Life on the road

* NEW WEBSITE *

2011-06-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

For all the latest updates make sure you check out www.truckerchris.com

Lot's of new photos, videos and trucking industry related info.

I'm back on the road!

2008-04-05T15:39:00.001-07:00

I started a new blog since I'm not driving for Gordon anymore. I needed to pick a more generic name in case I change companies in the future so I don't have to make another new blog. So make your way to my new blog @ http://www.truckerchris.blogspot.com and check out the new photos and stories about my new journey with Conway Truckload.

BTW, I'm featured in this months ROADKING magazine put out by TA Truckstops. I was flipping through the magazine last night and I didn't notice it at first, but theres a photo of my blog and a link to it on page 32 and 33. I'm stoked, thanks ROADKING!!!

This is what I do on my spare time.

2008-01-14T16:12:00.001-08:00

Check out this Truck game. It's internet based and a blast to play!

Just checking in...

2007-11-09T06:09:00.000-08:00

Last week I made the drive from here in Sacramento up to Albany,OR to visit my friends I haven't seen in quite a while since I quit at GTI. It was a bittersweet drive on my old route. I still know every twist and turn, where the bears hide and everything is still the same. My friend still drives for gordon and I jumped in his truck. Man, my peterbilt is TINY compared to that freightliner thats for sure. I miss the road. Local isn't all that it's cracked up to be...

One of my favorite spots on 5 just north of the "canyon"

The canyon starts just north of Redding and go all the way to Weed. It's my favorite part of the entire Interstate 5. Tight turns, big trees and awesome views of Shasta and the Crags.

It's been awhile....

2007-09-23T01:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still alive...

Not a whole lot new around here. I've been doing the same loop for the past month pretty much until this week when I had some 14hr days and drove nearly 500 miles which is pretty good for us. I've gotten used to this job and don't dislike it as much as I did when I first started that's for sure, but it sure isn't like long haul.

I'm half way done with all my dental work (the only thing holding me back from going back out on the road) and I'm very happy about that. When I'm all finished I can pretty much pack up and go back on the road whenever I want. It will be by April '08 for sure if not sooner. More details to follow on that later.

In August I went to the Hot August Nights Truckerfest truck show in Reno. Here's a couple photos...

On the weekend's I've been spending a lot of time riding my atv. We all go ride up in the Foothills riding trails all day long. Theres nothing better than being out in the middle of a forest all alone listening to the sound of "nothing" after being stuck in a truck all week!

This is a video of me on Labor Day @ Foresthill.

That's it for now. We just had our first rain storm of the season and I can't wait for it to snow. It's going to be a fun winter tearing up the trails on the snowmobiles!

If you want to get a hold of me, check out my myspace @ www.myspace.com/kona911

Chris

New trucks and New photos

2007-07-23T02:52:00.000-07:00

I recently switched trucks from #31 to #38 and #66 and finally I'm now permanently seated in #86. 86 is a 2000 Peterbilt 385 with the new "corvette" dash and steering wheel along with a cd player. I love my XM but it's nice having a cd player agian. I'm not saying when, but I did receive an application for Marten trucking and......well, I'll update all of you next month =)

Dumping in Martell,CA near Jackson in #38 all polished out!

Dumping again at Martell only this time in #66 which is a KW T800.

How's this for PERFECT?

I bet you've never seen the inside of an empty chip trailer before!

Empty trailers parked in the Lincoln Mill.

Hello there.

Summertime in the Gold Country...

2007-06-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

It's HOTT, so hot I added another "T" because yes, it's that hot and I love it. (as long as I don't blow up my serpentine belt and leave me stranded on the side of the road for 5 hours!) Theres not a lot of new things happening around here, pretty much the same runs from the Mill to Customer and back. I went to the DMV to get my Hazmat endorsement. That doesn't mean I'm switching jobs from Local to OTR or even to another Local job, but it takes months to get background checks from the FBI and States to clear and then I'll recieve the new license. Around here, a lot of the better paying jobs require hazmat even though you might not haul hazmat all that often. Just looking into the future, ya know?

Welcome to my office.

Loaded up with White Fire Chips headed back to the Lincoln,CA Mill to be dumped and reloaded back onto rail cars to be shipped throughout the country.

That's me...

Almost perfect although not legal. Although it's a lot more legal than when I loaded last week, a whopping 92,000LBS. Let's just say I had to dump some off before I roll...doh!

Keep the shiny side up!

Chris

I've been working here for a month...

2007-05-18T14:53:00.001-07:00

I started carrying the camera with me even though not much changes from day to day out here, but heres a hand full of photos to hold everyone over.

Hey, we're dealing with truckers here... (taken inside the control booth for the dump)

Dumping a load of shaving in Rocklin. From here, the shavings are packaged up and shipped via flatbed to Pet shops around the country. These shavings are used for "bedding" for horses, bunnies and other pets.

This is definently not an easy back to a loading dock. There is no margin for error.

A sunset from last Wednesday. Taken up in Martell, CA about 5 miles west of Jackson,CA at the Ampine-Sierra Pine plant.

I drive for....

2007-05-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

Bettendorf Trucking hauling wood chips, sawdust, shavings and hog wood around the sacramento area and into the foothills. I'm based out of the Sierra Pacific lumber mill in Lincoln. I work a 12hr shift from 5pm to 5am and it's not as bad as you might think. In 12hrs I usually do 4-5 loads and about 350 miles. Our main places that we go is Rocklin which is 15 minutes from the terminal, Martel which is 2hrs and Camino which is 1.5hrs away. I like it and it's a steady paycheck but I miss OTR badly. I will return to OTR someday, but for now, I'm building up my experience and I sorta need the $$$.....

Anyways, it's been awhile since I've posted any photos so here they are!!!

This is my truck, a 1998 Peterbilt 385 powered by a Cat C12.

Here's the token "hood" shot enroute to Martel,CA.

This is how we unload the trailers. We back up onto the dump...

Then you unhook from the trailer and pull out just enough so that the trailer is still resting on the 5th wheel but not connected...

and TA DA! Push a couple buttons and chain the trailer down, open the door and raise it up!

Then you lower it back down, hook back up to it and take off. To load it, you back up under a "bin" which is a big box that has two doors on the bottom that you open and dump the load into the trailer, but be careful, you can go over t he 80,000LBS limit VERY and trust me, VERY easy!!!

I got a job!!!

2007-04-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

More details to come soon...

Well....

2007-03-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

I haven't found a job yet. It seems that if I wanted to go back OTR I could be in a truck heading down the highway tomorrow but since I want to go local there are so many hurdles you have to jump through. I applied at a local woodchip hauling company on monday but was told I would here back from them in two weeks or so... So I'm about do some more sitting and waiting. I have 10 months experience, not a year. Local gigs don't like that due to insurance companies. So I've been sitting here riding snowmobiles, riding my bike, and hanging out with friends, something I didn't do when I was on the road. But everyday I sit here thinking about where I've been and what I'm missing. I'll be back out there one day, maybe 1 year from now or 20. I just hope that one day I make it back out there.

Chris

I'm back at home for awhile...

2007-01-23T00:25:00.000-08:00

For those of you that don't visit CAD I've turned the keys in and I'm off the road for awhile. I really like being home at least at night to sleep and rather get a life back either local or maybe something else. It was very hard to lock the door and walk away to something that's been your whole life for the past year. I was able to get to see every state west of the mississippi including Tennesee and kentucky. I'm very proud of myself but when I closed that door I lost it and cried. I've been home for about 2 weeks now and Olivia and I just returned from Disneyland and Las Vegas from some much needed time to spend with Olivia. Trucking's harder for those you leave at home. Just think about that before you start.

I'll be off for another week or two but perhaps a bit sooner. When we were on our trip I got a call from Waste management but I really want to still drag a trailer around town. For those of you who messaged me about gordon here's the info. Gordon pays the best on the west coast. I've heard about dispatchers who don't get you the good miles but I ALWAYS got back east for being on a mainly west coast fleet. NEVER BE LATE, EVER and you will be fine and oh, don't have to much fun with your logbook...

Heres the last photo installment from my last week in the truck. Come back in a couple weeks and I'll have an update about a local job.

Northbound I-5 through the canyon.

Heading Northbound for the last time down ashland.

Over n' out drivers.
Chris

Happy Holidays!

2006-12-15T19:28:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year. The white stuff is falling, the road is icy and theres a TON of freight to be moved. Go,go,go,go,go is what I've been doing latley although I'm so ready for a break during Xmas. Supposedly I'm going to be getting home on the 23rd and have the 24/25 off and leave the 26th but we wil see how it goes...ya know? =)

I won 2nd and 3rd place in the Gordon Photo contest! I won a couple of Visa Cash cards so that's a very nice surprise from Kim @ Gordon. Thank you!

Also, I picked up my brand new snowmobile and trailer today and also did a little more damage to my bank account.... I bought Olivia a new snowmobile too!!!! She's so excited to go out and ride it!

As usual, here's the next batch of photos...

Just north of Canyonville,OR on I-5

Two weeks ago was the last time I've seen the top of Shasta...

US20 westbound over the Cascade Mountain Range.

Trying to decorate my home on the road... I think it looks tacky so I took it all down, haha.

97 Northbound icy as usual.

Slow down on the ice driver!

Curtis and I were on the same schedule for a couple days so we both ran to and from boise twice. It's nice cruising along chatting to someone...

One of the Boise,ID Target stores has this interesting covered dock. When it's sunny out it's like backing into a black hole.

Just wee bit cold outside...

Sorry Rokk, no comment. =)

I was lucky enough to sit for probably about 3-4 minutes waiting for this guy to walk across the road. He just stepped out in front of the car and he's lucky he didn't get hit. I've seen him on the sidewalk since this photo just before or after he's crossed thank god... =)

When we run east to Idaho we always run back empty which is nice during the summer but during the winter it makes for an interesting ride up and over the icy mountain passes such as this, Drinkwater Summit.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!! So I can go ride!!!!

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2007.

Chris

This is what I do when I get home....

2006-11-20T16:06:00.000-08:00

Being a trucker, I don't have much time off and when I do it's usually spent relaxing or doing chores like shopping and getting ready to go back out. But a couple weeks ago a bunch of us got together and drove down to the bay for some fun. It was fleet week so we got to see the Navy Blue Angels!

In this photo they all went straight up in the air together and just about to the point where you couldn't see them anymore, they all branched off upside down and looped back around straight for the water...

Here's Olivia and I trying to get a nice photo of ourselves but Kelley just had to ruin it... Oh, see how we are on a bus? We were going to take the ferry but as soon as we handed the guy our ticket to get on the boat, they said they are full and we had to take the bus...BOO!!!

If you would like to check out some more photos of our trip to San Francisco, go to www.norcalphoto.com and click on photos. It will be the first Gallery listed.

And today I had a lot of fun... I bought myself a little toy... and a trailer for my little toy. I'm a proud new owner of a brand new 2006 Arctic Cat M7 Snowmobile!!! I can't wait for the snow to start dumping in tahoe!!!! Here's what my new toy will look like...

Check below for photos from the last couple weeks on the road!!!

Chris

It's winter time!!!!

2006-11-20T15:42:00.000-08:00

So I've been worrying about winter since day 1 of being out here on the road solo and now it's officially here. Oh well, just another fact of trucking but you can guarantee that I cannot wait until spring!!! Anyways, I'm home on my 34hr restart and will be heading back out tomorrow morning. Last week was busy. 4096 miles in 8 days. Started in Sacramento and ran up to Portland then back down to Chico then back up to Portland, then down to Sacramento then up to portland then east to Boise,ID then west to Portland then down to sacramento then home. Lots of miles since it's christmas season. All the stores are taking double the amount of loads they were taking during the fall. BUSY BUSY BUSY!!! I'm off in the morning to go up to portland then back south, then back up... Weather is supposed to be wet in oregon so let's hope it does not snow!!!

A westbound hay truck rolled off the road just east of bend, oregon last week on OR20.

Can you spot the deer? Taken somewhere along OR20 heading to Boise, ID.

Early morning sunrise in Bend, OR.

I'm standing on the Detriot Dam just outside of Detriot,OR and just east of Salem,OR on OR20.

Parked just east of Bend,OR for the night.

Whoops along I-5 heading toward Sacramento.

Fog season has started up on Ashland Grade. One second it's clear, the next you can't see anything...

The first snowfall up on Santiam Pass of the season on OR20 west of Bend,OR

Jim Waugh told me to update or else.....

2006-11-02T12:40:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy month, seriously. I'm on a new fleet that runs from portland to idaho and portland to california 3 times week. My 70hr clock is up in 5-6 days, so I'm running some long hard full days. I got on the fleet around the 1st of october and I've ran 13,000 miles since I started. I got a newer truck. It's a 2005 and It's a lot nicer than my old one. Everything works and I'm having a good time. I also get home whenever I deliver a local sacramento store, then head back up north in the morning. It's nice.

My new truck with a Detroit and the bigger dual 150gal tanks...
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While delivering to a store in the bay area, I watched this box truck almost fall off the dock... haha.

Frosted over plants and bushes sparkling in the sun along Highway 20 in Oregon heading east.

Just a little bit chilly...

Sunrise just west of Bend, Oregon.

I love driving along highway 20.

They drain this lake every fall. Along Highway 20 heading west early one morning.

Flys in Trucks

2006-09-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

I just don't understand why flys love my truck. I can have my window down for a couple minutes and BAM, I have a couple new buzzing friends in my truck who just don't want to leave. I think I need a fly swatter but I'm too cheap =) After trying to get him out unsucessfully for an hour, I finally push him out only to have him fly right back in. It's quite annoying haha.

Well, after I last chatted to all you guys, I left Hampshire ( a small town west of Chicago) and headed to Romeoville,IL where I picked up a load of Tampons and wipes (ooh, how exciting!!!) and delivered it to Larwence, Kansas then went right back the way I came and slept in St. Louis last night. I left there this morning around 12am and drove agian, back the same I came the day before, up through Kansas city and Lincoln,NE to where I am right now in Grand Island, NE. I'm running off of picked up hours so I'll be leaving tonight agian around 12am running westbound through the rest of nebraska and through Wyoming. Eventually in a couple days I'll make it to oregon where hopefully, I can take a reset... please dispatcher? lol.

Heres your reward for reading my babble...

An awesome looking Peterbilt with an equally as awesome reefer trailer... (notice the reefer fuel between the trailer axles, nice touch.

The sun peaking through the clouds along I-80 in Nevada last week.

Early morning just outside of Wendover,NV heading east along the salt flats.

So what, we're not going to have a winter? Fresh snow in Park City, UT

A gigantic crane with a bucket that probably bigger than two trucks!

This was fun. Just a normal day in Wyoming and Nebraska.

I found this do-it-yourself truck wash a couple trips out east ago. Exit 59 in Sydney, Nebraska right across the street from the Cabelas. $4 worth of quarters gets your truck all soapy and a high pressure rinse gets most of the bugs and dirt off... Way better than paying 40+ bucks at the Streakin' Beacon.

Leaving the tiny town of Hampshire, IL just outside of Chicago after delivering a load of Magnesium blocks to General Motors.

Chris
aka Midder

Sitting just outside, Chicago, IL

2006-09-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

I've been out here about a week since last being home and so far so good. Things have gotten a bit tougher since when I left home the first time for some reason. It's getting terribly hard to leave home. Being a truck driver, you miss so much stuff that goes on at home. It's tough because I don't even know if I will be home for Thanksgiving or even worse, Christmas. If it was tough being out here for Easter earlier in the year christmas is just going to be downright depressing but I have to do what I signed up for. Drive freight around the country and that's what I'm doing.

To anyone who's thinking about driving out here. It's tough, besides following the rules and regulations its just hard to be out here alone. It seems like the first couple days after leaving home are the toughest and then it does gets easier. The one saving grace out here is having a trucking friend. No one, not your wife or girlfriend, best friend since 1st grade, or your parents have any idea what it's like to be out here. I'm lucky enough to have some trucking friends that I can talk to when it get's hard. Thank you to you guys, you know who you are. Hey you, Call me man!

Anyways, heres some random photos from the last week or so. I'm working on a new computer and I don't have photoshop yet so the photo's aren't quite the quality that they would be if I did develop them in Photoshop but they will do for now.

Heading through montana while a wildfire burns nearby... The smoke was thick didn't make me feel to good...

Inside the Potlatch Paper Factory in Lewiston, ID.

A 9/11 Memorial in Idaho.

A massive bridge in Twin Falls,ID. Picture was taken in the Best Buy parking lot which sits just on the edge of the cliff!

That's me!!!

Massive photo update!!!

2006-09-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

How about we cut to the good stuff right away?

Cruising the dowtown streets of Lincoln, Nebraska

Summertime Storm in Wyoming.

A gordon doing what we do best. Clogging the hammer lane =)

Spotted another BIG oversize in Nebraska.

Who's up for a detour for superman?

Stopped at the Theodoore Rosevelt National Park Vistor Center and rest area yesterday in North Dakota....The views of the Badlands were breathtaking...

Can you spot the Buffalo roaming around down there?

My friend told me to stop here because he was there a couple weeks ago and the bison were wandering around the parking lot... No such luck for me but maybe next time.

Anyone up for a buffalo cake?

I like driving east and going through all the back country towns that look like they were in the TV Show "Simple Life" with Paris Hilton...

Some men locked up in a trailer like horses.....

All joking aside, Kentucky was beautiful...

Yesterday I drove my 700 miles and had to shut down for the day due to being out of hours but I was in the "zone" and wished that I could go even further... So what to do when you're sitting on an exit out in the middle of montana in the pitch black? Take pictures! Believe it or not, The moon was did all the lighting in this 5 second exposure.

Going to be a great two weeks!

2006-08-26T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been slacking, sorry guys. I left home on the 18th and headed to Iowa with a load of doors and picked up a load going back west to Salt Lake City. From there I went back to Reno,NV with a 3 drop load which means I had to deliver at three seperate locations before I was fully unloaded. I delivered to the Home Depot's in Reno, Spanish Springs and Carson city before heading south 15 miles from carson to Minden,NV. I picked up this load at the starbucks factory... That whole place smelled so good and when you walk behind my trailer the coffee smell seeps out. I have a lot of coffee, 43k lbs to be exact. I've known about this load from Minden,NV to Tennesee since I started here at gordon and things just clicked and I was put on it!!! I will be home a bit late (my choice) but I couldn't turn down this load after just having another high mile run to iowa. I don't have a set delivery time for getting to TN but I don't want to take too long. After I deliver this I head up to Kentucky to picked up a load of those Duraflame fake fireplace logs and deliver that in Winsconsin across the border from Minnesota. After that, who knows but it will be something back west and eventually I'll get home!!!!

Latley I've been running nights, usually waking up around 1-2am and driving till the early afternoon. It's weird shutting down for the day at noon and already racked up 700 miles!!! I'm trying to get off that schedule so I'm going to get up around 4am tomorrow (oh wow, big difference) and drive the west of the way through Wyoming (oh yeah, I'm 3 miles into WY right now) and hopefully getting to at least Grand Island,NE , home of one of my favorite truck stops, the Bosselmanns Pilot. That place is 2 stories tall, huge chrome shop, movies, store, a big restraunt and a subway even!!!! Anyways, enough, heres the pictures from the last week or so...

This is what your printer paper looks like before it's cut down and sent to stores... Theres 7 of those in the trailer and the load was around 45klbs. Those are load locks which prevents the load from shifting, although nothing is going to stop a couple thousand pound roll from moving... That strap pulls the wall together so that when I put the load locks in they don't fall out when I drive...

Stay out of the NO ZONE!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice weather makes for an easy and beautiful drive through wyoming...

And then it turned nasty. The clouds were so low that it looked like I was going to run right through them...

Whoops, DOH! I thought I had more... I wil update agian shortly..... I PROMISE!!!!!!!!

Almost to Seattle, WA

2006-08-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

I've been running hard the last couple days and after leaving Boise,ID I ran down to Winniemuca,NV and back to Boise,ID and west to Oregon then up Idaho then west to Washington and here I am, about 120 miles from Seattle and Gordons Main terminal. I'll be dropping my trailer in the yard since it's heading to British Columbia and then I'll be heading home possibly even a day early!!!

Driving along the Columbia river in Oregon.

Heading north on 95 climbing up the hill. That's Lewiston, Idaho below.

Absolutely nothing for 150 miles along 26 through Washington...

What did I tell ya?

2006-08-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'm off of Interstate 5 and in Idaho and guess what that means? I have INTERNET!!!!!!!!!!! It's been so long since I've updated my blog, I've been getting emails and phone calls, well, just one call from tracy, but still! I am here now so don't freak out...

I picked up my load at S.C. Johnson in Woodland,CA loaded with OFF Bug Spray and ant pesticides ( wow, how exciting!) which I will be delivering to the Albertsons Grocery Distribution center here in Meridian, ID right outside of Boise. Supposedly I'm picking up a load of Sugar (HEAVY!!!!) and taking it San Francisco but that will be another blog entry. Not much to say but I do have a lot of photos to post so enjoy!

A couple weeks ago Olivia came with me for a two day trip down to Los Angeles. It was her first time in the truck and hopefully not the last! This wonderful photo was taken by Olivia traveling along 5 just south of Stockton.

Heres olivia tired of seeing endless crop fields haha

Our reflection in Buena Vista,CA.

Some girl trying to get into my truck...

After going home for hometime and dropping olivia at home I headed out to Flagstaff, AZ. Along I-40 theres this house that looks like a space ship.

Heading east on I-40 towards Arizona.

Going westbound from an eastbound turn around.

I picked up a load of Nestle-Purina Dogfood from Flagstaff in a reefer trailer. All of gordons reefer trailers are Air ride which makes for one nice and smooth ride. The trailer doesn't throw the truck around over the bumps like a normal spring suspension trailer does.

This is the front of a reefer trailer which cools the inside. It can keep ice cream frozen for a cross country trip or keep certain products that can't get warm inside a dry trailer stay cool like camera film etc.

The sun rising just east of Reno, Nevada this morning.

Yesterday in Oregon it was field burn day... These fires were not very big but the smoke was incredible...

Right up and next to one of the bigger fires...

The Clackamas (portland) Oregon gordon yard...

A couple hours ago about 40 miles from here. Stopped at the brake check area before coming down the hill in Boise,ID.

Running the I-5 corridor

2006-07-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

Basically I've just been running up and down I-5 since I came off of hometime last time. Olivia and I moved into a brand new apartment and we don't have the internet or a computer yet, but it's coming soon, I hope. I haven't taken to many photos the last couple runs because it's all been on the same run seeing the same stuff everyday but at least these smaller runs are adding up real quick. I've been getting some very good miles but I miss running east in the "big" 65mph+ states. I'm home right now on my reset which is one of the benefits of running up and down 5. I head out tonight at 9pm with a load of Owens Cornings Insulation enroute to Eugene, OR. Anyways, heres a mix match of photos from my last trip out east and around the west coast.

Running west through Montana

The Mississippi running aloing Iowa.

The truck route through Madison. The state capitol straight ahead.

Heading west on 80 just west of Salt Lake City.

A CRST trucked flipped over on I-80.

The Coolest looking trailer graphics I've seen.

Self Portrait in Lost Hills, CA

Traffic on 110 heading right through downtown.

Back to Iowa I go....

2006-07-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

Yup, I have another load going back to iowa repeating the same path I took the first time I headed east out here to iowa. It's even to the same customer so I'm glad that I at least know somewhat of where I am and where I'm going. The last couple days have been AWESOME! I picked this load up after a week of so-so runs around california and nevada, nothing exciting and I was getting some very low mileage runs but I got a chance to run out here and I grabbed it! I headed from Los Angeles thru Vegas and up through Utah to I-70 East. I haven't been on this interstate yet and I have been missing out. It's my favorite road that I've been on so far. You travel from low desert to 12,000 ft Mountain Passes deep in the trees. The photos below take you through Utah, Colorado and Nebraska. I deliver my load tomorrow on the 4th of July but since it's a holiday theres no outbound freight so I'll be hanging out and riding my bike around a bit.... Oh yeah, I bought a little inexpensive Specialized mountain bike to take with me out here. I've used it a bunch and I love exploring. I last rode it in Denver and I found some interesting things, old trains and stuff like that. Anyways, enjoy the photos and let me know what you think!!!!

WHOOPS!!! Someone needs a lesson in pallet wrapping. I had to restack and wrap 8 tipped over pallets and then use a hand truck to unload the 22 pallets weighing over 2000lbs each... 44k pounds of gatorade to be exact while the employees watched soccer. I'm not bitter, I swear!

Heading east on I-70 through Utah.

I-70 was just one cool looking cliff after another =)

My mom and I stopped here during one of our summer trips a long time ago. I've always wondered where it was until I came around a turn and knew that this had to be it. It's the most beautiful rest area I've ever stopped in.

The same as above just turned around...

That's I-70 Westbound above me while I cruise along the river looked at all the rafters and holiday weekend bikers and hikers who are along a paved trail that follows the highway and the river.

A river full of rafters enjoying the cool river on a warm summer day...

The sun setting ending another nice summer day...

I started this morning at 3am so by the time I left denver and reached the Colorado and Nebraska border the sun was coming up...

Now for some random photos from the last couple weeks...

Heading West on 58 through California towards Bakersfield.

A gordon Owner Operator in Polard Flats, CA. I really like that color blue with the matching tanks..

South on US97 Near Mt. Shasta in Weed,CA heading home after a long 3 weeks.

Until next time, stay between the ditches!
Chris

Shell Super Rigs Truck Show in Sacramento!!!

2006-06-24T21:51:00.000-07:00

Headed on over to the Sacramento 49er truck stop to check out the show. We arrived just as everything was over but there were still quite a few SICK trucks there... Heres a preview and the rest can be found over on my website. Click here for the rest!

Remember this truck from "Trick my Truck" on CMT?

Home bound!

2006-06-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

It's been an exciting couple of weeks. From breaking down in Missouri and having to call the cops to direct traffic to getting stuck in 5 hours of traffic in chicago and now the complete opposite. Cruising with the windows down through the beautiful mountain of Montana. I'm so excited to go home, not that I dislike being out here but it's just nice to go home and see the people you love and to most importantly, RELAX! Sit around, meet up with some friends and hopefully sit in front of the tv and just do nothing... I can't wait!

My truck after a bath and a polish. She sure does look good when she's clean...

Traveling through Indiana heading west.

Somewhere in Missouri (anyone know?)

After fueling up in Mt. Vernon, MO I leave to head back onto I-44. Right before turning left onto the interstate I stop and then... bam. There goes my clutch. It took a sh|t right then and there. Traffic was backing up real quick so I called 911 and asked for some help....

And Mrs lady officer came to the rescue 10 minutes later followed by another and another. It was a mess....

The view from the wheel.

Picked up a load in Green Bay, WI real close to the Packers stadium... My trainer begged me to get him a cheese head since he's in love with the packers... Now, I don't care for sports, but man, the inside of that stadium was wild!

Toll road suck, but the rest stops or "Oasis's" as they like to call it are way cool. Here's a Mc Donalds spanning across the highway. When you're upstairs you can sit and watch the traffic go under... way cool!

The St. Louis Arch.

Another exciting trip to Chicago. Here I am just outside chicago around 3pm...

And here I am around 7pm a whole 10 miles down the road....................

Yup, it's summer. The bugs are out!

So we've had a giant bulls in texas, dino's in New mexico and now this cow in North dakota....

Weclome to montana "Big Sky Country" and some gusty winds. This is what montana looked like for about 300 miles today. My truck was leaning to left due to some nice strong winds coming from the north... what fun!

The wind's stopped when I entered the mountains... I loved driving along I-90 today...

Heading out of the mountains and down into the grasslands...

That's all for now folks,

Chris

CHECK THIS OUT

2006-06-14T23:32:00.000-07:00

My good friend spomer just published his next issue of Litter Magazine. It's a web based magazine filled with the sickest Mountain bike photos and stories ever, and I have a truckin' interview in it... GO here to read all about me and my adventures out here.....

CLICK HERE NOW!!!!!!

Trucking Rocks!

2006-06-10T21:39:00.001-07:00

Trucking, it's hard, exciting, frustrating, fun, annoying, adventurous and tiring all wrapped up in one but I keep coming back for more. I love it out here whether it's trying to find a customer in a bad part of town or cruising down the open road full speed. I try not to get upset out here, I try to take everything as a learning experience. I've learned SO much in just 3 short months. I learn a ton of new things everyday and I'm so excited for what's to come in the future. I have millions of miles of open road in front of me in the coming years and I can't wait. Basically, if you're thinking about coming out here, give it a try!

Anyways, I don't have so much free time anymore as I did when I first started writing this blog. I have a routine now and pretty much when I shutdown at night (or in the morning) I grab a bite to eat then it's off to bed. No more sitting up and watching tv's or playing video games...haha. But, I have some time this evening so how about some photos? I'm en-route to Seymour Indiana to the Walmart DC with a load of "Recreation Equiptment" whatever the heck that means. I have to be there on the 14th but I only have 10hrs remaining so I'm going to have to use my picked up hours rather than taking a reset, something that I'd rather do. It's a lot nicer knowing you have a full 70hrs and not having to worry about anything. I will take a reset once I deliver to rest before my 2000 mile trek home.

Heading east on 12 in Oregon. That's Washingston state on the other side of the Columbia River.

Now heading West on I-84 towards Portland along the Columbia River.

A bit further down the road on I-84.

I've encoutered a lot of this lately. Summer time is construction season as all the states want the roads to be fixed when the weather is good. Here I am along US95 heading south to Nevada.

That rock is flipping me the bird!

Out in the middle of nowhere I saw these birds circling around... Lots more than what I could get framed. Don't know what kind they were but it was interesting.

Heading east on I-40 in New Mexico...

This makes me smile =)

A pretty sunset in Scottsdale,Arizona earlier this week.

Time to get Truckin'
Chris

New photos!

2006-05-28T22:26:00.000-07:00

ok ok, it's been a long time since I've updated with new stories and photos but it's been a busy two weeks. I went up to oregon then down to the bay area and tracy, california. I picked up a load of General Mills Cereals like Lucky Charms and I delivered it to Durant, Oklamhoma. It was a great trip out there through, Arizona, New Mexico and texas. Lots of new sites to see and a lot and a lot of desert. Anyways enjoy the photos!!!

New Mexico's State Capital.

My first night into the trip back east. Seligman, Arizona Exit 123 on I-40

Jumping back to a couple days earlier, a nasty foggy day on top of Ashland Grade in Oregon.

Somewhere in Colorado...

To go along with those Giant Coyotes in Wyoming and Cow's in Texas, heres a giant Dino from Arizona... or could it be new mexico...? Oh well =)

Ever wonder what the bottom of a Mobile home looked like? Here ya go...

My favorite part of going to Bend, Oregon. From a week or so earlier... Grass Lake.

After driving through Oklahoma for awhile and seeing the normal farms and grasslands this was quite a shock. I rounded a turn and came upon this... A HUGE lake. Lake Texoma. If I had a boat I'd love to take it here...

A Storm rolls in to Muskogee, Oklahoma at the Pilot.

Earlier today in Wyoming. 43 degrees the day before Memorial day? hmm...

Wow, TONS of Memorial Weekend traffic. I 70 outside of Denver were PACKED with travelers.... NOT!

Check out this thing. It was HUGE. Counldn't really figure out what it was or where all the drivers went ( no one was around) but I bet this thing would be really cool to drive...

Anyways, until next time be safe!

Chris

I've had a great couple of days...

2006-05-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to come home last week and I decided to lounge around and relax. I sure did! Olivia and I went swimming and for dinner we went downtown to the Pyramid Brewery. We attempted to wash the truck but we decided that paying 20 something bucks to get it washed professionally is the way to go... Olivia got her new car when I was gone. A 2006 Scion TC which is so nice and is a nice change from her gas guzzling lifted chevy tahoe. If I had one of those cars I'd get in so much trouble... That thing handles curves like it's on rails! Anyways, I'm not exactly sure where I'm going tomorrow but the next time I get some internet access I'll be back with some photos and some new stories!

Over n out...

Chris

Big hills and lots of them...

2006-05-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

Back in Salt Lake City.....agian. From Denver I headed over to Oregon with a heavy load of Purina Dog food. Dropped that at the Walmart in Herminston, Oregon. I made a newbie mistake. I dumped my airbags to get out from underneath a heavy trailer like I always do only this time I got stuck in one of the many ditches that fill the drop yard. I was able to dig myself out of the hole quickly but I forgot to flip the switch to supply the bags with air. I Bobtailed around the rough yard with my bags drained and in the proccess popped all four bags off their seals...oooops. Had to get a repair guy out to re-seat them all. I learned my lesson. I grabbed an empty and drove to Lewiston, Idaho to pick up some paper products to take to Salt Lake. I ended up parked on the side of the road last night but it was really nice night. Warm and really pretty... (see below). After I drop this load tomorrow morning I'm picking up a load of Athletic Equiptment and taking it to Fontana near LA and then a load back home! I can't wait. It's been 3 weeks since I've been home and I'm ready to relax for a couple days until I'm ready to come back out here!

It took me almost 30 minutes to go down this hill. It's a lot steeper than it looks. Going down in 6th or 7th gear with the jakes on high took awhile. I totally was not expecting it along with the real tight and twisty turns. Although the drive was beautiful, crusing along the river rapids and small towns off US95.

Cabbage Hill. I've heard stories about this and it wasn't as bad as I expected although I know it must be one heck of a different story during the winter...

I thought Colorado was full of forests and mountain streams? Not South Eastern Colorado...

Rolling hills of Idaho.

I think those lights in the mudflap are pretty damn cool...

It's break time...

2006-05-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

I'm in Denver, Colorado right now. I delivered in Loveland at the Walmart Distribution Center and headed to downtown Denver to the Purina Dog Food factory. I was supposed to pick up a load going to Hermiston, Oregon but something went wrong in the factory yesterday and everything has been pushed back 24hrs. For some reason I was really tired this morning and I ended up sleeping through two alarms for almost an hour... whoops. Not bad though, I arrived in town 3 days before my delivery date so all is well. Anyways, heres some photos that have been sitting on my camera for awhile. From about two weeks ago.

In the forest heading toward Eugene, OR along highway 126.

Sparkly Clean wheels after a quick polish and wash in Portland, Oregon.

The cockpit taken with my fisheye just for you tracy... =)

Welcome to my room...

North to Colorado!

2006-05-06T19:46:00.000-07:00

You know that Johnny Cash song named "I've been everywhere"? I'm getting there. I've been all around texas the last couple days. Last night I dodged some tornados and the biggest lightning storm I've seen for a long time. It was real cool watching the light show for a couple hours last night because we sure don't have lightning like that back home. Three tornados touched down 40 miles west of me last night and then headed southeast around me. I was spared but I was nervous. I had the XM radio weather channel on, the weatherband station and the tv going with the news. All is well now and I made my deliveries and pick up's this morning with only the normal problems. Seems like I have some bad luck with finding highway on ramps going the direction I want. For example today I wanted to go north on 35. THe only on ramp was going south. Now do I go south and take a chance getting off the road and turning around at some exit further down, or continue down the road that the customer was off of. I picked the last one and After awhile the road started going downtown... Which is defiently somewhere I didn't want to go. So I pulled one of my famous U-turns. So far in the last couple months since I started driving I've pulled quite a few even in my hometown of sacramento....doh! Lesson learned, don't talk on the phone while trying to find a customer... haha.

Anyways the internet connection here is e..t...r....e...m...e...l...y slow and that doesn't really work well with uploading some photos, well to be exact about 30 of them. So I'll post a couple favorites now and the rest the next time I'm in a truckstop.

Theres nothing like driving down the road looking straight down a barrel of a tank.... Somewhere in New Mexico

Going through El Paso, Texas. One side is the USA the other side of the river is mexico...

Remember that huge coyote I posted earlier from my trip through Wyoming, well heres the Texas equivlent. One of those huge rare Long horns. I guess it's true how everything is bigger is Texas. Also, notice those clouds. Shortly after that I hit a real nice thunderstorm. While not as exciting as the one I was in last night in Dallas, it did clean my truck off pretty good.

Finally those blue skies that I've been hoping for. Taken earlier today heading north on US287 towards Amarillo,TX

One of the many dust tornado's twirling around in New Mexico.

Quickly checking in...

2006-05-04T06:43:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've updated but it's been a hard couple of days. I left Sacramento and drove to the Grapevine where I slept for a couple hours so that I could get up at 11pm and deliver at 2am near Santa Ana, just south of Los Angeles. From there I went to the gordon yard and waited around for two days to get some work done. Quite funny how they brought me into the shop at 10am on monday and I sat there right until 5pm when they said that I had to move out since the shop was closing... no work was done. hmmm........................ So I drove back into the shop the next morning and they worked on my truck for an hour and said I was could leave. Now I was excited that I could get back out there on the road, but my load didn't arrive in the yard until 11pm... Another day of sitting around twiddling my fingers. When I my load arrived I got the heck out of town and drove for 7 hours to Tuscon Arizona. That was my first all night driving experience and I can't really say that it was my favorite but that's truckin' for you. In LA I had some idiot get upset with me so he decided to pull in front of me and brake check me (always a smart thing to do to a big truck... yeah right) on purpose and then agian a bit later someone threw some rocks at me through their sunroof and then flip me the bird... how nice! I made it here safely and things have gotten better. I finished my last drop at a costco here and I went to eat at a Cracker Barrel restraunt. I haven't been to one of those since my mom and I used to take out cross country RV trips every summer.... Still the same and I really enjoyed it. I just woke up from a 16hr little nap and I'm picking up load which is going to a little teeny town south of Dallas, Texas. I'm happy and ready to get back out there on the road.

Not enough time to upload any photos right now but I will have some time either tonight or tomorrow so check back!

Back in town for the night...

2006-04-29T22:19:00.000-07:00

It's been up and down the last couple days. My load that got me out of sacramento was delayed 6hrs so I sat in my truck and twiddled my thumbs but the run up to portland went smoothly and it was nice to be back on I-5 since I know what's around every turn and I really do enjoy running through the twists and turns of the "canyon" in Dunsmuir,Northern California. I then picked up a 3 drop load that delivered to a costco in Vancouver,WA at 4:30am, a Portland store at 6:30am and a Bend,OR store at 11:30. It was very close and I was about ready to pull my hair out on the way to my last stop. The combonation of RVer's and grannies out for their weekend drive through the woods made the drive quite bad, but it in the end I made it on time. Theres nothing like delivering a load with just minutes to spare... All of a sudden all this weight has been lifted off your shoulders. I refuse to get a service failure, 99% of the time I drop the load a couple days before my delivery day so I can keep moving. Sitting on loads is not fun I found out very quickly. I picked up this load that I'm on right now thats delivering at 2:00am in Tustin,CA South of Los Angeles on monday. Then I move over to the Fontana Gordon Yard to get my truck worked on for a while and hopefully after that I will be heading out east agian... I hope.

Photos will be coming hopefully in the next couple days, Until then keep the shiny side up!

Time to go back out there...

2006-04-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

I had a great time being home for these couple of days. Olivia and I went to Monterey to do some shopping and check out the aquarium. That place was so cool! It's been a couple years since I've been there. Anyways, I'm heading out tomorrow morning at 8am. I'm supposed to be heading north... Who know's where exactly but I will update everyone as soon as I can. In the meantime, head on over to my photgraphy website to take a peek at all of our photos. Liv even got hold of the camera for awhile and snapped a whole bunch of photos while driving up and down the coast...

2006-04-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

I'm home and I'm very happy. That is all.

Back in Salt lake city...

2006-04-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a week. I left salt lake city and ran a load to Mt. Pleasant Iowa which is in the south eastern corner of Iowa. Stayed there for a night and then in the morning I went up the road a bit and picked up a load going to Madison Winsconsin. After getting up there I had to run back down to Pleasant Prairie, Winsconsin and take that to the Walmart Distrobution center here in Salt Lake City. Lots of miles, lots of long days and I was able to go to the Iowa 80 truck stop. I've always wanted to one day get a chance to go there and it was well worth it.

I was sitting here last night in the TA in toole,UT and I saw this swift driver drive by who looked like someone I knew from Classadrivers.com . So I get on the CB and say "Swift, ya got it on?" and he replied yeah. So I ask if he's brian from CAD and he's like yup. It turns out it was my friend and we've been hanging out here all day today. I'm taking a reset and he's waitingh to deliver tonight. So we've just been chattin' and wasting time together... It's nice and it makes the time fly by!

Whoops! I noticed this while hooking up to a trailer. It happend sometime from my drive in Rawling,WY to Salt Lake city. The hub seal blew and shot oil all over my brakes, brake drum, wheel,tires, everywhere. So I limped over to the truck stop here and waited for 6hrs to bring my truck into the shop.

I'd have to say that the Walmart DC in Grantsville, Utah win's the award for the nicest view of any yard.

Here's a perfect example of what not to do in a major city. I was able to shoot this photo because we were stopped for awhile...

The Chicago skyline.

Omaha,Nebraska is home to the Union Pacific museum... I'd love to go and check that out some day...

If I wasn't driving trucks I'd want to drive these. I'm still very interested in trains...

Out in the middle of no where in wyoming about 60 miles from Rawlins is where I decided to pull over for the night. It was extremely quite and very cold but it was a nice change from a truckstop. The gas station has been closed for quite some time it looked like.

It's my road!

Made to iowa...

2006-04-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

This morning I'm sitting in a truck stop in Council Bluffs, Iowa which is right on the border of Nebraska and Iowa. I'm way ahead of schedule like I always am which is good but gives me a lot of free time. Anyways, I last talked to you when I was taking my reset and since then I picked up my loaded trailer in the Salt Lake City yard and drove 5hrs to Rawlings, Wyoming where I spent the night. I got up yesterday morning and drove about 10.5 hrs to where I am right now. It was a very interesting drive. I won't go into details but let's just say that there are some real creepy people out here on the road... yuck. Here's my photos from yesterday (click on them to make them larger)

One of those rare giant wyoming coyotes...

It was blowing hard all the way across Wyoming. There were a bunch of signs saying "Caution 45mph wind gusts". This mini dust storm was from a field on the other side of the freeway.

I live off of this stuff. Here I am in Kimball, Nebraska. It said that there was a subway at this exit so I took expecting it to be right off the freeway. Well, it was about a mile inside a tight little town... oops. Well, I parked across the street next to another truck so it all worked out.

We don't have these bosselman travel centers back home so I had some time to kill so I stopped. This place had everything so I spent some good time snooping around all the truck accessories.

I've seen a lot of other people post a photo like this and I never knew where it was from. I noticed something in the distance and it was this. I don't know really what it is, but it was cool to see after miles and miles of nothing...

27 more hours to go...

2006-04-13T13:54:00.000-07:00

I delivered to the costco distribution center this morning and then headed over to the Sapp Bro's truck stop right off of 215 in Salt Lake. I cleaned the inside of the truck, windows and wheels/tires. Everything looks squeeky clean except for the trucks exterior. Well, at least the wheels/tires are all nice and shiny. I'm just waiting for the roads to dry here out west then I will take my truck home and give it a real good bath. I also have some inside photos but it's real hard to take since there is not a lot of room. I will get some better photos when I get home and use the fisheye lens which will give you a much better idea of what it's like living in something the size of a bathroom everyday...

The control center.

Behind the drivers seat theres a cabinet for hanging clothes, a "pantry" , a slide out desk and my refridgerator.

The opposite side has two more shelves, a place for my tv and below that a shelf for my inverter, dvd player and clock. Below that is another slide out desk and two more shelves.

One day I hope that I can get alluminum wheels all around instead of the white painted ones. If your truck is clean enough and someone from the company sees it you could the wheels or other chrome. I've seen some gordon trucks with painted front bumpers, chrome exhaust, chrome everything... Looked real nice. All I want is some chrome drive wheels... one day.

Picture some aluminum wheels... mmm

Back and forth then repeat...

2006-04-12T17:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back in the same truck stop that I last posted in but I've been running hard since then! I left off here we a load of water going to the Walmart Distribution Center in Grantsville UT. I delivered there and then Went to Burley, Idaho where I spent the night so that I could pick up a load going to Winsconsin. I arrived at the customer to pick up my load and found out someone took my load when they were not supposed to. I was a bit upset that I couldn't do the 1800 mile run out there and then at least 2500miles back to Sacramento for hometime which would of equaled BIG time money, but I gave it up for nice 800 mile run... NOT. I had to run empty from Burley, Idaho to Pocatello,Idaho to pick up 45k pounds of Flour that was to be delivered to Irwindale, CA. YAY! I get to go back the exact same way I came up here and go to Los Angeles. Anyways, I took the load and delivered in LA yesterday and then picked up this load that's delivering at a Costco in Salt Lake City tomorrow morning. So I ran up here, back down to LA and then back up here agian.

What I like about gordon is that while it is "forced dispatch" meaning you can't pick and choose your loads but it is possible to a certain extent. I called them up earlier today and asked if there are any loads heading east so I don't have to go back to LA. I got a pre plan for a load going to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa carrying of all things, Pacific Mountain Bikes, you know those cheapy bikes at department stores. All my mountain bike friends should know all about these wonderful peices of metal... =)

P.S. Anyone want to buy a Nicolai UFO cheap? Message me!

Somewhere in Idaho...

A Frozen lake off the freeway in Idaho

Picking up a load of Flour in Pocatello, Idaho. This warehouse along with all the other ones in the are used to be an old army base that housed all the big guns and equiptment. RIght next store is the FBI Headquaters for the west coast.

On the way to Pocatello the road runs along the Snake river...

Pit stop along I-15 heading towards LA. Nothing like an ice cold Mountain Dew and some Funions... haha

Me, Myself and I

Movin' east

2006-04-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

Yup, I finally got out of the California, Oregon, Nevada runs! I'm in Utah about an hour out of Salt Lake City sitting in a truckstop. Tomorrow morning I'm delivering my load of 44,000lbs of Sam Club (walmart) Water Bottles to the Walmart DC in Grantsville,UT. I've had an exciting last couple of days, the most exciting was Delivering at the Lowes DC in Perris,CA. (Photo's below that explain why). I had to cut it SUPER SUPER close to get to las vegas last night but I got here safley and legally so it all worked out. I finally got rid of all the old 3-axle trailers that pull sideways big time and now I have a real nice 2-axle that I didn't even have to rock back and forth to get the tandems to slide. I was happy. Enough, click on the photos below to make them larger!

Heres the situation, whoever designed this parking lot is obviously not a trucker. How they have the back row set up is horrible. Theres not enough room to properly set up and back in to the spot without going over the curb. It turned out to be a blind side back which means for everyone that doesn't know what it is, It's backing up while not being able to see the rear or even the trailer. But this back was different, I was setup so that it would NOT be a blindside but because of how the rear of the trailer swings out it turned into one because I couldn't see. It sucked big time but I did it. It's the hardest back I've done and it beats Blure Heron Paper in Oregon city hands down.

I wasn't going to go over the curb but when I looked up and down the fence I realised that everyone does it. I now know why I saw a bunch of day cabs leaving the place and not one sleeper...

I-15 going north from Las vegas leaves nevada and then enters arizona for a short while the it's into utah. This is entering the canyon in Arizona

Just outside of Nephi, Utah where I am right now.

A nice view and free internet is always nice. I was thinking about the internet so much on the way here that I realized after I pulled in that we don't fuel here (I don't need fuel anyways) but that means no free shower, I have to pay a stinkin' 10 bucks... BOO =)

The famous Las Vegas Sign near where I picked up my load this morning.

Hopefully I didn't lose all my readers when I didn't update for so long but don't worry, I'm going to update all the time now...

Chris

Big trucks go bang

2006-04-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

I think I could of stayed at home a bit later than I did. I shut the truck down for the day at 2:15pm. Way to early but I'm kind of screwed if I go any further. I'm on top of the grapevine heading south. I deliver my first drop at 7:30am in Pico Rivera near LA then I deliver my second drop in temecula which is between LA and San Diego fron 9am-1pm. I could go further but trying to find a truckstop in the middle of rush hour traffic in LA wouldn't be fun. It's almost impossible to find a truckstop because I don't even think there are any! So I'm going to get up around 4am and start heading down the road. Even if I get stopped in traffic in LA I'll still have plenty of time to make my appointment time. Flying J's truck stop which is a HUGE nationwide chain has some pretty cheap internet. 5bucks for 12hrs seems good to me. I'm parked here in the front row right by the fuel island. I was editing some photos from today when I hear a loud bang and I look over to see a truck rolled into a truck parked on the island behind him. Almost immediately a handfull of truckers gather around. The driver in the truck sits in his truck for awhile with his hands on his head... DOH! I wouldn't want to be in that situation. I didn't see too much damage other than a few new dents on the front of the truck and the trailer that hit the truck had it's DOT bumper was all bent... ooops....

Over n' out,
Chris

I'm back with an update!!!

2006-04-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

I'm back from my first two weeks out alone solo, well almost. I arrived here in sactown a day early so that I could go home for awhile and take a real shower finally. I'm not going to sleep here tonight but rather in my truck so that I can wake up bright and early at 4am and deliver to three costco stores in the sacramento area. Then it's back to the yard and I'll be off for a couple days of hometime. I've experienced so many things in the last two weeks. I have way to many stories to share so I'll just leave the pictures to tell a story. So far I've been to Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Pheonix, Las Vegas, Reno, Fontana, Bend and so many other cities in just two short weeks!

During my first trip alone I recieved a message on my computer to call a person in the Meford Terminal. He's pretty high up in the company I understand and I was extremely nervous to call him but when I did it was to say that he was given this address to my blog from another employee and I was shocked to hear that! He gave me some suggestions to change my blog a bit so I'm going to be trying some new things out.

Sorry about the real lack of updates. When I'm done driving for the day I'm pooped. I usually walk around the truck stop a bit, grab a bite or make a sandwich, watch some tv and I usually pass out even before turning off the lights ( I hate it when that happens) My plan is once I can afford a new laptop I'm going to purchase one along with an internet plan to allow me to be on the web from the side of the road or anywhere I want really. Most truck stops do have the internet but it's pricey.

Anyways, check out the photos and be sure to leave a comment!

My baby, I mean my truck parked a little bit outside of Bend Oregon about 2 weeks ago.

All of my supplies and since this photo I've added so many new things... Trucking is expensive and it's not even my truck!

Heading out of Bend Oregon. Gotta love the red dirt oregon uses on it's snowy roads. Ruined my spotless truck =(

Had a bit of free time so I polished my wheels.

Just south of San Louis Obispo on 101 I had a couple hours to kill so I pulled off the road right on the ocean. It was so pretty and was way better than a truckstop. Nothing like stopping just feet from the ocean waves.

Here I am about 100 feet from my truck. I sat here for almost an hour. I saw a couple seals and right before I left I saw a whale. I didn't really know what it was until it came up for air and the "hump" of the whale... Made my day

I'd like to come back here one day...

This sign conviently placed in a truckstop in Vegas... I sure this sign has sold TONS of burgers...

I took a reset in Las Vegas. I stayed in the Wild Wild West truckstop/hotel/restraunt across the freeway from the Strip. It gave me something to do for 34 hours but resulted in me losing a bunch of money... doh! Lesson learned, The small casinos pay a lot more than the big ones on the strip!

Yesterday morning cruising from Eugene,OR to Portland.

Got Windmills? On I-15 cruising through Southern California on the way to Las Vegas.

Snowing earlier this week heading on 58 through Oregon

Outside of Susanville,CA heading north on 395. Beautiful country out there...

Aways outside of vegas near Area 51.

Pretty much out in the middle of no where in the Nevada desert. I drove for over 200 miles without sealing anyone!

This is what Kingman, AZ looks like at 2:30am...

Pretty much the ultimate Truck/RV out there... droooooooool.

That's it for now... Check back as I will be updating another time before I leave next week...

Over and Out,

Chris

I got the keys!

2006-03-16T20:24:00.000-08:00

I got my truck today. It's a 2400 series 2002 columbia with 488,000 on it... It's been well used but is still in good working condition and it still looks good. The only way you can tell it's been used is that the seats are a bit worn and ripped but nothing a nice ford racing seat cover won't fix... Also, as you work yourself up the totem pole you get nicer and nicer trucks. We were told we wouldn't have our first trucks for very long... somewhere between 3-9 months.

It's a cummins isx engine and man, this this rumbles big time... More of a low deep sound rather than a clanky detriot. I inspected it and it's all good except for a reading light thats out and I need a new matress. everything gets fixed tonight and we finish orientation tomorrow and I'm out of here heading back south down to sacramento for a couple days.

I'm getting my truck!

2006-03-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I had this huge page all typed out and I lost it... oh well, heres the basics...

I found out that tomorrow we are getting the keys to our trucks! No, we don't get to leave yet, but we do get to find out what truck is our and do a full blown inspection. Anything that we find wrong or something that's not how we want it, we write it down and tomorrow night it's fixed and ready for us on friday so that we can finish up here and hopefully taking off on my own with my first dispatch down to sacramento...I hope!

Anyways, I found out what truck I'm getting. A 2300 or 2400 Series Columbia!!! The truck I wanted. It's not brand new but it's a hell of a lot better than some of the other trucks students get. It's a manual so I can grind the gears instead of stupid semi automatic trucks...bleh. I'm not sure what exact truck it is yet, but I'm just so excited I'm getting a columbia, I can finally stop worrying about which one I'm going to get!

My truck will look basically like this...

What a day...

2006-03-13T20:01:00.000-08:00

So here I am in a totally different hotel than I was yesterday... doh.

It all started when Mike ( a friend of my trainers) took me up from portland to Pacific, Washington. We dropped his truck off at the gordon terminal and walked into a dispatch office. Picture the NASA shuttle control room with computers and kiosks everywhere. That's where all the Dispatchers dispatch us drivers to different customers and locations around the country. The weekend dispatch told us that the hotel for students coming off of trainers trucks were to go to the Val-U-Inn. So we went over there and they didn't have a reservation for me. It was 9pm and we were not able to get ahold of anyone ( kinda funny because this is supposed to be a 24/7 company...) So I just put the room on my card because gordon would for sure pay me back. Well, I gave them a call this morning and she said "You're where?" with a stunned tone. I suppose this hotel and Gordon had a falling out and no one ever notified the weekend dispatchers... hmm. She said for me to get my stuff and let the hotel know that I will be checking out early and to have them shuttle me over to the gordon HQ. I had breakfast (make your own belgian waffles rule!) and got all my junk together. I checked out and asked for the shuttle. They said "Oh I'm sorry, we don't go there anymore" hmm, now I'm screwed. It's only 4 miles away for crying out loud. So gordon arranged for a driver to come over and pick me up. Turns out it was a driver who was on "light duty" meaning he was hurt on the job (back problems) and to be still eligable for his medical benefits he had to misc. work around the terminal. He's driven for gordon for 14 years and is counting down the days until he can go back out on the road.

When i got to gordon finally I was set up on a computer to do some finishing assignments that only took 3 hours... ouch, but I 'm glad I won't have to do that one agian. They served us a lunch consisting of some gourmet pizza hut. The other hotel shuttle bus came and picked some other students and I up and brought us to here, the Travelodge Suites which is anything but a suite but rather a small room with just enough room for a bed and a bathroom...hahaha well not quite, but still, it's not as nice as the other place, plus it's a lot further to walk to everything around here. I wish I had my bike! They do have wireless internet in the room so I'm happy.

So How about some more photos?

Wonderful friday night traffic in Fairfield,CA after coming back from Napa.

A rainy day in Clackamas, Oregon near Portland.

A Snowplow near Yreka, California.

What do you think?

I'm done with training!

2006-03-12T14:37:00.000-08:00

I know everyone, it's been a long time since I've been able to update you guys but I am here now...

I don't even know where to begin. Training was a lot better than what I was thinking it was going to be. I learned the basics about being out there on the road, the gordon company procedures, the do's and dont's and everything else in between. In the end I wound up with having four, yes 4 trainers. No, I never switched to a new one, but my trainer curtis and his friends are one of the most knowledgeable and nicest people here at gordon. Curtis (my trainer) was the best trainer that I could of been teamed with, even some high up company guy's said the same too. Don, James and Mike who run on the Target and GP dedicated fleets have helped me out so much. Thanks to don for making me stay up till 2:30 in the morning at the Casino in Corning answering all my questions and just plain bullshittin' with me... James who now has left gordon to persue the life of an Owner Operator in his new volvo 770.... drool. Mike for driving me up here to pacific and giving me all his goodies he doesn't need anymore... I can wait to hook up my XM!

Theres to much to type out here, instead I'm going to do a photo essay in no particular order... *CLICK on the photos to make them bigger*

A nasty crash in roseburg, oregon. Shut down I-5 south for most of the day. This is the reason I will not drive a Gasoline Tanker. In this case, one of the tires got hot and blew up causing this truck to lost control and smash into some construction barriers. Driver was killed and when we drove by the truck was just burning. It was not even full, those flames are just left from the vapors and gasses still left in the tanks...

Snowing up and over the mountains heading toward oregon.

This is what it looks like when a couple hundred trucks stretched over miles just when the chain restriction was lifted for Ashland. TONS of trucks were on the shoulder putting on chains when all of a sudden they heard that the restriction was lifted. Some guys drove over the hill with only half of their chains on while others scrambled and pulled them off and got going. It was complete chaois making it over the mountain. A steady stream of trucks racing up the mountain and some four wheelers who made it really dangerous by going to slow... or cutting us off... But we made it. The mountain was snowy but the roads were wet... why did they even have a chain law? I will never know

Snowing in California near Mt. Shasta

Derrick and I with this lovely photo on valentines day... hahahaha

A clear day on Mount Shasta. Taken in the weed rest area.

Heading into the fog...

Curtis spent 2 hours polishing only half the fuel tank to only drive into a snow storm the next day to have all his work ruined... oops

75ft long and over 80,000lbs moving down the road at 55... don't cut trucks off!

2006-02-23T21:03:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone!!! I'm back in portland at derricks house. Actually I'm in Vancouver Washington right over the river from portland. Since I've last talked to you we have been down to redding and then back to Halsey OR at the Georgia pacific lumber yard then back up to Albany OR to the Target HQ's. From there we went down to Redding and back up and then down to Pinole, CA to a target store. From there we picked up a load in Oakland in the land of those crazy Container drivers and picked up a load to Lacy, WA. We dropped that off in Clackamas (Portland) and here I am right now. I've been driving every day and it's been the full 11 hours maximum. Lot's of driving but I'm loving it. It can only get better when I get my own truck and actually get paid for every mile I'm driving. Right now during training my trainer get's paid per mile even though he is in the back or sitting shotgun. Yesterday and today he's gone back into the sleeper and watched a movie when I've been driving and it makes me feel like I'm out there driving solo... I love it! I'll update more soon. I forgot my camera agian in the truck... damn. Oh well, I'll have a lot of shots for you guys when I get my act together and remember to bring it!

Wow, a lot of people actually do read this!

2006-02-19T17:38:00.000-08:00

A couple post's down I mentioned that there was probably only one person who read this, then I got flooded with emails... Thanks everyone for emailing me...

I went on a wild search for my camera but after about 30 minutes of searching it appears I left it in the truck at the yard. I have some good photos for everyone but it seems that I will have to wait until friday to get it updated for everyone. I'm due back here in clackamas on the 23rd because my trainer has some personal things he needs to get taken care of. Until then, enjoy some of these photos...

OUCH!

oops...

(click on the photos to make them bigger)

I wish I was out there.... somewhere, anywhere but here!

2006-02-18T19:31:00.000-08:00

Ha, sitting in the lobby of a best western is pretty boring. I have another day of this and then we head out on monday morning around 6am. I can't wait! Anyways, I took the hotel shuttle over to the "Clackamas Town Center" which is the largest mall in oregon. That place was crazy. So many stores, an ice skating rink and one of the biggest food court's I've ever seen. Somehow I ran into curtis and his family so I went with them into radioshack to research cell phones. I'm looking for a phone that has Blue tooth along with a external antenna port to go along with a big antenna I'm going to have mounted on my mirror. I'm not really sure what I should do for now. I just got a phone a couple months ago. It's no blue tooth and it has no antenna port. I'm debating just keeping it for awhile and live with the poor reception until I break down and really get one... I can deal with wire headset I suppose...

Heres what I'm getting for my truck. With a lot of help from Curtis (my trainer) and Don (another gordon driver) I've decided to go with the Cobra 29 CB radio with nightwatch. Meaning the faceplate lights up at night and looks real cool!

I'm getting a 400watt inverter that plugs into a cig lighter, a 13" TV and a cheap dvd player all of which are sold at any Loves or TA truckstop. I'm going to get this stuff real soon so when I get assigned my truck, I can be ready to roll right away.

Now, heres the hard part. Gordon runs 4 different models of trucks. The most recent model is the Coloumbia which my trainer has right now. I really like it although there is not a lot of legroom for someone my height. Next up is the Classic which has A LOT of leg room but the interior is rather old and does not have a lot of storage (which is VERY important. Gordon only has 50 or so of these trucks as they are reserved for the drivers who have been here the longest. After that there are some older Centuries which resemble the comlumbia but are about 3-5 years older. And last there are the old ex-dick simon trucks that supposedly just complete piles of junk although I've heard both good and bad.

My trainer can ask to get me a classic since I'm so tall and they can move the seat back if I need even more room, or I can go with what ever else they give me... Just a bunch of random babble I suppose... Leave a comment and let me know which truck you like best! (If you can tell a difference!?)

Freightliner Columbia

Freightliner Classic XL

Freightliner Century

Freightliner FLD

I'm in Clackamas

2006-02-18T13:24:00.000-08:00

The other day we were at the target in Auburn, CA. We pulled away from the dock and I was outside noticing that there was a pallet on a pallet jack hanging halfway out of the trailer. The trailer was a sweep load that was supposed to be done in the morning but the lady never finished it. She came back and was like "where is my trailer?" that we just pulled away from the dock. The good thing is that no one was in the trailer, the LOD gave us the all clear to pull the trailer away, but the bad thing is that we now had to back into this incredibly hard back facing the wrong way! Oh well, we did it.

Anyways, I'm in Clackamas a suburb of Portland. I have until monday to find something to do around here. Right now I'm at the starbucks about a 20 minute walk from the hotel. Finally I get to have my caramel frappacino that I love so much. It's about 25 outisde right now with the sun shining! Even colder with the wind chill. Last night it was in the single digits! Olivia called me to tell me that it was snowing in Auburn and that they are going sledding today up the hill in Colfax!!! wow

First week is over!

2006-02-14T22:08:00.001-08:00

Wow guys, training is going pretty damn good... I got teamed up with one of the coolest trainers out there. He runs for target from albany, OR to stores in the bay area and sac three times a week. I didn't drive the first day but they second day I just drove between corning,ca and vacaville,ca on 505. Everything went good and I felt comfortable but it was all flat and not much excitement. During the last couple days I took on Ashland and sexton and all the hills between the OR border and eugene. I didn't do to bad but I just was not getting the downshifts. I watched my trainer and yesterday I got it real good. Extremely comfortable and I'm seriously having a blast out there. I'm trying to be a sponge as much as possible and absorb all the info I can although the first few days were scary as I was so overwhelmed. But, It's been a week and I have 3 more to go...

That's it for now, I'm in clackamas,OR right now at my friends house in Portland. We went to Joes Crabshack and ate some damn good food and now It's time to head on back to my truck. I'm all alone in the truck while my trainer takes his reset. See you guys soon with another update.

Chris

Well, now I'm really out of here...

2006-02-08T10:02:00.000-08:00

In a couple hours I will be meeting my trainer at the target in roseville. I'm not really sure where we go from here. We might be heading back up to oregon or we may be going to other target distribution centers and stores in sac and the bay area... Who know's at this point. I will try to update as much as possible. If there is a internet connection at a truck stop or at one of the receivers I will be posting an update for sure. If anyone needs to get a hold of me ( I think theres only one person who checks this ) email me @ info@norcalphoto.com or message me on myspace...

Alright, I'm out!

Chris

By the way...

2006-02-03T22:25:00.000-08:00

Thanks to tracy for letting me know that I didn't let everyone know when I'm leaving. I'm out of town on wednesday sometime during the day, probably meeting my trainer a target store somewhere in sacramento. Could be the target in roseville off of douglas blvd or maybe the one off of elk grove blvd in elk grove... Who knows. I'll let everyone know on tuesday when I speak to him agian.

Talked to my trainer this morning

2006-02-02T16:14:00.000-08:00

He is in his mid thirties (which is very good) I'm glad I didn't get some old guy in his 60's. He lives in Albany, OR which is about 1 hour south of portland. He runs a dedicated account for Target, meaning he does the same route all the time. He Delivers to all the targets in Sacramento, Roseville, Elk Grove, and sometimes auburn so the chances of me being home are very good. I could even get some new clothes from home since I will be so close. I will also get real good with driving over mountains since I will be going up and down ashland (in the pictures below. Ashland is like a 30 mile uphill/downhill with 6% grades... very good to learn and I will be chaining too! Good.

Back from medford!

2006-02-01T17:48:00.001-08:00

I got home safely and I'm busy getting ready to meet my trainer real soon... Heres the photos from the trip!

I survived orientation

2006-01-31T19:14:00.000-08:00

I don't even know where to begin... Today I was thrown so much information it boggles my mind... We coverd so much stuff, signed so many papers... How many times do I need to write my adress and ss#? damn...

It all started with a road test this morning. I tester was a woman who drives from medford to portland on a dedicated run hauling beer. But she didn't have a trailer so we picked up a fully loaded trailer of paper rolls... She was in a century with drop axle. First of all, the way I have to have the steering wheel, it's so far forward ( I'm 6'8") that it blocks most of the guages... eek. Gotta work on adjusting it better when I head out with the trainer. Anyways, the first thing that I found was different was how amazingly TIGHT the gears were... it seems that the eaton 10spd at truck school had "rounded" gears... I don't know what the real name is but the gear shift went in so much smoother. But this thing was stiff and you totally didn't have to push the clutch in hardly at all.

I didn't do to bad but it's odd stepping in a newer truck that is totally ass backwards compared to old fld's we had at school. Really screwed me up but I will get better after I drive for longer than 15 minutes... We headed around town and got onto I-5 and headed south a couple exits and got off.. Everything was fine until I had to make a right onto sage (the road gordon is located off of) I was downshifting and was doing it good until she said to do it agian. The light was coming up quick as we were going down the overpass and I got the brakes and tried to rev it up. I couldn't get it in gear :shock: :shock: and coasted around in neutral... ooops... I was lost for some reason but we got around the corner and put it into 4th and kept on trucking.

Next up was the backing test. She had me park between to real expensive baby blue cones (trucks) Now, I've never driven a 53' and hardly any 48 footers but I got it back into the hole perfect. She said she hasn't had any other new student's ever make it without pulling up. I was happy and made me smile a bit after messing up around the turn. Now, I realize that the conditions were perfect, the and I had a lot of room to manuver and just because I did the "test" good, I know that hardly if not any docks will be as easy as this one... but I was pretty happy with how I did.

Around the back of the yard there is an older century that was involved in a crash and they are using it for parts, but behind it theres an old ex dick simon truck that appeared to of flipped over and it was all messed up on the drivers side. We walked outside to do the "dolly lift" test and to be shown the proper way to get in and out of the trailers when I asked what happend to the old dick simon truck. Apparently it was involved in a DUI crash. A student who was only out on his own for 30 days after training pulled behind a bar where he thought he was hidden and started drinking. Someone reported him and he was told to go to the terminal asap ( I suppose they didn't think he was drinking or something....) While going to the terminal he flipped the truck on an offramp and slid into two other trucks with very high dollar loads! He was arrested and off to jail he went...

I appears the chances of me getting a century or columbia are higher than I originally thought but they did say we could get a paddle tranny truck... I don't want that, I want to shift!

I'm heading back home in the morning but right now it's pouring outside and it's been cold all day. Ashland is covered in snow and they say they are going to get 17" tonight!!!! Hopefully I can make it home asap so I can get with my trainer on thurday/friday.

That's all for now, as soon as I get home I will post my photos from this trip. Until then,

Keep truckin'
Chris

Made it to Medford!

2006-01-30T16:13:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm just checking in from a starbucks in medford. The drive here was good and damn, there are a TON of gordon trucks out there...Makes me real excited

The hotel that gordon puts you up in is a real piece... wow, I'm going to explore around town and see what's around here until it's time for bed. For some reason they reserved the room for 3 nights, even though orientation is just one day... So I made my way over to the terminal to ask what was happening. I got it all worked out and they just made the reservation longer if I wanted to stay and ejoy.... yeah right! I'm outta here first chance I get!

I'll come back here tomorrow and let everyone know what orientation was like...

Went back to school today...

2006-01-26T15:06:00.000-08:00

I passed the tests and got my license a little over a month ago and couldn't start driving until I was 21. Well, I turned 21 a couple days ago and I leave on monday for gordon so I went back to school and practiced a bit with my shifting. I was really nervous that I was going to forget how to shift smoothly but I think I might of got a little better! Now that I have my license I am not so nervous... thank god. But I did have a little trouble with one thing today...

I drove over to the nearest truck stop to practice my backing in between two trucks. Now, at my school we hardly ever used the 48 footers ( Which I regret not asking to drive them more) we just used the little pups. So I have hardly any experience with backing a 48. Let me just say this, If it was a big truck stop that was busy, you guys would of been on the cb telling me " Hurry up driver". I made it but after a couple pull ups. It all really started with a bad approach, but from where the entrance is and where the empty spot was, it was the best I could do.

Now instead of being nervous about shifting for my road test with gordon on tuesday, I'm a bit weary of trying to dock a 53'!

Went back to truck school for a refresher...

2006-01-25T15:17:00.000-08:00

On tuesday I will be in oregon for my orientation. Sometime tuesday I will have to do a drive test demonstrating that I can shift and safely drive it. So I went back to truck school today to get back in it and brush up on my shifting. I was a bit worried but as soon as we pulled out of the gate and onto the road I hit every gear right on, hardly any grinding during our whole hour out but I'm going to go back tomorrow to finish up.

I'll be gone on monday and tuesday and probably coming home on tuesday night from Medford, OR. Then I will meet my trainer at the Gordon yard in West Sacramento and I will be off!

It's official, I'm driving for Gordon Trucking!

2006-01-25T09:33:00.000-08:00

Hey, just checking in and making my first blog update of my new career! This is where I will be checking in as often as possible to update you, my friends and family about how life on the road is going. Letting you know what it's like from various places around the country! If anyone would like to E-mail me, be sure to send it to me @ info@norcalphoto.com .

Gordon contacted me on December 21st and let me that my application had been processed and that I am hired! I now have to wait until I'm 21 to drive commercially out of state. So, around the 16th of january or some time around there I'm going to take my drug and physical tests and then the week of the 31st, I am driving to medford oregon for a day or two of orientation and paper signing. Then I get back in my truck and drive home to wait for my trainer to call me. Probably the next day I will meet him at the 49er truck stop in sacramento to begin my 4 week training process. He will teach me how gordon works and how to drive a truck professionally. After 4 weeks I will be assigned my very own to truck! I will be dispatched for my very first time and I will be be out for another two weeks until I go home for a couple days...

I will let you know how everything goes a little later on in january. Until then, see ya on the road!

If you see a truck like this cruising down the road, be sure to peek over... It could be ME!