Survived

*sigh of relief*

Well I'm glad that's over!

I made my way from the rest area on I-29 south to I-90 and eastward to I-35 and up and over to I-94 to Eau Claire without a single incident... or near incident. I took my time, kept my eyes on the road, my mind on the task and my hands on the wheel. Thankfully the worst of the wintry weather went north. My decision to go south was probably my only saving grace. And that's okay with me.

I like it when I make good judgement calls.

So I delivered my load in Eau Claire then was told to head east to pick up my next load in the Stevens Point area. So on the road I go...and go....and go. And then I realize I went too far... and had bypassed the turn I needed to make by about 5 miles. Go figure! So I pulled off the highway to give a look at the atlas and then call the facility for directions from the "other" side of town. As I dialed the number on my cell, my Qualcomm beeped. Annoyed, but curious I checked it as I listed to the menu prompts on the phone line.

It didn't take long for me to hang up with the directions hot line and dial the company hot line for answers. You see, the message that came over the Qualcomm was that I had been removed from the load I was lost trying to find. I guess I should also back up a little and say that I'd sent a message before I left Eau Claire stating that I might be late for the delivery of the load I was to be picking up in the Stevens Pt. area because I was going to be nearly if not totally out of hours by the time I got loaded. It was a short haul of only about 25 miles, to a drop yard where it would sit and wait for another driver to take it west. But I didn't think I'd have the time to make it there the same night.

I had received a message back before leaving Eau Claire stating that it would be okay to drop it in the morning. No biggie. So I hit the road.

While en route to Stevens Pt. I started receiving a second load assignment, which I'd expected since my dispatcher told me earlier in the day that he was going to preload me with a couple of short hauls to get me into a more load-rich environment.

So while on the phone getting directions, and I got the work assignment change macro , I assumed that they were mistaken on the load number and that I was being taken off the second load, that was to pick up the next morning. So I called the company to verify.

Indeed, it was the load I was lost for that was being cancelled. So I was free to do whatever I wanted until morning. I found the closest truck stop and shut down for the night.

A long, cold night of insane winds that rocked me to sleep and then cut through the full blast heat that was going inside my cab. I had to idle because the temps were going to be really really low throughout the night. Plus I know my dearest Trucky hates cold weather as much as I do, and that he'd have been reluctant to start and get motivated in the morning if I didn't idle him. Somewhere around 2 am I woke up freezing and cursing because I thought that my heat had gone out. But when I sat up and held my hand near the bunk vent, it was plenty hot.... same when I got out of my cozy lair and checked the vents in the front.

Then I checked the outside temp... it was registering at 33 on my dash. Hmm... baffled I cracked the window a bit to see what reality was like.... and it was damn cold. The wind was blowing steady at what was probably about 20 mph and gusting much higher... but the air was surely wellllll below 33. I'd venture to guess it more like 33 below with the wind chill factor. It might not have been that extreme, but it sure felt like it. I was just mystified that my heaters going full blast couldn't stave off the intense chill of central Wisconsin.

I dozed in and out of sleep until my alarm went off at 5am. I finally forced myself out and up and got dressed, gathered my shower kit and headed in to wash the previous couple of days away. After the shower, I then had to put in a little fuel and then hit the road.

Fueling would prove to be the most painful act of the day. The wind was blistering and damn these northern states and their fuel pumps that don't have the little "click and stick" action that allows you to keep your hands in your pockets while you pump. My 10 digits went numb as I fueled despite my hearty gloves. I was freezing by the time I was done and in quite a lot of pain on my face and both of my hands. I thawed out about 20 minutes up the road, but damn that sucked.

The shipper I was picking up from was in Minocqua, WI straight up US-51 in the northern reaches of the state. The highway was 4 lane and pretty clear most of the way. The hairy situation came when it filed down to the two lane and it was like stepping off the edge of the spring right back into winter. While there had been traces of snow here and there along the way on the 4 lane, it was still quite springlike compared the mess that awaited on the 2 lane.

Snow and ice pack as far as the eye could see. I saw a couple of plows but it seemed they weren't going any real good. But I just took my time, repeated my safety mantra of "what to do if's" in my mind. I found the place just fine and was in and being loaded right away. In and out in about an hour is just my kind of live loading!

I was on my way to Green Bay for more fuel and to take care of some paperwork at our terminal there and then south to Menasha where I would deliver the load. The roads leaving Manocqua were still kinda treacherous until about 20 miles southeast on hwy. 47 then they cleared up and provided smooth sailing.

After my brief stop in Green Bay I was on my way to Menasha. I found the place I was looking for with no problems. I was docked and unloaded and on my merry way again in about an hour. I headed for the nearest truck stop to wait for morning... when I will pick up my next load in Neenah and head homeward!

Yep... finally! I'll hang out in Indianapolis tomorrow night then be in my own cozy bed on Friday! woo hoo