Hello Cyberworld,
today I am going to reflect on a little adventure I went on last week, while making my 3 1/2 hr trip into the gold mine. It was Wednesday evening and I had just called in sick the night before and was still feeling pretty ill. this was the first time I can remember calling in in at least 7 years but I was wicked sick and am glad that I did.
As I was hooking up my assigned trailer and going over my paperwork and pretrip ritual, I remember glancing around in the terminal and noticing that it was unusually quite, almost eerie. with the fall colors in the trees and the northern lights being out almost every night lately it was odd that it was so black out.
As I rolled out on to the expressway it was still no traffic at all and the moose lights and HID's lit up the road signs their reflections were almost too bright. finally getting into the "big hole"
this freightliner purred like a kitten. I was 104400 Lbs about normal. I was still under the weather, a little feverish but felt totally in control and capable as I thought about the likelihood of moose in my path, which is common, so I settled in and focused intently on my task...
As I rolled out past Eilson AFB, it sinks down to 2 lane and gets dark, I suddenly had a feeling I wasn't alone and flashed back to a time in my youth when I ran team with my father, he always drove from noon till midnight, and I had the midnight till noon shift. often there were times when I would be driving for hours drinking 1/2 coke 1/2 coffee (tasted like crap but worked) and chewed corn-nuts to stay awake, and an oncoming car would approach and my dad's reflection would appear right behind my seat, and startle the daylights outta me!(it looked so ghostlike) he always had his hand on the top of my seat, and would just chuckle and lie back down after a smoke or two.
I began remembering the better than 1/2 million miles we spent together in that Kenworth T800. and all the sights and events we shared. like when the challenger blew up, or when the miners died in the small town in Oregon we had just delivered to the week before or taking a semi into the parking lots of knotts berry farm,universal studios and Disneyland.
I remembered all the huge T/A Truckstops, and the Husky's in Canada. west Edmonton truckland, the mall of America the list goes on and on.
We covered 49 states and all the provinces in Canada. (even Newfoundland) hauled rolled steel from upstate new york to Texas for coca cola, then hauled spaghetti pipe to the beach. (prudhoe bay) then deadhead 1600 miles to get cheap lumber loads out of BC to get back to the lower 48. I could go on for hours and not come close to the things we did together.
Next thing I know, I am calling in to security to gain access to the goodpasture river bridge wow what a quick trip! sure covered a lot of miles though! :)
Thanks for coming with me Dad, I still feel your hand on the back of my seat from time to time...

if anyone is planning on shopping at amazon, I have an affiliate link at my website JFFALASKA.COM please shop through my site, you get the same prices and I get a small fee for referring you from my website, and I sure could use some help, my farm is getting more productive all the time, it's just not quite paying for itself yet, and it's been a year in business this November! I just hope I can hold on that long...
thanks everyone, have a wonderful day! ~B~