will be a long night...

Boise, ID

We ended up staying in Salt Lake City longer than I thought we would so we'll make the final run tomorrow morning into Eugene. Thor had a chance to relax for a bit which is good cuz when he starts getting stir crazy he gets annoying. He lets me know he's ready for a break by standing on the edge of the bed and hitting the back of my seat repeatedly until I stop. This works ok except that when we do long runs like this he starts hitting my seat about every 10 miles. If I scold him then he disappears into the sleeper and pouts, occasionally making groaning noises to let me know he's pissed off and bored.



We're in Boise tonight at a Sinclair truck stop that serves as a drop lot for our trailers. The drive tomorrow will be across HWY 20 through Bend and on across the mountains. It's gonna give this truck a workout. The load is about 43,000 pounds so we will be taking the grades at about 25-30 mph. Coming down it's easy to pick up speed if I don't pay attention so we have to take it slow. I estimate about a 10 hour drive.

Moab, UT

You know I can’t go through Moab without stopping…! A Jeep just isn’t all grown up til it gets to taste the dirt out here. I really miss my Jeep. This place is awesome.. even if you don’t have an OHV it has a lot to offer for outdoor adventuring.

We didn’t make it to Albuquerque last night like I wanted. I started to get drowsy about 100 miles out so I shut it down for the night in Santa Rosa. We’re still on schedule so it didn’t hurt us.

In the morning I let Thor out to leave some DNA traces in the field next to the dirt lot we parked in. I guess while he was sniffin around he must have disturbed a feral cat. It shot out of the grass and launched itself at his face… they tumbled down an embankment and then the cat took off across the dirt lot towards my truck. Thor was right behind it. Dobes are very quick and agile, but cats are faster still. The cat shot under my truck thinking it was a safe haven… no way, Thor ran under after it. He chased it down the entire length of the trailer and out the back. I started yelling at Thor to stop, but too late, it was on now! He had blood streaming from his nose and foam was smeared across his jaw and down his neck. There was dirt and grease down his back and he was locked on target – full throttle.

They ran across the lot and the cat darted under a parked car with two occupants. Thor came screaming up to the car and circled it twice then began jumping against the doors. The two people, a man and a woman, got out. I ran over and tried to get Thor under control but he wouldn’t have it.. the cat took off again towards Dairy Queen, Thor on his heels.

Now I was getting upset. By the time I caught up to Thor he had the cat trapped in a dumpster. I grabbed him and hauled him back to the truck. The people from the car weren’t upset.. they were laughing as they told me they live in the lot and the cat was there every day…

…ok, whatever. I apologized again and then got the med kit out and began patching Thor up. What a mess. After he was all cleaned up we left.



We stopped and got fuel in Albuquerque and then continued on to Moab. Tomorrow we will head to Boise, ID and Saturday we’ll finish the run ending up in Eugene, OR where we wait until Monday morning to unload.

Witchita Falls, TX

I've done another podcast. I'm still wet behind the ears with this so bear with me! Mostly just an update and a few comments on {feedmap} as well as Google Earth.

Tyler, TX

We've been stuck in Tyler for a day and a half now... We delivered to Target DC yesterday afternoon. They had no empty trailers so we bobtailed over to a crappy Diamond Shamrock truck stop on the corner of I-20 and Hwy 69 where we spent the night. Today my dispatch sent us all over Tyler trying to find am empty, but no luck. I met Clint, another driver from my company who's in the same situation. He delivered at Target yesterday same time as we did and is parked next to us tonight with no empty either. We both noticed there are quite a few bobtails floating around this town. I'm hoping something will develop in the morning.

There's a pre-plan sitting on me for a load picking up in Ennis, TX about 95 miles from here delivering in Eugene, OR on the 7th. That's about 2400 miles including the deadhead to the shipper. If I don't get an empty in the morning I'll lose that load and those miles.......

Fort Worth, TX

Actually I'm in Alliance, TX but it's not on any map yet. Ross Perot decided to build a city. Should be completed next year, it's actually a nice development but probably expensive to get into. Quite elaborate.

We dropped our load of tires at the railyard here and are at a Pilot truck stop for the night. Thor made a new friend, a dog that lives at or nearby the truck stop... anyway they have been chasing each other around for a few hours now. He doesn't get to interact with many dogs out on the road so it's a good break from the routine for him.

It's a windy 82 degrees outside but not too humid. I finished my laundry and took a shower and we are getting ready for bed.