Spirited Away.

A Day At The Races

2009-06-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

Just a 15min drive from Niverville,lies the little village of St. Adolph,a quiet little hamlet,that host all through the summer one of the loudests sports ive ever attended, stock car racing.

This years season has started late due to the shitty weather,and yesterday was almost washed out as well, but the race gods did their bit and racing got underway,after the US and Canadain natonal hymns,nothing happens here unless they sing Oh Canada or the Star Spangled Thong ??

They race various classes, and to be honest Dave http://thecaldwellsincanada.blogspot.com/( he lives down the road and is a Scott) wernt to sure what the classes are but we had great fun watching high powerd bumber to bumber racing.

A BIT DAMP

2009-05-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like we've kicked winter in to touch,what happens when snow melts,,,,yup we get water,, and lots of it !!!!!!!!!

OK where has my house gone..??????

OK this IS the main road,,should i even be driving/floating here ???

Will this never end, its like Waterworld,,i could be kevin Costner !!!!

Woo hoo dry land....lucky we bought the house in the dry bit...hee hee

Fallen Way behind,,,Ooooops

2009-03-23T12:44:00.001-07:00

Well this wont do will it, all those avid fans waiting on the next thrilling enstallment of my life in Canada, and me being a lazy bugger,,,,

So whats new ?? Well on feb 14th i got married,,,dead romantic eh, valentines day,such a smooooothie

Yes Louise and i both said "i do" so that means she now my misses..

We had a dead simple ceremony here in our house, just a few friends then of for a scrumptious meal then back here for drinks etc. We did it our way,,

14 days later i was back in hospital having bits chopped of and other bits sewn on,,,,i look and feel like a friggin quilt,,, The OP took 4 hours longer than expected,8 in total, the reason being bits of me were missing from the original accident ???? It seems the muscles that opperate my little and ring finger were ripped out, and probably lying on the Hwy75 30miles south of Atlanta GA,,if any one happens to be passing that neck of the woods please keep an eye open ok,,

So the surgeon did some fancy needle work, after having taken a 2foot long slab of meat from my left leg and plopped it on my arm,,,,pretty simple stuff really, sowing blood vessels together no thicker than a human hair for 7 hours

Upshot is my arm looks tonnes better than before and finger movement is loads better too,hopefully with loads of therapy i'll get most of my hand motion back,,,

On a happier note, winter has given way too spring,not without a fight tho, the snow is melting quickly, to quickly actualy so their might be some flooding along the Red River, it soon will be garden and BBQ weather, cant wait,,

CAR FOR SALE...!!!!!

2009-02-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

Hey do any of you who are coming to Canada Winnipeg area want to buy a car ????

For Sale 2000 SATURN SL1

Options : AM/FM Stereo, Air Conditioning, CD Player, Dual Air Bag, Power Steering, , , Tilt Wheel

Year: 2001
Make: SATURN
Model: SL1

Mileage: 160,000
Engine : 4-Cyl. 1.9 Liter
Transmission : Manual
Drive : FWD
Interior Color : Black
Exterior Color : Brown

Price: $4125 Call 388-6026

Info on Immigrating to Canada

2009-02-20T12:29:00.000-08:00

Hi all, yup im still alive and kicking.e
I recieve many a request for info regarding coming to canada as a trucker, i am willing to help as many families as possible,specialy those who are willing to help themselves.. research,research and then loads more,, Blogs like mine and many others go along way in providing a parsonal view on living and working here.. Their are offcourse many other sources of inside info on immigration, two that i highly recommend are,,,,, http://www.britishtruckersabroad.com/index.php
and
http://britishexpats.com/forum/

Hope this helps any hopeful immigrants to Canada be it as a trucker, taillor or computer maker, the info and help you need is in these forums....
Sorry but i cant enter into direct contact via my Email for obvious reasons, but you will find me on both site as either "gremmie" or Spirit 8 and will gladly answer any questions you have either on the open forums or via PM...

Big Boyz Toyz.....!!!!!!

2009-01-30T06:34:00.000-08:00

So what do "boys" play with in Canada during the loooooooooooooong coooooooooooooold winters,well if they are completely mad they go snow mobile racing,,, a warm sport doesnt seem to enter their frozen brains... Its just like motor cross but in the friggin cold, but the biggest nutters are those that go and watch...moi...4 hours of noise and a bitter cold that is beyond belief.... still enjoyed it tho...

I also got the Chevy truck fixed and put that on the road, she,s a Cevy Silverado 5litre v8 with all the bells and whistles ...Woo Hoo

Not bad for a freeebie, she had sat 3 years on her rims,,,,poor poppet no one loved her,,, so Graham to the rescue,,i,m a sucker for a damsel in distress,,,, Well all the gal needed was some TLC,,, tender loving care,,, plus a new batterie,windscreen wipers,2 bulbs, and an oil change, then Varoom the old gal burst into song,first turn of the key,,, see i still know how to turn on the chicks,,, I put her through the spa and wellness centre,,,, car wash and valet service,,, And the old gal repayes me with a comfy ride...!!!!!

Next OP !!!

2009-01-14T13:03:00.000-08:00

As ive mentioned before, the last OP was a bit of a flop,finger movement didn,t improve at all...
So it was meet and greet with the surgeon today to discuss what to do next,,,gulp ,,,its going to be a bigy,4 -5 hour OP, a new skin graft,micro sugery, 5 days in hospital, but in 3 months time,, The last OP must be completely healed before he can chop me up again,,, i might just get deppressed soon,,

My Health is going from bad to worse

2009-01-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

This is from Gremmies colonoscopy journal:
I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy. A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis. Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner.I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn't really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, quote, 'HE'S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!'
I left Andy's office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a product called 'MoviPrep,' which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America's enemies.
I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous. Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation. In accordance with my instructions, I didn't eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor.Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep.
You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug; then you fill it with lukewarm water.(For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons.)Then you have to drink the whole jug.This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon.The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, 'a loose, watery bowel movement may result.' This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground
.MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don't want to be too graphic here, but: Have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.After an action-packed evening, I finally got to sleep. The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, 'What if I spurt on Andy?' How do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough
.At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked.Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep. At first I was ticked off that I hadn't thought of this, but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.When everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where Andy was waiting with a nurse and an anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere. I was seriously nervous at this point. Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand.
There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA. I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, 'Dancing Queen' had to be the least appropriate.'You want me to turn it up?' said Andy, from somewhere behind me. 'Ha ha,' I said.And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade.
If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.I have no idea. Really. I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling 'Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine,' and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood. Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that it was all over, and that my colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ.=========================

Colonoscopies are no joke, but these comments during the exam were quite humorous... A physician claimed that the following are actual comments made by his patients (predominately male) while he was performing their colonoscopies: (the last one is the best!)
1. 'Take it easy, Doc. You're boldly going where no man has gone before!
2. 'Find Amelia Earhart yet?'
3. 'Can you hear me NOW?
'4. 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?'
5. 'You know, in Arkansas, we're now legally married.'
6. 'Any sign of the trapped miners, Chief?
7. 'You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out...'
8. 'Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!'
9. 'If your hand doesn't fit, you must quit!
10. 'Hey Doc, let me know if you find my dignity.'
11. 'You used to be an executive at Enron, didn't you?'
12. 'God, now I know why I am not gay.'And the best one of all:
13. 'Could you write a note for my wife saying that my head was not in there?’

Scars and Cold Friends

2009-01-04T10:26:00.000-08:00

OK to up date on the health side,i had the hand OP on friday,took only an hour and was most probably not a succes... well not to the degree i and the Docs had hoped..

But i now have yet another juisy scar to add to my collection..they managed to clean up the scar tissue from inside my hand,but the tendons allthough in tact are blocked further up my fore arm..This means another OP and small skin graft,, woo hoo

But now to more enjoyable subjects,my long eared fluffy friend is back,well i dont think he ever really left... We had yesterday heavy snow fall and strong frickin cold winds -35 ish.

30cm of fresh snow when i opend the double garage doors

I took a peek out of the window and low and behold Bunny had snuggled into a snow drift for shelter..

Home Sweet Home

And this is where my Cold long eared friend stayed for approx 30 hours

Had enough of this,,,

2008-12-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

DIARY OF A SNOW SHOVELER

December 8: 6:00 PM

. It started to snow. The first snow of the season andthe wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window, watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma MosesPrint. So romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow!December 9: We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow coveringevery inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be alovelier place in the Whole World? Moving here was the best idea I've everhad. Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I didboth our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon the snow plow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life!

December 12:

The sun has melted all our lovely snow. Such a disappointment.My neighbour tells me not to worry; we'll definitely have a white Christmas.No snow on Christmas would be awful! Bob says we'll have so much snow by the end of winter that I'll never want to see snow again. I don't thinkthat's possible. Bob is such a nice man. I'm glad he's our neighbour.

December 14:

Snow, lovely snow, 8" last night! The temperature dropped to-20. The cold makes everything sparkle so. The wind took my breath away,but I warmed up by shovelling the driveway and sidewalks. This-is the life! The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried everything again. I didn'trealize I would have to do quite this much shovelling, but I'll certainlyget back in shape this way. I wish I wouldn't huff and puff so.

December 15:

20 inches forecast. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer.Bought snow tires for the wife's car and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. The wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out. Ithink that's silly. We aren't in Alaska, after all.

December 16

. Ice storm this morning. Fell on my ass on the ice in thedriveway putting down salt, Hurt like hell. The wife laughed for an hour,which I think was very cruel.

December 17:

Still way below freezing. Roads are too icy to go anywhere.Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her.Guess I should've bought a wood stove, but won't admit, it to her. God Ihate it when she's right. I can't believe I'm freezing to death in my ownliving room.

December 20.

Electricity's back on, but had another 14" of the damn stuff last night. More shovelling. Took all day. Freakin' snowplow came by twice. Tried to find a neighbours kid to shovel, but they said they're too busy playing hockey. I think they're lying. Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow-blower and they're out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they're lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying.

December 22:

Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inchesthe white shit fell today, and it's so cold it probably won't melt tillAugust. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to piss. By the time I got undressed, pissed and dressed again.I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the winter; but he says he's too busy. I think the asshole is lying.

December 23:

Only 2" of snow today. And it warmed up to 0. The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning. What is she. nuts??? Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago? She says she did but I think she's damn well lying.

December 24:

6". Snow packed so hard by snowplow, I broke the shovel.Thought I was having a heart attack. If I ever catch the son of a bitch who drives that snowplow, I'll drag him through the snow by his balls. I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at a 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over whereI've just been! Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was busy watching for the freakin'snowplow.

December 25:

Merry Christmas. 20 more inches of the @#$%'~& slop tonight.Snowed in. The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. God I hate the snow!Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel. The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's an idiot. If I have to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" one more time,I'm going to kill her.

December 26:

Still snowed in. Why the hell did I ever move here? It was all HER idea. She's really getting on my nerves.

December 27:

Temperature dropped to -30:and the pipes froze.

December 28:

Warmed up to above -50. Still snowed in. THE BITCH is driving me crazy!!!

December 29:

10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it couldcave-in. That's the silliest thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think Iam?

December 30:

Roof caved in. The snow plow driver is suing me for a milliondollars for the bump on his head. The wife went home to her mother. 9"predicted.

December 31:

Set fire to what's left of the house. No more shovelling!

January 8:

I feel so good. I just love those little white pills they keepgiving me. Why am I tied to the bed?

Our New Friend

2008-12-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

hee hee we have a new friend in the garden on this snowy blustery day

Long Over Due Update

2008-12-03T09:22:00.001-08:00

Ok folks,im back my typing finger is itching to write a load of drivel for your merryment.

Louise and i are all moved in to our new home,every thing is in place. so i thought it time to let you all see the new pad..

The garden will be turfed and landscaped come spring time, as you can see bit snowy at the mo

Some of the inside of our house,ensuite bathroom, open plan lounge and kitchen.

Up Date

2008-11-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

So whats new in the world,well Nov 15 th is moving day and the weather looks like its going to be crappy...its snowing as i type..
As to my physical well beeing,im still as daft as a bog brush,,,but my arm is doing well..I,m pumping iron and am now upto 3kg weights,,,
I need another small OP,a quick snip snip to free up some tendons that are caught up in scar tissue. And its scar tissue that is my biggest enemy at this time in the healing process, its the bodies way of repairing after a massive traume,but it makes any movement in my armand hand quite painfull and difficult...
We shall endure the pain,keep doing the therapy,pull on the weights,hold back the tears and get as fit as poss...
Again many thanks to all the well wishes from all over the globe... Woo Hoo im a star

Up Date,,,

2008-10-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

Ok time for an up date on my physical condition...we shant even touch my mental sittuation, daft as a bog brush is the medical term... Therapy is going well, i managed today to lift a 1kg. 2lb weight in my right hand,and believe me im not joking here..
I will also need 2 small operations,to free up my tendons that are stuck in scar tissue,they make a quick cut,clean out the gunge,a few stitches then bobs ya uncle...

NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED

2008-09-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

I would like to take a moment to thank all the well wishers ,the therapy is going well,,i just get very frustrated some times..

In the hospital in Atlanta..the bed was cool,,lots of buttons to play with...

Ive thought long and hard about this,and am only showing these pics in the hope that none of you drink and drive..im not going for the sympathy vote.. i got away lucky..

This is the doner site on my right leg for the skin graft,,that hurt..

Im only showing a small section of the arm injury,,coz i tend to feel sick when i see it so dont want to shock you to mutch,,but just may be some of you will stop and think next time you have a drink and drive !!!!!!!!!!!!

1000th OF A SECOND

2008-09-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

Aug 11th

I called Spirit driver Brian who i new would be in Georgia,just south of Chattanooga, and arranged to meet at the J for coffee and a chit chat...the tight bugger didnt even pay..
He would be loading near by so was killing time at the J flirting on the internet ?????
We said our goodbyes as i needed and wanted to get another 200 miles under my belt today,was in no great hurry, just like to keep my daily quota up..

Rounded Atlanta swung down onto the I75 south,,woo hoo not much traffic making good time,good musik pumping out my speakers,the sun beating down,good times...

Cheaked my mirror,,bum one of the load straps has loosend and is dragging close to the trailer wheels,so i pulled well of on the hard shoulder..got out and began tightening the rouge strap

1000th of a SECOND

Pain,,,,,excrutiating pain,,,hot searing sensation,im crying ,shouting ,swearing,why ????
STOP THIS PAIN
I,m on the floor,no im laying on the interstate looking under my trailer ?????
I scramble to safety under my trailer,,,SHIT THIS PAIN,,please some one stop and help me,cant you see me here???? under here waiving ?????
A blonde haired woman appeared,Dixi, cell to her ear shouting instructions and directions,she holds my hand ,words of comfort,she needs my name ??? how old am i ?? PAIN,,, PLEASE STOP THE PAIN
Distant sirens,Dixi assures me they will be here in 2 minutes,they arrive, more questions, they move me ,NO THE PAIN ,STOP PLEASE,GIVE ME A SHOT
Another rescue vehical arrives,i get my first shot and placed on a streacher then into an ambulance,i get a second shot,the pain subdues,every thing blurs,a hellicopter.......................................................................................................................

Aug 13th

I hear voices,strange voices,strange room,strange bed,strange dream this ??? all in HD,perfect sound and vision with smells. Strange people here,where am i ?? i,m told my fiance is here ??????
Louise appears,her eyes red from crying,Debs too,,??? small memories begin to form in my head
slowly getting an idea,i hold Louise and cry and cry and cry.
My right arm is in a large cast and bandage,my left arm is blue and violette,,, I,M ALIVE..

Sept 12 th
I,m home at Louises, 3 opperations and a skin graft latter, i still get flash backs ,i need months of therapy to learn to re-use my arm and fingers,, the doctors in the Grady Memorial Hospital,which has one of the best trauma units in the whole of the US,saved my arm,reconected arteries and tendons screwed bones together,planted skin over what was left of my fore arm,,.
I have so many people that i should thank,
All the nurses and docs on floor 6B
To my darling Louise and Deb
To Kim my boss who blubberd every day till she new i was safe
And my friends that called and texted me daily whilst i lay 3 weeks in an Atlanta hospital..
The future is un clear,but im happy and alive.

1000th of a second

So what happend ????
A driver of a Dodge Ram truck,whilst talking on his cell,whilst driving under the influence of alchahol, drove with approx 80 miles an hour half on the hard shoulder,missed the rear of my trailer but clipped me with his mirrors almost ripping my right arm off. He just drove on oblivious to his deeds,lucky for me a whitness got his number, he was arrested and charged.

Weekend on the Lake

2008-08-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

What does a hard working good looking hunky macho trucker do on his days of,,,???? He goes for a dirty weekend up on the lake with his girlfriend.... OMG who are you trying to kid,all those explitives and now you claim to have friends too..???

Any way,,,, the original plan was that my g/f and her best friend go to the lake and visit her famly that have a pontoon boat there.. So out the kindness of their hearts they let Steve and i tag along. Well they begged that we came along as we are both good looking hunky etc.. keep to the truth will you for crying out loud,,,

We bought loads of booze and really big steaks to throw onto the grill,even bought new super sexy swimm trunks... brite yellow,looks like a swimming canary.
What the girls failed to mention was that all 4 of us would share 1 double room,,so no nite of endless passion,,

We met the family,all very friendly and nice people, hitched up the boat and set forth to explore the lake,,,

Our ships captain Phil,,hey thanks bud for letting us tag along

My future mode of transport

Sunset across the lake

After sunsett fireworks on the lake,,this was magical,,with hundreds of pleasure craft all bobbing on the calm waters as above us the sky burst into a pyrotechnic ballet..

These little Chipmonks provided hours of enjoyment..

Well all good things must come to an end,and its back to work,pounding out the miles.

I am at this time in Louisville Kentucky unloading a machine in the morning,then head for Florida to offload the rest..

Welcome to Canada Steve and Harry

2008-07-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

OMG there goes the neighberhood...Steve and Harry ( these arent their real names) arrived on the 8 of this month...and me being a really nice chap,went and met these 2 degenerates from Germany...mistake number 1
I knew my girl friend and i should have had better things to do on a sunny Winnipeg sunday,but we searched our souls and went and picked these 2 shifty yobs up at their Hotel....mistake number 2
We stuffed them into the back seat of the car,switched on the child locks and sped away before any one recognised us.. Steve being a Britt chatted non stop whilst Harry, German, sat quietly, a bit shy of using his english...We took them to the Forks.. a pretty park in town with cafes and bars, we chatted and ate a meal had a few beers....mistake number 3 ....Then took them back to their Hotel..
The following week we all chatted on msn,and decided to meet the following friday...mistake number 4,....as Louise had a single girl friend,that might like one of these two....which she did....no accounting for taste..!!!???
Well as im the only one of us who seems to work i arrived latter at the bar to find,these 2 newbies doing there best to drink Winnipeg dry and flirting badly with a Canadian lass... we all left later and had a night cap at Louises pad,where the flirting continued....badly
We arranged to go to the Morris Stampede, the following day...which we all thoughly enjoyed.....the poor flirting continued,,,
And the girls out of the goodness of their hearts, decided to help the 2 poor misfits with furniture and house hold goods to help set up home together,as they now had a flat and not one piece of furniture....mistake number ,,,oh whos counting any way
Well the 2 retards took and ,well i wont say they failed there Class1 tests..!! but they didnt pass either...ooops ....but the flirting has improved .. ???? Rumour has it a kiss took place and hands have been held..???
We are all going upto the lake over the long weekend, i hope by then they will have both passed their tests and begin driving as a team for Trans X.....earning the big bucks,,coz they will be paying for a slap up meal for my girl friend and i...

Welcome to Canada Steve and Harry

Not so easy Where am i Quiz

2008-07-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

Yeah i know others do this on their Bloggs to,,but Lyndons are so easy,,so try finding out where i took these pics,,?????

Try boarding this casino

Flippers City ??????

Now this is tooooooooooooooo easy

As is this one,,,!!!!!!

No where near the coast here...??????
Going to a large Port...but which one ?????
Bush must love having this building here
If in doubt add an axel,,at which Border Xing tho

Only For Realy Clever People..????

2008-07-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

Only great minds can read this....... fi yuo cna..Olny 55 ploepe out of 100 can,i cdnuolt blveiee taht i cloud aulactly uesdnatnrd waht i was rdanieg.
The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid,aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy,it dseno,t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are,the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the fsrit and the lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef,but the wrod as a wlohe...
Azanmig huh ??? yaeh and i awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorant !!!!!!!

Now laugh at my bad spelling

Reflections...1 year in Canada

2008-07-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

Well ive been here almost a year,and its time to take stock.
Life has been pretty good thus far,seen some great things,been to some amazing places,and heard some wierd things..?????
You may have seen and read of some of my exploits,but some of the things ive heard here,well they take my breath away at times.
1) Met 2 young guys in kentucky with whome i shared a beer or 3.!!!!
the first asked where my accent came from,and before i could reply his buddy chimed in and stated " hes european,they all sound the same ""
he was under the impression that Europe is a country in its self ????
2) Whilst sat in a truck stop waiting for my order to arrive,the waitress asked "" how was every thing "" meaning is the food good or not,,,????????
3) An old timer in Alabama suggested i try the apple pie " its the best in the whole godamm world here "" when i asked him if he had tried apple pie in france or Italy or any where else for that matter,he admited he had never been more that 60 miles from his home town,,he was 78 years old,,????
4) The menu at the TA truck stop said " Al dente pasta with a beef and mushroom sauce " yummy thought i .and boldly orderd... what came was infact a not bad beef stew with mushrooms in a thick brown sauce,which coverd the sogiest tastless pasta Butterflies i,d ever put in my mouth...I called for the chef,,a spotty teanager arrived..??? " Whats wrong?" acne face asked,, " The pasta," i said " they should be al dente" "well " he replied " we,ve only got those Butterfly pasta,s , no al dente ones "..??????????

The average American will gladly inform you of how "Great" thier country is,but as only 2% of all americans hold a passport,they have nothing to compare it with. A vast majority take their guns to work with them, ??? why ?? because they feel safer !!!!! There is a major court case going on right now because the workers at Disney World in Orlando FL arent allowed too,.

Things here are a lot different than Europe,and i,m having great fun finding new things daily.
But they do talk a load of crap at times...

Eating in North America

OMG .... This is a sour subject with me..i love food,but good food..
to get good food in Canada or America you have to pay a fortune or cook it your self,,
or you like me will be dissapointed at every meal.

1)Breakfasts,well theyve got those of pretty good,except for the bacon. It will arrive on ya plate no matter how many times you ask for soft bacon,soooooooooooo crispy that if dropped from 6 inches it will shatter both the plate and its self

2)I like a steak rare,,very bloody rare.. it has been known for me to refuse 3 steaks till i get it rare,which doesnt go down to well with the kitchen staff...!!!!!

3)Salads.... a good fresh salad can be had almost any where,the problem are the bland tastless dressings that add 10,000 callories to the meal. Olive oil is only known as popeyes gal friend and not as an ingrediant to a salad sauce..????

4) Cheases,,, sniff ..sniff,, dont exsist...oh youll get a square piece of tastless orange or beige cardboard that the menu describes as "Swiss" or "Cheader" but thats it as far as chease culture goes

Water,,the beauty and the beast !!!

2008-06-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

These are some views and images of water in its many forms,,, some beautiful , some impressive, some ugly,,!!!!!

Prairie storms,

The wonderful Rockies

The Frassure Canyon,,from Cache Creek to Hope in BC.

The Floods of the mid-west

Is A Truck A Living Thing ???

2008-06-12T12:29:00.000-07:00

Why should i pose such a deep and meeningful qustion,when most of what i write is utter drivel???
Well i think my truck has its own Spirit,,,off course it does you bimbo,you drive for Spirit..!!!
Thats not what i ment,i think my truck has its own Spirit and a will of its own......
Why ????
Last sunday whilst emptying my pretty beast i lost my cell phone,,no ,i should rephrase that, my truck ate my cell phone ????
She gobbled it up and did her darndest not to let me have it back...
After 20mins of searching my cell was located in the front heater vent,tucked deep in the bowels of dash board,,???
So with lots of cursing and cussing,the only way to retrieve my phone was to dismantle just about everything,to drill holes in the heating ducts,pass bent wire coat hangers through and hope and pray that my cell would pop out at some time...
5 hours latter,it popped out,,my trucks now resembled a sieve,, with bits missing..
Why would my truck be so nasty to me,,??? maybe coz i call her names,and dont get on to well with her,, hell knows no fury like a woman scorned,, so i'll try and be really nice to her,and maybe she wont eat my things....

Cross Country Ramblings

2008-06-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

Partof myload,,a tridem trailer bound for a marina in Clinton CN

Took my first load cross country,heading east,not going via the US but taking the shorter route through Ontario...Ive been to Toronto before and was not to impressed,so expected no great things of the rest of Ontario,,,,,Ooops

How wrong could i have been..??? its just sooooooo pretty..

There is just one pretty lake after another intersperrsed with pine forests,,long empty highways with bouncing Bambis and bears,,yes a real life Yogi galloped in front of me,all big brown and fluffy,,so cute !!!!!

Stopped ot a local hostelry,that was most friendly and very accomodating,so much so i was allowed to lick a one of the chicks there ????????

See,,me licking a chick on a stick

Its a long drive going this way using the trans canada,speed limits are strictly enforced,and its all only 2 lane,but i still made good time and crossed into the states at the cornwall border,,,

Once into the US i went to bed,,up early tho 3am to run down thru New York state then New Hampshire,into a load of false teeth ???? Mass o chew sets ??? made a quick delivery just south of Boston,,then stopped for tea. We are so civilized here .. Called my customer in Clinton CN,who gave a few tips on how best to drive to his marina,and arrived there safe and dry to unload straight off,,

It was so nice to deliver to a customer that was not only friendly but allso had respect for a driver,i was offerd pizza and use of the showers and phone without even asking,,,10 points for those guys...

Empty,i called in for my reload,which was in Willmington in Delaware,that happens to be south of New York City,,,oh bugger.

There is no good way to navigate through NYC,only less yucky ways..so i implemented plan B, which was to go to bed....then leave at 3am and blast through the middle when there would be slightly less traffic..

My master plan paid of well and arrived at my pick up point in good time,,,10 points for me!!

Once loaded,my brain when into happy mode,after having been out for 3 weeks i was going home,,and 4 days off to ,1 cut my lawn ,which was now 16inches tall...2 pay my bills..3 do my washing 4 do some shopping,,5 do some women ???? 6 have a bloody well erned rest 7 write up my blog,,,

Well ive done most of the above,,not telling which are still pending..

A 2 Week Epic ????

2008-06-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

Dear reader,

This is going to be a loooooooooooooong post,so i suggest you get some snacks and beers in at the outset,,,,,

The journey began pretty much as normal,,,,,there's nothing normal with you...!!!!
Load machines for Florida,,that changed 10 mins after i arrived.
The importers had realised that most of the shipment was destined for Salt Lake City Utah, so i should deliver there and not in Orlando..

Ok plan B... Crossed into the US and headed west, not south and east.Spent the nite in Fargo then crossed North Dakota,into Montana,where i passed a sleeping Ken (fellow Spirit driver) sent him a text to let him know id be in Billings FJ that nite,,

The next day 2 Spirits set off serching for Yogi bear in the Yellowstone Park ???? tried this before in the winter,,it hadn't occured to me that he would be hibernating..

2 very pretty Spirit trucks not working but enjoying the mountain air...dont tell the boss tho

Just off to the right behind the last tree,you may just see Yogi,,,

As ive mentioned before,Ken moaned coz i dont have a CB,,so we shant repeat that bit...

Its just so pretty up here,and we made great progress,,,mine quicker than Kens,,the old slow coach..

Well we trundled on farther south,down off the Rockies and onto Hwy 15,just north of SLC,we parted company as Ken was headed to Fresno Ca.

I was way a head of time,and decided to call the customer to see if i could unload a day early,which i did..luckely for me.

I informed Scott my boss,,not so lucky for me..

He had a reload in the pipe line, and would send details shortly ????

So i headed for the showers as it was really hot and sticky,

The text message said ,, reload in Nogales on the Mexican border Water Melons for Calgary..

It was at this point that i thought Scott was bonkers ..!!! so i phoned in and reminded him that i have an open flat deck trailer and not a reffer,and that i was 850 miles from Nogales..

No problem he says, the customer knows that and has agreed to it ???????

I had to remind myself to breath,,, load 57 pallets of water melons..on a flat trailer...all in cardboard boxes...from Mexico to calgary,,Oh what fun.!!!

Running the Canyons

I headed 2 hours farther south of Salt Lake,then cut acroos to Hwy 89,,on the map it looked like a good route,,,and it was.

Sorry if the quality is not upto Spielburg standards,but driving a 72ft semi down a narrow canyon whilst drinkin a coffee,eating a burger,texting a friend on the cell,smoking a cigi and filming aint easy....Gremmie the multi tasking expert,,

Life on Mars

Yes there is life on Mars ??? yes coz i was there,,???

Driving across the Red Planet is a bit wierd tho..!!!!! And yes if you listen carefully that was my cell phone going cling cling

It was ashame that the weather wasnt so good,but the landscape was amaizing,crossing the Navarjo nations lands down towards the Grand Canyon

I arrived in Nogales late evening had a Mexican supper,then sat on the loo for an hour,,,,to much info here,please dont elaborate...!!!!

The way of life down here moves in sloooooooooow motion,the simple act of booking in to load is a major diplomatic procedure,conducted in a multitude of langauges,none of which resemble english

But with hands and feet, and a big cheesy smile they agreed to load right away,,,right away in mexican meens sometime today

Once loaded all i had to do was put my tarps on,as luck would have it a dust storm blew in, which made the job so much easier

The finneshed product..

I left Nogales hot and sweaty and coverd in dust,, the next truck stop is only 100 miles away in Casa Grande AZ, so thats were i headed A.S.A.P, driving past Tuscon ive tried to photograph the sand storms,the sky isn't grey just dusty ????

At this point i think we should all take a break,,my fingers are going to sleep...

So fingers well rested let us continue,,,,

Spent the nite in casa Grande,twidled arround on the internet,and got wet ???? my truck leaks....which reminds me i should go for a pee..

The story of the leaking cab i have allready documented..

up early the next day and headed for Calgary,time was not of the essence so i enjoyed the views..

Passing through Flagstaff Az some thing wierd happend ???

It snowed..???? Now hold on a bit,yesterday was 35c warm and windy,,follwed by a tropical rain storm,,and now snow ????

Oh well, cant change the weather,so onwards and upwards to Calgary,driving through Mars again,,,

On route to Calgary i made a quick lunch stop at Lyndons,and enjoyed his hospitallity and great food,,

My drop in Calgary was a midnite book in,, so after a quick nap in the early evening i handed my papers to the goods in girl,who took great delight in telling me that they have no space for my melons and that i will have to come back in 24hrs...!!!!

But super gremmie had allready anticipated this and had removed his tarps and straps,and as it was about to Pee down,she had no other choice than to unload and double quick..

Once empty,it was bed time for teddy bears,,,,!!

The next morn after a quick chat with Scott,i headed east from Calgary to pick up a load of tooth picks for Wyoming..?????

Ok so they are telegraph poles,but a giant would use them as tooth pics....

The trip down was dogged by breakdowns,but i did at long last arrive to unload,then head across state to the town of Grey Bull up in the mountains,,then home sweet home..

Now Very Piston Broke

2008-05-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

The guys at kenworth did a spiffing job and repaired Spirit 30,did a test run, all A OK. We mailed them their fees,i hitched to my still loaded trailer and of i went,,,,Woo Hoo
Down the drop into Great Falls, over the bridge on 10th street,moving along happywith the midday traffic, and BANG . Spirit 30 and i are now a regular fixture in Great falls MT.
The through shaft in the first diff had bust right off,so back to kenworths and another nite at the hotel....??????

Piston n Broke

2008-05-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

Well im sat in an'otel in great Falls Montana waiting to get my truck fixed... haw haw you broke it....
Drove out of the truck stop,and 2 miles down the road.... BANG... the drive shaft ripped of,taking the brake lines with it ????
So ther i sat in the middle of Great Falls town centre like a lame duck at 6am...
25seconds latter the Sherrif was behind me with lots of pretty flashing lights....just like Blackpool ???..he was on his way home after having done a night shift...now he got some over time to add on,,,lmao

So a quick peek under the truck,a short chat with the sherif,and a rapid call to the boss,the descision was made get a tow truck bloody quick.....
So i now sit in a hotel awaiting parts to arrive.....god im bored

The CB Saga Continues

2008-05-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

If any one bothers to read and follow my Blog,,,,,my god you must be bored,,,,then you will know that i,m not much on CB,s.
To recap, Michelle (Spirit Chick ) our resident blonde bombshell lent me one of hers on a resent trip together,,she would drone on for hours on the CB and i would telephone her to ask what she had said,,,,
Well as luck would have it, on this trip i ran with another Spirirt driver, Ken,,,nice chap him..
We met at Billings FJ,then ran down through the Yellowstone Park,then Down to just short of Salt lake City where we parted company,, Ken had heard that i have a CB,,so he called and called me till he was blue in the face.
My phone rang... a very irate Ken.."turn ya CB on" he said politely ????
" hallo Ken, i dont have a CB " i replied politly
" yes you do, Michelle gave you one,"
"Ah ha,"says i "that was in my nice new truck, i drive now the old donkey"
5 minutes latter Michelle rings,, " Ken tells me you dont have my CB,,why ??"

We interupt this enthrawling Blog for a news update.........
Gremmie the star driver of Spirit Road Xpress,is sinking...!!!!!!!
torrentual rain in Casa Grande Arrizona has made its way into the sleeper birth of his immaculate Kenworth..????? Soaking his bedding and leaving the happy go lucky driver no other choice than to speak directly to Spirits CEO,,,

Graham says:
All my beding is wet,,,the f*****g truck leaks on the right hand side of the sleeper birth
Kim says:
Is that top vent closed properly
Graham says:
comes from above the escape hatch thingy
Kim says:
Sound like 30 will be the death of you, well lets get that fixed also the curtain zipper is broken
Graham says:
tell me what works on this thing,,,the list will be shorter
Graham says:
im the only driver in north america with a water bed
Kim says:
is it the driver
Graham says:
think b4 u write dear
Kim says:
u know the only thing that works...the driver
Kim says:
Well if Kenworth will take this truck back go ahead and give it to them
Graham says:
Ill go to volvo and trade it in
Kim says:
then we will defineatly buy u the perfect truck that u pick out
Kim says:
I don;t think there is a volvo dealership in WInnipeg
Graham says:
Yes there is,,,500 meters from Kworth
Kim says:
I heard that KW bought them out
Graham says:
HA HA HA
Graham says:
go away im writing my Blog
Kim says:
Great, and I've pissed you off so now more Kim bashing...lovely
Graham says:
lol can i copy all of this and put it in my Blog
Graham says:
Thanks
Kim says:
You can even decal it up and slap this convo on the side of your new volvo
Graham says:
convo
Kim says:
Sorry my bad...unfinished english....conversation
Graham says:
Ok,,,,ill use my discretion on whether to use this on my blog
Kim says:
G2G, PS don't pee the bed...cheerioooooo
Graham says:
bye bye
Kim says:
I still like you, even tho you don;t like my truck...happy blogging.

Dear Kim,
You are the best Boss ive ever worked for,
Thanks,,,,,,
This ends the news flash.....Back to the plot ?????

What was i talking about..???? CB,s
Michelle was asking why i dont have her CB in the truck
"coz i dont understand what any one says on it dear, so i put your one in ya car"
And so continued the conversation of Ken and Michelle trying to convince me to get a CB,,which i shant..even tho Andy in Nova Scotia has taken pity on me and offerd a freebie...all i have to do is go to NS and pick it up ??????

10/4 Good Buddy We Gotta Convoy.

2008-05-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

Mean while back at the Spirit ranch,after i had unloaded my potted trees and what not Scott the boss explained the new game plan....you have to be on the ball 24/7 at Spirit,,not a job for lilly liverd whimps..!!!

I'm to load my flat deck (skateboard in CB talk)....whats with all this cb talk suddenly ??

And Michelle ( Spirit Chick) is taking the Georgia Florida load,,,could this be the start of some thing big ??? A CONVOY...Sure is good buddy,,

Scott agreed to buy me a CB..Woo Hoo...Kim said no..Boo Hoo

So i called Michelle at home to set up a departure time for Saturday,,,We got a Convoy..

It was the 5th of May on a saturday,

two red hot truckers fired and ready to roll
The blonde haired Spirit Chick and The Gremmie were about take a stroll, 10/4

The 75 came and went,the border was a breeze

Parked that nite inRothsay,just for a sexual tease,???

Sunday morn,the kenworths sped across the open plains

I put on my shorty shorts to hide the embarressing stains.10/4

The CB,s crackeld and hissed,
the Chick wanted to call

The Boss and Kim were buying dinner

theyr'e gonna have to pay for it all, 10/4

We stopped many times,that first day

the chicks bladder wouldnt hold !!!!

Said you need a dipper,gal

By Iowa city it was 29 times all told..10/4

Yes so we ran together down to Georgia,as KIM woulden't let me bye a CB Michelle lent me one,,which was a bit of a hoot,coz i understood next to nothing she said,and phoned her to get clarification every 10 mins..

Michelle loves country music,so in Nashville i took her past the Old Oprey,which she enjoyed

We stopped just south of Chattanooga,and slept the nite,,,in sepparate beds

Michelle left early to make her Atlanta drop,,i slept till late,had a hearty breakfast,and very slowly ran farther south to pick her up again at a truck wash...Awww how romantic,,a date at a truck wash..

Hey sexy legs

Spirit Chick had a 2nd drop in Tampa area and i Orlando,so with a quick kiss and hug we parted company....

The guys at my drop did their usual good work,,ie, let me sleep whilst they unloaded,then woke me in time for hot coffee and a chat and a giggle,as the girls from the office came out too.

At 8am it was allready 28c warm,as i headed for my first pick up in Miami,250miles farther south of Orlando. A 1953 Willys Jeep,rescued from the korean war.

My route took me through this town.....

This is orange growing country ...

My next port of call was 460 miles north up the Atlantic coast to Savana Georgia,to pick up a road roller,then head south east to Tifton for a large refridgeration unit. My forth and final port of call was Quincy Il

Michelle who had a full load of tomatoes and i met up at Iowa City and ran back home together,both really pee'd of with the northern weather,rain and sleet as against the humid heat down south...

Oh well we cant change the weather,but i think Michelle should stop flooding the US...????

Gremmie Goes Home..????

2008-05-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to take a reefer load to georgia and Florida,,this load was put back a week so another trailer full of spuds to Minneapolis..

Those unloaded i was dispatched to pick up a full load of trees and shrubs,,???

I contacted the customer and explained that my trailer was really dirty inside and it would take me several hours to cleane,,"never fear" he said "we'll do it for you, just get here ASAP.

So like a speeding bullet i wiggled through the Minneapolis rush hour traffic,swatting cars and other poor fools that happend to get im my way like flies. Forging my way ever onwards only to go home....this is all a bit melodramtic..???

Yes to go home..to Hastings. Here was i a Hastings lad loading shrubs and trees in my home town,,,well not this Hastings Minnesota.

But i did for a brief moment get all nostalgic,,,tell the truth you blubberd like a baby,,,!!!

I booked in at the customer and reminded him that the trailer needed a good cleane out first,, "park on the ramp,you are loading dirt here aswell"??'

The chief loading chappy was a Mexican,spoke good English,sat on a fork lift,holding his two way radio looking first at me then into my reefer,then back to me then gazed in dismay at my

trailler..2 can play at that game pal..so i looked at him then into my reefer,then back to him,looked him straight in the eye and said " do you want some free spuds ?" luckely he did,,so did all his amigo's ????

Reefer cleane now to load my herbasciuos border..????

Eat ya heart out Percy Thrower

News Flash

2008-05-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

So im back again,your intrepid reporter out in the field and on the highways of North America....!!!

Firstly some sad news..Mark (Spirits Dispatcher) is moving on to patures new,and leaving the dispatchers stool to become a Canadain Customs Officer....leaving the good guys to join the bad guys Grrrrrr
Well any way, good luck young fella and just wave me on through when you see Spirit 34 and i approaching...

Some Worthless info

2008-05-02T15:47:00.000-07:00

Had a chat on MSN. with some wierdo from Bremen in Germany,he spoke in a devonshire accent punctiated with german.... now that is wierd
But what was even wierder was the secret info he passed on to me... da de daaa..thats the exciting secret music effect
1.. he claims that Lyndon was a HOOKER ?????.... what with his body,,,no way..he'd have to pay the customers.... No it something to do with the army...

2.. That this Devonshire/ German guy is coming to Canada and going to work for Trans X..LOL they'll take on any one..
And that he's bringing a suit case full of VIAGRA ??? with him....whats he need that for ??? Duh

The author of this blog will not be held responsable for the content of this post,all info was passed onto said author in confidence by ROOSTER....

Here's A Brain Teaser..

2008-04-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

Iv'e mentioned before,that some times i just dont understand what the yanks and canuks are talking about...!!! And that Kim my boss send me text messages that leave me totally bewilderd,so much so that a simple instruction becomes a major disscusion...
To set the scene;-
I was heading north from Fargo ND back home,cross the border and tranship my load onto one of our other trailers,,,easy peasy. And all i needed to know was where to tranship....why i botherd to ask is beyond me,,, the texts went something like this..

Me,, HI KIM WHERE DO I TRANSHIP THEN
Kim,, at pauls yard
Me,, TO SMALL CANT READ THAT
Kim,, AT PAULS YARD
Me,, OK,, WHO'S PAUL
Kim,, FROM EMERSON TRANS.
Me,, OK,, WHER'S THAT THEN
Kim,, IN EMERSON,,WOTZ YA ETA
Me,, 16,03... BUT STILL DONT KNOW WHERE PAULS PLACE IS ??
Kim.. ITS KITTYCORNER FROM THE LOT

At this point i nearly crashed and was getting anoyed,,but kept my calm and tried to program my TOMTOM navigation system with this worthless info,,,TOMTOM had never heard of a kittycorner in Emerson..

Me,, WHER'S KITTYCORNER IN EMERSON ??
Kim,, WHERE THE BISON TRAILERS ARE
Me,, AH HA ACROSS THE ROAD FROM OUR TRAILER LOT
Kim,, YES

Now to explain, Kittycorner means daigonaly across from something, never heard of it?? nor had i,,???? just another example of how our two languages differ,,

Took A Quick Dump In Minneapolis ????

2008-04-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

These titles are getting worse and worse....

Two stocking filler loads first the long pipes and now 45,000lbs of bulk spuds in a reefer... what will they think of next...
I'm only putting this post up to demonstrate how one unloads 45,ooolbs of spuds loose in the trailer in 1 foul swoop....

firstly place trailer on dock and unhitch the tractor.

then by using my secret powers i start to lift the trailer..... ive moved on from bending spoons

it takes great concentration and mental ability to lift such a weight..... yep.. he's mental all right..!!!!

wish i could unload every time like this...woo.hoo

A Quick Long One ????

2008-04-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

Well that title could be miss leading..????

It just means i did a "stocking filler " load to round of the week only 1400 miles and a long load of pipes...

Playing Catch Up On My Blog..

2008-04-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

Due to popular demand i shall continue to write more ....Oh bugger and we'd thought this toture was over..
Well it aint..
So whats been happening in the life of Gremmie,,,well his love life has its ups and downs,,,,usually in short bursts so he dont get tired lol..work is going well,,doing mile after mile,and i still dont under stand half the stuff the bosses wife says to me,,,we had another text chat,,OMG
Well my love life get interupted by work,,,truckus interuptus,,so i have to leave the poor gals waiting and praying for my swift return as they all " Just love that British accent",,,my good looks,charm and personality are not of intrest...they just want me to talk alot ????.. is this then Canadain oral sex ????
Now for the proper news.!!!
Ok lets get down to the interesting info that fills the pages of my blog.
Took a bulk load of spuds down to Cincinnati for a sunday morning delivery,so a bit of a race leaving Canada friday evening,its 1200 miles one way,,so a hard push,more than a race,.
nope,, it was more like going hell for leather for 2 days..
Then saturday evening on entering Cincinnati i took a wrong turn off and ended up by the ball park in the middle of the city,so i enjoyed the sites of this very pretty town..the saturday nite revellers didn't go a bundle on me cruissin up and down the strip tho...oops
Spuds came out of the trailer in pretty quick time sunday morn,which left me all day to play and do as i pleased,my reload was 50 miles away in Carrollton Kentucky on monday.
So headed up to the Flying J truck stop,where i noticed that my left exhaust stack was falling off,,,my truck is brand new,and if any thing else falls off it'll look like Fred Flinstones car... so sought of fixed that with a couple of bungies..

Deepfried in Carrollton Kentucky
I took a slow meander down to this small pleasant down,nestling on the banks of thee mighty Ohio river,unhitched my trailer and went in search of a hostelry to quench my thirst and partake off the famouse Kentucky Chicken...
I just seem to have the luck of the gods when it comes to finding a place to eat and drink,The Carrollton Inn and Hotel is the only establishment in a 100 mile radius that sells alchahol and food on a sunday...Woo Hoo..
So with a large platter of fried chicken and a beer i started to chat with the natives,,,this entails alot of hand waiving and sign language as they dont speak english..???
Point of fact to prove that they dont speak english :- there was an ederly very pale gent sat next to me, he was deaply engrossed in his laptop,and hadn't utterd a word in over an hour. When he suddenly turns to me and says " hey sonny ,u kindah speak iinglish,howdya spell shoardy"
it didn't help much that when he spoke his dentures came loose and he had to suck/slurp them back into his mouth,,
"shoardy"??? sorry i dont know what that is...little did the old fella know that my spelling is really bad,,but then again he's never read my blog
"Yeaha SHOARDY," he pronounced again...????? my brain started to hurt.. "a fellaw that aint to tawll""
"Oh you mean shorty",, "hooly shit boy,thats wot i bin sayin,,ya'all talk like ya got a plum in ya mouff"
So i told him how,and he continued to suck on his dentures,which ruined my appertite a bit..
I left the hotel round 8ish as i had some sleepin to catch up on.

The Train Graveyard:
Loaded the next morn then headed across to Mt. Vernon Il to pick up some more freight,2 train exhausts in a place that no rail buff would want to visit..

Well atleast they recycle most of them ???

So i trundled back home, enjoying the beautiful country side,,,hope you like the views too

Just A Bit Of Fun....

2008-04-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

Tried out the video function on my Cam..and thought i'd show you what i have for breakfast..

Shame it wasn't Lyndon in his nice new truck.....dam and drat

Winnipeg to Chicago,Sth. Windsor,Bronx,Washington and Back via Virginia

2008-04-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

Did a slightly different route this last trip,instead of taking the carpet machines direct to the importer,i made his delivery's...
So first drop was friday in a suburb of Chicago,nothig particulary interesting there,traffic jams are the same the world over. A pain in a truckers butt !!! and worse than hemeroids ...
Checked my maps and navigation system to plan a way to Conect to cut ??? (1000 miles farther east) must do some thing about my spelling... Connecticut.. So i avoided all toll roads and took Hwy 30 then a few other roads up to Soth Windsor... Which i'm glad i did..
On Hwy 30 is the town of Upper Sandhusky ,,,i realy dont make these names up..

Jammie Oliver eat ya heart out..???
It was friday nite and all was well in Upper Sandhusky,till Spirit 34 and her multi talented driver stopped at the local gas station, for a leak,,, just opposite was a pub and resturant..
So parked and groomed for a nite out in Upper Sandhusky i strolled through the drizzle to partake of the local brew and sample what culinary delights that might be on offer..In the US all you can get to eat are burgers,ribs, wings and steaks,with 20 variations on a potatoe,,,
Upper sandhusky has a pub that sells FOOD,,!!!! and bloody good food too...Woo hoo.. lots of O's in that last sentance..???
So after a long read of the menu and a glass of Samual Adams beer..thats not very american..
I chose a plate of a fish grattin and pasta...mmmmmmm yummy... Served by a very attractive and friendly blonde waitress....mmmmmmm yummy..... Who just loved my "Very Brittish accent" as did the barman,,??? the owner,the drunk in the corner,and the couple at the end of the bar.
Well one thing lead to another and we all got slightly drunk,and got on to the subject of food,when the cook joined our party...
I like to cook,,,not allways to well,, so our party adjerned to the kitchen where i with the chef made Portabello mushrooms sauteed in butter and fresh garlic with a garlic sauce and beef medilons..We had great fun cooking and eating and drinking till 2am...its nights like this that make my job such fun... my bill for the nite was 13.75$,,, plus hangover,free of charge..
Woke some time saturday,and dashed for a pee,then a coffee...!!!!!
I left Upper sandhusky,still a little sleepy,heading to Akron then farther east,,,only 600 miles to go...Oh my poor head..

Found Yogi
Driving here you tend to see lots of wild animals,unfortunatly mostly dead ones hit by cars and trucks. But saturday i saw my first wild bear,where i hear you ask,on the central median of a busy interstate near the Pennsylvania/ New York state line,,,so yogi has mooved from Jellowstone to NY..

Traffic volumes here are more like those of Europe,so i kept both eyes open,, I found Sth Windsor and my customer for monday with no problem,and with a light snack and a good read went to bed .
Sunday was slightly over cast,so strolled arround the local Mall,replenished my in cab supplies and found Hooters,,,scantly clad busty females in orange hotpants..so a plate full,and eyefull..of ribs in front of me i watched a NASCAR race on one of the 25 TV's.
Offloaded monday morn and set off for THE BRONX NY,well the tales of gang wars,muggings etc. might be true but i found and saw none off them. Yes its a slummy area,but which city doesn't have one ???
The drive to Washington was far more pearilous, they have so called "Expressways" ?? never heard offem??? nor i .. But you aint allowed on them with a truck,,,Oooops.. so i got off again,only to end up in Fort Meade millitary barracks...Oooops.. But the sentry was very friendly and understanding as i pulled up in front of his pillar box,he even after a short chat removed his rifle from my left nostrill.
I eventualy found my drop in Washington,monday evening. So of for a chinesse.
The Pimp and his Big Mama
Searching for a place to eat monday eve,i found a small mall with verious eateries.Pizza hut,Huddle corner,,yes ther's a food chain called Huddle corner..!!!! and a China garden. Locking Spirit 34 i heard an argument between a large volluptiuos coloured girl and a very pimpish looking "Brother" I'll save you the dialog as it would all have to be censored,but what happend next had me rolling on the floor with laughter..
Their fight calmed down a bit,he opend the door to his very dodgy looking Pontiac,she sat in the passenger seat and slammed the door,he gunned the motor,,,VROOOM,,VROOOM,,, BANG,,!!
He gunned that motor for the last time,smoke and flames now billowed out of the bonnet,great plumes of smoke in fact.. I used to be in the fire brigade in Switzerland,,so i did as any good fireman would do,,i hid behind my truck and laughed,, sorry but it was so funny whatching this pimp shouting at his burning wreck.. The profesionals arrived in time to save nothing of his car,the big mama had taken a taxi, and i sat eating spring rolls..Aint life a bitch..!!! Pimp ???
Now empty i whizzed down to Chesapeake in Virginia,nr. Norfolk, loaded aluminium sheating
and 5 pallets of Paintball equiptment.
The drive home took me through what i think is the prettiest parts of the US,namely the Blue Ridge Mountains the Shenadoah and Appalachian mountains.
Cutting then north before i got to Cincinnati in Kentucky to Indianappolis then Chicago,wher it rained and flooded costing me 3 hours....
Westwards through Wisconsin rounding the twin cities of St Paul and Mineapolis wher it began to snow,,,hey you up there,,winter is finished... 1 foot of fresh snow,so i pussy footed up to Fargo
North dakota then north home,,,Woo Hoo,, i leave tommorrow Sunday for calgary then back to load for Florida,and the sun...
Sorry that their are no photos,,,,i forgot to pack my camara

In Which State..????

2008-04-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

Just a silly question,and no cheating!!!! We all know that Washington D.C. is the capitol of the US. But in which state is it ??????

And Who Said Truck Drivers Are Just Mindless Chimps..???

2008-04-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

We are also very talented dancers. From Left to Right

Big Truck,Rose ( a verticaly challenged girl friend of mine) Me. Koogs. And Lyndon (mouth open as allways)

Would You Buy It....??????

2008-04-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

Missleading Text Msg....!!!!!

2008-04-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

The Engish language is a multi facetted one,so many dialects and accents,that sometimes my poor brain can't keep up.
I received one morning a text from the bosses wife,a sweet girl,but she tends to text 1, in lower case which i can bearly see.2 in an urban Canadian jargon,,
On this particular morn 1. I was still tired..hadn't had a coffee 2. feeling extremly daft..
The textes went something like this:-

Kim:-- wotz ya odimeter readin
Me:-- ??? How should i know
Kim:-- i need to no wot its readin
Iwas completly baffled and still half asleep
Me :-- Why ??
Kim:-- i need it
Me:-- I dont know,but i'm reading a Robert Ludlum novel, does this help ?
Kim:-- wtf u talkin bout
Me:-- I have know idea poppet,and dont use bad language please
Kim:-- just tell me the odimeter reading in front of ya
Me:-- ??? There's a truck in front of me,not an Oldsmobile, and how should i know what he's
reading ??
Kim :-- u r pissing me off
Me:-- Well if you wrote,as ive asked you in capitles i might be able to read your textes
Kim:-- OH YEH SORRY, WOT IS THE ODIMETER READING
Me:-- Whats that then ??
Kim:-- THE MILLAGE OF THE TRUCK
Me:-- I dont know, i'll work it out for you tho
Kim:-- ITS WRITTEN ON THE DISPLAY IN FRONT OF YA
Me:-- Yes but its in Killometers,,can you work it out then
Kim:-- IM REALLY BUSY TELL ME
Me:-- 136728.5
Me :-- 136728.6
Me:-- 136728.7
Kim:-- GO AWAY IM BUSY
Me:-- Was only trying to be helpful and keep you up to date
1 hour latter
Kim:-- ya truck needs a service
Kim:-- YA TRUCK NEEDS A SERVICE
She's learning
Me:-- Why ?
Kim:-- COZ OFF THE MILLAGE
Me :-- Dont you meen KM
Kim:-- GET A SERVICE THIS TRIP
Me:-- No.
Kim:-- DO AS YA TOLD, COZ OF THE WARENTY
Me:-- We did that last week,you picked me up at Kworth remember
Kim:-- WHY HAVN'T THEY SENT A BILL THEN
Me:-- You do ask me silly things dear,shall i call Kworth for you and ask
Kim:-- SHIT NO,, THEY MIGHT HAVE 4GOTTEN IT
Me:-- Like you did,!!!
Kim:-- GOTTA 1000 THINGS ON MY PLATE AT THE MO
Me:-- Go on a diat then
Kim:-- HA BLOODY HA
Moral off this tale,, dont text Gremmie early in the morning before he's had a cup of Java

Where to Next,,,?????

2008-04-01T06:43:00.000-07:00

Just received my next load instructions (still provisional)Start in Winnipeg offload in-Illinios-South Windsor Conneticut-THE BRONKS New York (want danger money to go there)-Landover Maryland.

US Highway Tip....Not Just For Truckers

2008-03-31T11:10:00.000-07:00

If you ever find yourself in the US, travelling up and down thie Interstates,be it in a truck or just doing a road trip with the family. You often find yourself wondering where can i stop tonite? wheres the next gas station,what hotels/motels are their and where???? Well i do,,, So whilst parked one nite in a Walmart parking lot i met a very pretty American trucker lady, one thing lead to another and she gave me a pressy,,,,Gremmie luvs pressies,,, a book,,!!!! Woo Hoo you may think,but its been an absolute god send to me..

Every exit of the interstates has a brief description,and whether it has trucker facillities, highlighted in red,a real gem and easy to follow

Me And My Little House On The Prarie

2008-03-31T10:02:00.000-07:00

Having lived 20 years in Switzerland,and being used to "Their" style of housing,the Canadian wood framed structures appeared slightly flimsy to me... I thought they would be cold,draughty,expensive to heat and downwright instable,,????
Well they're none of those, they are infact warm and cosy and pretty cost effective and very stable,,,they held up well to the 70mph wind gusts this weekend ok.
They also have the " Tardis" look ??? small on the outside,big on the inside..

As you can see the garden shed is almost as big as the house

Dinning room + a bathroom are left of the kitche area

I have my " office" just to the right of the TV

Downstairs are 3 bedrooms,all of a good size, and a 2nd bathroom,,,, So yes i live in a " Tardis"

Hot Stuff in Vagas ???

2008-03-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

After a bit of twit twating arround in Winnipeg i hooked onto a reefer,put my flat deck in for service, and loaded for LA...thats Los Angeles for the not so worldly readers,,
Crossed into the US at the tiny border of Westhope,blink and you'll miss it,,,,I Blinked,, and got told off by customs,,,Ooops,,
Headed then crosscountry to spend the nite in Big Timber ???,,,,I dont make these names up ,,,really ????
My plan was to drive through the Yellowstone Park, home of Yogi Bear???,,,Ok then Boo Boo,,
And i tend to stick to my plans,even tho it had snowed 8 inches over nite.

Up ahead are the Rockies and Yogi

he's got to be here somewhere?????

he does his fishing here,,???

he's arround this corner then,,,????

behind those trees maybe,,???

Well i did not find him,so i carried on regardless.. Passed Idaho Falls south through Salt Lake City

and spent the nite outside Cedar City.. Truely a lovely drive all the way down,and still more beauty to enjoy further south.
The miles sped by so quickly its almost a shame not to stop more often,but i'm a trucker not a tour guide,,,put that bit in,incase my boss reads this,it gives a good impresion....
Within an 8 hour drive, the topography,,,i dont know what it means either,, changes from snow capped mountain ranges to sun scorched deserts,it 's mind blowing..!!!

did it blow ya mind too,,???

Then like a pheonix out of the ashes, a city appears,in the middle of friggin nowhere, so its desert, desert,rock,desert, LAS VAGAS, desert,desert,rock,desert,rock.

See i told ya, its desert,desert,Vagas ,rock ,desert

Got Spirit 34 all washed and pollished in tinsel town,and headed on at a snails pace towards LA. California has the shitiest roads,the slowest speed limits,and the most rediculous truck laws...I'll send a letter to Arni,and give him a piece of my mind next time i'm down there,,,,I'll Be Back,,
Arround LA the traffic is pretty much as in Europe,,,F***ed,, to many cars to small roads etc. etc. for us no problem, for many Canada drivers a nitemare,,,,
I found my point of delivery with tons of help from TOM TOM,worth every penny, and ofloaded my Yellow Peas,,used in bird seed,,, a day early.
As i allready had a full reload in San Diego i headed down to the Mexican boarder town that day,called the customer for some local info when he asked if i'd like to load that evening ????
Holy crap i'm now going to be a day and a half ahead of scheduel, a rare luxuary..
24 skids of strawberries and 30 miles north of San Diego latter, i rewarded my self with a slap up meal and a beer (2).

Heavy traffic running to San Diego

Gridlocked heading North,,,so i went south !!!!!

Jumped into bed in the best James Bond fashion,only to be disturbed by "strange" noises, so i grabbed my weapon,which was painful, and prepared to attack an intruder,,, Awww i had a Mongoose scurrying arround my truck,so i laid out some biscuit crumbs for him to knibble on,but as i approached with my Cam he scuried of.
Spoke to the boss on Friday morning,and told him of MY new plans,bear in mind i'm 1 1/2 ahead.,, Shall take a slow drive home,cross into Canada at Coutts AB and deliver Tuesday morning in Saskatoon,stopping on Sunday at my friends house in Raymond AB....Lyndon and Jen did not know of this impennding doom at this point,,, Boss paused for 2 seconds and said " Fine by me"
So with two small hops and a skip i headed north,passed through,Vagas again,up into the Virgin Mts, a truely magnificent drive,a must for all truckers and even more so on a motorbike

Entering the Virgin Canyon Slowly

Pushing ever onwards

Deeper in now

Ahhh a cooling stream of water

Its getting harder... to go up

Yeeeeeeeeees,,i'm allmost their

getting closer to the peak

Yeh baby it rocks in here

I know no limits

Yes,yes ive come through The Virgins Pass

Hope my mum dont read this,,,!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My journey continued at a less torrid rate,up through Utah and Idaho and into Montana,with its beautiful snowcapped Rockies.

Then the plummit down onto the Montana Prairies.

I had called Lyndon,,,which i thought was nice of me,, to let him know he should pick me up at the Raymond Truck Plaza,which he did,..
A short tour of Raymond,,,it's that small that it would be impossible to do a long tour,,,,then into his lovely home..
Jen had prepaired a roast dinner that was on a parr with any 5 star Rest. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,,, Lamb done to a T,parsnips,roast spuds,mashed spuds,gravy, veggies....i asked her to marry me xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Lyndon the bugger said no....,,,

I had a super time was made to feel most welcome,which i paid back by letting Gizzmo the dog escape,,,, Oooops,, he returned an hour latter and got such a telling off that he sulked for a good 10mins...

That'll teach him to stick his snout in my crutch

We played ping pong,,, Luke warned me that his dad was a saw looser, so i let Lyndon win 3 games to my 1,,, At Pool i kicked his arse tho,,,
A few beers and whiskey,,had never drunk that before,,,but it was free so what the hell eh ??
Then of to bed,, Sunday morning " Mein Host" coocked an old English culenary masterpiece THE FRY UP

At midday i headed on to Stoon,with a full tummy and a happy heart,, Many many thanks to the 3 of you xxxx

Unloaded my strawberries, a quick reload for Winnipeg and 4 well deserved days at home..
Job Done

Over Weight In Florida,,and Not Coz Of the BBQ Ribs

2008-03-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

So back too the Plot
Loaded tuesday my machines for Orlando,this is a trip that we do 1 maybe 2 a month direct for the US importer. A good trip. Crossed the Pembina border,re-did my I94,sort off a US visa thingy. And headed south,no great hurry stopped that nite south of Mineapolis,ate an in cab pique nique, and counted sheep...1...2 zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Heading ever onwards and downwards (south) whizzed thru St Louis,dodging cars and trucks as i go,,Woo hoo this is fun ,,over the Missouri ,then past Larry Flints Club ???? Hustler Magazine,, it even has truck parking,very thoughtful i think ,,And yes i will stop their at some time if it pans out thatway.,,
Next nite was Eddyville in Kentucky,
parked at about 6pm,it was a warmish spring eve so i went for a stroll as is my want,,"poetic that last bit,, eh!!!! " plus my legs were tired and needed a stretch So of i trundle, across from the truck stop a Blaring sign WESTERN STEAKS AND RIBS in big red letters,,,so bugger the sroll i'm hungry.,,
Met at the door by a very pleasant youg waitress called Tiff,who would be serving me tonite..she sat me at my table,in the smoking part,,"yes in some states you are still allowed to smoke" and explained what was on the menu and brought my ice cold beer.
On each table "and dont tell Nut eater Lyndon this"a metal pale full of monkey nuts,well im a nut fan to and dived headlong into them...Woo Hoo
I decided on Sizzlin Hot Ribs,,but how many????? Tiff to the rescue!!!
"What you think poppet" i asked "half or full rack of ribs"
i must explain Tiff was very small and thin,,,, an anerexic toothpick had more meet on it,,,
"I stuggle with just 3 ribs" she says...
i had obviously asked the wrong person,but she was a giggle,so with my math and body index i worked out i needed a full rack,plus green beans and a loaded baked spud,plus another beer. And try to resist eating further nuts.
I sat 6mins 35secs starring at the nuts when Tiff reappeared buckling under the strain of my plate of ribs,with a loud thud the plate landed in front of me...Gremmie i thought what have you done...
What Tiff failed to inform me was that the Ribs come from a friggin Elephant
Off trots Tiff to the oxygene tent to recover,and i stare bewillderd at my plate,so it was do or die for me now,so i did.....
Spud was yummy
,beans too
,ribs were cold???,or luke warm!!! at the most,and most def not SIZZLING...
TIFF
i screamed in my best dignyfied British manner... trot trot trot she was their,Awwww,,,
i explained thee dilema,and with a heave hoe my plate was gone. 30secs later a young manageress appairs on the scene of the crime,,,
begs forgiveness and tries to blame Tiff,,,WHAT???,,my pretty little Tiff,
for the cold meat
Well i soon put that little upstart to writes,how dare she blame Tiff. Well the food was great,the beer not bad, and Tiff and i became for 2 hours best friends...Ahhhhhhhhhhhh
I waddled back to the truck so full it hurt thought about strolling again but went to bed instead Fell out of bed the next day in dessparate need of a crap,, not so poetic,,, but true.
Headed off south to warmer climes and at long last managed to get some half descent pics of the Nashville sky line

Comming from the north with its cold and snow Spirit 34 looked a disgrace,dirty,salty and downright gungy and as we have an account with Blue Beacon Truck washes i swung a hard right at Jackson GA then realised i should have gone left and swung again,,,"quite the little swinger me " I was only the 5th in line so no long wait,,,got chatting to a yank,chewed the cud and trucky talk.
Nice chap an O/D from Wyoming with a load of butter for Miami,and boy did he have a big one ive never seen one that size before,i meen it was long,bloody long...!!!!

OMG Have you ever seen such a long gearstick So allwashed and spruced up i headed for Orlando....
So dismissing any primative remarks regarding gear sticks children i shall continue
So their i was happily trundling down into Florida,Pink Floyd were dismantling a wall or building one on my radio ???when the announcer bursts into life talking about bike week in Daytona ,,,Woo Hoo me thinks,the boss will most certainly never have a reload till Monday, I'm off to Daytona for the weekend,,, No sooner had i had this joyous thought when i get a text on my cell...
1st pick up friday in Davenport FL @ Richie Bros machine Auctions.... Bugger Bugger.. Have you guys noticed that ya bosses never do what you want
30secs later a 2nd text...my day is going down hill rapidly,,pass the valium ,,,
2nd pick @ same as first but a diff customer.
Hold on boss I'm not even empty for crying out loud... I muttered softly to my self
So with a long face I beetled my way down to my drop in Astatula FL ,,which ain't on all the maps as its so small,,,
As i have the customers security code to get in the yard i dumped my trailer at 10pm and found a bar to drown my sorrows...the bar was closed for renovation,,i cried like a baby,god must hate me i guess
Next day the guys unloaded before i was fully awake,they'd even taken the straps of and rolled them for me,,there is a god then..!!!!
For those don't know who or what Richie Bros are i shall enlighten you.
They are world wide the largest auctioneers of building equipment,offices all over the place,massive. And here in Davenport FL they hold 3 such events a year,,,this being the largest of the 3.. i didn't know all this either till i got there but wished i had....
Turned of the Hwy into a field,more a sea of trucks really,and was designated a parking spot by a chap on a golf cart..i was soon thankful of the golf cart .. Got all ya paperwork ready he asked?? i wanted to make a break for it and run but 20 other trucks had arrived blocking my exit,
So a small convoy of golf carts transported us drivers to the office complex,we passed a column of rigs,,a long long column in fact...2miles friggin long i could feel the tears swell up in my eyes again.. At the office, I resited my buyer numbers,my lot numbers,my truck number,my DOT number i even gave the pretty woman my phone number,,,she didn't call ,,,
Chatting with my golf cart chauffeur he divulged that if i find my lots and can drive said lots to the loading ramps, he'll bump me up the queue.
I did my best James Bond roll of a speeding golf cart,,,!!!!! and began my search. the pic shows only a fraction of the vastness of this place

,and in there somewhere are 2 telescopic forklifts with my name on them. just a tad to left from here i think

Well i found em,they started, and woohoo i can drive them..
So 2 machines placed near the loading ramps later i sat in Spirit 34 gazing at the rear end of the truck in front of me in the 2mile long queue,

and no longer in the holding pen,, oh what fun..
At 3,30pm i was called onto a ramp,which ain't bad as the average waiting time was 2DAYS...and id been their since 9am
Loaded the 2 forklifts on me tod, as no one helps for insurance reasons;,,, this baffled me as well. Chained down and secured,left Richie Bros at 4.30pm,, Alls well that ends well eh,,?? WRONG 30miles up the road the Scales were open.
No prob; I'm grossing 75000lbs. WRONG
I'm grossing 81300lbs and 44300lbs on my spread axles.
Now some of you may have heard what horrible gits the scale guys are...well i say poppycock... he was so friendly when he handed me the 65$ fine and advised me to burn of as much fuel as poss before I get to Georgia scales 194 miles away,or failing that go through between 0300hrs and 0500 as they close then.
And before some clever clogs asks why he didn't impound me ,its simple. In Florida I'm allowed 44,000lbs on the spread; all other states only 40,000lbs. A 65$ fine is 5 cents on the pound gross weight.,,Cheaper at half the price,,,,

At the FL scales paying my due's.

Checked my route home,oh shit at least 14 more scales to pass through, 4000lbs on the back too much and a 1000 gross (over)weight.,,, I cried a little more.. and wanted my mummy,, Gave Spirit 34 full revs for 190 miles to just short of the first scale,hit the sack. Up at 3am,and prayed..they were closed in Georgia Woo Hoo..i love you Florida scale man!!
Approached Atlanta remembering I'd seen a Komatsu dealers close to the Hwy; yes their's a car parked out front on a Saturday!! Cut across 2 lanes to make the off ramp, swung right down the frontage road . Knocked on the door and a young coloured chap listened to my plight and agreed to let me turn the rear machine around using his ramp and scales..their is a god.. Paid the good fellow 10 bucks and left now only 39000lbs on the rear but still over on the gross, but only by 800lbs. So now faced with the dilemma of driving all the way home on less than half tanks till the border. Well i survived this torture all the way up to around the Fergus Falls Mn area, where the weather went from warm and sunny to F'ing cold and icy. Add wind to the picture and the roads became ice rinks,,the snow had blown onto the hwy melted in the sun then froze;,cars trucks and snowploughs exited left right and center. It was beyond words within an hour there were well over 200 accidents,mostly just spin offs into the white fluffy stuff. I stopped in Fargo' F J. Why isn't Lyndon here??? He's always here! The daft bugger was sat at the border in Portal picking his nose...
Up early the next day as i had a date,,,a dinner date..Woo Hoo.. Ok, Lyndon and i met in the middle of nowhere and he paid for a very MINI pizza and coffee,,,,WOW the last of the big spenders ,,,He's a great bloke, dafter than a bog brush, and a dear friend, so I'm allowed to say things about him like that coz thats what mates do... So after a good chat,and kiss and cuddles (yuk!!) we parted company,,,I even think he had a tear in his eye! Me, i was glad to see the back of him as i was still hungry Luv ya pal!
Got through customs ok and spent the night in Regina SK ,,,,it smells how it sounds,,.
Arrived in Saskatchewan to meet my 1st customer at the Husky house there. My boss was slightly miffed at both customers due to the overweight plus the length of both machines,the figures did not tally. So i weighed after each drop and re-measured both items.. The orange one at the rear was the culprit; 8 feet longer than spec and 5500lbs heavier. Woo Hoo - I'm empty,but not for long...
First drop guy has a load for Edmonton..for dare i say it..Richie Bros. NO NO NO not that again please.
He assured me that the Edmonton sales are tiny compared to the Florida one's so i loaded what can only be described as a dogs dinner load.

Edmonton went smoothly got a reload of plate steel back to Stoon, then home from there empty. Only to find out that dispatch had/has a load of hay for Chicago lined up... 'And my days off; what happened to them?' I screamed at my dashboard.,, Plus the wheel alignment eh ?? The dashboard remained silent.. So i rang in and said NOPE, We reached a compromise - i loaded Friday morning, only 20miles from home & took Spirit 34 to Kworth up at the Peg where Kim the bosses wife met me and brought me home til noon Monday,, See, a diplomatic NOPE always works So dear reader's thats the plan. Hay to Chicago area ,________________

Snowmobile Racing,,Or Why I Cant Have A Volvo !!!!

2008-03-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

Well the big fella upstairs has blessed us here with warm weather..relativly speaking that is. Tons of sun and just on the freezing point,,,almost subtropical compared to what we've had the past few months.,, Must remember to dust off the Ambere Solair,,
What does Gremmie do on such a beautiful day??? you ask...as if any one reads this twaddle ,,
Snowmobile racing
...as a spectator i add. Jorden, the bosses son eats up the company profits,,, i'm taking a poke at the lad coz he lost my car keys,and found them a week latter in his pocket,,, after swearing till he was blue in the face he didn't have them,,!!!!
l had never seen this live and enjoyed the sounds and smells of high powerd 2 strokes flying through the air

and churning up the snow at amazing rates of speed. Best of all were the wee tots racing on baby skidoo's,fathers twisted faces as their offspring fail to take the corner well and the mothers cringing as their babies fell off But they race just as hard as the big boys and girls, so well done to them.
Jorden came in 3rd ,,, which should have been 2nd on the last bend,not agressive enough He's # 228

!!!!! Oh this is his daft mother Kim...my boss ..so she tells me ???

_________________

Gremmie's Gotta Long One..??????

2008-03-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

So what has the old fart been upto this week i hear you ask,,,
Well monday was a holiday and what i did with a girl friend is none of your biz

Tuesday started well,!!!!
got out of bed and stubbed my toe....and that hurt,it bloody hurt,so being a macho type, i cried, after crying, and rubbing my poor toe i went to work with a limp...shit its cold out minus 35c,,That explains why i'm limp,, and windy... Jumped into Spirit 34 and started her...vroom she went for all of 30 secs and died. The boss had told me the diesel in Fargo was good for Canada....well it aint,,,Got the boss out of bed ,,,Trucks froze you fix her.....please. And being a good boss he did...i drank coffee..in the warm,, This all took some time,,, and once fixed the winds were blowing so hard he said forget going to Winnipeg as visibility was down to zero any way...
The next day started better,,,,turned the light on before getting out of bed to save my poor tootsie's Spirit#34 was waiting for her lord and master and sprang into life,reving freely, and doing all the things she should do.. Whatch out Winnipeg here we come..Woo Hoo Did my 2 drops in the Peg and recieved loading instructions for a part load for Edmonton to go with the crane i had loaded in Kansas City,9 small skids of steele and a transmision for Cummins in Lloydminster.
Slept that nite in Regina,,, it smells how it sounds,, up early to try and unload as much as poss in one day. Was in and out of Cummins place in Lloydminster in 10mins sped across to Edmonton and found Mammoet cranes yard dead easy,they whisked off the crane in 25mins...Bloody hell this is going well,,,
Phoned dispatch and let him know of my progress...BIG MISTAKE...never let dispatch know what ya doin they tend then to make plans for you,,, Sped right across Edmonton to Saint Albert and youve guessed it off loaded touts suit ??? Got in the cab to complete paperwork and the phone rang,, Could you reload today ??? Looked on the map..and yeh should be possible. Back across the city to load steele...quite easy in princable..that is if your dispatcher and the customer would,, SPEAK THE SAME FRIGGIN LANGAUGE ,,
The farce begins,,,
arrived at steele mill and weigh in,obtain loading instructions from scale chapy who was very helpfull with his instructions and tips of loading the steele.
Loaded said steele, weighed out,chained and strapped steele,went to get my BOL's.
Per chance i asked what my gross weight was,, 97000lbs or their abouts,,did some quick math and WTF How much ???? whats that in Kilo's ???? 43000kg he say's no probleme their with your weights pal..
It was at this point i regreted calling dispatch at all today.. 43000kg i can only have 39500 are you mad???? ive only 5 axels not 6 i say's..No you havent say's scale chap you got 6..Bloody nora my traillers groing axels i say's,,,lets wait an hour or two and ill have 7 ,,,Scale chap stands up to view my trailler...he doesnt belive me,, Scale chap leaves office,descends the stairs ,walks across the yard upto my trailler, comes running back and say's shit you cant load here we dont accept tandem traillers.. NOW HE BELIVES ME.. we aint shipping you he say's its against company policy...We could offload 1 bundle i say's..he shows me a memo that states no tandems.. It was now 6.30pm on a thursday evening, and i was facing the fact that my reload home was going down the pan...Think gremmie think,,, Well i say's if your Co has this policy,why did YOU (meaning scale chap) allow me in to load,and why did the load master load me,and why did the load inspecter pass the load,and why did you scale me out....Check mate ,to Gremmie,, Ooops say's scale chap,thats very true,shit i'm going to get a bollocking by my boss.,, His problem not mine
We offloaded one bundle of steele,re-did the BOLs re stapped the load and headed off to the eFing J and supper.
Called Kim in the office,told her the story,,she thought it was funny,,, and asked nicely if she would arrange for an overlength permit,,, this she didnt find so funny,,,gave her all my dimensions + my shoe size ,,,the Canadians want to know every thing ,,and trundled knackerd into the J for a shit shower and shave + some grub.

Went to bed drained,woke at 5am and headed for Regina to offload,called the customer to say i'd be there between 2.30 and 3 pm,,woohoo they would still be open. Job done ran home empty from there... 6foot 6inch over hang 2foot overhang at front chained down my loadbunks for extra safety

Part 2 off the Giberish about going to Arizona and Texas,so read whats under 1st..

2008-03-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

Well i cooked some thing really good,,,,eat ya heart out Jammie Oliver,,, and i ate it all too .
Well i was the 6th truck off 6 to leave Canada, arrived first and unloaded as the 2nd ,,,their is a logic here some where but it eludes me at the mo,,
The crane was at its limit with some of the concrete elements,as was the operator..!!!! but Spirit 34 and i surrvived the ordeal unscathed

..Woo Hoo. And after an hour of heal kicking we sped off to El Paso for the first of 3 pick ups to get us home.
Slept that nite parked at the customers depot 200m from the Mexiican border in El Paso awoke at 7am to see a fellow trucker struggeling with his tarps,,,Gremmie to the rescue... So i jumped out to help,,then jumped back into the truck,!!!got dressed,jumped out again and helped him ...a Texan with such a broad accent,but a great laugh and all round nice bloke with a 100 tales to tell,,67 of which he told me as the shipper didnt open till 8,30am.
He had warned me that know one here speaks English .Duly at 8.30 the dock doors were opened by a Mexican,followed by "Bonas dias hommbres"
i replied in Swiss German " hoi du, i söt di ladig für Kanada ha,bie scho guet",, its funny how quick he learnt to speak English,,,My Texan friend,who was drinking hot coffee, did a disgusting impersination of a geyser,, spitting out his coffee with laughter.. 4 pallets of train brake linnings were loaded in double time and Tex ,,,he'd been married 4 times, his last wife had blown her brains out,,seems par for the course down here ???
duly helped me with tarping, faxed papers to Kim in the office,next pick up Fort Worth Texas,only another 600 miles east!!!.
The fist 4 hours from El Paso to Ft. Worth were interesting,running down the Rio Grande,whatching the Mexicans trying to swimm into the US and Homeland Security beating them over the heads with padels,, Then climbing to the Quitmann mts and the Sierra Diablos and Apache mts,

Gremmie loves chugging up mountains

then its,,, Woo Hooo,, jehaaaw,,, ride'm cowboy,,,,, down the other side

getting closer,,, hold ya hats ladies its,,,, Jehaaaw time catch ya breaths the next range is in sight

Well once past the pretty bits it was a long tedious drive till Dallas,,, Had a date with Sue Ellen,,,
and Ft Worth.
Slept at a small dinner 500mt from the customer how wanted me at 9am... and what a dinner All chrome and stainless steele all done in the stye of the 50's,inside was like going thru a time warp,Rock'n Roll played on the Würlitzer ,each booth had a Juke box the seats were metal flake red and silver plastic. An absolute gem of a place,the food was good and cheep too...

Loaded my 4 crates of equiptment faxed papers to Kim,next and last pick up in Kansas City,just 600miles north so load the next day. Woke up in still warm Kansas City to be told the 26000lb mobile crane weighs infact 32000lbs,,, shit will have to move some of my load to be legal,,all done and dusted faxed papers to Kim,come home Woo Hoo,, still only 1000miles to go. Planned to spend the nite at Fargo, called Lyndon " hey pal where are you ?? ill be in the FJ Fargo tonite about 10.30 pm" Lyndon " No, ive just told H&R ill unload ahead of schedual so wont be as planned in Fargo" its at this point i concluded that Lyndon is a PLONKER so we missed each other for the umpteanth time in Fargo Its not that i really want to meet him but he owes me a slap-up meal. Got back to very chilly Altona friday midday, and am off till Tuesday morning, then off to Wpeg and Edmonton

Ay H'ommbre you'a bring'a Skate'a board Park.??? Ok so my Mexican accent is Crap !!!!

2008-03-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

This planed load for arizona was postponed till the thursday so i did an uninteresting load of hay to Hinkley Minesota and a load of plate steele back to W.Peg from Mineapolis.
Then on thursday i loaded the Skateboard Park destined for Ajo Arizona down by the Mexico border. A total of 6 trucks were needed for the full park and Billy Mugins was Nr6,,, i got what the others couldent load,.
Stopped of in the office before crossing the border to make sure all the papers were in order and for a chat.
Phoned Lyndon,"hey pal ill be in Fargo tonite,were are you".. "California" bum missed him again "i think he just said that so as not to buy me breakfast!!!!!. Left fargo early,i was in no hurry but i'm an early risser. @ Watertown SD left the interstate and travelled south on Hwy 81got stuck behind this road hog

I mean it gives moving house a whole new definition !!!!!

Spent the nite in Hutchinson Kansas just north west of Wichita. Off at 5am taking the scenic route Hwy 61 to Pratt ks,and drove over a very wrickerty bridge

The speed limit was only 30mph on the bridge,well if you look carefully you'll see that the on-coming traffic goes over the top ???? So i put on my hard hat and put me foot down......

10 miles down the road,and as all good truckers do i checked my mirrors, Ooooh what pretty flashing lights,,, The sheriff also gets out of bed early,i tried waiving him on,,, but nah he stayed behind ,so i stopped.
A burly young cop armed with a flash light strolled up the length of my trailer,inspecting the load, and then wanted to inspect me.,,very forward off him considering we'd never met,,, Checking my licence he say's "holy shit your English,my sister lives in Bedford,do you know her.,,, They seem to think the UK is the size of a soccer pitch
"Whats her name ?" i asked,,, Sue Ellen he siad or something like that...and no i did not know her....OMG this is going to be fun....
So the Sheriff and i chatted about this and that for approx 20mins, i even got to sit in the front seat of his car,with the flashy lights on,Oh what fun All my papers checked out and i was free to go,so we shook hands and baid one another farewell,i was slightly perplexed tho,when he then returned and requested that next time i drive thru Pratt that i keep to the 30mph limit as 49mph was to fast,,,,, I blushed,,, my journey continued on Hwy 54 into Oklahoma and then into TEXAS where they love beef???

These cattle holding pens coverd miles with 10 of thousends of cows awaiting the bullet !!!! Almost put me of my steak that nite,,,,
Onward and southward into New mexico

Musn't miss my turn off...left i think????

I'm not alone in the world....!!!!!!

driving a few miles on I40 from Tucumcari to Santa Rosa and then drove i.5 miles on Hwy 66 Woo Hoo my life is complete,,,,, then back on the 54 across the deserts and mountains of NM

Passing thru US white sands missile testing range,,, i put on my hard hat,just incase,,, And parked up in Las Cruces next to this guy i,,,,

This did nothing for my inferiority complex,,,,will mention it to shrink when i get home ,,,!!!

did not sleep to well they carry exotic cars,,

Left early on my last leg to Ajo, passing thru Tuscon stopping at Casa Grande to wash Spirit 34 and to redeam my pride after the flashy bugger from the nite before
At Gila Bend headed south and marvelled at the giant cactii The cactii live to 130years and more and only grow the arms when they are 60years old or so.

Texas Canyon

With my luck that boulder will decide to fall after 10.0000000years of inactivity right in front of me...!!!!!!

A " Bog Brush" type of cactus,,,,,dont know the real name,,!!!! Sorry

100's of " A Lady's Dream" type of cactii,,,, well it could be the real name ,,,!!!!

Spirit 34 showing off how pretty she is in the desert,,,,Typical tart,,!!!!

What a poser,,,!!!! if you got it flaunt it ;,!!!

Will write more later got to go and cook

Energy Drinks to Carrots in 1 Easy Trip ????? And 3 well Endowed Southern Belles

2008-03-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

Had to take a reefer again,as with the flatdeck which is knew to our company the loads were thin on the ground just after the New Year.
I took a load of a new Pepsi product ,,,,energy drink: as if the world needs another one,,,, from Minnesota across to Mississauga Onterio, had plenty of time as delivary was on Monday mornining and i loaded on the thursday.

Found Mississauga and wished i hadn,t what a dump, i shant waiste time and energy reporting on this area of Canada as theirs nothing there that a well placed Atom bomb wouldn,t fix Unloaded monday morning and got the hell out of there, whizzed upto Bradford On and loaded carrots for Jacksonville Florida,,,, Woo Hoo back to the sun,,,,,.

Crossed into at the Lewiston border just down stream from Niagra Falls drove through Buffelo down to Eiri then headed south on I79.

I was in my element now beautiful rolling hills and lovely countryside,well worth the visit in truck, camper or bike. Into Viginia and running over the Appalachien mountains into the Corolina,s and the scenary just gets better.

A quick shit,shower and shave at a J and batted on down south,it was getting warmer by the mile the sun was out and i was a happy bunny. Savanah Ga came and went and arrived in Jacksonville early. Thought id try and unload Tuesday evening instead of Wedensday morning, and presented myself to the goods receiving office.
This is what happend ?????
Me.. Good evening ladies, i have a load of carrots my book in # is 123456
Dark skinned girl.... Howdy hon,,cant find ya number on this ere computer no wherz
Me... maybe if you look on tomorrows pages poppet ????
Dark girl.... Holy shit , u is early u booked for,,,,9,30am,,,
We were now joined by a blonde woman who was also the supervisor
Blondey,,,, hey just love ya accent,wherz ya from ???
Me,,,, I'm British dear
Blondey,,, u just keep on'a tawkin hon i,ll give ya any bookin u want
Me,,, well if poss a slightly earlier time would be pleasent my dear
Blondey,,,, 04,00 am any good
Me,,,, Oh no thats to early, i need my beauty sleep, and as the day has only 24 hours i need every min i can get .
Giggles from all the girls
Blondey,,,, You are kinnda cute,,,is 06,00am to ya likin???
Me,,, that would be splendid...... would you also be able to recomend some where to eat tonite Blondey,,,, Ask Pam she knows here way arround here
Me,, hallo Pam could you give me some dirrections
Pam had large breasts that jiggled of their own free will, its a habit of mine to notice some off the finer details in life
Pam,, Shit hon ill take ya maself
I blushed
Blondey,,, hey Pam cant let ya go early,to much to do sis
So i ate alone,
Unloaded the next morning touts suit and headed off to Augusta Ge, to reload....tractors...in a reefer??????. Driving between Chattanooga and Nashville it got a tad windy,then a bit windyier,and a few drops of rain appeared on my wind screen. Then it started to blow my trailler slightly of line and the radio repported Twisters..???? And then all hell broke loose,winds and rain of the sought i had only seen in hollywood films, visibilty down to zilch and the truck just rocked and rolled, i hung on for grimm death like that for about 4 miles. As sudden as it started it finnished....!!!!!

Nashville radio was still giving warnings, of more storms so i gunned it and got as far away as poss. Loaded me tractors then headed up to Quincl IL to fill up the last few feet off trailler space and the home for the weekend. And now my truck is frozen solid -40c....??????

Whatch out Florida,,,,im'a coming

2008-03-29T12:04:00.000-07:00

Watch out Florida here I come....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So into the yard on Sunday, greased the 5th wheel and picked up the pre-loaded flatdeck. Kim, the CEO of Spirit appeared at 8am.,,, Bloody hell what she doing up so early on a Sunday?????
Ken, (Spirit driver) and Florian (Bartels driver) where running down to Rome Georgia,,,, 'Woo Hoo' we've got a convoy, well 3 of us anyway,,, Cleared customs in 5 mins and of we go, down to Fargo then east to Minneapolis. My truck started giving me problems; she wouldn't go faster than 100km????????? All the gauges were good,???WTF Stopped turned her of, switched off the batteries counted to 10 and restarted, problem solved??????
We blasted down past Iowa city,,, watch ya heads on the bridges,,, and spent the night at Wayland. Up early Monday and sped round St Louis, crossing the mighty Mississippi which was brown and gungey

Onwards we sped; there were now 4 of us in the convoy,,,,would be a great name for a film me thinks ,,, aiming for Nashville, we drove past the Oprey and onto Chattanooga,is that the Chattanooga choo-choo yep, where I parted company with the others Spent the night at the J in Dalton. I still had a 7hr drive to Orlando and Atlanta to navigate through... so of at 4am and whizzed through Atlanta with no problems I left Manitoba in -27c and was now enjoying +20c! ,,,I like it here,,,. 20km north of Orlando was my drop, a tiny village off the beaten track in the middle of some wondrous orange groves. The guys were really friendly and had me empty in a jiffy . . . . . filled with good coffee and reload instructions I headed towards Jacksonville, passing Daytona Beach and some of the worst drivers I’d seen in my whole life

One guy in a pick-up sped across my bow's from the 3rd lane onto the off ramp I was passing. Realising this was not his exit he turned sharp left, bounced over the grass median, rejoined the highway right in front of me, still doing more than 100km and carried on , swerved passed umpteen cars and took the next exit!!!!!! Loaded the next morning, the first of 3 pick ups and ran across to Douglas for the 2nd, a new snowmobile trailer for the boss' son. Stopped in a tiny village for breakfast, of GRITS???? CORNEDHASH and other southern delights. Just wish they spoke English down here, my god what a dialect they have! I'm lucky if I understood 10% of what they said.

Loaded the trailer and sped off towards Savannah for the final pick,,,, oh what a cock up. The frigging thing was 10foot 5inches high, that made me 14 foot 2 inches overall! Shit, I need permits; one for every State and a route home, the max in the US is 13ft 6 inches, a fiasco because of 6 inches. The permits took a day to organise, mainly because we'd never needed them and had to register with every State.

One day later, permits in hand off I set, drove 5km, the first set of scales and inspection They measured me at 14'6'' WHAT???? On top of the pay loaders cab were 2 cables that stuck up 4inches, OH BUGGER!!! He let me go,,,phew. Onwards towards Atlanta and the next scales which were manned by a spotty faced youth who had eaten the rule book for breakfast. Rule 1) too high...closing you down.. 2) No oversize banners... closing you down 3) you haven’t signed the permit.... closing you down 4) no driving 30 mins before sunset and 30 mins after sunrise....you've got 43 mins to correct these mistakes!! Dropped the trailer double quick, sped up the interstate 10miles to the J, bought 2 banners, sped back to the scales, attached banners, climbed on to the roof of the pay loader disconnected the cables, re-coupled to the trailer, re-measured load with now 8 minutes to drive and park up, oh and signed the frigging thing.... I was poooped. Re-read all the permits carefully and more than once.. OH SHIT... All stipulated, in the small print, driving only sunrise to sunset, some had bans from midday Saturday noon till Sunday; some had bans on weekends before a public holiday i.e. Christmas. How do they expect me to get home? It's impossible!! I've got 3000km and half a day to do them in OH BUGGER went to bed pissed off,,,, but hatching a plan ,,,,
Set of early in Georgia crossed into Tennessee, ripped of the banners, let as much air as I dared out of the pay loaders tyres, re-chained the load and put pedal to metal. As it was holiday weekend the scales were closed WOO HOO! Followed my route and headed home. Tennessee sped by, so did Kentucky, onwards and upwards into Illinois, rounding Champaign to spend the night in the small town of Farmers City, where I enjoyed a well earnt steak & went to bed well fed and feeling quite proud of myself! I was warm as it was still 14c. 3am I awoke..!!!!!!!!!!! frozen stiff..????? The Blizzard had set in..WTF -8c and winds that almost tipped the truck over. Started the engine and dived under the covers! Jesus wept.!!! Breakfast at 6am and off I sped,,, sped' - what a joke,,.
Nothing in my 28 years of being a trucker could have prepared me for this. Full throttle, downhill against these head winds and only 90km max!! OK winds I can handle, but roads of sheet ice as well? This ain't playing cricket chaps. I swear I had never seen any thing like this in my life; over 250 cars being just blown of the roads, fridges and vans driving at 25mph being swept sideways and into the ditches, even a snow plough.

The conditions were out of this world and it was like a scene from a dissaster movie. Cars and trucks on their roofs, in the ditches, up the banks and that for the whole day; every 200 metres another accident! I just plodded along and waited for my turn to bite the dust. Well I didn't and I got home safe and sound. Parked the truck at the farm, got a pressy from the boss and came home..

On to Calgary,,,and meeting a friend

2008-03-29T07:59:00.000-07:00

So back to the plot..............
I continued onto Calgary stopping en route in the town of Moosimon at the Red Barn,2 beers and a pizza later and of to bed. Drove on to Calgary on sunday and phoned Kev o northern chap i'd met on an Expats forum,what a gent and a schollar. With out batting an eyelid he drove to the Flying J and picked me up,me a total stranger,known only to him through such forums . Back to his wonderful house,its massive folks. His wee wife had cooked a lovely meal,home cooking,first class....just found her fluffy purpel slippers a bit suspect tho,,,,,, Many many thanks to you both. Made my drop in Calgary and set of for Vancouver in the morning... Mountain Driving Some thing not to be taken lightly,many companies ask for mountain experience when hirring a driver,DONT LYE ABOUT IT. the mountains dont forgive liars.
It had snowed over nite so the going was slow and cautious,using the Jake only when i was sure i had good grip and never on bridges,and never touching the splitter,a false neutral is the last thing you need on a 6% gradient 3 trucks didnt make the crossing of the Rockies that day,1 had jacknifed so hard it had ripped of the back off his cab on the reefer motor,another used the concrete barrieres as brakes,the third just went straight of the road and fell "only" 5 meters into the trees.

Got to Kamloops,my old home, only to have a full DOT inspection,Docs,logs and full truck check that cost an hour,,,they are nosey buggers,, Drove over the Couquahalla,coverd in snow and -15c....oh what fun,ask Koogs what thats like????? Tipped Van,knew instructions,load in Washington. Crossed the border into the US drove to Seattle then headed towards Spokane.What a beautiful drive,breathtaking scenery beyond my powers of description. And great roads crossing back over the Rockies,an absolute pleasure.

Loaded my onions,scaled at 79460lbs perfect and headed of towards Canada.
I am no fan of giant truck stops,i use them to fuel and shower and thats all. So i tend to try to find a small town some where to park up for the nite. By pure chance i disscoverd Athol ID, it boasted a 4 way crossing a general store a bar and Resturant. Parked Spirit 34 in front of the Bar and went in,,!!! OMG..!! was greeted by ultra loud country music,a dozen slightly drunk locals and a hot chick playing pool,,Woo Hoo.
Within 3mins i had been welcomed and introduced to them all,and invited to play pool with them. 5 Buds and 11 games of pool later i went to bed really happy,shit it had snowed again.. Woke the next day with a full bladder and a 1300km to drive,most of which in the mountains Again a day of breath taking views and roads and snow,lots of it.....Headed up through BC passing Cranbrook and then to the Crowsnest Pass,aiming for Lethbridge,i know that name from somewhere????? Got through the windy city and onto Medicine Hat and then to Saskatoon. At Medicine Hat the storm and blizzard started,100km winds whipped up the snow,driving was a nitemare,visisbilty was almost nill at times,just a white wall of snow and ice. It took me 61/2 hrs to do a 4 hr drive,got to SToon town absolutly shatterd,mentaly and physicaly. Offloaded the next day and reloaded at the same place in the afternoon.
Well rested i sped off towards Winnipeg,slept at Moosimon again,liked the barmaid there
Had 2 drops in Wpeg,swapt trailers and made 2 more drops and reloaded for Atlanta,only to be informed i shant be taking it I'm taking our one and only flatdeck to Florida.????

My First US Trip

2008-03-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

So,,i took my load down to Iowa City,cleared customs at Emerson,took 5mins,drove down to fargo then headed East towards Miniapolis. Stopped at a truck stop in Fergus Falls and ate my first roast Bison,speciality of the house and bloody yummy.
Set of early the next day in freezing temps and driving snow...Woo Hoo... this is fun. Rounded the twin cities and headed south then east towards Cedar Falls then down to Iowa City.
It snowed and blew allday,,,think i'm going snow blind ,,Entererd the city limits,and wished i'd hadn't.
Found a low bridge !!!!! an unmarked low bridge to boot,,,Oh bugger,,,and stopped dead in my tracks....this really pissed of the locals,,,which i enjoyed,, as it was now rush hour. I looked at the bridge from every angle,when a police car arrived,,, the young Cop asked me "what are you doing stopped in the middle of the road????" i just pointed up "Oh dear" he said " i'll radio in"
In best Starsky and Hutch style 2 more police cars arrived with inforcements,plus the Sargent!!!!
He said "that their bridge is 16 feet high" i replied " no it aint,plus its not marked any where" and "i'm only 13.6 foot high" so with the help of 4 policemen i crawled under the bridge with half an inch to spare and thats with dumping my air bags... i then listend to the sarge giving some official at town planning a real mouthful i thanked them all and got a police escort to my point of delivery...Hats of to the Iowa City police...
Unloaded at an ungodly hour 02.30 hrs....dont they know i need my beauty sleep ,,,then set of to Pittsville in Wisconsin for the reload...that was a lovly drive on backwater roads,no freeways,no traffic and loverly scenery,rolling snow coverd hills through little villages,an absolut pleasure to drive,even with the icy roads..

Stopped in a smallish town for a hearty breakfast,hell i sound like Lyndon here and only paid 5$ for it.. It took me almost 6hrs to arrive at my pick up point,and was loaded in double quick time,papers in hand and ready to roll within the hour i headed again cross country to Mineappolis then onto the 94 heading towards Fargo,and because i enjoyed that Bison so mutch i stopped again in Fergus Falls and chomped my way through another steak.
Woke that morning to a minus 29c,,,that aint funny when you gotta take a leak,,
A 4hr drive upto the border,which i crossed in 5mins and drove to the yard,called the boss on the way to put the coffee,,which she did, arrived back at the farm to warm coffee and my paycheck..Woo Hoo..

How it all Began ????? the blog i mean

2008-03-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

The pretty white Kenworth, is mine,the green Focus (his wife chose the colour) is Lyndons.

To recap Lyndon and i met on an Expats Forum last year,both of us had dreams,dreams of comming to live and work in Canada as "Truckers" and since then we've become good pals.

He and a few other "forum" friends have badgered me into doing this,so if its crap,blame them....

So my arse is covered