Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

Absolutely yes on all your questions. His refresher would be about 4 weeks, just enough time to knock the rust off. They also would accommodate you and schooling

 

I'm back, tired, exhausted and wiped out. This is going to be a good one. We woke up Tuesday refreshed and ready to go. After breakfast we got our reload info. We picked up a load of grass seed 2 miles from the truckstop. We were done and rolling towards Virginia by 10am. I let Tim start out driving. As we were coming through Boise, the Qualcomm started beeping. I checked the message and to my surprise, it was a message to head to Casper Wyoming and repower a load from a team that was broke down. The load was going to the same place we delivered at in Jackson Wyoming. I was to give them my load that night and take theirs. My load delivers next Monday so they had plenty of time on it. We were a little over 500 miles to Casper, and 288 miles from Casper to Jackson. After doing some route planning I realized they were out of route going that way. Not only that, but about 30 years ago I went that way, 26/20 west to Jackson Hole over that 9900 foot pass. I was now really pissed. If they went the way I did, 80 to Rock Springs then 191 north for 180 miles, one little pass then you're there.

Tim did great. At about Wamsutter the fog rolled in, the rain started to freeze on the roadway. I talked Tim through it, got past the numerous wrecks, then got to the Flying J for fuel. I took it over from there, it was 115 miles to Casper then 275 miles to Jackson. The roads to Casper were total garbage, nothing but ice and fog. I got to the KW dealer at 2am and was rolling out at 2:45am. I made it 54 miles on US 26 on nothing but ice and fog. As soon as I saw this rest area show up I put the truck and it's two drivers to bed. I had an 8am appt, but at that moment I didn't care about nothing but sleep. I woke up at day break sent a message into Tim about why I was going to be late then left.

I was 225 miles to delivery and did it on sheer will power. I had nothing but ice all the way to Dubois, then snow packed roads for the 50 miles up and over the 9900 ft Togwotee Pass. I finally made to Jackson Hole at 11am and was empty at noon. As I was closing the trailer doors my reload info came across, go back to Casper and pick up the load I left there to continue on to Virginia.

Here's what I'm pissed about, this swap was done at the cost of about 140 out of route miles by this team, I had to endure the most stressful day and night I've ever had in these conditions, all the while it could have been a lot easier if they had stayed on the same route that Tim and I took. I'm wore out, I drove 665 miles in the worst weather I've been in in years. Right now we are in Cheyenne, I have home time starting on Saturday, I'm so wore out that I'm running this load straight through to richmond and plan on being at the yard about noon on Friday.