Appolijiz for diss one, bot iss funny innit

It makez me laff

Husky In Regina

Amazingly closed for the winter


The beautiful Ontario Lakes


Watchout for mooses

A forrest full of dead trees ?????

Red leaves of Fall

Ohio somewhere

Beautifull township in Ohio

3045 stopped for a breather

Almost looks as though shes smiling

Ive had no internet for a few days so no updates im afraid, well since i was last on, i came north up into Ontario, delivered some MacDonalds cups into Mississauga, swapped trailers for a tridem and now im hauling 96000 lbs of frozen stuff over to Calgary, should be there tomorrow lunch time. My axle weights are just about maxxed out, it took a bit of juggling at the ole scales and a bit of nifty forklift driving at the Mississauga yard but we were soos good to go, as ever heres a few pics from the last few days.

More of the samez

Funny Animalz

Columbus Ohio At Last

States & Provinces visited so far

A bit of road, notice how green the grass is round here

Here we are then, parked up, showered, fed and Ice tea(ed).

Can any one guess where i am parked up, two clues, it comes between "I" and "K" and it flies.

Today was quite ineresting, first of all i drove thru Chicago which cost $29 in tolls and a nice trip thru Illinois, Indianna and down into Ohio. The weather is nice and hot (raining in Lethbridge) and tomorrow is delivery day. I am parked about 27 miles away and its a nice easy run in for 09:00 local.

Nothing more to report at the moment, should get a collection tomorrow to take me back up into Canada, hopefully up the East side of Lake Michigan and into Ontario so i can add some more states and Provinces Visited list.

South Beloit

Dont forget you can double click on pics to make them bigger


Calm down Grannie


Too busy concentrating on what was written on that bubble thing to notice who else was getting in on the picture (oops)


Honey Im home !!!

A bridge

Nice landscape

Not sure why i took this

Made it, so far so good.

Like i said, this trip is about 2000 miles Lethbridge to Columbus. At the moment i am doing 550 to 600 miles per day comfortably (please dont try to make any calculations off that, coz theres no stops, waits or hanging around to consider, these are good earning days) one thing i have noticed over here is you can normally find somewhere to park, when i pulled into this J at 20:30 local time it was only half full, try doing that in UK.

Well here we are again, parked up at the J, think i might treat myself to a $8.99 buffet, either that or a shrimp alfredo, washed down with a glass or 2 of iced tea.

Back into the States

This is where i work


This is my satelite computer, it talks to me


This is where i live

Carparks nasty but the coffees okay

Malta Truckstop

Malta Truckstop

My Chariot

Oh well, 4 fantastic (ally expensive) days off and its back to work. These days off have been very hectic, we turned the downstairs lounge into a games den so we had to get another big TV, TV table, Xbox 360 & games, tables, a couple of couches and a Papasan chair.

On this run Im going to Columbus in Ohio which is about 2000 miles one way, it should take me 4 days to get there and make the delivery. The trailer was already in Lethbridge so its just a case of get my border crossing paperwork, hitch up, scale off and head South.

This time i know exactly what im doing so it took me about 30 mins from turning the key to being sat on the scale exit and ready to point the noisy end towards the US of A.

I drove down to Milk River, grabbed a sandwich then off i went, the border crossing went without incident as did the visit to customs and the meat inspection, all pretty boring stuff but thats how we like it at the borders. Stopped off at Shelby to fax a bit of paperwork then it was hammer down (within speed limits of course) and a trundle East as far as could get.

Last time did this pracically all the coups were closed, everythings legal and above board anyway but when they are open you run the risk of getting pulled which loses valuable time, and we cant have that can we????

Anyway last night i got to Malta which is about half way across Montana, today i finished Montana, fueled at Beach (Flying J) as i entered North Dakota (Stage left) and burned across the State at a heart stopping 65 mph till i got to the other side and parked up at Fargo (Flying J) for the night. Tomorrow we head South East, take on the mighty Minneapolis and hopfully end up in a place called South Beloit just West of Chicago, and yes before you ask it is a Flying J, anyone see a pattern forming.......................

But that my friends is another day, tonight its a nice hot (free) shower, a phone call to Jan on the old Skype, possibly a cheseburger from the restaurant and an early night methinks!!

Snowing in Alberta

Woke up this morning and this is what we found, please note the date, oh well no cutting the grass today then.

It lives on forever

Dont forget to PAUSE the background music, its on the right hand bar just above the counter !!!!!

Reflections on the last 7 weeks

Where ive been in my 3 trips out


H&R Freightliners are all fitted for CB's and antennas fitted, just supply a radio, plug it in and off you go 10-4.


1 of the main roads into Winnipeg.

Moose Jaw i think ?????

Flying J, Fargo ND i think ?????

My TomTom 910 and Sirius Radio.

Me gone from blue to red (+a few pounds)

We have now been here 7 weeks today, it feels like a lifetime, so i think now is a good time to reflect on what weve done and whats happened so far.

Q. Are we still happy in Canada?

A. Yes, generally life is better than in UK, some things are very different though but i think we have adapted pretty well. We dont own our own house anymore but in the short term i dont see that as a problem, to be quite honest i personally dont think it would be agood idea to buy until we are certain that we are here for good and we cant be certain of that until we get approved for Permanent Residency, up until then any number of things can happen, so for now we will rent.

Q. How did Luke settle in?

A. Good question Lyndon, when i see him next i will ask him. In other words we never see him now, when we first came over here the schools were out but one of the neihbours came round and took him to introduce him to the other kids, that was handy as the kids were in a 300 metre radius and as everyone round here is basketball mad, it was ideal.

Then the school term started and that was it, his best friend is a lad called Miguel who lives over the other side of town and thats where he is last night. I came home last night after 2 weeks away and it was
"Hi Dad, whats for tea and can i sleep round Miguel's tonight, mum can you run us round the video store?see you later, bye" and then he was gone.

Q. How is Gizmo settling in?

A. He hated the kennels in Colchester and i think hated the flight (stuck in a crate) even more, it affected him badly and it was a few weeks before he was his old self again, he also came over to the middle of a heatwave so the weather knocked him about too. the culture shock completely overwhelmed him and he needed a lot of TLC.

Now he is doing great, the walks are fantastic, he's got is appetite back and he spends most of his time in the garden which is huge, we have also got a lot of trees and bushes that he likes to hide in. We got him booked in to the local vet clinic and last week we took him in for a once over and got his insurance sorted out, all went well, even the bit with the rectal thermometer, the brave lad.

Q. How does Jan feel about all this?

A. On the upside. Jan now lives in a lovely big house with loads of room, huge garden, all new appliances, in a fantastic township, drives a new car, doesnt have to get up at 05:00 am to go to work at Royal Mail, spends more time with Luke (when he's here) and generally lives a life of leisure.

On the downside her husband is away for 2 weeks at a time (okay lets have the clever comments and get them out of the way LOL ) and then i come home for 3 days then i'm out again.
Does she miss UK? NO
Does she miss Claire and (Colin, Tracey and Leo)? COURSE SHE DOES, SILLY QUESTION.
Does she want to back to UK? NO
Would she change anything? Dunno, shes just disapeared down to the laundry room.

Q.What about Lyndon?

A. Happy as the proverbial "pig in s**t".

I love living in Canada, i love the life, the food, the culture, the people, the shopping, big juicy steaks, iced tea, Molstons, Nabob coffee, clean streets, polite teenagers and wide open spaces.

I also love cutting the front lawn and waving back to complete strangers when they drive past, i also love the fact that it hardly rains round here.

Q. What about going into the States?

A. Everyone i have met has been polite friendly and helpful, the people who serve in the shops are unbelievably polite and everything is so positive. Bearing in mind the sort of places ive been or driven through, i think the place is very clean, and the amenities are out of this world. The saddest thing i saw was down in Nevada where miles and miles of "GREEN" have been wiped out by wildfire. The place to stay if you are on the road is the Flying J, i have always found a place to park, even quite late at night, internet is available, there are well stocked shops, showers are always spotlessly clean and the restaurants serve fantastic food.Lets put it like this, if J were to open in the UK, it would go along way to getting a lot more people into the trucking industry.

It may be just me but when you have been there, the states doesnt feel so big, its proberbly because i now see it as all separate states rather than one big lump of land, actually it feels bigger driving in Canada because the Provinces are so much bigger.

Whats H & R Transport like?

Wellllll, its a trucking company that delivers temperature controlled food products to various places in North america. If you mean what are they like to work for, then the answer is, so far i think they are pretty good. Dont forget i havent been with them long but what i have seen so far has mostly been good. Okay lets elaborate!!!!

Like i said its a trucking company which means its business is moving stuff from A to B. They are not a family liaison organisation, a housing agency or a nanny group. Yes they want you to work for them and yes they need drivers and yes they will help you settle in but at the end of the day they are a trucking company and that means they come with all the annoyancies that comes with any company in our industry.

• Yes there are unhappy drivers (tell me a company that doesnt have those)
• Yes there are loads that dont pay well ( see point 1)
• Yes you get stuck out waiting for loads (see point 1)
• Yes your dispatcher will get you to do nasty loads (see point 1)
• Yes it always rains when you have to get out of your cab (i think thats just me)

It was exactly the same at Wincantons back in UK, it will be the same in Canada, The States, Europe, Australia and proberbly anywhere else in the world.

So far i am happy, money seems pretty good, i got a nice new truck, loads are easy, driving is easy, paperwork is a bloody nightmare and they got me home on time for my days off.

Q. What is the pay like?

A. I was dreading this question, its the one question thats on the lips of every driver and every drivers wife (sorry i should say spouse, wife, hubby other half or life partner) there are a lot of female drivers over here, a lot more than in UK.

Okay well lets be realistic, you wont earn full whack straight away, even if you get good runs because you are learning the job. I got the impression that the jobs i have done so far have had slightly flexible lead times so they could afford for me to be a bit slow. Someone experienced could proberbly get round where i have been in the last 2 weeks and proberbly shave a few days off, bearing in mind we would have both done the same distance so our pay should be identical, the other driver, if they shaved 3 days off the run, would then have 3 days extra which could mean an extra 1800 miles in the same time frame.

There is also the thing of being clever with your logbook (please dont think i mean running illegal) I mean utilising your hours and window of opportunity to get as far as possible, for example if you are delivering at 11:00 and you are 5 km from your destination and you get up at 06:00 to pretrip your truck and start your logbook from 06:00, then youhave just wasted hours, its much better to have a lie in so your window starts later in the morning, that way you can get further along the road after you are tipped. I know thats a simple example but im sure you get my drift.

Q. Which is the best company to work for?

Things to bear in mind.

• Size of Company, bigger the company, more chance of timely loads.
• $ per Mile, means nothing, look at average monthly miles, then calculate.
• Locale, is it where you want to live.
• Do you want to drive team or solo.
• OTR or stay in Canada.
• What is the benefits package like.
• Go and visit, dont listen to gossip.
• Tickle box or Auto.

Q. What happens now?

Time for Sunday lunch, Roast Lamb and mint sauce.

Till next time...........................

Border Crossing

Its beddy-byes time at the J.

One of the fun things you get to do over here is crossing borders between The Great White North and the Excited States of America, someone told me its one of the longest open borders in the world. Obviously that person wasnt driving a truck, it wouldnt be so bad but you have to prepaire your own paperwork, fax to brokers and basically sort things out yourself. By the way a broker is a company that sits on the border and is supposed to help you get you load across, a bit like a go between i guess,well its took me all afternoon to sort out the paperwork and get it all cleared, bearing in mind this was my first time so im hoping its going to get easier.

Im planning to cross the border tomorrow and head up into Winterypeg where i tip and grab another load for Cow Town (Calgary) and hopefully another load to get me back to the 'Bridge so i can have a few well earned days off, bearing in mind i went out to vancouver on the 2nd which was my mountain training and mentor trip, and have been rubber ducking (trucking) ever since, by the way do you like the slang, it makes me sound as though i know what i am talking about, i have also now got a moth in my cab, no thats not more slang, i really have got a moth in my cab. I really hate moths, isnt it weird how they always want to land on your face, especially when you are driving.

Anway im sat in yet another J (Black Water Falls) and ive just had yet another steaming hot (free) shower and stuffed myself silly at the salad bar and washd it down with, yes you guessed it, copious amounts of iced tea.

Most of us Brits aren't familiar with real iced tea but we do drink that Nestea stuff, well real iced tea is nothing like that, the unsweetened stuff is a bit of an aquired taste but its very refreshing and quenches the old thirst.

Well i think thats about it for another night, time to get some kip as im planning to do a fair few miles tomorrow.

Onwards & Upwards

Welltoday is nice and sunny, cleaned and polished the cab and tidied up the wiring for the TomTom and the Sirius, Just had my next job through, looks like its Columbus, Winterypeg, Calgary and possibly Burnaby which should be fun. i will be up and running by 1700 tonight so i guess its running thru the night.

Heres a few more pics from the last few days.

Same old same old

Just did my delivery this morning and its back to the J. Bad news is that i have run out of hours, it is surprising just how restrictive the American Hours are. What that means is that i have done 70 hours work in the last 8 days which also means can either take a 10 hour break which leaves me 6 tomorrow or i do whats called a reset so the cycle starts again, either way im stuck here so it looks like a little R + R.

At the moment i got the laptop sat in the steering wheel and looking out of the window, this could be any truck stop in UK. Its raining, the truck lot is quite full and its a depressing day, the only difference is the make and shape of the trucks. Every so often a driver will run passed using a newspaper as an umberella, even the truck drivers look the same (mostly).

Fargo North Dakota

Its been funny old week, started with a mentor trip down to Vancouver, jumped out at Delta and took over truck "3930" which was a bit of a state but it had all the necessary bits, a wheel at each corner and 5th one on the back. Anyway worked my way back into Alberta and was given a nice new one "3045". Couple of hours later i was despatched again for my first trip south of the border.The trip has taken me down through the border crossing at Coutts/Sweetgrass and into Montana then swung East at Shelby on Highway 2, over into North Dakota where tomorrow morning i swing south into Minnesota then down into Iowa, i might put a map up of all the states i have visited.

I am sat in the J at Fargo at the moment, just enjoyed a nice hot "free" shower and "Shrimp Alfredo" washed down with copious amounts of Iced Tea, oh well, "when in Rome" as they say. Purchased a Sirius satelite radio tonight and set it up, which is quite nice so now i got something decent to listen to. One thing about driving here is the multitude of radio stations and you drop the signal after a few miles so the sirius is a godsend.

If anone coming out here is concidering a Sat Nav, then well done it makes life a lot easieras long as you use it correctly and dont just follow it blind, one little tip for you tomtommers is if you make a note of all the government Scales and set them up in your POI's you can set the tomtom up to give you a 3 km warning as you approach one. Anyway its getting late and i drove well over a thousand km today so im off to bed, see you all tomorrow.

Lost in the mountains

Hi Everyone,

wow what a week, ive been "trucking around the Rockies" ive been sunning it in the Okanagan Valley, getting lost amongst the fruit farms, getting lost in the mountains and wrestling with grizzly bears, actually you can cancel that last one. I did have to fuel up in the middle of a hail storm though but that was in Calgary. I did spend my 1st night out in the mountains last night amongst the bears and Sasquashes, wow scary stuff and i swear if i ever hear a banjo out in the woods i am gone................

Seriously, i think this week i have seen the most beautiful place on earth and possibly the most scary, If you google an image of the BC licence plate you will see that it boasts "Beautiful British Columbia" trust me folks that is no idle boast, Gremmie you are one lucky "Son of a doodah" for where you live and i know you dont need me to tell you that.

I apologise now on here for not answering all the emails, my life has just gone a little balistic and im only home for a couple of hours while i change trucks, i will get answers out to you all but please bear with me. I leave for Waterloo in Iowa in the morning (06:00) so tomorrow night i should be in Great Falls Montana so i will have internet connection and a few hours online.

Big Truck, yes i do still read Travelera (britishexpats) and yes something will be happening somewhere but its all in the thinking stage at the moment. There needs to be some sort of real expats forum that is run by expats for expats but im making no promises coz i am burnin' some serious rubber at the moment. I also want to start sharing a sh*t load of photographs but again im not sure how I want to do it yet.

Hopefully when i spend a little more time in the States i will have more regular internet and we can get some stuff up and running.

Oh well got to go and get some kip.

Lyndon