DATELINE: SULLIVAN, MO
Miles Today: 494
Yesterday: 502
Dear Road Worriers,
Pardon my absence from these "airwaves" yesterday; I knocked off driving when I became too tired to think straight, and was obviously too tired to type straight. I parked at a rest area in OK and pretty much went straight to bed, even though it was only about 7:30 p.m. Got a good night of sleep, too. It had been a long day, what with driving a heavy load ("only" 43,000+ pounds) several hundred miles, dropping the trailer, then waiting for a proper new load assignment. I had gotten one right away, but it didn't take into account that I was supposed to be home this weekend. So I had to object to my dispatcher, who set about fixing that. After about a 2-1/2 hour wait, he finally came through with one.
So there I was in Lawton, OK, 1100 miles from home, and about 18 "legal" hours to make the drive. PLUS I couldn't take the most direct route, up I-44 through OK. I had to stop in Van Buren, AR to pick up my new load, which probably added another 100-ish miles to the run home. Since I ABSOLUTELY will be home on Friday for a memorial service on Saturday (see my "Tribute" post), needless to say I'm going to be "stretching" one or two DOT hours of service regulations. Besides, the yard in Romulus where I need to park my truck closes for the weekend at 10:00 p.m. Friday--I found that out today, too.
Remind me to thank my dispatcher for the favors he did me this week. ;-) I was on a load going to Atlanta for Wednesday. That would have been perfect for an easy jaunt home for Friday. But instead he had me switch that load in West Memphis, AR and haul another (the 43,000+ pound one) to Lawton for a Wednesday delivery. Thanks to him I do get to test the DOT.
So here I am now an hour or so west of St. Louis. Tomorrow's gonna be one heckuva long drive, and I will be starting early. So I'll wrap this up here so I can get plenty of rest. I hope to see as many of you as I can this weekend when I'm home. Have a good night, thanks for reading, keep commenting, and keep on truckin'.
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3 comments:
Just get on home, boy!
Be careful. If the DOT is anything like the FAA, it won't matter what the dispatcher told you to do. You're in charge of your load, and you're the one who's going to lose out if they bust you...
Have a safe trip! I'm sorry I won't be around, but I'm headed to Bend, Oregon (definitely recommend taking a load that way, if you get a chance - it's a great spot for pictures...) for the week.
Enjoy reading your posts. Sounds like you're doing ok for a big new venture.
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