Millis OTR journal

Yeah, but that was just 1 morning. Way past that now.

 

I had Marco when I was with Millis. Top notch guy that knows what he is doing. If I ever went back there (been thinking about it) I would ask for him back.

I have been running local for a little over a year since I left Millis and it isn't all some think it is cracked up to be. Certainly not me. Yes you sleep in your own bed every night but that is about it. 12-14 hr days plus commuting leaves you little time to do much more than sleep.

 

I can attest to that. Half the time I think I'm passing myself at the front door.

 

Well I grossly miscalculated how long it would take me to get out to Cedar Springs and how far it was from there to Richfield, so it turns out I'll be there tomorrow.

Are you guys ready for a rookie story?

As y'all probably know, the directions in the Qualcomm to GP in Cedar Springs tell you to take GA-91 south through Colquitt and then turn right onto GA-273 and follow it to the end.

So even though I wrote down the directions, as usual, I put the address of the mill in my GPS as well.

I drive down 91. And I drive, and I drive. I go through Colquitt. And I drive some more. I'd noticed that my GPS has a right turn onto US-84, but I thought that maybe 91 and 84 ran together for a bit something. Then I get to Donalsonville, and there's the right turn onto 84, but 91 keeps going straight. So I think "Hmm my GPS is trying to take me a different way and is probably going to get me into a situation. So I ignore her and go straight down 91. Then the GPS starts having a fit. Keeps telling me "Make a u-turn if possible." I keep telling her to ####, thinking that maybe for some reason she doesn't want me on 273 (She didn't. More on that later), and keep looking for my turn. Next thing I know, I'm crossing the Chattahoochee into FLORIDA.

So now I'm on this two lane road trying to find a place to get off the road and consult my atlas. I find one, but unfortunately it's not wide enough to make a u-turn, but I see my error. I have to drive 15 miles into Florida before I finally find an intersection with the requisite 40 acres I need to turn this rig around. I get back up the road, turn onto 273, then the GPS starts warning me about a weight violation. I guess this is why she didn't want me on 273. I have my GPS set to always assume that I'm loaded, and I noticed that there were no loaded log trucks on this road. But I didn't see a sign anywhere. Does anybody know what's up with this?

 

I was born and raised in Perry, Ga so I can understand your plight. Lolz,,,,, You might have missed 273 on the right after you left Colquitt. 273 comes up on you quick without much notice. The driver notes are spot on. When you mentioned Donaldsonville my heart sank for you.

One thing I've learned in this new age tech stuff is to use your GPS to get you in the area. It's nice to know the data it provides you. Get in the area then pay no attention to the GPS,,,, use your driver notes. If you get the dreaded "No Directions Found", then hit up Google Maps. I learned this trick from @Steelersjunkie and plan your final approach from that. It's all about trip planning. Have a plan B and a plan C.

 

When I put it in my GPS, I used coordinates too. She just does NOT like using 273. I'm pretty sure if I'd let the GPS route me out there, she would have taken me out GA-62 and then south on GA-370, which looks like a decent route in the atlas. It's worth noting that GA-273 is not marked yellow as a truck route in the 2018 atlas, which may explain why she doesn't want me to take it.

At the same time, a Rand-McNally GPS will happily route a truck north on US-501 to the GP mill in Big Island, in spite of it being length-restricted and also not marked yellow in the atlas.

 

Oh yeah, definitely. My home state, West Virginia, is full of routes marked yellow that I definitely wouldn't want to take one of our trucks on. WV-74 which goes through where I live, is so narrow and curvy that when the flatbeds bring in the sandboxes for the frack wells, they have to have pilot cars in spite of them only being 45 (or maybe 48) foot trailers. It's yellow in the atlas, though!

 

Any of y'all in Trenton? There are a thousand Millis trucks here. Looks like I'm going no where tonight with only 3 hours left. Got my Wally World run in, do laundry when it's my turn.
@Steelersjunkie , I owe you a phone call.