Enjoying North America while earning a living...: October 6, 1990, 2010

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

October 6, 2010

October 6, 1990, 2010

FIRST 5 YEARS:(Saturday-traveling)
Midnight came with me going through Hardy, Arkansas, a good place to visit. Their "Cardboard Charlie" was out to be seen clearly by the south bounders.

After Hardy, the Ozark Mountain roads are very apparent. The mountains turn to flat land around the Black Rock area. Then I hit the area that is hard to describe as it can't be what I imagine it is. It is at the junction of Hwy 63 and Hwy 67 at Hoxie(Arkansas) running next to railroad tracks. This area seemed so "poor" and run down. (It never changed over the 10 years I drove). Passed Jonesboro and Trumann and got to I-55 and continued south. West Memphis, Arkansas laid ahead of me. When I got to West Memphis, I went over the Mississippi River into Memphis, Tennessee.

I stopped at our Memphis terminal for fuel(71 gallons) at 2:15 AM CST and was moving again by 2:45 AM CST. I took I-240 east and north around the south side of Memphis. At Germantown, I took Hwy 72 to the southeast into Mississippi.

Traveled through Mississippi and then into Alabama. The directions to the receiver didn't seem clear so when I got to the outskirts of Decatur at 6:30 AM CST, I called the "receiver" phone number I was given. Someone answered it. To my surprise, the delivery point was a construction site outside the city limits, about two blocks from where I was. I drove to the site and was unloaded by 9 AM CST by sveral fellows; I didn't touch the load.

I called dispatch and was given a load to pick up Monday AM in Tupelo, Mississippi. I was over my legal hours with this "legal" load(see yesterday's load assignment) but I was not feeling tired.
I found Hwy 24 out of Decatur and took it west to Russellville(Alabama) where I picked up Hwy 43 south, The countryside? I really wasn't paying much attention to it today as I started to get tired. Followed Hwy 43 about 30 miles to Hamiton(Alabama) and then got on Hwy 78 westbound and went into Mississippi.

I got to Tupelo and found a motel room for tonight and tomorrow night; went to sleep around noon...slept until????