2 RV's to Drapper UT (delivered)

1 box truck to St Paul MN (Monday)

1 trash truck to Ortonville MN (??)

... spending the night at Albert Lea MN

(early AM note) Heard last night that extended family was driving 15 mph in ice on I80 in NE. Glad we headed the northern route. I80 is closed this AM. By tonight we should know that everyone is OK.

... write-up continues.

Everyone was ahead of the road closure. Luckily, as the road didn't re-open for almost 24 hours.

Up at 5, breakfast at 6, leave at 6:30. Eating breakfast was part of not rushing it today.

Speed limit is 80 across most of SD so we kept up that pace and only had quick stops, so not much has changed. We did talk about taking an extra day getting home on trips where we don't have work. We already are booking the rental cars for an extra day in case we do get work so the biggest issue for us would be to find something to do on short notice wherever we are in the country.

This trip would have been easy. Black Hills.

Billboard says there is <> a swap meet at the indoor mall every weekend. IMO, that is a great way to use former anchor space. Most malls have at least one major vacant area. That was in Rapid City.

1st stop today was for fuel in Kadoka. I pull into the Conoco first, sign says $2.99 but the pump says $3.06. So I leave and go next door to the Sinclair. Same thing. So I fill, must be a cash vs credit thing.

This town has three hotels. Best Value, Budget Host and Badlands Inn. Each one had between 1-5 cars. Not their busy season.

2nd stop is in Kimball at the 'new' Loves. New as in this year was the first time we had seen it, today was the first time we stopped. It is right next door to a tractor museum. :)

Today's food was GodFather's Pizza off the shelf. We split one. Good idea at the time, hungry later.

East of Mitchel, we pass Dakota Fest. I've seen it for years, now I finally looked it up. It is a non-Fair farm event in August. With farm vendors getting less and less at the fairs, I might have to check this out.

3rd stop was Brandon ... nope. We would be too close to E for comfort so 3rd stop was Loves in Sioux Falls. Not our favorite place. It is an old Flying J, laid out bad and often crowded.

Today was crowded. When I get to a pump and get it started I walk over to a transporter at the next pump. We say a quick 'Hi' and a few comments before he goes inside.

I go back to my pump and see it stopped before getting to a half gallon. And all pump prices are flashing. IMO, something is wrong so I go inside and request someone to come and look at it instead of just restarting it.

They come out and by then all pumps were working so they just had me restart mine. By then BB was back out from the restroom so I had her watch the pump and I went in to get a receipt as all receipts were coming out blank.

By the time it is my turn in line, BB is done fueling, also has a blank receipt and is saying something is wrong. We didn't know what yet, but told the person at the desk that they had issues with that pump.

What was wrong with the pump was that I had put in a half gallon, BB had put in 4-1/2 gallons and it was full ... in a 14 gallon tank and we had come in almost on fumes. My guess is the pump was slowly filling my tank as I waited for the staff to come out and look at it even though the pump wasn't running and the numbers weren't moving. So 5+ gallons of free fuel for us. But it did take us 15 minutes instead of 5.

One of the times in line I had been to talking to the transport driver. He was heading to Spokane. He had taken this trip instead of the one going to Sacramento because it kept him away from the weather on I-80. But he had already been shut down twice because of high winds ... and didn't know how he was getting out of Spokane because it is Spring Break and all prices are too high.

Fuel mileage has dropped from 26+ to 25+, part of the reason we couldn't make it to Brandon. Stiff cross wind.

Today we saw prairie dogs. Easy to spot today. It snowed just enough for a light coating on the ground ... where the prairie dogs have eaten all the vegetation. But where the grass was long we couldn't see the snow.

Today we saw a few more prong horn's. Yesterday we saw them in dozens of places, with dozens in most groups. We also saw ? mule deer ? with a couple of groups of prong horns. Bigger, darker, not like the ones we have in MN.

4th stop is Blue Earth for the rest area. BB had been watching the load board and doing the math. There are things that will work. And things we won't do because we will be staying home, in our home area.

At some point we realized that Easter is yet this month. No mention of it by any family yet but I'm guessing we'd hear about it if we were gone.

While we are at the rest area, I call on one of the trips that has been on the load board for a few days. 149 miles. I ask the dispatcher the pay and what I hear is 580 ... 125. He finally has to break the pricing down so I understand. He was saying $581.25. I was hearing the pause in the wrong place and it really did not make sense.

I ask if I can call back and he says he has not worked a Saturday in 26 years ... I take that as a 'no.'

When BB gets back from the restroom, I ask her how much that trip was going to pay ... $90? I told her what it was paying, and the breakdown and the why before she understood ... and then I called him right back and took the trip :)

So far today, other than breakfast, our day has pretty much been on fast track still. But now BB is hungry ... before 4 PM. So ...

5th stop is Shooterz for food. We both had the same meals we had last time we were here a couple of weeks ago.

While we are eating, my local dispatcher calls and asks if I would take a trash truck from NE to WA. Ahhhh ... 'no.' That is not close to where I am today, it is too far deadhead to get to it and I don't move trash trucks over 500 miles.

2nd question was if I could go to Ortonville with a trash truck next week. I committed without asking BB ... but the commitment is for SOMETIME next week. So now we have two trips lined up and it is still Friday.

6th stop was also in Forest City at the shipper to pick up our car. Not 5 PM and the office is closed? Didn't know that, I'll have to ask because we used to wait until almost 5 PM to call in for trips.

After I start our car, BB heads out and I drop off paperwork. And talk to one driver heading to MI (?) Didn't ask why he was leaving today. He could leave on Sunday and make a Monday delivery.

7th and final stop was the Comfort Inn in Albert Lea. It is minutes until dark. BB had wanted to get further but she also wanted to eat. So we are paying for one more hotel but we will get the car back before 9 AM tomorrow so we will save a day on the car.

Once at the hotel, I call the shipper for Monday's truck. I had also called and talked to them from the restaurant and they were to have called back. They did not. They still do not know anything but they do call back after a few more minutes. He can find the truck in his computer because it is 'their brand' but no record of it being at his shop.

As we continue to talk, he finally finds it based on a 3rd party who owns it. But the work order does not say it is complete so no truck on Monday.

... then he looks at the notes attached to the work order. 'Carrier has been called to pickup truck' ... so now I can come in to get it. I'm guessing it will still be an issue Monday AM, but at least I have some idea what is going on.

Load board

US - 161

IA - 3/2

MN -0-

WI - 2

Tomorrow, be to the airport before 9 AM then take two days off.