I'm having my morning coffee at a truckstop in Walton, KY just South of Cincinnatti, trying to get myself awake. It was excellent sleeping weather last night. Cool enough to be comfortable so I didn't need to run the truck over night in order to maintain temperature for sleeping. Normally my loads are such that the stops are relatively close together, but this one is really spreada out. The load consists of 6 large generators and 2 Bomags (think pavement roller). My first stop is a Bomag i...

Since I started smoking a pipe I have smoked Prince Albert tobacco. It's a basic, inexpensive burly tobacco that I enjoy well enough. It's also widely distributed and can be purchased almost anywhere. As a trucker, that's an important point. No sense smoking a tobacco I can't find while out on the road. Today I stopped into the local tobacco store here in WI to pick up some pipe cleaners. While there I looked over the pipes they had displayed and, couldn't help myself, wound up choosing tw...

I spent a few bucks today and bought the Lord of the Rings collection and the first two seasons of the X Files. What can I say, this kind of stuff appeals to me. Anyone else like these?

I just wanted to share a few pics related to what I spend most of my time doing. This is the sort of stuff I haul: A view of the cockpit of my truck: A little closer look at the central control panel : In case you hadn't guessed, I got a new digital camera today

By the time I got back into the yard yesterday and picked up my paycheck the bank was already closed so I couldn't go cash the check. I decided to just get a room for the night and cash it this morning before heading out on my next trip. When I got up this morning I wandered to the lobby and got myself a cup of coffee and since the bank is right next door I decided to walk over and see what time they open this morning. As I looked at the sign whcih displayed their hours I had to do a doubl...

My job takes me all over the country. I have my usual stopping places. Places where I like to stop and eat, places where I like to stop and rest, and places where I like to stop and have a good time. I'm back in WI and, after a rather annoying day, I rented a room for the night in my favorite local hotel. The hotel just happens to have an Applebys next door to it. Coincidence? I think not. After I haggled over the rate, got checked in, and stored my crap in the room, I wandered over to ...

While I've really enjoyed a few days of relaxing at home it's time for me to get back to work. Tomorrow morning I'll head up to Jacksonville, FL to pick up some machinery going to Belvidere, IL. Tonight I'm preparing the house to be closed up once again, readying my gear, and enjoying a final few hours of rest before getting back to the grind. I'm also looking forward to whatever new sights and adventures may or may not await me "out there". It's a big country and there's always something ...

Florida has been going through another dry spell and that normally means fires. Some of these fires are started by idiots, some my lightening, and others by...? Last week a section of I95 was shut down due to smoke from a large ground fire. I drove by and saw the huge plume of smoke rising from this smouldering monster. It was pretty huge. Yesterday a section of I75, in the same county in which I live, was shut down due to smoke from another fire. The challenge for fire fighters with th...

As some may know, I have been struggling to quit smoking cigarettes for some time now. So far I've not been very successful at this endevour, especially now that I have returned to the road. Recently I took up pipe smoking in an effort to reduce the number of cigarettes I smoke each day and perhaps eventually supplant them altogether. There is something...different...about smoking a pipe. One can't just pull a pipe out of one's pocket and light up without thought. A pipe must be carefully ...

I am parked at a truckstop on I 75 at the GA/FL line. I have 4 stops to make in Florida and will then be home for the weekend. I'm looking forward to a bit of R&R after a month on the road. I have 2 generators on trailers to deliver, a large generator, and a car wash. All spread all over the state, Jacksonville, Tampa, Riviera Beach, and Pomano Beach. I should have all four stops off by Friday afternoon and then can head home. I hope the weather is nice so I can get a bit of cycling in. ...

Two days ago I bought a Hot Pocket in a truckstop and popped it into the microwave (nuker). I took it out and had a bite. I heard a "sssssssssss" even before I felt the pain. The cheese in this thing had reached a temperature approaching that of the sun. The roof of my mouth, right behind my teeth, is badly blistered and swollen and hurts like hell. I can't eat anything and I keep biting into the blister when I forget and close my mouth too quickly. These things really should come with a H...

One of the great things about specialized hauling is that it quite often takes me off the interstates and onto secondary highways, country roads, and sometimes even dirt roads. I don't make pick ups or deliveries at the large distribution centers but rather go to military bases, airports, farm implement dealers, and construction sites. Today I delivered part of my current load to a small factory in Savanna, IL. They are having some construction work done and I delivered some aluminum cable...

I just pumped some fuel into my truck. As Illinois deisel is so expensive compared to many other places, $2.95 here, I only filled one tank. It took right at 100 gallons. This particular truckstop provides you with a free meal if you buy at least 100 gallons of fuel and, as it's lunch time, I took advantage of it. So, for a mere $295 one can get a free meal. Fuel is getting outrageously expensive everywhere. I saw one truckstop here in Illinois the other day that was pricing their deisel a...

After delivering the fire truck to the Air Force base this morning I went into St Louis to pick up another load. Just about the time I arrived I got a call telling me that load had cancelled. Oh well. Sometimes that happens. I made my way to the truckstop (one with WiFI of course) and awaited a call for another load. I got the call this afternoon, the place was only 15 miles from me. Cool! I trucked on over there to see what they had for me. It was an 80ft boom lift. My first question was...

After delivering the broken down fire truck to the factory in Oshkosh today I loaded another fire truck heading for Scott AFB in IL near St. Louis. This presents particular problems as it's not only 10 feet wide but quite high, well over legal limits once loaded on the trailer. Once I got it back here to the yard I had to make it less tall. I let most of the air out of the tires and used chains and binders to "squash" it down some. I got it down from 15 feet high to 13 ft 11" high. Best I ...