The route to Butler Wisconsin

Just a quick post for Curt to show where im headed.

Portal is right next the North Portal but you have to zoom right in.

Its a one horse town thats so small they dont even have a horse.

Jeff from Ontario

Met up with Jeff while waiting to load up with apples at one place then met up again at the next collection. Jeff was kind enough to show me how to get to the local truck stop in Wenatchee.

If you are ever in the area then try BJ's Truck Stop, its in the middle of nowhere but there is a truck scale and a great restaurant, try the homestyle fries. They are the closest thing i have seen to the good ole British chip.

Big thumbs up, we love BJ's.

oi stop sniggering at the back !!!

Wheres Lyndon 006

Okay here's the new one. No signs to give this one away.

The answers in the comments, so dont peek if you want to play !!!

Bear with me

Hi, just want to opologise for not keeping up with emals, coments and such like. Ive been working my butt off the last week or so, im dropping back into the States tomorrow and will get everything updated.

See y'all soon.

Lyndon

Tacoma, Yakima then Wenatchee

Yes they took the load and my slow shitty trip is turning into a busy, well paying trip as usual, this is why I never complain about where I get sent. I have always had this attitude to driving, I never worry about what job I get or where I go, I just take what im given and it always turns out okay.

So, I finished off at Tacoma and got told to head East on I-90, and an assignment will be sent to me enroute. I tried to refuel at the Flying J there but the queues were too long so I headed east for Ellensburg. About 30 minutes from Ellensburg the magic talking brick (satellite computer) beeped and my next jobs were thru and this is what they were….

Pick up apples at Yakima
Pick up apples and pears at Wenatchee
Pick up
more apples on the other side of Wenatchee.
Cross into Canada at
Kingsgate.
Deliver to Versa cold in Calgary or leave at H&R yard.
Pick up trl at H&R yard
Cross into USA at Portal
Deliver to Butler in Milwaukee on March 3rd

So far have collected at Yakima and I am sat outside collection number 2, they don’t open till 07:30 so I am camped along the side of their warehouse, its just gone midnight (Alberta time) and I'm going to get a couple of hours sleep. That’s the good thing about having a self sufficient truck, its like travelling round in an RV.

There is a street in Yakima called Nob Hill Boulevard, I think it deserved a few pics, just for the comedy value.

The Dirtier Side Of Trucking

Now this is one of my pet hates in this industry, more so in UK, it doesn’t seem to be so much of a problem over here. Its been mentioned on other trucking blogs and websites, I have heard people moaning about it but I have yet to hear of anyone coming up with a solution.

What I am talking about it jumping out of your truck, while parked at truck stops and urinating (or worse) just outside the door, it is a filthy habit, unsociable and unhealthy. The crazy thing is, it happens when there are proper bathrooms just a few hundred yards away.

Even animals don’t piss where they sleep, these drivers must realise that these parking spaces are used 24-7 and they only get washed when it rains.

One particular service station springs to mind and that’s (bloody hell I cant remember the name now) In north Birmingham, I used to do trailer swaps there and I absolutely dreaded it, the smell was enough to make you gag.

Well I saw a sign this morning where I parked up and what a fantastic idea, fine violators, and perhaps use the money to improve the standard of services over there, perhaps the money could be used to install porta-loos where there are no facilities.

I do know that there are a few influential people in certain trucking magazines who read this blog, what a great idea for a story, it wouldn’t be easy as I guess bye-laws would have to be altered but if signs like this went up in UK then it would be just another step towards making Britain a nicer place to live and work.

Take Me To Tacoma

Got to 3045 Monday morning and plans had changed again, no more taking poop to California, now I was to take meat to Phoenix Arizona. Trouble was the trailer was still being loaded round the corner and they wanted it there in 35 hours and by my reckoning, the earliest possible would be 44 hours and that’s driving max, resting min, 2 fuel stops and no holdups on the border.

I double checked and even triple checked the figures but there was no way a single driver could do it, his was a job for a super single or a team. I phoned in to explain and the inevitable happened, I was took off the job, shame really coz I fancied that one.

Anyway, I popped in to have a quick chat with Steve Whitaker then toddled off back to the truck to await my next load assignment. I didn’t have to wait long, there was a trl waiting in Calgary to be tipped in Tacoma in Washington, not the best job in the world but at least it got me on the move.

So………………………………….

My first job was to take a trl that Pete Titmus (see a previous article a few months ago) had just dropped in the yard and take that to the Calgary yard, trl swap and take the other one into Tacoma, so far so good I hear you say.

Screamed into the Calgary yard at 5 mph, trailer swapped then headed for the border at Eastport in Idaho. Got to the border at about 22:00 and the paperwork wouldn’t clear, and to top it all, UPS who was the broker didn’t have 24 hr service there. Well after a bit of wrangling with H&R which got us no-where, I go spun round and sent back to Canada to spend the night parked up with the cattle trucks, the smell wasn’t very nice…………………………..

But the cows never complained LOL………………………………………

Next morning I tried again and once again got fired back into Canada, third time was okay and I was good to go. I have t say at this point that even though the CBP kept kicking me out of the country they were very friendly, polite and professional, and helped as much as they could although they wouldn't let me use the government fax machine even though it was a freefone number.

Eventually I got through, 1 digit on the manifest was wrong and screwed the whole thing up, and I headed south towards Bonners Ferry. I pulled
over at an Elk Ranch, just had to show you the pics, what a fantastic animal, and to think they are bred to eat, such a travesty.

All went well again till got to the Washington border, got called in at the scale for a level 3 paperwork and manifest check, it took about 15 minutes and he checked, my licence, truck & trailer licensing, manifest, then the biggy, my logbooks. Well he was happy with everything so I packed everything away and got down here at about 21:00 last night, trouble is the load doesn’t deliver for 36 hours. I tried to park in the Flying J but there was no chance, it was packed solid. There was a scale about a mile away with quite a bit of parking so I parked up in there.

I'm sat in the receivers yard at the moment trying to persuade them to take the load this morning instead of tomorrow morning. I went in about an hour ago, they are not too happy about it but they said come back in 2 hours, I've been here for an hour and a half so will go back in again shortly and see if they will give me a break.

We will have to wait and see……………………………………...

Extra day off

My Breakfast

i phoned in yesterday afternoon to find out my next joband i was told i had a choice, my load was sat in Edmonton (10hrs round trip) so i could either go and get it myself or i could take another day off and someone else would bring it to Lethbridge for me. I hate it when i get those sort of choices coz on one hand i hate to lose money but on the other hand i have got stuff to do for the permenant residency.

Well im still sat at home so you can guess the choice i made. Tomorrow i am going to Elk Brooks, California, which is in a Southern suburb of Sacremento so my backload will more than likely be somewhere between Sacremento and Merced.

It not the longest run in the world so i think i will be able to relax a little on this one. Its a strange load though, its peat moss. ive got a strange feeling its crossing the border at Eastport Idaho but i am just guessing now. i hope so because i like that run and it also means i dont have to cross the Donner's (Donna's) Pass.

i was going to post an excerp giving an explanation of exactly what peat moss was but i fell asleep twice while reading it my self so i will spare you that one and give my own description below:

Its fertilizer

Okay thats enough about that, i had to do a bit of repair work on the garden fence yesterday, Gizmo found a weak bit and pulled a panel off and made a bid for freedom. The little toe rag must have planned it coz of the route he took. He got trough the fence into next doors and followed the fence so he didnt leave any paw prints in the snow. It was then out onto the road and the world was his oyster.

Well actually the next 3 or 4 blocks were his oyster coz he obviously got that far and decided there was nothing else to see in Raymond. We jumped in the car and found him 3 blocks away sat on the corner. It looked like his paws were cold too so he was soon returned to captivity.

Thats 3 times he's done that now, trouble is, after about an hour of freedom he gets bored and comes home anyway, sitting outside the front door and crying.

Lyndons Cooking Life

Welcome To Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal city and major seaport, located on the mainland of south-western British Columbia, Canada. It is named after Captain George Vancouver, a British explorer.

The population of the city of Vancouver is just under 600,000, making it the eighth largest city in Canada. However, the population of the metropolitan region, known as Metro Vancouver, has been estimated to be as high as 2,249,725 (2007 estimate), bolstered mainly by the expanding southern cities of Surrey and Richmond. This then, makes it the largest metropolitan area in western Canada and the third largest in the country.

Vancouver is ethnically diverse, with 52% of city residents and 43% of Metro residents having a first language other than English. The population of the city is growing rapidly, and the Metro population is projected to reach 2.6 million by 2020. Population density is highest for a major city on the continent after New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City, and on track to being second by 2021.

Vancouver is located between the Strait of Georgia and the Coast Mountains. Its economy has traditionally relied on British Columbia's resource sectors: forestry, mining, fishing and agriculture. It was first settled in the 1860s as a result of immigration caused by the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, particularly from the United States, although many immigrants did not remain after the rush. The city developed rapidly from a small lumber mill town into a metropolitan centre following the arrival of the transcontinental railway in 1887.

The Port of Vancouver became internationally significant after the completion of the Panama Canal, which reduced freight rates in the 1920s and made it viable to ship export-bound prairie grain west through Vancouver. It has since become the busiest seaport in Canada, and exports more cargo than any other port in North America.

Vancouver is consistently ranked one of the three most liveable cities in the world. According to a 2007 report by Mercer Human Resource Consulting for example, Vancouver tied with Vienna as having the third highest quality of living in the world, after Zürich and Geneva. In 2007, Vancouver was ranked the second most expensive in Canada after Toronto, and, in 2006, the 56th most expensive city in which to live among 143 major cities in the world; in the same survey, Zurich and Geneva were ranked as the ninth and seventh most expensive, respectively.

The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver and nearby Whistler.

Vancouver has been called a "city of neighbourhoods", each with a distinct character and ethnic mix. People of British origin were historically the largest ethnic group in the city, and elements of British society and culture are still highly visible in some areas, particularly South Granville and Kerrisdale.

The Chinese are by far the largest visible ethnic group in the city, and Vancouver has one of the most diverse Chinese-speaking communities, with several Chinese dialects being represented. There are also some neighbourhoods with high concentrations of single ethnic groups, such as the Punjabi Market, Little Italy (roughly synonymous with Commercial Drive but also including the Nanaimo and Hastings area), Greektown, and Japantown. Bilingual street signs can be seen in various neighbourhoods, including Chinatown and the Punjabi Market.

The above discriptions were taken mostly from Wikipaedia as I didn’t feel I had enough knowledge to do the City justice. Ive driven into the area a few times now but I mostly go to our yard in Delta. I only really go into the city for collections and once when I was in there I took a ride on the Sky Train.

Here's some stuff I found on the Sky Train……………………………….

The SkyTrain is a two-line urban mass transit system in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It uses Bombardier's Advanced Rapid Transit technology, with fully automated trains running principally on elevated tracks (hence the name). There have been no derailments or collisions in its history. It uses the same linear induction motor-driven trains as the Scarborough RT line in Toronto, the Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Detroit's People Mover, and the AirTrain JFK in New York City.

SkyTrain is operated by British Columbia Rapid Transit Company under contract from TransLink, a regional government transportation agency. It operates on a proof-of-payment fare system and is policed by the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service. Skytrain Attendants (STAs) are present to provide first aid, directions, customer service and inspect fares, and they monitor train faults and drive the trains when necessary. TransLink claims to lose about C$6 million in unpaid fares annually, including $3 million from SkyTrain alone.

SkyTrain's 49.5 km (30.8 mi) of track make it the longest automated light rapid transit system in the world. It also uses the longest mass transit-only bridge, the SkyBridge, to cross the Fraser River. There are 33 stations in the system, which carries more than 160,000 - 180,000 people every day on the two lines. The Expo Line was built in time for the Expo 86 World's Fair; the Millennium Line opened in 2002 and further expansions are underway to coincide with the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Construction of the Canada Line began in November 2005. The Evergreen Line is in the planning stage. The former will be completed in 2009, and the latter in 2014. Translink has also released a ten year plan outlining a Broadway Line and further expansion of the Expo Line into Surrey. The Canada Line will run from downtown Vancouver to Richmond, with a branch to Vancouver International Airport.

The Evergreen line will run from Lougheed Town Centre to Coquitlam Town Centre. The Broadway Line, although not confirmed, is said to extend from the Millennium Line at VCC-Clark station and end at the University of British Columbia in the University Endowment Lands, tunneling underneath Broadway a majority of the way. The system has been the subject of several political, social, and economic controversies.

Gizmos turning into a Werewolf

Jan pointed something out to me yesterday which i thought was strange but i guess it makes sense. Gizmo's fur has got really long and thick, espesially on his underside since the weather got really cold. He had also got a huge growth of fur between his toes.

He hasnt really suffered much with the cold but a couple of weeks ago when the temperature plummeted to -40 C apparently he was limping on the snow so he felt it on his paws that night, that was when the fur growth started.

We've been checking Luke ever since but he seems okay so far LOL.

Which is Lyndon

Okay okay i know its more about me but i was looking through the old photographs for the last posting and i have to admit it bought a little tear to my eyes ( it was something in my eye, honest)........... so many great memories.

Anyway heres a little twist on the "Where's Lyndon" theme.

Its called Which Is Lyndon, no clues this time

Who the hell is Lyndon ???

First day at school i think

The Apprentice Meat Technition

The Explorer

My Best Uniform

Me as a "Hooker"

And this is me hooking

MV St Brandan

Vince bringing his girlfriends home

Tonights lucky girl

I only did what it said on the washing instructions

Saddam pulled out of Kuwait when i sent him this pic.

Hey Mum, Look what i turned into !!!

Well the blog is a year old now and I think it is a good time to tell you all a little about me, where I come from and what bought us to where we are now.

Well it all started one cold winters night in a land far, far away where the traditional greeting was "ah bin yer ay, 'ar I know ar 'ay"

There was a cry, a shove and a few choice swear words and baby Lyndon was delivered unto the world, kicking and screaming and probably clutching a corn-dog.

I think the doctor said" Ugly little trucker isn't he?"

So they knew even at that early age they knew I was destined to be a Highway Driver, forever destined to roam freely along the Highways and Bye-ways, delivering chilled food products to anyone who was prepared to pay the price.

So there it was, January 31st 1965, I was born to Leons and Muriel Lomanovskis, a little bouncing baby blogger.

But even before that…………………………………..

My Dad came over from Latvia (Google it) in 1948, it’s a long story but in a nutshell, when the German Army stormed thru Latvia in 194'whatever, all the young lads were drafted into the German military, my Dad was sent to the Luftwaffe and promptly despatched to the Russian Front where he manned an 88mm anti-aircraft gun. During the first attack the gun was blown up and destroyed, my Dad survived but was wounded and had his eardrums blown out so he was hospitalised, while in hospital he caught scarlet fever and never returned to the front line.

As the German war machine was pushed back into Germany, my Dad obviously got moved back too and in the meantime the Russians liberated Latvia then promptly occupied it and it got absorbed into the USSR. His meant my Dad could never return home to his family (he's never seen his family since), so he become a displaced person in Germany along with so many other Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians and many others.

The Allied answer to this problem was to ship them all out to either Australia, UK or USA and offer them permanent Visas, my Dad chose UK.

Well he moved to Winey near Oxford and as he was a farmer by trade he worked a s a farm labourer but as time went on he decided to move to Birmingham and learn a trade, so off he toddles, gets a job, gets lodgings and married the landlord's daughter, there you go, job done.

Unfortunately my Mum hasn’t got such a colourful past, apart from marrying a Latvian immigrant who moved from Witney to learn a trade, when they got married they bought a house in a place called Coseley in the West Midlands and guess what, 54 years later they still live there, doing their thing and both as happy as Larry.

Well as for me………………….

Grew up in Coseley, left school and joined a meat processing company as an Apprentice Meat Technition (ha-ha I still cant spell it) but always ha a yearning to join the military, I was an Scout and an Air Cadet as a youngster, joined the Territorial Army as soon as I was old enough and by the time I was 18 I had joined the Regular Army, turned my back on Coseley forever and young Lyndon was off and living his life.

I really enjoyed the military life although I was a little bit of a rebel and did my fair share of getting into the trouble in those early days, it usually had the same end result, stinking hangover and in deep shit again, but it was fun.

I joined the Army as a Combat Driver in the Royal Corps of Transport, did my 3 months training at Buller Barracks in Aldershot (intake 151) and after that they shipped me off to a foreign land called Yorkshire to try and teach me to drive trucks, once this was done it was back to Aldershot for another week of bullying then they shipped me off to Bielefeld in Germany and to 36 Squadron, 10 Regiment.

During my 4 years there I was lucky enough to do 2 tours of Northern Ireland, first as an Infantryman, patrolling the streets and the second time out of uniform. I also had many more interesting jobs including patrolling the "Berlin Wall" and guarding "Nukes".

My next post sent me to RAF Odiham back in Blighty when I joined the Joint Helicopter Support Unit and I became a "Hooker". My 2 main roles there was preparing and hooking the under-slung loads for Chinook helicopters and also preparing tactical landing zones for various types of helicopter. This was my favourite time in the Arm and I was sad when I had to leave.

During this time I did 2 tours of The Falkland Islands, the first one was based at Mount Pleasant Airport and the second one was again out of uniform and based on board the cargo vessel MV St Brandon, I enjoyed both tours but the one on board the ship was absolutely fantastic.

Next it was back to Germany to Lubbecke where I joined 54 Sqn RCT and didn’t even get time to unpack before I was dispatched over to Saudi Arabia to help kick Mr Hussein's ass out of Kuwait, again this was one of the highlights of my career, I had a great time and got a great suntan. People asked me what it was like to live in the desert for 9 months, I say it was like being on the beach 24-7 except that the sea goes out a long way.

I started writing to a girl while I was out there, her name was Jan, can you guess the rest……………………………………………….

After my time in the dusty stuff I got a really shitty posting to Minden in Germany so I changed trades and become a Military Railwayman and within 2 years of changing trades I was running their training wing. I stayed there, living in Monchengladbach till I got another shitty posting to that same Squadron that was in Minden except that now the were back in UK just outside Oxford.

By the way Luke was born at this time at RAF Wegberg, just a few miles away.

I turned up at the main gate and just new I wasn’t going to stay there long, everything there was just crap, I didn’t like anything or anyone there and to be honest I went out of my way to cause trouble every chance I got. I got into a huge row with my troop sergeant and it was an unrecoverable situation.
In the end I had to ask for an interview with the Colonel t explain the situation. He basically said I had to put up with it so the same day I resigned, after 13 years service I just walked away.

I was supposed to work a years notice but The Army released me 4 months early (I think they were glad to be rid of me LOL) those last 8 months were interesting, my troop commander would have nothing to do with me and my Troop Staff Sergeant had given up, like I said I hated everything about the place and that included them.

So on that fate-full Friday I drove into the barracks in Civvies, went straight to the clothing store and dumped my uniforms on the counter, then drove round to the Sqn and asked in the office if they wanted all the spare stuff I had accumulated over the years, naturally they said yes so I drove into the hangar and emptied the contents of my boot………………… on the floor.

I got back in the car and with a wry smile on my face, drove off the base without even looking back.

And there ended Lyndon's military career………………………………………….

Monday morning I donned suit and tie and joined Toys R Us as a trainee Assistant Manager.

Two years later I changed ties and joined Tempo Electricals as a Manager.

When they went bust (not my fault) I changed ties again and become a salesman for DFS selling sofas.

When they threatened to fire me for being crap I went over the road selling Toyotas.

Ha ha, I was even worse at that so I dug out my truck licence and went on the road.

I did agency work for a few years and loved it till I got to Wincanton's, I liked it there but the agency lost the contract so I got a job with them directly and was with them when I overheard Jon Webley and Nick Woods talking about moving to Canada, that was last January.

And I think you all know the rest………………………………………….

My Typical Run

Okay folks, just to give you European and Brit based drivers an idea of times and distances that we do over here as North American Highway drivers, I have broken down my last trip. This is pretty typical of what we do and I have also super-imposed an image of Europe over the states so you can see the differences.

I left Lethbridge last Tuesday morning to do what I thought would be a standard 5 1/2 day trip down into Iowa, quick delivery and backload then back up to Canada to reset ready for the next trip. Now I want to point out at this point that I am totally out of sync for my dedicated day of leaving on a Friday so I am quite happy to stretch this one out. What I mean by that is if they send me further away for my backload or if they send me up to Toronto I'm okay with it.

Righty ho then………..

The story starts Monday afternoon, the day before I get back in the truck, I normally phone in about 13:00 to see where I am going the next day and check on delivery and collection times. This week I am told I am going to Beef Produ
cts Incorporated in Waterloo which is a "drop & wait" meaning I take the trailer in, leave it there, and go round to the J and wait. I like that run coz while you are waiting there's plenty of time to clean out the truck, grab a shower and a proper meal and chill out for a while.

Tuesday morning, Jan & I get up, Jan gets Luke ready for school and takes him, meanwhile I start packing for the trip. Most of my work clothes stay in the truck and only my laundry comes home with me.

So clothes packed, food packed, computer and cameras packed its breakfast time, typical Lomanovskis Canadian breakfast of Canadian bacon and cheese on a croissant and coffee. Jan comes back just as breakfast is cooked so we eat and throw all my gear in the car.

The drive into Lethbridge is about 30 mins so Jan drops me off and goes off shopping. I stow all my gear, pre-trip 3045 and log on to the satellite, the messages don’t come thru till you log on for the day. Once I'm happy with the truck and if nothing has come thru the satellite I take a walk into the office, grab the official keys off the hook (I have my own spare set), check the mail, check the licensing box to see if 3045 has any post then go upstairs to the dispatchers to see what's happening.

I am told that the load is still up at Cargill's in High River so I grab an empty trailer and scoot off up there, trouble is though, once I have crossed the border, meat inspection closes at 16:30 so I'm not going to make it. I plan to get the load, cross the border and park up on the meat inspection door s I can be first in the queue in the morning.

Soooooooo………………….

I grab the load (passed Kev & Lisa on the way up) and get down to the border, I got one extra little job to do this time, my I94 Visa waiver runs out in a couple of days so I need to go into immigration to renew that. The border guard keeps my passport and manifest so I don’t run off and I proceed thru the x-ray scanner and park up. I walk up to immigration and wait patiently to be sorted out, in the mean time another border guard managed to offend an Israeli man who had out stayed his welcome anyway. With that done I'm good for another 3 months and I toddle off to "Agri" to book the meat load thru. It was the same female officer in the other building so there must be a secret passage somewhere or a teleporter or something. Anyway she signs where she's supposed to sign and stamps where she's supposed to stamp and I smile, thank her very much, didn’t ask her if she had a teleporter then made my way back down to 3045 who was waiting patiently in the lot.

That little lot done I gunned the engine and we swiftly scooted the half mile or so round to meat inspection and pulled the curtains.

During the night the weather had turned nasty, a lot of roads were emergency traffic only and the road I wanted (needed) to take was closed. Anyway cleared meat inspection, drove down to Shelby and fuelled up, I spoke to another driver to told me that Highway 2 was now open so I happily drove off east. The roads started off okay but soon deteriorated and it was a hard slog to get to the Flying J at Beach North Dakota. That’s where I filmed the pickle thing, yuk!!

I sent a message to dispatch informing them about being out of sync and a run up to Toronto would put me right, hint, hint !

Next morning I started to pace my self for the delivery, I had nearly 2 full days before delivery so I planned 2 nice easy days, half an hour later I had a message asking me to get the load into Waterloo as soon as possible, pick up a trailer waiting for me and get it South to Ottumwa in southern Iowa.

Well that changed my plans a little so we drove as far as we could and ended up in a small rest area in Minnesota and the next morning finished the journey and dropped the trailer at BPI, this was after waiting over an hour for an asshole of a QA inspector to come out and check the seal, all he had to do was walk out of his office and walk 30 yards. Anyway he turned up and I was at my sarcastic best as usual so I hope I spoiled the Karma of his day.

Okay dropped the trailer and the one I picked up had a flat and half a dozen bald spots, oh yes and one axle was frozen solid which I promptly fixed with my trusty hammer. I phoned the shop and told then to get the "flat tire fixing guy" to meet me at the J, my plan was to get a shower while he was fixing it. Well that plan didn’t work out coz I had to drive to them, it was only a few blocks but it meant the shower had to wait. Anyway they changed the tire and I went back round to the J and had my shower.

I drove down to Ottumwa dropped the trailer at their wash-down and went to collect my load, its not a bad place they have all the facilities (except adequate parking) so I scaled off and waited for my paperwork, eventually a guy in white coveralls and a hard hat came over and waved a seal at me. Once I was sealed I headed North. Normally I would stop somewhere and do all the copying and faxing but this place does it all for you so I drove as far as I could and pulled over in a rest stop.

Next day drove to the Flying J at Sioux Falls and next morning fuelled up at the Pilot and headed west for the Flying J and Rapid City, from there drove to the Flying J at Butte Montana where I had a nice steak and baked potato supper. Next day drove to Moses Lake in Washington State and parked up there at a place called Ernie's Truck stop, its not a bad place but I've seen better.

Somehow I've managed to switch from driving days to driving nights but its not a problem as I am pushing hard and time is running short, the problem now is that I am running out of hours on my recap (weekly cycle) and I have to start planning hours carefully so I can make the deliveries on time. Had a message off Rick, one of the American dispatchers saying "Great run, well done, thanks" which was nice, he obviously knows what I'm up against here.

It was now the night before the deliveries in Vancouver and I was still in Moses Lake Washington so I needed one last big push. I left about 21:00 (Mountain Time)got over to Seattle and up thru the border at Surrey.

Now meat loads going down into the States have to be inspected by USDA at special facilities just over the border. Meat loads coming into Canada also have to be inspected but the Canadians do it slightly differently, once you have crossed the border coming North you go into the Brokers office which will be somewhere in the complex, he gives you a report called an MCAP and this tells you whether you have been selected for inspection or if it’s a "Skip", skipped loads just go on to delivery as normal. Loads to be inspected are sent to particular facilities where they are inspected then you go and deliver them.

Anyway I had one skip and one inspect so I delivered one load, drove down to the inspecting facility actually in Vancouver its self and a City driver took the trailer off me as there was no way I had the hours to get it to Chilliwack.

I bobtailed over to the Delta yard (15 mins) with 30 mins to spare and that’s where I am now.

I have taken 10 hours rest and I was expecting a load of coke-cola to get me back to Calgary, trouble is I am sill short of hours on the recap so I will have to do it it 2 shifts.

Now I have been told that the load wont be ready till tomorrow so I am planning to do a reset here in the yard and if I leave tomorrow afternoon I can get back to Calgary in one shift, it takes about 12 1/2 to 13 hours to get back then I just need a run down to Lethbridge for a few days off.

Well that’s my trip and that’s what I do as a North American Highway Driver, over the last week or so I have seen extremes of weather both hot and cold, met some great people (and a few assholes) travelled through 7 states and 2 provinces, I've been tired, exhausted, exhilarated, happy, sad, completely pissed off, confused, frustrated, proud and a mixture of all other emotions which I don’t think there are names for.

I've learnt some stuff, had some laughs and best of all been paid for it.

I guess that’s it, for better or worse, this is my "Trucking Life"………………………..

H&R Drivers - Wayne Read

There I was sat at the Delta Yard doing my paperwork and a truck pulls up next to me, the driver jumps out and says "Hey, you're Lyndon".

And that dear readers is how I met my new buddy Wayne.

Anyway we had a great chat about the usual trucker stuff and went to grab some breakfast at Tim's. It turns out we were both waiting for loads to get us back to Lethbridge.

He told me that some of his mates back in UK read the blog regularly so I thought it would be nice to take a couple of photos and put them up on the blog.

Anyway here's a bit about Wayne………………………………..

Wayne comes from Warrington and its his second time over here, he was up in Edmonton a few years ago working for Westcan driving the "Wiggle Wagons".

Wayne also mentioned Steve Whittaker and the job he does at H&R which I had never really thought about, suppose we all take him a bit "For granted" . Now I'm not really sure what Steve's role would be called at H&R, but he is he person who looks after the Brit and European drivers. Despite the common language and all being truckers, there is still a difference between the Canadian drivers and those that originate from overseas, we have different ways of doing things so we have to learn new skills. Both Wayne and I agree that companies over here do need a good "Go Between" because the average European driver does feel a little neglected and overwhelmed if he is just thrown into the driver pool and have to learn "The North American Method" the hard way. Maybe if Westcan or other companies had a go-between it might make it easier for drivers coming over here.

So after a brief spell back in UK it was back out here to good old Sunny, snowy, hot and cold Canada and he joined The Big Red Team, training at the same time as Kev Gray (Kev & Lisa's Trucking Life) and now drives 3148.

Wayne's views on H&R and driving in North America and pretty similar to my own, H&R equipment is good, the job is good, the pay is always there and its great fun. He's just got his load of paper which is a very light load so he should fly up that mountain, I'm not so lucky I got a heavy load of pop and my trailer isn't ready yet so I doubt very much if I will catch him up.

Anyway safe journeys Wayne and see you soon buddy.

Driving with your nuts out

The Long Haul

Since i was at Butte the pressure has stayed on and i have been driving hard. I have literally driven the maximum and rested for the minimum allowed and now i am getting desparate for driving hours.

I left Butte and got to Moses Lakes in Washington State then last night i set off, ran across to Seattle then North into Canada. i delivered the first load but the second load had to be inspected first.

I just had enough time to get it down here to Richmong and i have 30 mins to get to the Delta yard, now thats what i call close to the edge. A city driver was supposed to meet me here and taje the trailer off me but no-one has turned up yet, if they dont turn up by the end of the inspection then i will take the trailer.......................

inspections done see ya'll later.....

Wigwams, Wild Dogs and Mountain Ranges

Im sat at the Flying J at Butte Montana and just reflecting on the last few days.........

Since the last article i have delivered into Waterloo, picked up a different trailer that had a flat, bald tire on one axle and frozen brakes on another. The frozen brakes was a 2 second job with a lump hammer, the tire however had to be changed, luckily the shop was 3 blocks away so that was done in under an hour.

My backload was 2 drops just out side Vancouver (Abbotsford & Chilliwack) and was collecting at Ottumwa which was a 3 hour drive due South.

I picked up the load and i am now trying to deliver it on time which means i will be rolling again at 3 in the morning and i am trying to get as close to Seattle as i can. This is going to completely blow my hours so i will be looking to get back into Lethbridge sometime on Thursday.

I was driving thru one of the Sioux Indian Reserves this afternoon and was surprised to see a pack of wild dogs, they were of all different breeds and you could see that at one time they must have been pets but for whatever reason have been let loose.

The wigwams (teepees) are at the Custer National Monument.

Sorry this is a short one but i am completely shattered and i need some sleep before i get moving again.

My latest trip to Waterloo

Hello again, wow i wish i hadnt eaten that pickle now, i feel a bit sick so i hope this bag of M&M's i'm eating will cure it.

Anyway, i am at the Beach Flying J and this is day 2 of the expedition.

I got to my truck yesterday morning to find that someone had given her a bath, so thank you to whoever that was. I got my load assignment and sure enough it was to Beef Products Inc in Waterloo, i quite like hat one as you drop the trailer in their yard and bobtail round to the J for a few hours, then either get a load up to Ontario or back along the Highway 2 and up thru North Portal.

Anyway the load doesnt deliver till Friday afternoon which is just as well coz it was still sat up at one of the factories. So after saying a brief hello to Ron and Jim who started a few weeks ago i gunned 3045's mighty Detroit Diesel and pointed her little silver snout out of the yard and we were off on our merry little way.

Theres a ranch on the way up that looks really happy, i have been meaning to take a pic of it for a while now, hope you like it.

Got up to the factory, dropped my empty and picked up the load, all done in about half an hour, trouble was though is was going to be too late for meat inspection, but not to worry, its all in hand.

One thing did worry me though while i was there, you see there is a road that leads down the side of the building and that is where the cattle haullers go with their cargo of Moo cows making their final one way journey to meet Mr slaughterman.

Well while i was there i saw a coach full of people go down that road and come back empty, now that got me (and my warped mind) thinking, it might have just been a staff bus..............

But what if it wasnt, have they started selling the "Alternative Red Meat" ?????????

Anyway, got the trailer and set off for the border, cleared the immigration boothe but had to renew my I 94 (Visa waiver). i drove through the x-ray and took a walk up to the immigration office, being extra careful not to go on my ass again.

I had to wait quite awhile to be sorted out but it wasnt a problem as the entertainment was provided in the form of a border guard, an american, and an Israeli man.

To cut a long story short, the Israeli man wanted to leave USA for Canada but had over stayed his welcome (only by a year or so, oops), the border guard was firing loads of questions at the Israeli man who just stared back which infuriated the guard. Then the american (his brother in law) explain that the Israeli man didnt speak english, this enfuriated the guard even more who explained to the Israeli man (in about 105 decibels) to take a seat as he was going to be there a long, long time, the Israeli man just stared. His brother in law whispered something in his ear then they both sat down.

Now excuse me for being a little thick here but if the Israeli man had been in america too long already, why would the guard want to keep him there even longer ???

With the prospect of WW3 breaking out in the little town of Sweetgrass, i bid them all farewell and sauntered off to Customs then down to my dear old truck, being even more extra careful not to go over on my ass.

Drove round to meat inspection and parked up on a door ready for next morning.

Woke up this morning, got inspected first and heared the great news that the road i intended to take was closed, great !!

It wasnt too much of a surprise though coz when i woke up this morning, 2 inches o snow had fell and there was a state wide blizzard and most roads were emergency traffic only.

I left Sweetgrass and headed for Shelby for fuel and groceries, the weather stared to clear a little so once 3045 and i had both been fed we headed east.

The weather was very changeable, one minute sunny and the next total whiteout and most of the day i was driving on black ice, i dont mean patches, i mean completely black ice.

Like i said i got to Beach ND tonight so i didnt do too bad, were still on schedule.

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