1 tanker, heading to Winnemucca NV
... spending the night at Ankeny IA
Yesterday it had rained, and then snowed. Yesterday it was in the mid 40's, this AM it was near -0-.
Makes for fun shoveling before we can leave. Both BB and I shoved for a half hour, took a break and then did another half hour. Interesting watching our neighbor trying to push his snow blower. Not much traction on the hard pack of ice under the snow. We may have done it the easy way today.
Then just about when we are done, the snow plow comes through. But this is the best job I remember anyone doing in ... since we have been there? He plowed AWAY from our drive up to within a foot of our reflector posts. Some years they plow everything towards our posts and don't get within six feet of those posts. They plow the grass in the circle instead. So that saved us another half hour shoveling.
As it was, we headed out the 1st time before 7:30 and finished about 9:30, in time to pickup our rental car at 10 AM. We rented it in Hudson instead of MN because it was cheaper. Someone brought the car down from Stillwater this AM so we could pick it up. All roads are not plowed yet at 10 AM. Lots of cars.
We finish getting ready and get to my truck at 11:45. We brought along two shovels just in case. We didn't need them, the lot had been plowed and it looked like that area had likely been blown clean. Not sure if the driveway had needed to be plowed.
Five cars in the lot, that is how busy they are the last weekend of the month of the year. On busy months there are 20-30 cars in the lot at any given time. I'm guessing dispatch could have found someone else to do this run ... and we'd be heading the same route, but with two RV's to Reno.
Roads aren't bad to start with, only saw one car in the ditch in the first 30 miles, on a cloverleaf. I don't remember where the roads were bad and good but most of the day was spent driving at 20-30 mph. On hard pack / ice. Lots of cars in the ditch, most with the people still in them. Only noticed one the todays date written on the window by the cops.
1st stop was Owattona at the Kwik Trip for fuel. We hadn't said for sure where we were going to stop so BB had stopped both at a rest area and at Pilot in Northfield looking for me. The pump at Kwik Trip wasn't working right, I got a dollars worth after a dozen times of squeezing the nozzle.
Roads are still the same. Bumper to bumper in both directions, some places the frontage roads are full also as people try to make up time. Noticed one semi on the frontage road ... where there is a low bridge. There he sat, too much traffic to back up and turn around.
Somewhere in this area I see a cop coming up from behind, I am in the right lane, cars and a truck in the left lane in front of him. I pull to the shoulder but no one else moves in either lane. That cop followed that semi for over a mile, weaving back and forth behind him before finally taking his exit. Semi never did move over.
About five miles before the truckstop the roads are finally clear enough to set the cruise. I still kick it on and off if I see a snow patch ahead. BB doesn't set the cruise on the car until she is in IA.
2nd stop was Loves in Albert Lea for fuel. This went much better, so it was their pump, not my truck. Also bought anti gel and put that in, but forgot to use the restroom.
While I was here, I get a message from BB that she is ahead of me and is going to make a reservation in Ankeny. We should get there at last light.
BB gets to the motel 10 minutes ahead of me. Our motel has cars in the lot. The Holiday Express next door has 1, plus one semi tractor. I look again an hour later, same thing. The Best Western was doing a little better with five cars.
WOW good news. Supper was going to be shelf food from Casey's as it is Christmas Eve. We had mentioned having BB stop for Subway at a truck stop on the way down so we would have something 'fresh.' She didn't. And Outback is open ... and busy. So we get our usual and I have enough for breakfast. Good food.
Tomorrow I am going to cut one stop from our trip. We usually stop at Adair and Gretna between Des Moines and York. There is a Loves in Shelby that is close to half way so I will only stop once. BB may stop more. She is running 70 (on clear roads) and I am running 65 mph. So far my mpg has gone from 9. something up to 12.2. Doesn't make a big difference, boss is pay all fuel.
Sidney tomorrow night.
Load board - (most locations closed)
US - 304
IA - 97
MN - 9
WI - 5
IA got rid of four RV's today. Good thing we did not plan on grabbing one. With shoveling snow we didn't drive past our exit in IA until about 3 PM. We would have had to pick up our RV by 11 AM. Opps.