As I shared in the last post, we accepted a load that left on Saturday and dropped off Monday. This load was doubly exciting for us, first we found out that we were going to California, a state neither of has ever been to and the other was that we were carrying electronics which was something different for us. Other drivers who have been in the business for a while probably would share that they have hauled electronics quite a bit, but this was the first for us. Since we are both techies (Jim more than me), we were interested in where we were picking up and where we were delivering to. It was also interesting that we would have 7 pallets that only weighed a little over 1200 lbs.
When we arrived at the pickup, we noticed that there was a FedEx Custom Critical straight truck at one of the docks and also a tractor and trailer. As we went in to pick up our load we noticed that there was another tractor and trailor in one of the other docks. As we talked to the drivers, it looked like we were all heading to California. We thought that this was unusual to be somewhere with so many FedEx CC trucks and then to have us all going to the same place. Another odd thing we found out was that one of the tractors was going to be carrying, 25 pallets, the straight truck ahead of us was just carrying one pallet, we were carrying 7 and we're not sure what the other one was going to be carrying since he was still waiting on his load. The load we had was originally for 1 pm and had been moved to 5 pm. We, as usual were early and they let us into the dock. We had just found out from another driver that the other straight truck had just loaded his own truck since he had only one pallet. After talking to the person who was in charge of the shipment, Jim and I decided that we would load our own, mainly because there was only one person loading and it looked like she was going to have to load the two trailors by herself. She really appreciated our willingness to help and went to load the other trailer. Each pallet she had to load was done with a pallet jack which takes a lot more physical effort than a forklift mainly because of pushing it on to the truck, the pallets were light but still took some effort to get them on the truck. This load was secured a little differently than our loads of heavy automotive parts. The pallets were each loaded a little differently, some had one big box with one small box on top, others had one big box with a few small boxes on top. The pallets fit pretty nicely into the truck and we wound up securing them with load bars in front of and behind the six pallets and then another load bar in front of the one that stood alone. We used longer straps to keep the boxes from moving side to side and used a couple of straps to secure the loner box. We also used corner protectors to protect the boxes. High school physics is very helpful when deciding where to put straps so that the load is secured, very scientific. We were travelling a long way and wanted to make sure the contents arrived safely. We had her sign our paper work and she again shared her appreciation of our willingness to help. We pulled out of the dock area and started to make our departure call when Jim asked me, didn't they have a bill of lading. I told him that she didn't give me any paperwork, so he decided to go in and ask her. Since she was so busy, it took forever and what she did was just print off emails. Something us newbies learned, after our departure call was that some of our customers may not have Bills of Lading to give us and as long as they sign our paperwork that says where it is going and what is on the load, then we are good to go. Although what I learned was to at least ask, just in case they forget to give us what they have. Some drivers who are more seasoned could probably tell us if there is a way to know whether they will give us paperwork or not. After our departure call we headed for California.
Jim started off driving and headed across I-10 in Texas. First thing we notice is the drop in traffic. The traffic wasn't near as much as we had on I-35 which was nice. The scenary changed quite a bit as we travelled through Texas, although it was difficult to see since much of the driving was done at night. I had decided the night before to go to bed early and get up early so I would be ready to sleep at 6 pm so I could be ready to drive. Well the night before I succeeded in getting up early even though I didn't have to drive. I even succeeded at laying down at 6 pm the night I was supposed to drive but for some reason, I woke up every hour on the hour, so I wasn't ready to drive when it was my turn. When it was my turn to drive, we decided that we had some time built in for the run and that we could stop for a few hours and rest. That was just what I needed. I was able to start driving about 5 am and was refreshed from the sleep. I began driving about an hour from New Mexico.
I stopped just inside New Mexico at the welcome center. The sun was just starting to rise and by the time I was ready to leave it was just coming up over the horizon. Jim had woke up so I told him he had to get out and see the great sunrise. We both took pictures. City on one side, mountains on the other. Gorgeous! I also pointed out the warning sign to Jim that said Beware snakes. We were pretty fortunate that we didn't see any. We both think that it would really be neat to see one but of course from a very far distance. I will post a few pictures of the view we had along with some more of the rest of our trip.
I didn't expect to see an inspection station in New Mexico, but not to far down the road from the rest area, there was an inpsection station. Now in some states there are inspection stations that are for trucks, so I that was what I was expecting and also expecting it to be closed, as many of them are. That wasn't the case. The road was blocked off by construction barriers and everyone had to exit. It turns out that it must have been border related. There were cameras and a dog. Although for some reason I think that the dog was more interested in going across the road to the other guards. He did his sniffing but then wanted to go to the guard station. There must have been some really great snacks in there. We were waved on and didn't have to stop although we did have to go through the station. Lesson, you never know what you might run into on the road.
Jim and I have found it much easier to stop at rest areas on the road, especially because it takes less time and if we have time it gives us a place to walk or just hang out away from the truck. We really enjoy stopping at the Welcome Centers just inside most state lines. They generally provide information about the state and places of interest.
The rest of the trip to California was pretty uneventful. The sites were different and I was hoping that we would get to see the ocean but we wound up pre-dsipatched on another short load. As we were travelling we were able to see San Fransico Bay and the ships that have been put out to pasture sort of speak. Our short load was a secure load and was about 200 pounds in a container that was on a four wheel dolly type thing. When we delivered it the person who was there said that this particular item travels a lot. In these cases we enjoy trying to figure out what is inside since we aren't supposed to know. All they tell us is electronics and that it is confidential, so we'll never know but we love making up stories.
Our next load would take us out of California. I'll talk more about that in the next post. This last week was an extremely busy driving week and we enjoyed all the wonderful views and the great people we met along the way. God gives us what we need just when we need it. Sunrises and sunsets are two of His most precious gifts to us and especially those who are up and moving during those hours.
Peace and God's blessings,
Judy
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