FIRST 5 YEARS: (Saturday-sitting on I-69 southbound)
An overturned bus has held up traffic now for almost two hours. I am sitting on the interstate by the exit for Gas City, Indiana. Just after 12:30 AM EST the the traffic got moving again. Don't know any details of the accident but they had the bus in the median strip on it's side when I went past. Continued down I-69 to Indianapolis, Indiana where I took I-465 south to I-70. Went west on I-70 through Indianapolis and toward Illinois. Even though I had slept alot yesterday, I decided to stop at Effingham, Illinois and go to sleep, which I did at 3:15 AM CST. Slept well and got up at 10 :30 AM CST. Went in the restaurant and saw some other drivers from my company so I sat down with them. Waited for lunch buffet to start and then partook of it. Left Effingham around noon heading west on I-70. I went over the Mississippi River at St. Louis and then got on I-44 west toward Joplin, Missouri. Stopped at the rest area just west of Rolla Missouri for a short break. This is a pretty hilly part of Missouri where the land levels out a little past Lebanon(Missouri). Continues to our terminal in Joplin where the maintenance department wanted to service my tractor. They found several minor things to repair while servicing so I napped in the sleeper. When my day ended, my tractor was still being worked on so I just kept sleeping...
SECOND 5 YEARS:(Watch other drivers and expect the worst...)
I had to relay a load of beef with another driver at the truckstop in Effingham, Illinois. I left Olathe, Kansas with the load and headed east on I-70. I called my wife and asked if she wanted to ride along with me as we would be coming back past home tomorrow. She said she would be happy to accompany me. I picked her up in Columbia, Missouri and east we went. We got to Effingham and traded trailers with my relay. He left and we bedded down for the night as there weren't enough hours to do a round trip legally. We woke just before dawn and it had been snowing pretty good. We had breakfast in the restaurant and then headed west. The roads were very slick and special care was needed in driving. I drove in the fast lane as it was the lane the driving grooves were in the snow. Shortly after we got started, a female in a Chevy Camaro passed us on the right side. I told my wife that that gal would end up in the ditch and we would probably see it happen. She got about a 1/4 mile ahead of us when she spun out in front of me and then went into the ditch on the roads right side. I think I had enough room to stop if she hadn't gotten moved from in front of me. I wouldn't be surprised if the inside of she car had the scent of crap....In her spinning, she had to see me closing in on her...
I kept a day by day journal the first 5 years I was enjoying North America. While earning a living,I kept track of where I went, often what I did, feelings I had and various other details. I am writing this blog day by day as I lived it. The month/day I lived it is the same as the month/day I write about it. The years are obviously different...thus the days title: ie: August 30, 1989, 2009.
About Me
- The Protraveller...
- Starting as a preschooler, I remember my Grandfather bringing me rocks from his trips he took after he retired. Each rock had a story to tell. In the sixth grade, I watched a freeway be built and then wondered where all the trucks would go. I remember in high school looking at the mountains and wanting to travel. I did many jobs BEFORE trucking but I always wondered what driving would by like. I really wanted to see things and drive a big truck. So after almost finishing nursing school, a divorce and three cute little kids, I became a truck driver. While earning a living, I found myself enjoying North America and seeing the land and people. NO ONE ENJOYED TRAVELING MORE THAN ME. There are two things I have enjoyed in this life and they are traveling and writing. I use to call myself "Protourist" but my Mother-in-law and Wife would become upset with me as they know I really love THE "travel" and not THE stopping to see things. I now call myself "protraveller"(I like it with a double "L") and my Mother-in-law and Wife are now happy!!! I love to write and this blog gives me the opportunity to share my past and thoughts with the public.
About this blog's layout...BLOG UPDATED ONCE PER DAY...
I follow my journal daily by writing under the daily title, "FIRST 5 YEARS:" The first five years will strictly follow my 5 year journal. If I find the day I am writing about to be boring, I will either write about thoughts I remember(placed under the title of "SECOND 5 YEARS"), write a trucker tale(placed under "A Trucker's Tale"), give a helpful trucker hint, ask a "student driver" question or do something.....When a location appears after the day of the week after "FIRST 5 YEARS:", it is where I am at the start of that day((IE: FIRST 5 YEARS: (Sunday-Kansas City, Missouri))..... I would encourage those that find themselves enjoying North America to follow me day by day.....REMEMBER: THIS IS A BLOG ABOUT WHAT LIFE IS LIKE FOR A TRUCKER THAT DOES NOT HAVE A DAILY ROUTINE ROUTE(called a "dedicated" route). THERE WILL BE MANY TIMES WHEN THE ROUTING, SCENERY AND DAY'S ACTIVITIES WILL BE SIMILAR(boring???) TO PREVIOUS DAYS; THAT'S TRUCKING! THERE WILL BE DAYS WHEN THE ROUTING, SCENERY AND DAY'S ACTIVITIES WILL BE TOTALLY NEW; THAT'S TRUCKING. Frustrations? I mention the frustrations I had as a driver. I loved my job while earning a living and realized that all jobs have frustrations; truck driving is, and was, no different..... Many pictures on this blog can be left-clicked and made larger.....Questions?...Please E-mail PT at fabalt2000@centurylink.net
Blog Dictionaries...
The Trucking Dictionary...words in this dictionary will many times appear highlighted. If a word isn't highlighted or in the blog dictionary and sounds "different", check it out in this dictionary. Please note: Many times when clicking on these dictionaries anywhere in the blog, the first thing that comes up is an advertisement which I have no control over.
The Blog Dictionary...This dictionary contains words I use that aren't "trucker" words and thus not in the "trucking dictionary". I separate them--the dictionaries--in case someone wants to copy the trucking dictionary for personal use. This dictionary also contains names of people(not real names) that I dealt with many times through my trucking career. Blog word found in this dictionary often will be licked to it.
DAILY UPDATES SHOULD BE UP BY NOON CST...
March 3, 2010
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What's in my blog...???
- 666--Highway (2)
- A Trucker Tale-introduction (1)
- A Trucker's Tale (33)
- abandonment of truck (1)
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