Tag: trucking

Where’s My Tent?

I can remember setting up my tent many nights in a crowded RAGBRAI camping area with a concern that I wouldn’t be able to find my tent again in the dark, coming back from a trip to the restroom.  That same concern hits me on the nights when we manage to find a spot to park the truck in an overcrowded truck stop.  Threading my way through the rows of towering truck trailers makes me feel like an ant in a sea of grass.  I always take my cell phone when I leave the truck so I can call Mike to rescue me if I lose my way.

Mike gets us to where we need to be.

Even the most skilled navigator will make a mistake once in awhile.  Cruising north yesterday on 109 after getting our load in Lebanon we were stopped at a red light just south of Gallatin when a truck pulled next to us in the right turn lane and the driver motioned for me to roll my window down.  We were in the lane to go straight and, pointing up ahead, the driver yelled, “You can’t take trucks down that way!”

Oops–Mike hadn’t been paying attention to the road signs that showed 109 turning left at the intersection.  We weren’t in the left turn lane but the drivers behind us were patient enough to let us make the turn when the arrow finally turned green.  We were grateful to the kindhearted trucker who took the time to warn us of our impending error.  Otherwise, we might have ended up in a situation like the one last week in Binghamton, NY.

On I-81, driving south of Binghamton, I-86 splits off to the left towards New York City.  We were going to Tennessee and needed to stay on I-81.  It was after dark, Mike was tired and he made the mistake of going left at the fork on to I-86.  We took the first exit,  intending to turn around, only to find that there wasn’t an on ramp there to go back the way we had come.  Our only choice was to proceed down the road we were on.  In a car this wouldn’t be a problem–you would just turn around in the nearest driveway.  No way you could do that in a fully loaded 18 wheeler.

The road kept getting narrower as it wound through a rural neighborhood down towards the Susquehanna River.  I had nightmares of us getting trapped at the end of the road with no way to turn around.  Finally, though, the road intersected a two-lane highway that we were able to follow and find the next on ramp to I-86.  We went back the other direction and corrected our mistake, thankful that it was only a short delay and not a major disaster.  You think differently about where you can and can’t go with something as big as a semi-truck.

Snowy New Year’s Eve parked in New York.

Our overnight parking spot 3 nights ago when we were forced to park on the shoulder of the on ramp.

Sunset somewhere on the highway in Tennessee.

From Beer to Baked Goods

One of the interesting parts of tagging along with Mike on his Celadon deliveries is figuring out what the heck we are transporting hither and yon around the US.  This morning while waiting to get the scheduled load in Lebanon, TN, I googled the name on the sign at the facility we had pulled into.  When the company web page popped up displaying this yummy photo my stomach rumbled with hunger.  What a temptation.  Lee is always joking about us raiding what’s in the trailers we are hauling.  I wasn’t at all tempted by the load of Bud Light we hauled up here to Tennessee but those baked goods sure look good.

Last night as we approached the customer site where the beer was scheduled this morning for the unloading, we encountered the same situation as yesterday where none of the nearby truck stops had open spots.  Fortunately, by using Google’s satellite imagery Mike was able to see that it was possible to park a truck in the back of the customer’s warehouse.  The warehouse was located in a quiet, suburban Distribution Park and proved to be a better overnight spot than most of the others we’ve had.

On the way in we had noticed a corner gas station and after parking the truck we walked through the bitter cold the half mile back to the station to see what provisions we could find.  Just before we got there we saw the sign for a strip mall next to the station and one of the businesses listed was a Mexican restaurant.  Our dinner there was a welcome reward after a long day of trucking.

The baked goods now getting loaded into the trailer are going to Indianapolis, IN.  As cold as the weather is here, it’s even colder up that way.  If I had joined Mike during the summer months instead of January, I’m thinking I might have had more trouble spending so many hours in the truck.  A short time out of the truck at this morning’s fuel stop convinced me that the warm truck cab is a pretty good place to spend the day.  And we’ve got enough food stashed in the cab’s storage bins that I shouldn’t have to raid those baked goods in the trailer in the back.