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

Random Pix for February

Long load of rebar bound for Seattle, WA

...isn't here yet...

Inside Buffalo Bill's Casino in Primm Valley, NV


 

The Desperado roller coaster at Buffalo Bill's Casino



Sports bar in Henderson Nevada with REALLY good nachos



I-15 between Las Vegas and St George, UT

Bad wreck in Texas (truck vs. truck)



I-beam arrives at bridge site in Gun Barrel City, Texas (not hauled by Ball & Chain)

The whole truck gets on the barge...

...and gets floated out to the cranes

Ball & Chain contributing to the bridge project

Natural structure on Hwy 191

Man-made hollow in the 'bee hive'





Primm Valley, Nevada

Spent yesterday burning time (and a little money) at Primm Valley, NV. Also known as Stateline. We spent Friday night at Whiskey Pete's, did a little gambling, watched a couple live cover bands, and checked out Buffalo Bill's and the Primm Valley Casino.
Since we had the weekend to burn, we slept in, then got up and started exploring. We went in to Whiskey Pete's, hoping to take the monorail across to Primm Valley again - the monorail takes you safely across the freeway, when it doesn't break down in the middle and leave you stranded. It wasn't running, yet, so we walked on the street under the freeway instead of waiting for the shuttle bus. We walked around the mall, bought a green tea slush and a banana slush from Bogo'sTea, and looked at things we weren't really tempted to buy.
Then we went back around to the casino. We discovered that Buffalo Bill's has a movie theater, showing True Grit, which we hadn't seen, yet. So we watched it. A very enjoyable movie, well done, with some smart dialog and funny moments. I loved the language folks used, and the way the girl knew her stuff. I'd say she was the one with true grit.

Buffalo Bill's Desperado roller coaster

Collin ready to ride

Upon his return... (You'll want to blow this up some to see his expression.)

We also bought the Twilight Band wrist band for the rides. Collin wanted me to do the roller coaster with him, but I declined. He did the roller coaster twice, and we both did the 3D Vault twice, though I had to close my eyes through most of the second one. Even Collin said doing two in a row was too much for his belly. We did the Adventure Canyon Log Flume twice, despite the gun part not working. See, you get to go up and then down the chute, and the you are supposed to be able to shoot at targets around the casino as you float through. I thought it was still fun even without the guns. The second time we rode with a couple of kids, and the way they reacted made the drop even more fun.

Going Up

Coming Down!

A target in the casino

More targets...

Having gotten our money's worth, we then gave our wrist bands to a couple of guys who we hoped would be able use them to even more value.
Then we walked back over to the Mad Greek Cafe and had dinner. Collin had a Gyro sandwich and I had a Greek Salad with Gyro atop it, and Flogeres for desert. Very yummy, and filling. Luckily we could walk back under the freeway and walk some of it off before bed.
All in all, a good day spent. Today we get some business done, and then drive on in to Henderson to be ready to deliver first thing tomorrow.

Getting Frustrated

We seem to be making bad decisions. Scratch that, not seems, ARE.

Damaged the truck trying to jump a curb at a truck stop - $380 worth between the popped tire, straightening the frame under the fairings, and putting the landing gear "sand shoes" back on. Dumb shit stuff. We don't drive a piece of shit anymore, we can't keep making dumb-ass decisions like that. We actually got off lucky; it could have been a LOT worse.
We keep ending up getting less per mile than we think we are getting - the deadhead is farther than we thought, or the posted miles are shorter than the actual, and we figure the rate per mile is better than it actually is.
Then we try to schedule a tight run to get some good loaded miles in before the weekend, and we get hosed by it taking too long to get loaded, and we miss the unfriendly early cutoff for delivery, and have to cancel the reload.
And just getting people to answer their phones has been a challenge.

It's very aggravating, stressful, and not fun. If it is going to keep being like this, then I won't want to do it any more. We may have to give up our authority and run for a big company. Or try to be a dispatch service, or hook up with one. I very much love the driving, but the rest of it... Not so much.

We (Finally!) Got Our Truck Back

At last!
We have our very own wheels back. While it was in the shop, we had vinyl lettering put on, so it is officially ours, now. It looks really good. We also had a new stereo put in, so that we can plug in the Zune and not be subjected to local radio. It's not the music so much as it is the commercials, and the dang static. Anyway, see for yourself what Jim Skinner's Designs did for us. (We robbed the idea for the stripe from another truck, but Jim made it unique for us.)

More Tracks on the Ball & Chain Map

Ball & Chain Tracks

There are a couple layers, now, so be sure to page through them to see all.
(If for some reason this link doesn't work, the one below [in January] does...)