What a difference a week makes! Last Monday we were in Hooks, Texas. This Monday we are in Flagstaff, Arizona and we ran over 3500 miles between them.
We picked up our oversized load – a hull of a Bradley army tank - at the base in Texas. Jorge did an excellent job chaining that thing down to the trailer and off to our destination of Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania we went. We didn’t get far however due to the many restrictions once again with these oversized loads. We were not able to drive after sundown in either Arkansas or Tennessee so we camped out that night in Memphis to await daylight. We were up before the sun and ready to go and this time we almost made it to Charleston, West Virginia. We checked the West Virginia permits and they advised us we were not able to drive thru Charleston during morning rush hour traffic. Nor could we drive in adverse weather conditions such as snow, ice, or even rain. Of course we woke up to a downpour. Jorge decided he was going to chance it and drive thru the state regardless so we could get up to Pennsylvania and finally deliver our load. We were lucky to not see one trooper the whole way through there. We’ve said it before and were kicking ourselves for taking this load, but we are swearing off the oversize loads all together unless it is going somewhere I really want to be.
We were happy to get rid of the tank and the restrictions that went with it. As soon as we were unloaded, our dispatcher already had us lined up with another load that picked up less than 30 miles away. Off to Firestone to pick up a load of insulation. Who knew they even made that? I thought they were in the tire business! The rain had quit just in time for us to strap that load down and we started for our next destination, a little town in northern Arizona called Tuba City. We had several days to get there and we took our sweet time driving west.
We had planned to stop for part of one day in Joplin, Missouri since it’s a truck town with a lot of things truckers need. There unfolded what turned out to be a very long story on a very frustrating, rainy day. I’ll spare the details but what we thought was going to be a simple alignment and inspection, turned into that plus two brand new steer tire replacements, an airbag on our trailer getting replaced, and two more boxes added onto our trailer for more storage area. Needless to say, the ride is a lot smoother for sure and the boxes were on sale so can’t complain about that. We need all the extra room we can get. We carry an incredible amount of equipment along with us.
The last leg of our trip to our destination was absolutely gorgeous. It’s located about 90 miles north of Flagstaff and the I-40. We checked the map and found a shortcut that seemed okay for trucks and since it was a new road we’d never been on, the entire better. We love the chance to get on the back roads, especially if they are new to us. The weather was perfect for winding our way thru some spectacular canyons. We arrived just in time to watch the kickoff of the Super Bowl and win a bet I had with my brother on the game. It was a good day.
We unloaded this morning and are awaiting our next load. There are not many loads around this area but we’ll spend the night in Flagstaff and see what lies ahead tomorrow. Our dispatcher always seems to find us something that will keep us busy. Hmmmm….. I wonder where we will be next Monday... hopefully not still in Flagstaff!
We picked up our oversized load – a hull of a Bradley army tank - at the base in Texas. Jorge did an excellent job chaining that thing down to the trailer and off to our destination of Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania we went. We didn’t get far however due to the many restrictions once again with these oversized loads. We were not able to drive after sundown in either Arkansas or Tennessee so we camped out that night in Memphis to await daylight. We were up before the sun and ready to go and this time we almost made it to Charleston, West Virginia. We checked the West Virginia permits and they advised us we were not able to drive thru Charleston during morning rush hour traffic. Nor could we drive in adverse weather conditions such as snow, ice, or even rain. Of course we woke up to a downpour. Jorge decided he was going to chance it and drive thru the state regardless so we could get up to Pennsylvania and finally deliver our load. We were lucky to not see one trooper the whole way through there. We’ve said it before and were kicking ourselves for taking this load, but we are swearing off the oversize loads all together unless it is going somewhere I really want to be.
We were happy to get rid of the tank and the restrictions that went with it. As soon as we were unloaded, our dispatcher already had us lined up with another load that picked up less than 30 miles away. Off to Firestone to pick up a load of insulation. Who knew they even made that? I thought they were in the tire business! The rain had quit just in time for us to strap that load down and we started for our next destination, a little town in northern Arizona called Tuba City. We had several days to get there and we took our sweet time driving west.
We had planned to stop for part of one day in Joplin, Missouri since it’s a truck town with a lot of things truckers need. There unfolded what turned out to be a very long story on a very frustrating, rainy day. I’ll spare the details but what we thought was going to be a simple alignment and inspection, turned into that plus two brand new steer tire replacements, an airbag on our trailer getting replaced, and two more boxes added onto our trailer for more storage area. Needless to say, the ride is a lot smoother for sure and the boxes were on sale so can’t complain about that. We need all the extra room we can get. We carry an incredible amount of equipment along with us.
The last leg of our trip to our destination was absolutely gorgeous. It’s located about 90 miles north of Flagstaff and the I-40. We checked the map and found a shortcut that seemed okay for trucks and since it was a new road we’d never been on, the entire better. We love the chance to get on the back roads, especially if they are new to us. The weather was perfect for winding our way thru some spectacular canyons. We arrived just in time to watch the kickoff of the Super Bowl and win a bet I had with my brother on the game. It was a good day.
We unloaded this morning and are awaiting our next load. There are not many loads around this area but we’ll spend the night in Flagstaff and see what lies ahead tomorrow. Our dispatcher always seems to find us something that will keep us busy. Hmmmm….. I wonder where we will be next Monday... hopefully not still in Flagstaff!