1 bus to Loveland CO

... spending the night at Gallup NM

Way, way too much food at the Wagon Wheel last night ... and we did not have desert.

Spent last night at the Quality Inn in Needles CA.

BB is still getting up around 4 AM local, I try to stay in bed until <> 5 AM.

Because we don't want to leave anything of value in the bus overnight, we make two trips every evening and every morning to get our luggage to and from the bus. This AM we take the first load down at 6 AM local and then look at breakfast. We did each take one yogurt to eat on our walk back to the room for the rest of our luggage.

The driver I talked to last night was loading up their stuff by the time we pulled out. First light was supposed to be < 6:15 but it was already lighting up at 6 AM.

In the parking lot it looked like the same semi that was there last night. Last night I parked on his drivers side. Today he was half crossways in front of me, with me on his passenger side. And his car blocking me in. But the car doors were open so I assumed he was not too far away. By the time we were ready to leave, the car was gone.

The AZ scale is closed ... so that saves a few minutes waiting in line.

1st stop is the Petro east of Kingman. We park with the cars and are just there for the restroom. As we are pulling out, the gal with the bus from the hotel is pulling in to fuel.

In the parking lot here, there was a pickup with two flat tires ... one dog in the box and three in the cab and a hand written sign on the side of the truck saying 'do not touch the dogs.'

Sometime before the next stop, BB comes up to tell me that the RV in Loveland is gone :) :) ... We did not want it, but we were right there ... Now we will just head gone unless there is something right in route ... (Or we get told that family gatherings are canceled because everyone is sick ...)

2nd stop ... Loves in Williams. First I pull through the car area but the CNG pump has cars on both sides. So I go to the back with the trucks. This location only has CNG on one side of each pump, but the guy next to me is getting diesel so I use that pump.

I hook it up and WHOOIS. The pump is pumping. But being the honest guy I am, I walk into the station and let them know they have a problem. Today there was someone right there ready to take charge (if not, I might have gotten a whole tank of free fuel)

As soon as we get back to the pump, the staff hits the kill switch. But by then I have gotten about 1,000# of free fuel. I had no other way of shutting it off, I had never turned it on and I can't disconnect my hose when it has 3,600# of pressure on it. Me or the hose might have gone right through the trailer at the next fuel island.

They had no way of billing me so it is free ... for the bus company who is paying for the fuel on this trip.

Once we were done with that, I had to back into the same fuel island so I could fuel from the other side of the island. All this takes time.

We hadn't planned on eating yet, but now BB was hungry. Nothing good on the warmers today so Carl's Jr it is. I get their chicken nuggets. We end up being there an hour instead of 30 minutes. There goes the time we had gained by leaving instead of eating breakfast this AM.

West of Flagstaff a ways there is a carcass, I had noticed it last week and realized it was not a deer, or a cow ... Today I couldn't see the head, but the hair looked more like a bear.

3rd stop is Winslow at the Pilot. My credit cards won't work here so I have to use my company card and pay a user fee. I wouldn't have needed to stop here, I still have over a half a tank of fuel and there are three options to fuel in ABQ. But I'm stopping at most of them this trip with the smaller/fewer tanks.

We have to exit for the scale but they are waving most drivers past. I stop and they ask if I have a permit ... by then I am showing them my notepad ... I'm good to go. No inspection today. I had <> thought printing both permits but knowing I didn't have to do it meant I didn't think too hard about it last night.

Final stop is the Comfort Inn in east Gallup. Food is next door at Dickey's BBQ.

Called dispatch so I know where to final fuel, this time he wants me coming in on a half a tank. Good to know.

Still one truck in CO going back to CO.

Load board

US - 101

IA -0-

MN - 8

WI - 7