Home State Tour

DATELINE: SAWYER, MI, 7:30 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 525

Another long, busy day creating another tired trucking blogger. So let's see if I can make this one quick...and coherent.

I once again woke up too early, unable to fall back asleep. This time I lost only about 1 hour of sleep, though. My drive from Dexter to Port Huron took just about 2 hours (with a quick rest stop along the way), and I was at my delivery a little bit early. I did have to wait a few minutes--20 to 30--for the truck already in the dock I was to use to clear out, but it did and I backed in competently. The unloading took 45-ish minutes, then I was on my way to a rest area down the highway to wait for my next assignment.

This time the assignment came in relatively quickly--only about an hour or so after I sent in my "empty call" message. To do: Drive up to Bay City--the farthest north I've been in this state while on this job--to pick up a load to haul westward to Pleasant Prairie, WI. I've been to Pleasant Prairie once before, though to a different company for a pickup. It's just along I-94, the first exit (or maybe 2nd) into WI from IL. So it won't be a long haul for me to get back home as scheduled on Thursday. Anyway, I made the drive to Bay City, found the shipper without any problem, and made the pickup. That was a quick drop-and-hook, so I was back on the road in short order.

I was done with that pickup around 1:00, so I stopped en route at a Flying J with a Wendy's to grab a quick lunch. Then it was back on the road to get in as many miles as possible in today's available hours. I figured that I could make it to the TA here in Sawyer, and I was right. This place is on USA's fuel network, so I'll fill up (and earn another shower credit) before I hit the road in the morning. (I'll use an existing shower credit first thing in the morning, though.) It was after 6:00 p.m. when I got here, and the lot was filling up, so I decided to park first and save fueling up for tomorrow.

So that's how my day went. Tomorrow I will have to get up somewhat early in order to make my 9:30 a.m. delivery appointment in WI. But I will gain an hour as I cross into the Central time zone, and I only have another 150-ish or fewer miles to go from here. Then again, I will have to negotiate the Chicagoland freeways, so I have to plan for slowdowns there. So my plan is to hit the road at about 6:30.

Thanks again for following my exploits. Send me your comments and questions, and keep on truckin'.