Donner Pass

Well, we left Santa Nella, CA today and we're headed to Munster, IN. A short ride up I-5, then we're on I-80 the rest of the way. The summit of Donner Pass is 7,227 feet...the highest I've ever been. Here are a few pics from the ride down the East side into Nevada.

In Watsonville, CA at Driscoll's

We left Tracy this morning, passing through Santa Nella, then past the San Luis Reservoir and into Casa de Fruta, on our way to Watsonville, CA.

Took some pictures between Santa Nella and Casa de Fruta...beautiful area, it's a shame there were signs of recent wildfires in the area.

Right now we're at Driscoll's to pick up strawberries and blueberries heading to Munster, IN. There's a little gift shop in the building where the drivers check in...picked up some fresh raspberries...yummy! Lots of trucks lined up waiting to get loaded...we might be here a while.

Back in California for my first mountain

Well, I'm back in California for a couple of days. We left Laredo, TX a couple of days ago and we're taking a load to Tracy, CA. So, after taking I-10 through West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and into California, stopping at Morongo agian for their buffet, we jumped on I-5 heading North which gave me the chance to head down my first big mountain...the Grapevine. Couldn't take pictures on the way down, as I had plenty to keep me busy watching my speed, but I did get a few shots on the way up.

Spent the night in Cabazon, CA

After our drop in Buena Park, CA we had three pickups around LA (Oxnard, downtown and Irwindale) then headed back to Cabazon to spend the night.

Woke up to the Sunrise over the mountains (if you look closely you can see some windmills on the hill).

Then we headed East on I-10 which took us past Texas Canyon again. I got some better pictures this time...including one with a passing tractor trailer to put into perspective just how large some of these boulders are.

We're heading to Austin, TX to drop this load on Thursday.

Morongo Casino in Cabazon, CA

Well, after having a bite to eat I decided to find a couple of geocaches. While I was walking around, I took a few photos around the hotel & casino. These mountains are awesome!

I'm in Cabazon, CA!!!

This is my 1st time in California.

When we left Texas the other day I had no idea it would take so long to get out of Texas...it's a pretty long state. As we rolled through El Paso, you can see across the border into Juarez, Mexico. We made great time through New Mexico and spent the night in Arizona after passing through Texas Canyon in Cochise County, about 20 miles East of Benson, along I-10.

Right now I'm enjoying the BIG TIME Brunch at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, CA...think about it, all the Prime Rib you can eat...yummy!

Tonight I'm back in Dallas, TX...

Well, here's the new truck I'm on...it's a Peterbilt. The others I have been on were Kenworth.

Another truck outside of Cincinnati, OH broke down so after we completed our delivery in Delaware, OH we repowered that load in Cincinnati and delivered it to Ft Worth, TX today. Now we're spending the night East of Dallas until we can pick up our next load in the morning. This load is taking us to Buena Park, CA, which is near Anaheim. So, I should get my first mountain pass (I have to make at least two without using the Jake brake) and will get the South West region (leaving me with only the North West region to complete my regions). Once I get the two mountains and both West regions I'll just need to complete 8,000-8,500 miles of driving (I've got ~2,000 miles so far) to finish my first training session. Then I get to go home for a week!!!

Still in Kansas.

Well, Kansas must be a pretty long state...cause we've been driving for hours and we're still in Kansas!!!

Here's the sunset I missed last night...left the memory card in my computer and by the time I retrieved it and framed the shot the Sun had set.

And, the windmill farm we passed earlier today...this was the largest one I've seen so far...must have been at least 50 of them, maybe more. Now that I think about it, the one we flew over might have been larger. Either way...these things are huge!!!

We're in Emporia, KS for the night, and we're headed to Delaware, OH for our delivery...then I have no idea where we're headed. I just know that I need my NW and SW regions and a couple of big mountains...had no idea I would be heading East when I flew to Colorado from Texas, just assumed I would be heading West. Hopefully our fleet manager will get us heading in the right direction.

We're not in Denver anymore...

Yup, you guessed right...we're in Kansas. I haven't taken any pictures here yet, so here are some pictures from the flight to Denver. More of those crazy crop circles, a golf course in the middle of nowhere, a blue/green lake and a view of the mountains.

We might be heading to PA, then NYC, in the morning.

Dallas to Albuquerque on my way to Denver

My first time flying Southwest...and I think this was my first time on a 737. Had a nice flight to
Albuquerque...saw some 'crop circles' and windmills along the way...and the mountains are amazing (I've never been this far West before).

A few days on the road

From Maryland, to Indiana, to Wisconsin...now we're heading to Laredo, TX. We rolled through St Louis along the way, and I wasn't behind the wheel...so I was able to snap a few pics of the arch as we passed by. I guess I'm going to get to see a lot of the country...I'm just not going to get to visit these locations.

My 1st day driving...in Baltimore, MD

I met my first training criteria when I got to bump the dock in Zone A (North East) this morning. After unloading, my trainer drove to our next pickup and I got to bump another dock. So far, backing up the truck hasn't been very difficult...of course these are easy docks I'm dealing with, we'll see how I do when I get to a tight one.

My 1st day at Stevens Transport

Well, after that rough start at the airport...I made it to my first day of orientation. The training trucks are much nicer here than they were at TDI where I did my CDL training. We're going to go through some classes and a review of some of our driving skills...as well as going on a road test. Monday and Tuesday are going to be very long days: 6am-10pm on Monday and 7am-10pm on Tuesday. Today we did a little work on the closed driving course. Although it was a short day, I did learn a few new things on the truck, so it was a productive day.

My 1st day in Dallas, TX

Since I had nothing else to do on Saturday, I headed into downtown Dallas for some geocaching and sightseeing.

I called DART (the local bus company) to find out what bus to take from the hotel to downtown. I got some great information on the bus number, but thanks to some construction on a side street the bus drove right by and I had to catch the next one. Walked all over the downtown area, visited Dealey Plaza and a few other choice spots. Found an office building surrounded by sculptures and created a virtual terracache (Hercules the Archer) for others to enjoy.

The journey begins

I'm starting a new job this week driving a truck for Stevens Transport in Dallas, TX.

If you don't know me very well, I'll say this just once...I hate flying on commercial airliners.

Well, I survived the flight...then got stranded at the airport for almost two hours waiting on my ride to the hotel. Glad I didn't take a local taxi...it would have cost somewhere between $75 and $100.