We spent one day in Flagstaff, Arizona last week but there were just no loads available there and since we were still having an issue with a coolant leak, we decided to get that fixed while sitting there. We took the truck to the Volvo shop in Flagstaff and they were willing to fix it right away but didn't have what they told us would be $600 just for the part. We decided we were only four hours away from Vegas, why not go over there and let that shop fix it since they have become quite familiar with our truck these past few months. Those people ended up charging us only $171 for the same part plus labor. We were very happy the first place didn't have the part after we got the bill.
While in Las Vegas I was able to pick up the rest of the mail I need to finish getting our tax stuff together for the CPA. Who can guess what our one truck cost us this year to operate - just in fuel alone? Not counting parts and repairs or other things, the fuel only came to over $81,000! That's the most we've ever had to pay but we did drive more miles after we started driving for Mercer in August. And today they keep talking about the price of fuel going up even more....!
We thought we'd be in Las Vegas for a few days but our dispatcher surprised us by getting us a load that picked up the next morning not too far from home that we took down to southern California and delivered on Thursday. There we sat for the rest of the weekend but we didn't complain too much. The weather down there was perfect and we saw the weather map and knew we were in the best place possible for a few February days. We got a bit spoiled but it was nice to have the time to get most of the numbers I needed for the taxes added up while Jorge had time to rearrange alot of the equipment in the new trailer boxes we added last week. With the beautiful weather, we also had plenty of opportunity to get our excercise with morning and evening walks. We're doing pretty well with sticking to our New Year's resolution of eating better and more exercise. So far Jorge and I have each lost 14 lbs since we did our weigh-in on New Year's Day and we're pretty proud of that accomplishment! Our secret is no soda, smaller portions, and more exercise. So far so good!
Check this out.. in just this past week, I've taken pictures warning us of all these animals. I missed one picture - the elk. Thankfully we didn't see any of them!
While in Las Vegas I was able to pick up the rest of the mail I need to finish getting our tax stuff together for the CPA. Who can guess what our one truck cost us this year to operate - just in fuel alone? Not counting parts and repairs or other things, the fuel only came to over $81,000! That's the most we've ever had to pay but we did drive more miles after we started driving for Mercer in August. And today they keep talking about the price of fuel going up even more....!
We thought we'd be in Las Vegas for a few days but our dispatcher surprised us by getting us a load that picked up the next morning not too far from home that we took down to southern California and delivered on Thursday. There we sat for the rest of the weekend but we didn't complain too much. The weather down there was perfect and we saw the weather map and knew we were in the best place possible for a few February days. We got a bit spoiled but it was nice to have the time to get most of the numbers I needed for the taxes added up while Jorge had time to rearrange alot of the equipment in the new trailer boxes we added last week. With the beautiful weather, we also had plenty of opportunity to get our excercise with morning and evening walks. We're doing pretty well with sticking to our New Year's resolution of eating better and more exercise. So far Jorge and I have each lost 14 lbs since we did our weigh-in on New Year's Day and we're pretty proud of that accomplishment! Our secret is no soda, smaller portions, and more exercise. So far so good!
Check this out.. in just this past week, I've taken pictures warning us of all these animals. I missed one picture - the elk. Thankfully we didn't see any of them!
Monday morning we moved up the road a couple hundred miles to San Luis Obispo. It was a gorgeous ride along Pacific Ocean. Last week we swore off anymore oversize loads and this load was not only oversized, but also hazmat as well. It paid very well so we decided to make the trip up to Salt Lake City where we unloaded it today.
We woke up to snow falling so we told our dispatcher to see what he can do about finding us a load going south. We thought we had one going to Phoenix but somebody beat us to it. So we're on standby mode for now as we wait for another work opportunity. Meanwhile, we're going to relax the rest of the day and since the sun is peeking out, maybe we'll even get a walk in yet today.
We woke up to snow falling so we told our dispatcher to see what he can do about finding us a load going south. We thought we had one going to Phoenix but somebody beat us to it. So we're on standby mode for now as we wait for another work opportunity. Meanwhile, we're going to relax the rest of the day and since the sun is peeking out, maybe we'll even get a walk in yet today.