Water,,the beauty and the beast !!!

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 ???

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

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 ????

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

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

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

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.

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..????

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

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...