Sigh...
Spent virtually all day the 7th sitting in Reno, NV because the mountain stretch called "Donners Pass" near the California/Nevada border on I-80 was either closed or requiring chains. California requires 8 tires to be chained on the big rigs: all 4 front-axle drive tires, the 2 outside second-axle drives, and any outside tire of the trailer on each side. Sean got to the mountain around 11 pm on the 6th and got one chain (actually we were putting the cables on) on before we decided to give up. Came back to Reno, magically found a spot at the TA Truck Stop, slept, gambled inside, ate, slept more, played some Mario Party on our DSes. Then left around 4 pm local to Sacramento, after the chain law was lifted.
Now we're stranded in Amarillo, TX. Trying to get from Los Angeles to Camp Hill, PA (very near Harrisburg) About 30 miles west of here some trucks decided to play a game of swerve and roll over onto the shoulders (one went for gold and wrapped himself around a bridge). Admittedly, it might not have TOTALLY been their fault. The road was salted and FINE up until that point and then it was suddenly OMGICE. Even on the CB, all of us east-bounders were basically saying "What happened? It isn't even slick, is it?" Then you get to the accident and it's a whole 'nother story. It was largely UPS trucks (technically hauling Overnite branded pup trailers) so there were packages all over the medians and shoulders. I don't believe anyone was hurt and no cars were involved that I could see, just trucks that felt like lying down. Heh. But anyway, once I got past there, it was a skating rink until the Amarillo city limits. I drove 35 mph only because we are about 3k lbs away from the limit, so I was pretty safe from jack-kniving, barring any sudden episodes with the steering wheel. So here I am, parked at a Pilot (with McD's! [sarcasm]) where I pulled out my laptop to check on the weather. Go here: http://www.weather.com/newscenter/stormwatch/?from=wxcenter_news That link might be time-sensitive and not last very long if you're tuning in later, so I'll quote the very last line of it to you: "Any of the locations under ice storm warnings or freezing rain advisories can expect additional problems, but some of the more dangerous conditions--treacherous roads and fallen power lines--may prevail from Oklahoma City to St. Louis." Considering that's THE EXACT ROUTE Sean is looking at tonight, I'd say it's safe to say we're shuttin' 'er down fer the night. Sorry, I slipped into some trucker tongue there for a second. Anyway, I don't think we'll be making our delivery time of 11 pm on Monday. And this one might even keep us stranded until Tuesday or so, as weather.com mentions conditions probably won't improve very quickly as the forecasted temperature for the next few days has ZERO intentions on helping anyone melt any of this crap. POOPY. We only have a few days or weeks left (haven't COMPLETELY decided on quit date yet) and we have to sit and make no no no no no money. We wanted to atleast go out with a bang and make some cold hard cash, but I guess Christmas does NOT come early for these two truckers.
Heath, where's your dad? Anywhere where he can keep moving?
Now we're stranded in Amarillo, TX. Trying to get from Los Angeles to Camp Hill, PA (very near Harrisburg) About 30 miles west of here some trucks decided to play a game of swerve and roll over onto the shoulders (one went for gold and wrapped himself around a bridge). Admittedly, it might not have TOTALLY been their fault. The road was salted and FINE up until that point and then it was suddenly OMGICE. Even on the CB, all of us east-bounders were basically saying "What happened? It isn't even slick, is it?" Then you get to the accident and it's a whole 'nother story. It was largely UPS trucks (technically hauling Overnite branded pup trailers) so there were packages all over the medians and shoulders. I don't believe anyone was hurt and no cars were involved that I could see, just trucks that felt like lying down. Heh. But anyway, once I got past there, it was a skating rink until the Amarillo city limits. I drove 35 mph only because we are about 3k lbs away from the limit, so I was pretty safe from jack-kniving, barring any sudden episodes with the steering wheel. So here I am, parked at a Pilot (with McD's! [sarcasm]) where I pulled out my laptop to check on the weather. Go here: http://www.weather.com/newscenter/stormwatch/?from=wxcenter_news That link might be time-sensitive and not last very long if you're tuning in later, so I'll quote the very last line of it to you: "Any of the locations under ice storm warnings or freezing rain advisories can expect additional problems, but some of the more dangerous conditions--treacherous roads and fallen power lines--may prevail from Oklahoma City to St. Louis." Considering that's THE EXACT ROUTE Sean is looking at tonight, I'd say it's safe to say we're shuttin' 'er down fer the night. Sorry, I slipped into some trucker tongue there for a second. Anyway, I don't think we'll be making our delivery time of 11 pm on Monday. And this one might even keep us stranded until Tuesday or so, as weather.com mentions conditions probably won't improve very quickly as the forecasted temperature for the next few days has ZERO intentions on helping anyone melt any of this crap. POOPY. We only have a few days or weeks left (haven't COMPLETELY decided on quit date yet) and we have to sit and make no no no no no money. We wanted to atleast go out with a bang and make some cold hard cash, but I guess Christmas does NOT come early for these two truckers.
Heath, where's your dad? Anywhere where he can keep moving?