1 tanker truck to Janesville WI (delivered)

... spending the night at Mauston WI

I had a medical appointment this AM and a possibly another appointment so as of the weekend I had not planned on working at all today/Tuesday. By yesterday AM that began to change and by mid-afternoon we knew we were going to be doing Wednesday's trip Tuesday.

It turned out that my appointment only lasted 15 minutes so we would have been time ahead if BB had rode with me this AM and then we could have gone direct to work a couple of miles away. But we didn't think ahead so after the appointment I head back to pick up BB.

At the office was a driver waiting for orientation. He had quit during Covid and now was getting bored. I don't think I had ever done a road trip with him but we did plenty of shuttle trips to Crookston together.

I did yesterday's paperwork and then picked up today's paperwork. My inspection only took a few minutes as I had done a detailed inspection yesterday.

As soon as I was ready to go, I called the drop. Again, an AI answering machine. I was able to get someone by selection the closest option but they would not connect me. They did get someone on another line and it sounded like 'Tomorrow delivery would be better.'

But at the end, they did give me a couple of on-site phone numbers.

... listed close time is 4 PM. It will be close.

2nd stop was the TA in Hudson for fuel. It's the first truck stop and by then I was down to 1/8th of a tank. BB also fueled our chase car.

3rd stop was the Kwik Trip in Black River Falls for lunch. A quick rib sandwich for each and we were in and out in 15 minutes.

Lots of jockeying for position on the freeway. I do remember one old Cadillac that seemed to me to have come out of no-where as I hadn't seen it when I changed lanes.

4th stop is the rest area before Janesville. It is almost 3:30. I am in luck, someone picks up and will take the truck yet tonight. Very short stop.

I had looked at the map provided by dispatch and BB had talked about how to get there but I had never run the route as I didn't think we'd be delivering today.

... Maps had us 'walking a straight line from the freeway.' No detailed acurrate routing.

I did a quick look at the streets and had an idea of where I was going. But I missed a main cross road where I was supposed to have turned. I was likely a mile past when I looked again and realized what I had done. Quickly corrected and likely only lost about five minutes.

5th stop is the drop in Janesville. I call as soon as I am parked and my contact comes out, does one walk around, signs the paperwork and says leave it here, we will move it.

... easy.

BB has pulled in in the couple of minutes I was there. We are good to go ...

But ...

The trips we had been checking on that had been out there for days are both gone. $$ gone because I won't commit before I am sure, very sure, that I can make it.

Now there are two trips out of IA that will work but I call my local dispatch first to see if they have work for me. For the last couple of days it sounded like they could give me twice the work I could do.

-0-

Nothing for me for tomorrow.

And now one of the pair of IA trips is already gone. There is really nothing that is great so we head in the direct of home. By the time we decide that the best trip on the load board is taking just the one remaining IA trip, it is also gone.

So we decide to head a couple of hours in the direction of home and get a hotel. We could get home yet tonight. We could have for sure if we had planned ahead this AM but we thought with all the work there was this AM that we'd be heading to more work.

6th stop is the rest area near Poynette.

Somewhere in this area we see to cop cars on the shoulder with someone pulled over. :) it is the same Caddy as we saw this AM. Both BB and I recognized it.

Timing is going to be close but we could make it to the Old Log Deli again.

7th stop is the Old Log Deli in Mauston again :) We are there twenty minutes before they close so we aren't just squeaking in. But we are likely the last customers. Someone else did come in afterwards and the staff asked them if 'they were going to order or if they were just looking (at the shelf items.) They took it the wrong way and left.

8th stop was across the freeway at the Quality Inn. After eating half our food, we take a short walk before settling in.

Load board

US - 172

IA - 2

MN - 10

WI - 11

NC - 20 (3 to midwest)

Right now, the two best options are a truck to Fargo and a trash truck to Milwaukee. The truck to MLW is the one kind I don't want to drive right now. So the other is an option.

We most likely will watch the load board early and then call local dispatch again by 9 AM. Not sure what it will take to do the Fargo truck, there have been a few and we have always found reasons not to do them.