1 bus heading to Medford OR (delivered)

1 bus heading to Spartanburg SC

... spending the night at Red Bluff CA

Another late night ... should pick up tomorrow AM and drop on Wednesday in SC. 2-3 days home from there.

(The rest is written one day later)

We want to get delivery before the drop closes for the day so we get going by 8 AM. We could pick up earlier but it had been a late night. 8 AM is our balance.

It takes a half hour to do the routine. I haven't done a 'daylight' pickup since Covid. There is now a sign that says check with the office along the sidewalk. So I did. We now need to have our temps taken. I pass. Then I walk to the bus. I pull the bus to the driveway and BB checks the lights. But this is a busy spot and two other buses come while I am sitting there and I am in their way.

From here BB and I go at our own pace. I do not need to be in contact with anyone today and I know the routine. I have more fuel than yesterday so I should not need to fuel. I know I don't need to wash the bus. And I know that I do not need a permit, this is a 29 foot bus and under the weight cutoff.

2nd stop - I only stop once at a rest area in Corning. I only call dispatch once about this trip. To check in, let him know I have the bus ... and to tell him I do want to go to FL, but if he has a 'hard to get out of' place, we can do that and take a rain check on the FL. He thanks me.

3rd stop - Talent Port of Entry Scale. - Scale is open, I have to cross because I am over 20,000#. But I do not get flagged in. As long as I am going slow, I pull over and park. To check the gas pressure. I am to deliver with at least 1,200 psi. I am still at 1,400 psi. This bus is using a little more fuel but I generally use 300 psi for every 100 miles as my guide. I have another 10 miles to my drop.

Coming into town, I see a huge dumpster and a cop in the homeless area along the river. It looks like they may be trying to clean it up. This is in the same area where over 1,000 mobile homes in 18 different parks burnt last year along the same river. They are still working on that clean up.

Today I do not have the paperwork close to me with the exit numbers on it. But it was only yesterday and I do remember the streets even though I am coming from the other direction because of not having to fuel.

4th stop - Medford - the drop. Today someone was leaving when I arrived so the gate was open. I pull in and park in the same place. As I am getting out someone comes out. He is my contact. He does the basic walk around and I pick up my stuff. One of the quickest check in's I have had.

I know where BB was parked yesterday so I walked that way and then looked at my phone. BB was still 15 minutes away. Because we can not call when we are driving, we text each other when we stop with where we are. That way the other person can gauge how close we are running.

At first I set my pack pack on the grass but it soon has little green bugs all over. After a few minutes of sitting on the sidewalk and the bugs are gone. No idea what they were.

BB gets there and we head for food. Instead of Sonic again we head to the Pilot / Taco Bell.

5th stop is for fuel and food and the Pilot. And I call dispatch. We are going to Spartansburg SC. Dispatch calls back later asking if I want to go to FL. No, I'm good. Spartansberg is within a few miles of the trucks we pick up in NC. Orlando is 500 miles south. 500 miles to deadhead with only a few more miles pay. I'm good, thank you.

6th and final stop is at the Comfort Inn in Red Bluff. But 1st we stop at the Burger King across the street. We have a balcony which we look out, step out onto and close the door. We could have gone further and saved DOT driving hours. But we are tired. These short trips do not leave us the same wiggle room that the long trips do.

But the pay has been good. On a future trip we may rent a car for a week and just do local work. We had thought about doing this last winter but it never happened.

Load board

US - 404

IA - 124 / 120

MN - 6

WI - 20

NC - 28