So you think you had a long week

At the company I work for we run from NC to CA each week in about 6 or 7 days depending on how long it takes to get loaded and how many drops you have, but nothing could have prepared me for last week.

Left on Friday Dec 2nd and bobtailed from Pilot Mountain to Jersey City NJ to pick up an empty, then to Logan Township for a ups mail run with one stop in Ohio and then in Austin Texas.

The idiots that loaded the trailer put over 50 plastic tubs full of mail on the very rear of the trailer and when we pulled out of the dock one worker said don't close the door yet I want to take a picture to show my boss what a great job we did, just then they all fell out and mail went all over the parking lot, I said here you can use my camera, he said no thanks.

Got within two hours of the Ohio stop and ups calls and cancels that stop and says to head to Austin. Get down there with 2 hours to spare and they take 5 hours to unload us, I think they sort through every piece of mail first, should take 30 mins its all on pallets or in big cardboard boxes.

I hate mail runs you run your ### off and then they take their sweet time unloading you. Anyway get unloaded and drive back to Dallas for a load of avacados with 3 stops one in Phoenix, Fontana and Stockton California.

Some of these places in California don't open until 3 am eastern time so thats a bummer. Get to Stockton and get unloaded a day early then get rewarded by dispatch by deadheading all the way to Yakima Washington for 3 pickups of apples, then have to deliver in Pennsylvania.

Had to shut it down in Texas on 20, when I was driving roads were great, 30 mins later 20 of us pulled over for the night, just too dangerous to continue. A few super truckers came flying by us at the top of a hill, they were found halfway down that hill the next morning jack knifed and turned over. Several cars and pickups with trailers ended up in the same fate.

Then got to Elpaso Tx and the road which had been closed opened. Got to the New Mexico boarder patrol where illegals ask you if you are a citizen, and it was closed and the right lane was closed due to snow and ice, east bound trucks said our backup was 20 miles long in both lanes, took over an hour to get moving again.

Had over 9 pickups and drops on this trip which lasted 11 days an 8417 miles driven through fog, and snow and ice. Drove up cabbage going east bound for the first time in 15 years, started out in a lot of fog then a quarter of the way up poof, no more fog. Cabbage is not that steep, lots of hills in Wyoming had to take in a lower gear than that.

Nice ride through that stretch of 185 miles of two lane roads in Wyoming, minus 8 degrees there, my windshield wipers froze up for a while. For those of you who say the days of 90 mile per hour trucks is over tell that to the bull haulers that run that stretch of road, big cats stretching their legs for sure.

I am wore out physically, mentally and every other way possible, went coast to coast, saw some beautiful scenery and made some good money. even ran past some scales ha ha. Home now for two days then back at it again. Only my fourth trip otr in 15 years so not used to it yet, hell i don't think you ever get used to it you just do it. Happy holidays to everyone and I hope you all get home for Christmas.

 

Yes I remember going through Deming and facing that, thought there was a wreck or something important, no just one lane closed and a thousand trucks trying to get through after they opened up the freeway just past El paso. Even though the border patrol was closed I opened the passenger side window and yelled that I am an American citizen but where is your green card ?