An old man's career goes flat, Snackbar moves to open deck

Well, 1/2 my load is tall, the other half is short. But when the gusts of wind pushes you from the right lane onto the shoulder , or almost to the left hand shoulder...(while using the 'catch the egg' reflex). I figured it was time to cool it.

Made it from the J in Sioux Falls to the Town Pump (x-455) east of Billings today despite the wicked winds. 712 mi, and I still had 6 minutes to drive....Whup-Whup truckin up!!!!!

 

Boy did I make a mistake choosing to come thru Montana. I looked at the 10 day forecast coming across Iowa the other day and it showed that Wyoming was suppose to see more winter weather than Montana, and with Wyoming being the unpredictable weather capital of the USA, I chose to come across 90 instead of 80. Well, I woke up earlier this morning to check the roads and from Billings to Butte was orange on Google Maps(and purple on MT511)...but Wyoming was green across the entire state...ok Weather Channel, you got me... hahahaha


And now they've thrown the chain requirements over Homestake pass...honestly, I think the Weather Channel has hired Punxsutawney Phil to help with their forecasting.

 

I have no idea what has happened to me. I never let roads or road conditions (short of full closure) stop me from doing my job. I have driven on roads that a Zamboni would have gotten stuck on, without issue. But watching the MT511 site, looking at the few cameras they have on I-90 going west and I can't bring myself to leave Billings...I have never been this uneasy about driving on marginal iffy roads. Maybe it's time for me to just hang up my CDL and go stock shelves. 30 yrs of this is enough.

 

That and a different handling truck. The suspension on this truck follows every grove like I have rear steering axles. Plus this trailer has some sort of brake issue. Empty or lightly loaded the trailer hops almost like it has egg shaped brake drums or a ABS sensor that keeps kicking in the anti-lock system under light/medium braking for no reason. Makes driving on slick roads fun.

I ended up leaving a little after noon. It was snowing hard enough at the Flying Peelot side of Billings that you could barely see the Flying J sign from the Peelot parking lot. But by the time I got to the scale it was bright and sunny...and slushy. All the way to the base of Homestake pass it was anywhere from dry to icy. And part of the problem was the dang 4-wheelers not being able to handle maintaining a constant speed. The grade past Livingston they slowed down just before attempting to climb the hill...and it was icy. Thankfully they have rumble strips. I was planning to stop for the night in Rocker, but a quick glance at the forecast said a winter storm warning started after midnight, so I proceeded to Missoula when it won't start snowing there until 5 am.