And they're back

Friday, February 19:  Departure
As the truckers headed west, they encountered high winds in Minnesota.  They saw seven trucks tipped over on I35 from Austin, MN, to Des Moines, IA. After a stop for a fish dinner in Nebraska, John drove as far as North Platt, Nebraska, and they spent the night in the truck parked in a rest area.

Saturday, February 20
Kevin slept REALLY good in the truck, the best he has in months.  He told me we needed to buy a truck so he could sleep that well every night.  That's a pretty expensive bed!  John headed along I80 to I76, then to I70 into Colorado with John's brother's lodge as the destination.  Kevin was impressed by the mountains as they got into Colorado.  Because the road into the lodge is too narrow and winding for a semi, John's brother had to drive into Idaho Springs to pick them up.  Kevin was amazed by the awesome view. Inside, the cabin did not disappoint...beautiful! Jim spoiled them with a delicious multi-course dinner that evening.


Sunday, February 21
The truckers were back on their way early Sunday morning as John's brother had to have them down to the truck and then get back to the lodge to prepare breakfast for his guests.  Due to a rock slide the previous Monday, they had to take a detour.  This proved to be entertaining:  lots of narrow roads, steep snow-covered mountains, and wild life.  They were excited to see elk, long horned sheep, antelope and mule deer. Along the way they listened to the Daytona 500. The truck pulled into Vegas about 9:00 that night.  The accommodations took a bit of a downturn as they stayed at the Gold Strike in Las Vegas.  Rooms were just $25 a night so that should give you some idea. Kevin said it was old but nice and clean.  No big winnings at the quarter slot machines so they had to keep trucking the next day.

Monday, February 22
California here we come.  The highlight of Monday was the truck washing and polishing at Little Sisters Truck Wash in Barstow, CA.  Kevin was impressed by how nice of a job they did and how quickly it was completed.  It was there that they saw a casket on the step deck of the trailer which the driver used as his toolbox.  We're guessing not too many people got nosey and peeked inside. They also got a kick out of seeing a 1985 359 Peterbilt in awesome shape.

They spent the night in the truck at the truck stop in Ontario, CA.  Watching all of these truckers back into parking spots was quite entertaining...who needs TV.  Kev estimated there were 500 trucks in this lot which charged $20 a spot.  Kevin's professional driver backed into his spot with the assistance of his novice spotter with no issues. The two took a self-led walking tour of the lot to check out trucks.

Tuesday, February 23

This morning they got up before the sun (3:30am) to beat the traffic and get into Vernon, CA, just outside of Los Angeles, to unload their load of cranberries. It was big but Kevin didn't get to see a lot.  They just backed in and sat in the truck while the employees unloaded. From there they went down the road to Saputo Cheese to load mozzarella string cheese for Appleton.  Did anyone else note the irony of delivering fruit to California and returning with cheese for Wisconsin? The actual loading at Saputo was quick but they had to wait two hours for the paperwork before they could leave.

One thing John didn't want Kevin to miss was a burrito from the food truck. There turned out to be two burrito trucks in the Saputo cheese lot so they sampled one from each.

Then the blue 579 headed for home. Unfortunately, they hit Vegas at rush hour but made it to Utah to stay in a rest area that night.

Wednesday, February 24
They hit the road again bright and early but stopped at Little America Travel Center, in Wyoming, that afternoon for a shower and lunch. From there they headed along I80 to Nebraska. Once again, they camped out in a rest area for the night.

Thursday, February 25
When they got up the next morning and took off, they had engine problems. Although Kevin had taken his laptop and datalink connector along, it was not working for them.  So they stopped at a Volvo dealer to borrow a datalink connector.  They checked and cleared the fault codes and took off again. Two miles later the check and stop engine light came on again. They stopped at the Peterbilt dealership in Grand Island, Nebraska, but they couldn't get the truck in until Saturday.  That was no good since the load was supposed to be delivered Friday morning.  John borrowed their datalink connector so they could clear fault codes again. On the road again.  Bad news the light was on once more two miles later. John contacted the Kenworth dealership in York, Nebraska. The dealership could get them in that afternoon so they limped on over.

Mechanics confirmed that the truck had a bad unit pump and plugged DPF.  Although they got the pump fixed that night, they couldn't clean the DPF until the next day.  A hotel in York became their home for the night.

Friday, February 26
Because John wasn't going to make his load delivery on time, he called Tim Jacobs, who was picking up a broke down truck in Utah.  They thought maybe they could switch loads.  However, that bright idea didn't pan out.  Instead, John suggested Kevin return home with Tim so Kevin didn't miss the weekend time with the kids.

At 6:30 am Tim was outside the hotel room waiting to pick up his passenger.  They headed straight home and arrived around 5:00 pm. Pretty uneventful.  John managed to get back on the road around 4:30 pm and drove through the night.  He wished he would have had his co-pilot with him to keep him awake.

Overall, Kevin had a great time and felt well throughout the trip.  To him, the highlight was viewing the variety of scenery along the way.  To quote Kevin, "There are lots of neat things to see in this country."

		We are lucky to have such a tremendous friend in John Schaitel. Thank you for taking the time to do this for Kevin. He sincerely appreciates it and truly enjoyed his journey.
		For the Lord is the great God,  the great King above all gods.  In his hand are the depths of the earth,  and the mountain peaks belong to him. Psalm 95: 3-4