November 5, 1989, 2009

FIRST 5 YEARS: (Sunday-driving through Soldier Summit, Utah) The start of my calendar day found me going down the steep road grade into the Utah Valley. By 1 AM I was parked at the truckstop outside Springville, Utah. Boy, I had a lot of time and I wasn't tired. Went into the truckstop and they had a movie room and it was showing a movie so I got some munchies and watched it. After it was over, I went back to my truck and found my TV would pick up a couple stations. Watched TV and got my journal and logbook updated. Laid down and slept until after daybreak. Had the breakfast buffet at the truckstop which was pretty decent. Drove onto Provo, Utah a whole 6 miles. Parked at the motel I will be staying at until Wednesday morning. Logged off duty and stayed that way until Wednesday AM. Before moving into my room on the ground floor, I checked the miles I had driven from Red Oak, Texas to here against the paid miles. I had only driven 5 miles over the paid miles....Will use this routing again. Moved into room for rest of day.The back haul for this load, worst stuff I have ever hauled and got it from “nowhere”!!!!!

SECOND 5 YEARS: (empty trailer, mountains, rain, snow and a lot more snow-Part 1)

Got my load of meat unloaded in Portland, Maine late in the evening. Called dispatch and was told to pick up a load in Plattsburgh, New York in the AM. Said OK and looked at the routing I would be taking. Barf!!! I asked a couple drivers about getting into New Hampshire and they all said to go back into Massachusetts. In 1989, there was no other decent way for a big truck to get to where I needed to be especially with rain. Took I-95 south to Massachusetts. Just as I got into Massachusetts, I caught I-495 south to Hwy 213 west to I-93 north. Went back into New Hampshire On I-93. At Exit 4 (Derry, New Hampshire) I stopped and took a break. It was raining and I felt really nervous about my fuel. I called dispatch to turn this small truckstop on so I could get 50 gallons of fuel. The 50 gallons turned out to be a life saver and good call on my part. Continued up I-93 through Manchester and Concord(New Hampshire). At Concord, I switched to I-89 north and as I was going through Lebanon, New Hampshire I noticed the rain turning to snow. The snow seemed to get worth slowly as I continued north. Roads were starting to get snow covered as I passed Montpelier, Vermont. I am definitely in the mountains now. Roads getting slick now as I climb them with my empty trailer. Any sudden braking will put my trailer into a “jack knife”. I was very aware of that. Was approaching a hill and I could see cars spun out on the icy upward grade. I decided to go for it as I weighed, even empty, more than the cars. As a got to the cars, I felt my drive tires starting to loose traction.(trucker helpful hint) I remembered being told that loose snow has traction...not much and I thought it would be better then the packed snow I was on. I moved over to the right and got myself on the loose snow and it worked. I kept my tires rolling and didn't change their speed(could have lost traction with change of speed) until I reached the top of the grade. A few miles later I found a rest area where I pulled off and found a place to park my truck. I would be late for the pick up but it was getting too dangerous to keep going. Used my satellite link to call dispatch to let them know where I was(they knew by satellite) and why I was stopping. They responded, “OK”. I then went to sleep with my engine running and fuel tank heaters on. I also released my trailer brakes so there wasn't a chance of them freezing. Part 2 tomorrow.