Trucker Tomo made it back to the yard in Anaconda, Montana. His last few days up in the Northern Country of Canada were a bit trying. He rolled into Edmonton, Alberta late one night with dry cold roads. After dropping off the empty plastic bottles, he picked up a load of wood chips bound for Iowa, but he ended up switching loads with a guy in Calgary. This driver was short on hours and the groceries needed to be up in Edmonton by the next morning. This had been a long 48 hours, so Tomo took the full day to get his body and head rested.
On Sunday night he headed north and found that the cold Canadian North Wind was bringing a storm down that was more than cold, it was frigid. On the way up to Edmonton, Tomo had wished he had shield for his radiator on his truck. The wind was so cold that the radiator was being cooled so well, that very little heat was coming into his truck. This time going back up to Edmonton, he saw so many cars and a few tractor trailers in the ditch that he was wondering what was going on.
On the way back up to Edmonton, the temperature continued to drop and Tomo was feeling the cold. After dropping his load, again he headed south, all the while wishing for warmer weather. His truck was not doing well in the heat department. The floor boards got so cold that his water bottle that was sitting on the floor froze up. At Red Deer, Alberta between Edmonton and Calgary, he stopped and put on all the clothes he had in his truck. It was the original plan to make it back to Anaconda, Montana, but ... when his heater fan stopped working and the temperature in the truck kept dropping (outside temps were between -26 to -30), he finally stopped in Calgary.
 |
| Site of the snowy incident two days later! The next morning, Saturday, he woke to a snow storm. It was this suddenly snowy morning that he met with the spinning car incident. Once cleared of that Tomo headed for Home Base in Anaconda, Montana. Tomo made it to Anaconda with no troubles and there he picked up a load of furniture bound for Edmonton, Alberta. Along the way, he was able to stop in Great Falls, Montana and have Sunday morning meeting and Gospel meeting. He met up with Larry P. by chance in the same meeting. |
On Sunday night he headed north and found that the cold Canadian North Wind was bringing a storm down that was more than cold, it was frigid. On the way up to Edmonton, Tomo had wished he had shield for his radiator on his truck. The wind was so cold that the radiator was being cooled so well, that very little heat was coming into his truck. This time going back up to Edmonton, he saw so many cars and a few tractor trailers in the ditch that he was wondering what was going on.
On the way back up to Edmonton, the temperature continued to drop and Tomo was feeling the cold. After dropping his load, again he headed south, all the while wishing for warmer weather. His truck was not doing well in the heat department. The floor boards got so cold that his water bottle that was sitting on the floor froze up. At Red Deer, Alberta between Edmonton and Calgary, he stopped and put on all the clothes he had in his truck. It was the original plan to make it back to Anaconda, Montana, but ... when his heater fan stopped working and the temperature in the truck kept dropping (outside temps were between -26 to -30), he finally stopped in Calgary.
At this point, he felt like a popsicle! He sat in Denny's and had a meal and tried to thaw out. Finally getting warm again, he went out to his truck and with all his layer after layer of clothing that he had in his truck, plus his ski mask and hoods, Tomo climbed into his bunk and hunkered down for the night. In the morning he called his boss and told him what happened, to which the boss said 'Why didn't you wake me, we could have gotten you a room for the night!' (In the past when Tomo has called the Boss in the middle of the night, he has been less than coherent... so Tomo waited till morning.) Well, the Boss sent him over to the mechanics and they replaced the fan heater and filters and finally he was ready to go.
With his truck ready and his heater going, Tomo headed back to the Home Base in Anaconda, Montana. In Anaconda, he picked up his package (a voltage transformer) that was waiting for him and is looking forward to having it install in his truck. Then he will be able to use his rice cooker.
The Drive Manager gave Tomo his next route to the south. From Wednesday, March 2nd around noon, Tomo heard that he will be hauling a load to Bentonville, Arkansas. Then he will go a little farther down the road to Fort Smith, Arkansas and head north again. Whether he will be hauling this second load all the way or not ... we don't know for sure but it is bound for Fort McMurray, Alberta.
View Larger Map
Just spoke with Tomo a few minutes ago and he is headed to St. Joseph, Missouri tonight if all goes well. The roads are nice and clear, there is snow along the sides but little by little the traveling is getting better. He is looking forward to warmer weather but ..... Arkansas has had some strangely cold weather this year too.
 |
| Just outside of Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
When you look at a navigator it can tell you many lovely things. Glad he has one, but wonder if it has a radar detection application?? Not sure what the speed limit is in Iowa or Missouri but ...
 |
| The things that a Navigator can tell you... |
 |
| Council Bluffs, Iowa on the way to Peculiar, Missouri where Tomo spends the night before heading to Bentonville, Arkansas. |
No comments:
Post a Comment