1 trash truck to Ortonville MN (delivered)

... spending the night at home

BB is better this AM, she has her usual for breakfast.

My drop is not a town I want to stay in, it has no way (public transportation) in our out but I do know people there that could help if really needed. And last night it looked like that could be a maybe.

BB is going to head out later, because she can drive faster. But she didn't re-do the math after we found out I could only go 55 instead of 65 so she catches up to me early.

Traffic isn't bad for a rush hour, everyone is going faster than I.

Once on US-12, there are mile posts so I know how far I have to go. Lots of time to look around. I've been through these towns but some of them I do not recognize, they've changed too much.

Almost exactly halfway there is a rest area. I stop to check my messages and to stand up. This is not a good ride. I had called on another trip out of Sioux Falls, but that would mean 1,000 miles in a trash truck over two days. I will have to call again to see what exactly what it is. There are a couple that are not quite as bad.

I do have a message when I stop. The office needs a signed copy of my last trip. The refused one. So I called and told them it says 'refused,' companies don't like signing for things they refuse.

15 minutes later, they and I have talked to enough people that I will get paid. And them BB calls. She saw a trash truck out of the corner of her eye and wondered if I was stopped at the rest area. I was. So now she is right behind me ... for now.

This is farming country. Some of these farm equipment dealers have a dozen tractors or implements of one kind where the ones near me have 1 of each kind. And one dealer looks like he's a 'consignment dealer' for new equipment. Any off brand that wants can park equipment and he'll sell it. He does not have a sign that says all the brands he sells, other than the two types of tractors.

I get another call from BB. We do not call each other when we are driving so something is up. My first thought is she has gotten really ill.

Nope. "Where are you? Are you still on US-12?" I think so, last sign I saw said 41 miles to the town I am heading to. She is not. I lost her at a stop light in the last town and then she missed the second turn. But she knows how to use GPS.

... and as soon as I am moving again, I do see a US-12 sign.

I had thought I would have plenty of fuel at 55 mph but now it is dropping. I think I need to leave 1/8th of a tank but want to make sure. And there is a Casey's a block before my drop so I pull in and look at my paperwork. I need to leave a 1/4 so I will need to add some. I add 10 gallons and it comes up to a 1/2 a tank. Oh well, with this shipper I get paid back for all fuel.

Across the street I am at the drop. One guy trying to jump start a company pickup. He knows nothing, someone will be along shortly who knows more than he.

So I catch the next guy who comes to the lot. He calls his boss (the first guy didn't offer to do even that)

At first he thinks he will be refusing it, it belongs in another town a couple hours away. But he needs to wait for a call back.

The call comes in, this guy will look it over and sign.

By now the Sioux Falls truck is gone so that is not an option. The two trucks to ND are gone from MN so that's not an option either. Nothing. We are heading home.

I had thought we'd have about 3 hours to kill on the way home but little things take time.

We grab a Subway from Ortonville a few blocks from the drop. It was that or DQ or Casey's. Nothing looked good at Casey's, we'd stopped to use the restroom. And DQ was closed for the winter. So Subway.

Even the Holiday gas station had closed. And it looked like the feed mill was about to be taken down. Not much left. Didn't think about it or we would have driven the last half mile or few blocks to SD.

Oh ... BB had gotten to the drop before they were done with my paperwork, so no time lost there. She just got to see a few sights I did not.

We will be taking US-12 all the way back to the cities. Half way we stop at the rest area.

It is also a county park. Meeker County. The Darwin Dassel County Park. It is almost 70 degrees today and we have time so we take a hike.

With or without that stop we were going to hit rush hour. So we take a whole lot of back roads and find food.

Sweet Taste of Italy. Good food. Best we have found so far in MN.

Still no work, so we may be off tomorrow ...

Load board

US - 141

IA - 1/0

MN - 1

WI - 2