No Snow Oregon

It's been awhile since I blogged, there hasn't
been anything exciting to print or talk about
till now, finally a place where there is no snow,
quite a difference since the last time we were
here in December. If you make the picture bigger you will see the geese on the river.
(Columbia River). We are heading to Tracey,California to deliver a load. We are in
Ripon,Ca. waiting for our next load it is sunny
and 51degrees F(+10C). I met some really nice
people in Klamath Falls, Oregon on Sat. Two
single Ladies 40+ Shirley and Diana.
Shirley designs custom made western shirts if
you are interested they take 2-3 days.
Tell her Sandy sent you. She is in the phone book and she has a website. I miss everyone back home,I hope to go back there soon. I need my family and friends fix. Well that's all for now, I will
post again soon, brighter days ahead I hope.

Well so much for being on time with this load. This is a picture from the www.travelbc.ca webcame at the top of the Rogers Pass on the Trans Canada Highway in BC. These trucks are lined up waiting for the highways dept to bring down potential avalances. They do that with large cannons and send explosives into the snow to create an avalance, then clean up with loaders and graders.

These trucks are facing westbound at the lodge. We're down the other side facing eastbound towards Calgary, and waiting for the same thing. When we got here at 14:30, we were told it would be about 3 hrs. It's been almost 2 hrs and I was supposed to be in Calgary before 18:00. Sorry about their luck. Just hope there isn't a lineup at London Drugs waiting for some of this stuff from Richmond.

This whole trip has been a test. Left Edmonton Tues evening and got as far as Blue River at 4:00 AM. I just couldn't see anymore so I pulled into the Husky. Everythng looked okay, but when I tried to move in the morning, I was stuck. So were all the other trucks in the lot. I tried to chain, but already being stuck on ice, that wasn't going to happen.

Eventually, the person cleaning the parking lot showed up with a backhoe. One by one, he hooked a chain to each truck to his hoe and pulled us all out. It just took a couple of feet to get rolling and then everything was OK to go. He didn't even ask for money, I guess Husky was paying him by the hour because it was their parking lot and they hadn't kept it driveable.

Hopefully we'll make Calgary tonight, although it will be late. We've already been given a load to Ohio with an extra stop in Illinios, 2 extra stops in Michigan, and a final in Springfield, OH. I know there's lots of weather there too, but at least they keep the roads in better shape, hopefully.

Hope you're all safe and upright. This winter is already harder that the last many have been.

All the best in the coming months and Spring will be very welcome from my point of view.

What a difference a day makes!!

Here we are in Sunny Southern California, it is
now boxing day, no snow plus 50F(+10C). We
missed our appointment and they don't except
deliveries on weekends, so we are stuck here
at Flying J in Ripon,California. (boo,hoo). We
can't deliver till 3a.m. Monday morning. Oh
well, the sun is shining and it is t-shirt weather.
I made a few phone calls to my Son and friends
and that cheered me up. It is now Sunday and
our 5th wedding anniversary and we are stuck in
the truck, another disappointment and occasion
ruined. Today is +63F(+16C). I did all my
laundry and John made me lunch, a real
thrilling Anniversary. We have to pick up in Merced,CA, then to Sacramento,CA tommorrow
then we are headed home, I hope the weather is better going back.

Christmas Whiteout !!

Well, this is how We spent our Christmas Eve
and Christmas Day. Driving through a blizzard
in Oregon. It was so bad at times we couldn't
see the vehicle in front of us. Lots of people in
ditches and on the side of the road, very scarry.
We are headed to California, we are not going to make our appointment, we can only go 25mph.
Northern California is suppose to be as bad.
Lucky us, next year I decided to stay home. We
booked time off for New Years Eve and we are
not going to make it either.(Bummer) Have a
Happy New Year Everyone.

Merry Christmas

Well, I hope things are going better for you than the are for us.
The last few days have been very chaotic and topped off by a really bad cold and flu. Right now, we're enjoying the warmth of a nice hotel room compliments of H & R.

Got to Calgary on the 20th and bobtailed over to the Road King. I went right to bed at around 9:30 feeling pretty rough. Sandy went inside for awhile. Later on in the night, it got very cold in the truck. That little bunk heater just doesn't cut it at -30. Anyway, when I woke up and went to start the truck, nothing. She always hangs something over the control panel for the TriPak and this time she must have touched the "off" switch. So the TriPak hadn't run to keep the batteries charged and the coolant a bit warm. It definately wasn't going to start. I had to put in a breakdown message and wait for Penske to come over and boost me.

When it fired up, there was a great big exhaust leak near the manifold. It's been leaking a gallon of coolant every day or two, and servicing was also due. So the truck is over at Penske until Tues AM (Dec 23) I sure hope they get it out early. We have a load to Tracy CA that delivers on the 26 so we'll have to go pretty hard. Sure hope the roads are cleared up. There's been a lot of weather all over the west coast.

Idaho Winter Scene

It can get pretty snowy around the State Line between Montana and Idaho. This reminder of the past is in northern Idaho along I-15. It's around 6ooo ft. above sea level, and a gentle reminder of what's to come.
PS Take a close look at the corners of the picture. It's a new software that rounds the corners. Cool, eh?

Beginning of Fall in the Rockies

Well this is the first sign of what it is like in the
Rockies in the early Fall. It is now late fall and
we are in the Eastern part of the U.S. (Pennsylvania) there is nothing interesting to take pictures of, because it gets dark here real early. I will post some more later on, we have to deliver in Calgary on Wednesday, then we don't know where next.

The Virgin River Gorge In Arizona

Who says everything is bigger in Texas?

Well I found proof that California has bigger things

than Texas. Take a look at the size of this plum

and boy is it good. They grow these naturally not with steroids down in Port Hueneme. If you ever go there check out the fruit stands, but be careful some are very expensive go to the mexican
run ones.



Here is another photo that I did as a joke, I drew a likeness of Sarah Pallin on a cantelope
and compared it to the plum. (She was running for Vice-President if you didn't know). N
ow that's real fruity, sorry Sarah, just a joke

Here's a view of Mt. Shasta in Northern California along I-5. The first signs of Winter are starting to show.