Fish Feed to Alfalfa!! Interesting adventures! : D

On September 23, Tomo picked up a load of fish feed that was bound for the Bow Habitat Fish Hatchery in Calgary.  He arrived very early in the morning before light, and the road leading in was so narrow, he was afraid he was in the wrong place.  He parked for while in a nearby parking lot and waited for the hatchery to open, so he could check if this was the correct site. 

Load of fish feed

fish feed

Bow Habitat Fish Hatchery

As they were unloading the feed, he asked the man in charge, what they were doing at this site.  The man offered to give Tomo a tour of the facilities.  A new experience for this Japanese young man who loves raw fish (as in sushi!!)

Hatching stage

A couple days since these hatched out. 

Couple of weeks old

The kinds of fish they raise there. 

Unloading the fish feed.

loading dock area.

On September 23, after getting the load off in Calgary Tomo was sent out to Oyen AB to pick up a load of alfalfa hay bound for Coolidge, Kansas.

loading up the alfalfa

Alfalfa Stacks

loading up.

Full load!

This is a nice little pond, that resulted from all
the flooding they had this past month.  This is really a farming field!

These pictures are on Hwy 39 between Weyburn and Regina SK. This stretch of road was closed for a while because of the water but Tomo hasn't been over here for the longest time so not sure when it opened up. That's all suppose to be farm fields where you see all the water there.

If this water doesn't go away soon, it will be come a great ice pond.

On September 24th, Tomo took this alfalfa load down to Bismarck, North Dakota and swapped loads with another driver. His new load was bound for Allan, Saskatchewan and Colonsay, Saskatchewan and a potash mine.  He delivered this load of fiberglass insulation panels. Unfortunately he has no pictures of that load.

On September 25th, Tomo spent the morning working on paper work at the border and finally got through around 12 noon. 

On the way up to Allan and Colonsay, Tomo stopped by in Saskatoon.  It is only about 45 min away and he decided to visit friends there for the night. Tomo was able to attend the Sunday night Gospel meeting in Saskatoon and got to see some familiar faces again. He got to see his home stay brother, Nathan there too. After the meeting,  Nathan and his girlfriend, Jenna plus another young couple and Mark and another fellow and Tomo went out to have a meal/visit and that was fun.

September 26th, Tomo dropped the load at the mines.  After that he was sent to Belle Plaine SK to pick up another load of Alfalfa hay and this is going to Lyons KS. He arrived at the location of to pick up the alfalfa but it was getting dark and it was out in the middle of no where!!  The address Tomo was given seemed to be wrong and he ended up at the end of a rough dirt road that came to a dead end.  Just as he was going to try to figure out what to do next, a truck pulled along side and asked him if he was lost.  Tomo explained that he had a load of alfalfa and the address appeared to be wrong.  He was looking for a certain man, and gave the name, and by golly!!!  It was the name of the man driving the truck.  Tomo said that he would come back in the morning for the load, but the man said, they could load it in the dark if he wanted.  Tomo was surprised but very happy.  

It turns out that Tomo was picking up a load of alfalfa from a Hutterite Colony in Saskatchewan.  

He is currently in Fargo for the night and waiting for the plans for tomorrow. Probably another swap and back up to Canada!!

Comforts of HOME in the TRUCK!!

When Tomo tags along with a friend to Walmart and finds another necessity for a comfortable life...... This is what you get!!  

The NEW SET UP!!

In the top photo you will notice...... the NEW MICROWAVE!!!  Tomo decided he needed to have a fast was to heat up his gourmet meals and with the newly installed inverter...... well, here it is.  From top to bottom ...  the shelf with two large boxes of corn flakes and a middle container of some other cereal!  Then the newly purchased Microwave oven with very useful bungee cords to keep things from moving about. (A trucker without a bungee cord would be.... questionable!) 

Then you will find his refrigerator that is perched on top of the newly purchased microwave box.  To the left of the frig is Tomo's bunk with his brown quilt and futon.  To the right is the driver's seat of his truck.  

Here is a photo of the beginnings of a great chicken curry made in a rice cooker in Great Falls, Montana.  

Here is the end product of the Chicken Curry!!  Nice to have a home made meal, away from home.  

Food, Glorious Food!! Inverter is finally installed!

On Thursday, Tomo crossed the Canadian border at 7 am at Coutts, Alberta.  He headed to Shelby, Montana and left for the yard and arrived at 3 pm.  On Friday his truck was in the shop being worked on and so he was able to do a bit of personal business and errands.  Tomo did a short haul of talc from Three Forks,  Montana to the yard.  

After his truck was set up with his inverter, he finally got to use his rice cooker.  A happy, happy Trucker!  He made some curry and rice for his dinner and has been cooking nicely since.   

First time for cooking rice in the truck couple days ago.

The day I cooked rice, did curry the same day too. 

On Saturday, around noon, Tomo took off with a load for Grand Prairie, Alberta.  He had a full load of lime hydrate.  Tomo and his younger brother had a home stay about 10 years ago in High Prairie, Alberta with some friends there.  The boys flew into Grand Prairie Airport and so it was interesting for him to travel these roads again.  Along the way he saw a black bear lumbering across the road.  

Grand Prairie Airport

You know your are in the far north when you see this kind of sign. 

What Tomo calls Redneck style bird hunting!

After Grand Prairie drop, Tomo headed down to Seba Beach, AB  and picked up a load of peat moss.  This peat moss was heading for Columbus Montana, and then Billings, Montana.  It is for a residential care facility for the mental disability.  They use it in their greenhouses.  Along the way he was able to stop and have a Wednesday night meeting with a family in Melville, Montana.

Unloading the peat moss in Columbus MT.

Unloading the peat moss in Columbus MT. 

Saturday Lunch!! To all the moms out there, for a truckers meal doesn't it look good? 

Tomo then headed too Colony , Wyoming (a small little spot in the road that clips the NW corner of Wyoming, then on to Mitchell, South Dakota.  He hauled a load of kitty litter that was bound for Illinois and swapped out with a driver in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  That load came out of Muscatine, Iowa. That load will be dropped off in Lethbridge and Edmonton, Alberta. Another load of  furniture and office supply.  

Montana to Alberta to Montana again!!

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Tomo headed out of Shelby, Montana to Edmonton, Alberta with a load of office furniture for Staples

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Then he headed up to Vilna, Alberta to pick up a load of peat moss.  He was finally able to get out of there at 3 pm on Wednesday.  He headed to Leduc, Alberta and met up with some friends for dinner and Wednesday night meeting. 

With a little mix up with the meeting place, since it rotates between two locations. As it turned out some of the friends were in house A waiting for everyone, and others were in house B waiting for everyone.  So when the appointed time came..... a phone call was made and the mix up was cleared up.  All those in house B got in their cars and went over to house A and had a wonderful meeting, albeit a little later than usual.  

peat moss

After that special time, Tomo headed down to Shelby, Montana.  




A few photos from the first week back:

Night time repairs for the Leve 1 Inspection in Coutts, Alberta

A Crash site and what happens when a semi roll....
it was pulling hazardous materials.  (hopefully not fatal!)

Sushi in Idaho Falls, Idaho with my friend Brendan!

Got a little R&R and exercise with Brendan
but boy was this a narrow alley!

Back on the Road again!!

After a few delays, Tomo finally made it back to Washington for some R&R and conventions!!  That was just the right thing at the right time for our Traveling Trucker Tomo.  

Tomo was originally suppose to be finished with his delivery and on his way back to Washington on the 11th of August and was hoping to pull into Milltown in time for the evening meeting....but plans changed, few truckers quit or were fired, loads were needed to be delivered that were already late and ..... Trucker Tomo being the nice kid he is, didn't say tough luck but said okay!  After going to Buffalo, Wyoming, then on to Edmonton, Alberta, back down to the border but missing paperwork, shut him down again.  He finally made it back to the yard late Saturday night.  He changed into his own car and headed back to Washington.   Tomo walked into the last meeting at Milltown on Sunday to see a young friend standing up and making the best choice in his whole life!!   As Tomo said, it was worth the fast drive across the State!!  

With all the mess up with his scheduled time off, he was now able to have 3 extra days back in Washington.  Actual vacation started on Sunday the 14th of August and he was on holiday till Monday the 29th of August.  

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On Monday the 29th, Tomo picked up a load of soda ash and headed up to Onoway, Alberta.  Then headed up back to Edmonton, Alberta to pick up a load of wood chips that are bound for Nebraska.  

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On Tuesday, the 30th. Just after fueling up in Calgary and heading out of the truck stop, Tomo was nearly T-Boned by a car that had run a red light doing 35 to 40 mph.  Apparently SHE didn't even see the red light nor the 2 semi trailer trucks pulling out into the intersection...... Of course it had to be an ASIAN female driver and a teenager to boot!!  He was so ready to stop his truck and give her a talking too.  What a nut job...

Tomo received his paper work for the border crossing in Calgary and headed south to the border, arriving at 22:45 and got sent back into Canada due to a paperwork issues.  He shut down for the night, then in the morning having it straightened out, headed for Shelby, Montana.  

On Wednesday, 31st, at Shelby, Montana, Tomo swapped trailers with another driver anyway.  He was running short on hours anyway so.... no big deal.  On Wednesday he took a load up to Edmonton, Alberta and was able to get to Leduc, Alberta for the Wednesday night meeting with Ryan.  On Thursday, he dropped his load and then went to Seba Beach, Alberta to pick up a load of peat moss.  He met his friend Andrew from Saskatoon for lunch and then headed south to Billings, Montana.    

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On Friday, Tomo headed back to the yard and picked up an empty trailer and headed to Salt Lake City, Utah.  He picked up his load and then on Saturday morning early, he headed back up north.  This load was from Salt Lake City, Utah to Calgary, Alberta.  It is a load of dry goods/groceries.  He made a dinner stop in Idaho Falls, Idaho with Brennan.  The yard called and they wanted Tomo to make a fast delivery up to Calgary but .... a Level 1 check at the border (Coutes, Alberta) revealed a cracked rim on his truck and a flat tire on the trailer..... so now Tomo is enjoying some much needed ZZZZ's as he must wait at the border until someone can come out and fix the flat and replace the rim.  It is LABOR DAY WEEKEND and seems like no one is laboring in the area!!  

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Probably won't be fixed until Tuesday, but that is the way it goes!!!  

Miscellaneous photos!! The Traveling Trucker Does stay clean!!

Truck Stop Showering facilities