Snow Zone

Delivered next piece of equipment to Baribeau Implement in Rice Lake, in about 8" of snow, which continued throughout the day. Drove to third drop in Saint Croix Falls and delivered, then drove to Ellsworth, WI for the fourth drop. The shop in Ellsworth was a tiny little venture at a crossroads in the middle of country nowhere. Then we drove into Minnesota to Wanamingo, to deliver the fifth Disc Bine. The weather was getting steadily better as we went further south, and by the time we got into South Dakota the roads were clear.
Continued to drive toward Salem, through a bit of Wyoming, then Montana, and down Hwy 12 from Missoula to Lewiston, ID. It was a pretty drive, but we were glad to get through before full dark. From Lewiston, we came into Oregon at Umatilla, then down the gorge, into Portland. Then we spent the night at the rest area in between Wilsonville and Aurora.
Delivered last Disc Bine to Brim Tractor in Salem, then headed home for the first time in over a month. Nice.

Random Pix for March

Kubota tractors bound for Fort Worth, Texas

Delivering Pipe to Tampa, Florida

Another snowstorm near Laramie, Wyoming

Our first dust storm, in Nebraska

Not much to look at in the photos. It was much more visible in person.

Rush Hours

In Startex, South Carolina we picked up plastic pipe going to Baton Rouge, Louisianna.
Ran all night to get there early so we could get unloaded and then reloaded quick, so we could make our next delivery before the weekend.
Alas, it wasn't meant to be. We were early at the unload site, but it took them an hour and a half to unload us. Then we deadheaded 16 miles to West Side Galvanizing in Port Allen, LA, where it took them six hours to load some Galvanized Steel bound for a Refinery Warehouse in Linden, New Jersey. They finished at 3pm.
We now had 24 hours (we thought) to make a 22 hour drive.
Drove through the night again, frantically trying to make a 3pm delivery time, but despite our best efforts - bare minimum of stops, doing the full speed limit of 70 when legal - and looking at an ETA of 2:45, we found out when we got to the Pennsylvania line that the crews go home at 2 pm on Friday, and there was no way to get anyone to stay late. The contractor had no authority for overtime.
So we have decided to spend two nights at a Red Roof Inn in Allentown, PA.
We will deliver at ConocoPhillips at 7 am, then deadhead 160 miles to New Holland, PA to pick up some equipment. This is a one pick, six drop load. The deliveries start in WI (four there), then one in MN, then the final one takes us home to Salem, so even with missing delivery today, we will still get home by Friday, in time for the Spring Birthdays Party at Mom's house on Saturday.

Kemmerer, Wyoming

In Houston we picked up a 'lunch box' container - about 8 x 8 - full of misc tools for a job site in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
We ran hard through the night and much of today to get there before 4:30.
This place was 30 miles west of Little America on Hwy 30, then 5 miles down a muddy road; at the site, I walked around in three inches of mud. Almost lost my boot at one point.
The Roberson Creek Compressor Station is situated in a beautiful river valley with snow on all sides, and little sites where they are mining something, and tiny caravans with shepherds and huge flocks of sheep. I mean to look up about those shepherds. Their caravans look like Tinker/Gypsy caravans, and they have horses, and sheep dogs. What a cold, simple existence. I want to say they are Athabascan, or Basque shepherds, but I don't know for sure. (I Googled Basque shepherds in Wyoming, and they are present there, so I bet that is who we saw.)

The road to Roberson Creek

On the way to the jobsite

Snowscape

A few sheep.

The Shepherd's Horses (hobbled)

Get 'Er Done Dr

Mud and Snow

"Gotta Git a Little Mud on the Tires..."

Muddy Jobsite

"Wish I had a River I could skate away on..."

Our winter home could use some work...

Shepherds Caravans

Muddy boots