When Mom wakes up to an email that says ...

When Mom wakes up to an email that says ...            I HAD MY FIRST COLLISION!

It was an interesting Sunday morning in Japan and not my usual routine to call my son as other things to think about on this lovely day of the week.  However, I could not contain myself.  When I called and asked my very sensible and reliable son the standard cell phone question 'Where are you?' , the answer again threw me for another loop!  'In the hospital, in Edmonton.'  To my WHAT! this funny kids laughs and says ... just joking!

This tale starts at a little before 7:00 am in Edmonton, Alberta.  On Friday, the 25th, Tomo spent the day getting himself rested and ready to take off the next morning, Saturday the 26th of February for the Western Motor Freight Yard in Anaconda, Montana.  During the night of the 25th, Edmonton, Alberta had a change in the weather and the clear dry roads of the previous day were not slick with snow as the ground temperature was frigid and so snow on the top makes for nice slippery weather.  

The collision site at 7:00 am in morning

So our trusty young trucker prepared his truck to head south to the border and back to the company yard.  However just minutes after starting out, our young trucker is heading off one highway and planning to head on to another one, when a four door Dodge Stratus Sedan decides to take a spin right in front of a big RED 18 Wheeler.  The only saving grace here was that they were both on the off-ramp and Tomo's Big RED was down to 25 mph / 35 kph.  

First point of contact

Second point of contact and blown out back tire.....

It is its on the way to the junk yard now.

Where is Big Red's damage?
(Remember the bungee cords are from the North Dakota Foolish deer)
Give up???　Well, look close!

Just a little nudge on the bumper.

The outcome of this slippery collision was that the other driver lost control of the car due to road conditions and only an incident report was filed by the police and no one received a violation.  The Stratus Sedan driver was more than a little rattled when Tomo came to see if anyone was hurt.  This person was foolish enough to confide in Tomo that driving in snow as not something that the driver was accustom to, nor did they feel confident in doing so!!  Needless to say, Tomo was muttering 'Bonehead' over and over under his breath, but finally made his way down the road to Calgary, Alberta.  Looking out of his window he said 'Calgary was beautiful tho....

COLD!!!

Sorry for the confusion about PET Bottles.

PET Bottles (not to be confused with cats and dogs and such)

On Tomo's last blog, I wrote about his load being Pet Bottles.  Here is Japan this is a commonly used term for plastic bottles used for beverages and bottled water.  I was unaware that this term was only used in Japan.  Sorry for the confusion. JT 

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the most commonly used food grade packaging plastics, initiating the rapid adoption of PET as a material for beverage bottles.

A common collection of PET BOTTLES (not dogs or cats bottles)

Dropped the empty bottles ... on to pick up another load!

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In Billings, Montana Tomo experienced a long, long, long train that made for a bit traffic mess in the city.  It blocked traffic for 5 to 7 minutes and this is something that never happens in Japan.  If the train blocks traffic here for more than a minute or two, it is a big deal!! 

A long 5 to 7 minute wait for a train.

Tomo left Billings, Montana and made his way to Edmonton, Alberta with his light load of empty pet bottles. Tomo reached Edmonton, Alberta with the empty pet bottles early in the morning and dropped his load.  

Dropping his load of empty pet bottles in Edmonton, Alberta.

After that Tomo went over and picked up a load of wood chips from Edmonton and headed south to Calgary, Alberta.  The wood chips are actually bound for Iowa, but another driver was carrying a rushed load and he was out of driving time on his clock, so ... Tomo went and swapped trailers with this driver and drove back to Edmonton, Alberta with a load of miscellaneous groceries, from frozen to canned.  

Tomo is now at his destination waiting for the early morning grocery crew to come in to unload his truck.  After he drops his load of groceries, he will call into the boss to see what the next run will be.  Then Tomo will head to a local truck stop and have a lovely sleep for the next few hours !  (hopefully 10 hours! Sweet dreams! : D  )

On the Road again ... Almost ... Billings, Montana to Edmonton, Alberta

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Tomo is carrying empty pet bottles to be hauled up to Edmonton, Alberta.  A light load and good for good roads but weather seems to be coming in and may have snow tonight.  Hopefully the roads will be fine for the journey.   

Well, the truck made it out of the shop and now is in good form but ......  the trailer has a glitch. The left turn signal blinker works great as long as the other lights are not on!!  If the other lights are on.... it doesn't agree to shine!!  A bit of a 'show off' it seems. Something to do with the electrically system.   

Out of the shop and ready to hit the road .... but .....

They located the trouble but no time today to fix it, Tomo is spending another night at the Flying J truck stop in Billings.  Tomo like the Flying J stops as they have internet access and good facilities for showering and laundry as well as the shops for daily necessities.  

Notice: Tomo still has his bungee cords up front holding his bumper!

Chugwater to Douglas Wyoming ..... beautiful but phone connection is ?????

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North side of Chugwater, Wyoming 

Driving through Wyoming was beautiful blue skies and good clear roads, but the phone service connection is spotty at best!!  I guess you can't get everything.  

Approaching Douglas, Wyoming

Now settled into his truck in Billings, Montana and awaiting the next plans for repairs or another trip.  

The Next Run is .... to Montana for repairs!!

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Tomo had a two day of rest and relaxation in Windsor, Colorado with some lovely friends and their kids.  He headed back on the road up to Cheyenne, Wyoming to pick up a load of empty pet bottles.  This is a very light load.  These bottles are bound for Edmonton, Alberta but Tomo will pass it off to another driver as his truck is due in for some repair work in Billings.  He looks to be in the Billings area for at least a half day or more.  After clipping the unwise deer, some of the electrical components are not working so well.  The repair mechanic needs to put things back in place and check out some other points that have come up, like the 'jack brake'.  This important component has a mind of it's own and chooses the wrong time to work (going up hill) and the wrong time to take holiday (when going down hill)!!  Not a really helpful situation.  

More photos to follow as internet service comes available.  Maybe..... ; )

On the road to a secret venue!!! Going to visit my buddies!!

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At the last posting ....  February 15th .... Tomo was waiting for the word as to what he was suppose to do.  He had a load ready to go up to Calgary but was not able to move due to regulations. Probably another trailer swap for Tomo and he will be heading for ...... 

Well orders came in.  Tomo was told to head south to Shelby, Montana and spend the night there.  The next day (FEb 16th) he was to head to Lewistown, Montana to pick up a load of peat moss.  

Here is Tomo's trailer being cross loaded without scales in Lewistown, Montana

Outside of Billings, Montana

On Feb. 17th, Tomo left Billings, Montana and headed south.  He had a full DOT (Department of Transportation) inspection at the first scale in Wyoming on I-90.  This was taken care of real quick and the Tomo kept heading south. 

Middle of Wyoming

Driving Through Cheyenne, Wyoming

However, just before the first scale in Colorado, one of the airline blew out of the fittings and Tomo was forced to park at the scale for the night.  The following morning in Fort Collins, Colorado (Feb 18th) a guy came out and fix it. 

Dropping a load of peat moss in Platteville, Colorado

On Feb 18th, Tomo dropped this load of peat moss at the site in Platteville, Colorado. (This load was a real pain!  The weight was over and out of balance, and this was a nightmare to try to adjust the weights on the trailer's wheel base.) 

Nik's Basketball game at school (#82)

Then Tomo was released for the weekend to spend with his buddies in Windsor.Here is Tomo's buddy Nik playing in his basketball game in Windsor!!   

Tomo being silly with his buddies, Nik and Ellie

Not sure why Tomo is looking so....... 

The Windsor friends enjoyed having Tomo spend the weekend with them. Tomo made amazing soba noodles tonight and we also made a spinach recipe with peanut butter which we also devoured.  They were sure they were wearing him out -- and thought Tomo will appreciate the quiet of the truck!  We think it was a well needed break back into socializing!!  Glad he had a grand place to find some fellowship.  Thanks to all, Bjorn, Leanne, Ellie and Nik!!

A tank full of gas and then shut down at the scales..... what law ????

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AT the pumps!!

A full tank!!

Tomo made his drop in Calgary at 8 am on February 14th.  He then had a long overdue rest for the 10 hour off time.  Filling up his truck that was close to empty before heading south to Sweet Grass, Montana to swap a empty trailer for a new load bound for Calgary!  

The trip down went fine, and the swap was smooth, then Tomo crossed the border at Coutts, Alberta and at the scales, they stopped him for a log check.  The Border officer was very pleased at the clean and well detailed logs that Tomo had been keeping.  He even complemented him on his hard work and doing a good job of record keeping ...... but one thing is a problem..... the law in Canada states that a driver must take one (24hour period) day off every 14 straight driving days.  On the 14th, Tomo was fine, but as of the 15th, he was over the limit.  Sorry bud, you are shut down for 24 hours.  No fine, no penalty, no mark on your record, just sitting time and rest for 24 hours.  Only if he heads back to the States, where this is not the law, would he still be able to drive.  The problems is the load is bound for Calgary not for the States.  

At present.... Tomo is waiting for the word as to what is up and what is the plan from now.  Probably another trailer swap for Tomo and he will be heading for home base.  Just Mom's idea...... must wait for the Drive Manager's orders!!

When Big Red, the Truck meets indecisive DEER!

On a dark winter night, on a lone road in North Dakota, Tomo the trucker was cruising up to Canada.  The winter weather had warmed and awaken the confused wildlife.   Along side of the road, Tomo noticed several 'eternally resting deer'.

When up ahead he spots two lively deer.  He is doing 70 mph and hits the brakes. By the time he has slowed the truck down to 45-50 mph, the wise deer made for the fields but the foolish deer sprinted across the highway.  Unfortunatedly, that foolish decision resulted in the butchering of the deer and the bumper!

Torn away bumper.

The side view of the torn away bumper

A trucker's friend, the faithful bungee cord!!

The next question to ponder is what will the DOT officials at the next scales say about this set up at the next stop!  Hopefully, repairs will happen before that .... but who knows for sure. 

Update on the places Tomo has been recently......

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Point A on the map.

This is a photo on the road where Tomo began, it the outshirts of Edmonton, Alberta.

Point B on the map. 

 You may recall this intersection .... add a lot of snow and ice, plus a mammoth size tow truck, more like a Sherman Tank ..... This is famous Lloydminster, Alberta, where Tomo's truck broke down at the intersection.  

Between Point C and D on the map.

Tomo the driver expained that the photo above was taken between point C 'Near Garfield, Minnesota' and point D 'outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota' . Anyway nice roads and so nice driving conditions.  

Point E on the map near Waterloo, Iowa on hwy 18. 

Regina, Saskatchewan to Muscatine, Iowa.

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On Thursday, due to logistics of the trucking hours, Tomo drove from Regina, Alberta to Minot, North Dakota and parked for the remainder of the day.   At 12:01 am on Friday midnight,  Tomo hit the road and headed for Muscatine, Iowa.   Luckily for him, the roads were clear of snow and ice and the weather had calmed and no storms were experiences.  This made for good traveling and good time.  Two important points for any trucker.

It appears that most of the freight that his company is dealing with is headed fro Canada.  So from the distribution center of Muscatine, Iowa he will probably pick up a load and head back north across the border.  Since he was traveling by night, no photos available.  Hopefully more later.  

On the road again.....

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 The mishap with his 'air dryer' freezing up on him, on 'Super Bowl Sunday' turned out better than he was expecting.  Once wonderful mechanic was finally willing to forego the 'Big Game' and came out and bypassed the 'air drying' system and so Tomo was ready to go!  Either this mechanic didn't like football that much OR they made it worth his while ($$$)  to come out and fix the truck on a Sunday.  So, Tomo made it from Muscatine, Iowa to Edmonton, Alberta (A) with the furniture and unloaded. 

Then his next short adventure was to take his empty trailer down to the border at Sweet Grass, Montana (B) and swap trailers with another driver and bring the a load of furniture up to the University of Alberta in Edmonton (C) again.  

Once that load was dropped at the U of A, he headed over to Spruce Grove, Alberta (D) where he picked up a load of wood shavings to swap with another driver at Nisku, Alberta (E).  

From there Tomo headed back to Edmonton, Alberta and then on to Saskatoon, Sashatchewan and now is pulling into Regina, Saskatchewan for the night.  He is head back to Muscatine, Iowa which seems to be a distribution center for trucking transport.  

Some miscellaneous photos from Tomo. 

Chicken Corn Chowder cooked with his favorite gift,
the Trucker's Crockpot (thanks to the Helgaas').
Please notice the use of the oven cooking bag and the paper bowl to
aid in the quick clean up for the clever trucker!! (thanks, Larry P.)

In North Dakoto near the Canadian Border
crossing of Portal, along HWY 52.

A LONG drive through NORTH DAKOTA to Pilot Butte, Saskatchewan.

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On Saturday, Tomo had a long drive into the night to Pilot Butte, Saskatchewan, just east of Regina, Saskatchewan.  Tomo made contact with our friends, Loren & Sheila and their children in Pilot Butte, and was invited to join them for breakfast and then the Sunday morning meeting and a lovely lunch followed.  A special surprise was to meet Nathan, the middle son of the family Tomo home stayed with nine years ago.  Of course the young men have changed a bit from those days but it was fun to meet up in another province and amongst other like minded people.  And like usual, many were surprised that the young men knew each other, one being from Japan and the other from High Prairie, Alberta but really it is a small world.  

Then on Sunday afternoon, Tomo had all the great plans to hit the road after that lovely time and make his way to Edmonton for the delivery on Monday morning.  HOWEVER ... the truck decided to have a bad 'AIR' day!!  The truck has a part called the 'AIR DRYER' which dries the air from the air compressor.  However it failed and/or froze up.  Tomo spent longer than he wanted in his Mechanic Monkey suit under his truck doing all the tricks his Drive Managers was teaching him, but the only result was very, very, very cold fingers and toes!!  So being Sunday, mechanics are not so easy to find, but combine that with 'SUPER BOWL SUNDAY', well..... forget it!!  Tomo was going to have a little (break) down time until Monday when a mechanic and come out and fix the part.  It was a bit chilly in that part of the country.  Maybe there will be some photos coming .... in his situation right now he is without internet access so hard to get photos.  More later. 

More furniture from Muscatine, Iowa to Edmonton, Alberta

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Beautiful Morning in Bismarck, North Dakota on the way to Tomah, Wisconsin

Tomo spent the night in Bismarck, North Dakota and rose to a beautiful, big blue sky.  He loves this kind of weather.  From Bismarck, North Dakota it is about 598 miles and a full days drive, 9- 10 hours depending on the conditions.  Estimated time of arrival is 9 pm.  

Near Camp Douglas, Wisconsin

On the way to Tomah, Wisconsin  on MN I-94

After a full day of driving he stopped 35 miles short of his destination to refresh himself.  Had a lovely shower which made him feel much better, then headed down the road to Tomah, Wisconsin.  His load of grain sugar was to be unloaded at 6 am CST so needed to get to bed so he could get an early start.  


At 6:15 am CST his truck was being unloaded and then he would find a nearby truckstop to rest until the office opened and the Traffic Manager would call and tell him his next destination.  


At Muscatine, Iowa Tomo picked up another load of furniture to be hauled to Edmonton, Alberta via Portal, North Dakota, Regina, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Alberta and ending at Edmonton, Alberta.  


However, before he could pick up his trailer, he had to find it!!  One of their trailers was in repairs in Muscatine, Iowa and when Tomo went to pick up his trailer, the trailer they had waiting was not the right one!!  They argued that it was and Tomo spent time looking through the logs to find theirs, and finally going back over to the shop and looking in the repair yard, low and behold....there sits the trailer in question.  So hooking it up and taking it over to be loaded, finally got on the road rather later than he wanted.  (Sorry no photos as the camera man was bit grumpy!)  The worst word I heard was MORONS!!

Quick Snack time!  Good Stuff, num,num (yum,yum)

Heading to Albert Lea, Minnesota for the night.  That way Tomo can get an early Start in the morning with only 1.350 miles more to go to Edmonton, Alberta


Tomo is off in slumberland as I post.  Sweet dreams and safe roads ahead!  

From Snowy cold Saskatchewan to ...... Tomah, Wisconsin

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Well, Tomo made his drop in Regina, Saskatchewan and spent the few hours before the office opened up straightening up his cab.  

Walmart Shower curtain rod makes a great place to hang my stuff.

Walmart plastic drawers also help me to keep things from looking a mess!

 

This is my Top bunk nest! 

Best weather of the day and best road conditions around Medicine Hat, Alberta

Beautiful Day between Shelby and Sweet Grass, Montana!

Tomo is back on the road and it is 5 pm in Sidney, Montana picking up a load of grain sugar that he will transport to Tomah, Wisconsin.  With the winter weather situation in the Midwest, he is planning to go as far as he can (maybe Bismark, North Dakota) to be there on time by 6 am Friday morning.  With a heavy load, it is better than an empty trailer.  Update as he gets going.  

From Regina, SK to Tomah, WI is 1,039 miles /1,673 km.