Billings, MT

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Rapid City, SD

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Council Bluffs, IA

We made it to Council Bluffs, IA and have about 530 miles left to get to Rapid City, SD after we take a 10 hour break. After leaving Mount Vernon we stopped once in Missouri to get fuel because we didn't have enough to make it to Iowa where we are scheduled for a fill up. My dispatcher authorized me for 150 gallons which was more than enough. I grabbed a quick bite to eat and then hit the road again. We drove straight through to Council Bluffs without stopping again.

After we do a partial unload at Lowe's Hardware in Rapid City we'll take another 10 hours off and then finish up with a 450 mile drive over to Billings, MT for the final delivery at another Lowe's. After that I will have enough time to go do a pickup if there's something ready. If not, we wait until morning.

Mount Vernon, IL

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Jacksboro, TN

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Toledo, OH

There's a lot of negative energy surrounding me. Although I try to work at building good karma it's like that dark force is always enveloping me. I feel smothered. Waves upon waves of thick blackness that begin by lapping sickeningly at my feet. Then slowly rising and it becomes difficult to move through the mire. Like in a dream where you try to run but you are in slow motion... eventually it rises to my chest and then slowly over my face and I can't breath. It's like an enormous weight pressing down on me and even though I have fleeting moments of prosperity and good fortune, in the end I am always in a dark place, alone.

That's key in all of this because it's not money and good fortune that makes one feel at ease. Balance can not be achieved by material things. Love perhaps? Spiritual awareness? I'm convinced Thor knows. He's happy. Always. No matter how bad things get he rises above it all. He senses when I'm drowning and he knows my strife.

Anyway.. I'm headed for Georgia tonight with a load from Whirlpool that delivers on Sunday.

Lincoln, NE

I'm stopped in Lincoln to visit my twin brother Karl. That's me on the right. Tomorrow I head out again and will try to make it to Indiana so I won't have far to go on Thursday to finish up this trip.

Wendover, UT

Well, Well.... it's been awhile. I spent some time in Northern California and then headed down to Los Angeles where I got a load headed for Las Vegas, NV. After that it was back to Los Angeles and then up to Sacramento where I took an extra day and then grabbed a load from Fairfield going to Ohio.

The shot below is of Donner Pass. The pass was shut down about 14 hours after I came through due to severe weather. Reno had a mild blizzard as well. I stopped at Boomtown and played a little at the casino where I came out pretty good in the end. Thor didn't want to be outside much due to the strong winds. We left yesterday afternoon and stopped in Wendover, UT where I'm sitting as I type.

The wind is strong here and is rocking my entire truck back and forth. I don't have a lot of weight since I'm hauling empty aluminum cans. Not a good setup in high winds as my trailer doesn't have enough weight to stick to the ground. After I cross Utah I'm expecting more severe weather going across Wyoming.

Weed, CA

We stopped in Weed to get some breakfast. I'm sitting in a booth at Silva's Family restaurant right now waiting on my Bacon, tomato omelet. We will be making a fuel stop in Lathrop and then go as far as my hours will allow. I anticipate shutting it down at Wheeler Ridge tonight and heading on in the morning.

Klamath Falls, OR

We made it to Klamath Falls and decided to shut down due to ice on the Siskiyou summit. Better to play it safe since the load isn't very heavy and it's dark out.

We're at the Texaco truck stop on Hwy 97. Earlier we stopped at Beaver Marsh where I let Thor go play in the snow. He loves the snow so much and I got some good action shots of him.

The snow was deep, about 3 feet or more in places. Thor disappeared a few times but came shooting back up in a burst of powder. I took that picture of an icicle with my macro lens hoping to get an interesting shot. I'm not that pleased with it but will keep on trying. Macro photography is a bit more complex than it seems at first. I have a few books I'm reading on technique and I'm planning to take some time off for various photo expeditions. Utah, Colorado and New York City for starters.

We are due in Rancho Cucamunga on Friday and hope to pick up a load to carry us through the weekend.

Wal-Mart

We sat around at the Grandview distribution center all day today. In the morning we head for Rancho Cucamunga down in southern California. We went out to get something to eat and found a McDonald's down a little way from the DC on Yakima Valley Hwy (HWY 12). As I was about to go in I saw a place next door called Skipper's. It was a fish & chips place so I decided to go there instead. What a mistake that was.

I ordered a 3 pc fish & chips, a bowl of clam chowder and a soda. That cost me $10.76 and I couldn't even finish the food it was so horrible. The chowder was canned and they proudly displayed this fact at the front register... $3.95 for the bowl of it. The fish was the worst... it had a crispy batter but inside the cod was so over-steamed that it had the consistency of oatmeal. $4.95 for the fish & chips. I had a $1.50 root beer from the fountain to wash it all down.

All in all a terrible experience. 2 thumbs down on this one folks. That's SKIPPER'S located at 2150 Hwy 12 in Sunnyside, WA so consider yourself warned.

Tokio Station

We're headed back to Grandview to return the empty Wal-Mart trailer. We've made a pit stop here in Ritzville, WA at the Tokio Weigh Station. It's closed but there's a small truck stop here and we had a couple of sandwiches before moving on. Once we get back to the facility in Grandview we'll try to get another load. The weather is wet but not too cold.

Grandview, WA

I'm at Wal-Mart DC in Grandview waiting on a load going to one of the stores in Spokane, WA delivering tomorrow. After that I head back here to Grandview with the empty trailer. They told me there is more Wal-Mart loads if I want them. I'll do Wal-Mart for a while, it's good steady miles.

More Later...