It had always being my ambition since first arriving in Canada in May 2009 to travel to all of the lower 48 US states and for the past year I’ve had 46 of them but the last two remaining seemed stubbornly out of reach, namely Nevada and California. This however was about to change.
The route to California.
Day 1. Tuesday 11th June 2013. Jacksonville, New Brunswick (Canada) to St. Libore, Quebec (Canada) 656km.
Having returned home the Sunday before from Virginia and South Carolina and knowing that work was slack and the only trailer in the yard to my knowledge was a short trip down to Pennsylvania, I phoned the office with some reluctance, mainly due to the 5 missed calls on my phone, all from 20-30 minutes previous. They obviously had urgent plans for me and to be honest I was cringing at the thought of a short run with no miles, because in North America we get paid by the mile, not by the hour and not by the day.
The call was duly made and to my complete shock, surprise and delight the voice at the other end announced “We’ve got you a load going to…California” followed by “You’ve got to drop a few pallets off tonight in Quebec though, you’ve got to be there before 3am, can you do that?”…of course I can bloody do that, its only 600km away, I responded, still in shock.
The only problem was that my truck was still up at the Freightliner dealer having a whole list of defects repaired due to a less than satisfactory DOT inspection the week before, that saw me put out of service for 6 hours while more pressing repairs were carried out in the inspection station. The work had fortunately been carried out and by 2pm my truck was ready to roll. Someone from the office gave my a lift to collect the truck, I promptly bobtailed home to stock on up 3 weeks worth of clothes, bottled water (I refill my water bottles at home as bottled drinking water in Canada/USA is about 7 times the price of the UK) and some food, though I’d buy most of my food on the road in Walmarts in the US where prices are much cheaper than Canada, and certainly cheaper than eating out in truckstops.
After stocking up the truck I nipped back to the yard about 4km away and hooked up at en empty trailer that I’d take to Grand Falls, drop on a bay and hook up to my loaded one, before proceeding to Saint Germain de Grantham (a bizarre mix of French and English, often common in Quebec.) to unload 4 pallets where I arrived at just after 9pm and had barely backed on to the bay and they’d taken their stuff off. I had planned on pushing on further that night to miss the Montreal traffic that I’d surely hit in the morning but couldn’t be bothered so called it a night just 30 minutes further up the road in the much used Irving truckstop in Saint Liboire about 45 minutes short of Montreal.
Parked at home ready for the go.
Hooked on to an empty in the yard.
Day 2. Wednesday 12th June 2013. St.Liboire, Quebec (Canada) to Perry, Michigan (USA) 1056km.
What seemed like a good idea due to laziness the night before soon turned out to be a dire mistake as the predicted traffic was even worse than imagined. So much so that the queue of traffic in the right lane for the ring road was over 2km long and due to overtaking a slower vehicle and getting caught by surprise by this fact, I decided not to try and push in for a long wait and equally congested ring road but to continue straight on and through the middle. I don’t think I lost any time, both ways were just as bad.
Soon enough I was out the other end of Montreal and heading towards Ontario where English would be the spoken language again. I have to say though that I’ve always found Quebec and interesting and refreshing place to be as its different culture, language and even architecture make for a welcome break in the bland uniformity of North America where everything looks the same from one town to another, one state to another or one province to another.
Heading through Montreal.
Outside of Montreal, a scale for trucks coming in from Ontario. Its common to go over 5-10 of these a day in some parts of the continent.
After crossing in to Ontario its a long and very boring 800km drive down Highway 401 to the US border, with the only interruption being the huge metropolis of Toronto, which can be soul destroyingly congested and getting more and more so all the time. Today however I only had to lift off the limiter once, which is more than what can be said for the poor souls going the opposite way who had to endure 65km of slow moving, stop-start congestion.
Stopped for a 30 minute break in Mallorytown, Ontario as I was bored stiff on the 401. No tacho’s or restrictive EU type legislation here, we stop when we want, for as long as we want and are left alone to get the job done. In this case I’d only driven 3 hours but felt like a break, another time I might drive 7 hours before having one. Its entirely down to the driver.
A close up of a North American style number plate. This one being from my trailer.
Straight through Toronto today without too much bother.
After several hours of abject boredom I finally made it to the US border at Sarnia, Ontario / Port Huron, Michigan. As all paperwork is faxed ahead and cleared well before arrival at the border its usually a very painless process. Today there was not even a queue and I ran straight up to the US customs window and admitted to the country after less than 90 seconds.
The last few km’s in Canada on the approach to the US border through the town of Sarnia, Ontario.
A queue of trucks going the other way in to Canada. Its not very often there is much delay coming in to Canada, if anything it tends to be going in to the US as they’re somewhat more zealous and time consuming.
Welcome to the USA!
No queue at US customs today. I always go to the lane on the far left as it seems to be my lucky one where I get the least hassle.
After crossing the border I usually stop at the Pilot truckstop just outside of Port Huron for diesel and a free shower before pressing on, today was no exception.
A typical North American diesel pump, fully automated for use with a diesel card, no messing about taking cards inside for activation here. Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) is what they call Adblue over here.
Below are a few shots of the shower room. These are standard across the Pilot/Flying J network and free with 50 gallons of diesel, and you can bank showers on your loyalty card to use at a later time. They last about a week before the oldest ones elapse first.
Complimentary towels.
A quick shot of the diesel pumps after walking back to the truck after my shower.
Time to hit the road and use up the rest of my driving time. In the US we’re allowed 11 hours driving per day and for the first few days on a long run I always like to do as much as possible so that I can wind down a bit towards the end, or if something goes wrong I’ve got some leeway to play with. About an hour inland from the border there is a Walmart in the town of Burton that’s right by the interstate and handy for truck access so a visit is always on the cards.
Grocery shopping in Burton, Michigan.
After stocking up at the Walmart I pushed on using up my last 45 minutes of the day to reach a rest area near a town called Perry. This is my usually stopping point as its as far as I can get legally from St.Liboire and I’ve got no desire to run bent. No one bats an eyelid here if you go 15-30 minutes over your time but if its not at all necessary, why bother?
Day 3. Thursday 13th June 2013. Perry, Michigan to Underwood, Iowa. 1066km.
Today is to be a rather boring day of flat land driving with only a bit of excitement on the way past the southern suburbs of Chicago. After that and the dreary drive across Illinois comes the mighty Mississippi river and the symbolic start of the “West”, although anything that resembles the West is still a long way off. Soon after crossing the Mississippi in to the state of Iowa is the Iowa 80 truckstop, apparently the largest in the world with almost 1000 parking spaces. I usually stop in but I’ve been there several times now and these days tend to just stop across the road in the Flying J to fill up with diesel and perhaps take a quick shower.
Iowa itself is the quintessential mid-west state with low rolling hills but generally a rather flat endless expanse of open corn fields. To be its always one of those states to be endured in the name of getting somewhere else.
View from the cab this morning in the rest area.
A frequent sight in this part of Michigan. Most times I’m through this way there is a slow moving army convoy.
Heading past the southern extremes of Chicago on I80.
Time to cross the mighty Mississippi.
The Mississippi River.
and in to Iowa.
The Iowa 80 truckstop, cant be bothered to stop there this time.
The only real traffic in Iowa would be in the city of Des Moines, but its only a slight hiccup and never takes long, even in rush hour like here today.
Getting overtaken by a rare cabover.
Finally I pull in to the last rest area in Iowa before the Nebraska state line and call it a day. I’ve done a few minutes short of 11 hours and after a boring day I’m ready for bed.
Day 4. Friday 14th June 2013. Underwood, Iowa to Rawlins, Wyoming. 1076km.
Today will be the last day of flat boring endless agriculture and the start of the American west and where things get more interesting.
I started the day shortly after 7am and passed through the sprawling city of Omaha, Nebraska without any issue, by now I’m in the Central time zone and two hours behind my own Atlantic time so 7am for me is 5am local time, hence a welcome lack of traffic.
Most of Nebraska is much the same as Iowa but the further west you go, the more rugged the landscape becomes and fields give way to cattle and eventually cattle gives way to a rugged landscape with very little on it.
A typical view in eastern Nebraska.
I stopped for diesel and a shower shortly before the interstate splits at Big Springs, Nebraska and the I80 continues west towards Wyoming, Utah and eventually northern California or you can swing off on to I76 and in to Colorado, Las Vegas and eventually Los Angles and southern California. Although a Flying J, it was part of the taken over Bosselman chain and as such has a much different look to the standard flying J so a few more photos of the facilities follow.
I think I’ll follow that sign and see what they have inside.
Inside the building, looking good so far.
I want a shower and I’m in luck. They have about 20 of them!
I only have to find it first. You swipe your rewards card and are then issued a printed ticket with the room number and entry code for the automated door.
Its a little more dated inside than the recently renovated Pilot/Flying J chain but still of excellent quality and coming from the UK, its like a 5 star hotel.
Anyway, I cant hang around all day pratting about in showers, I have work to be getting on with so onwards towards Wyoming it is.
This is the start of the real west for me. The sign says it all.
A 75mph speed limit here, that applies to trucks as well as cars. Alas, my chariot is restricted to a mere 65.
After another 11 hour drive I call it a day in Rawlins, Wyoming. Due to its high altitude its often the scene of much snow in winter and the interstate is often closed here. Even in mid June the temperature dropped to almost freezing during the night and necessitated the reaching down during the night to turn the night heater on.
Day 5. Saturday 15th June 2013. Rawlins, Wyoming to Winnemucca, Nevada. 1036km.
By now I’m in my 3rd time zone, namely Mountain time and my 8am start saw me entering the highway at 5am local time. Today would see the varied landscapes of highly elevated and rugged Wyoming, followed by the Great Salt Lake and Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and finally the semi-desert/mountainous landscape of northern Nevada and a whole lot of open road to make good time over.
Heading west through Wyoming.
Who needs sunglasses when you can drive in the shade?
More of that quintessential western scenery.
and then nothing.
Arriving in the state of Utah. Some of the western states require that you physically stop at the border in these so called Port of Entry places and present your documents, permits and so on to show that you’re legal for the state and have paid to be there. Its only an annoying procedure though and lasts no more than 5 minutes.
Arriving in Utah the terrain gets more mountainous as I enter the Rocky Mountains. The long drop down to Salt Lake City isn’t to be taken lightly and there are several points to chain up and off during the winter months and a few emergency runaway lanes while heading down the hill.
A typical view of Utah.
I found this little fellow while walking around a landscaped rest area.
Here is the said rest area.
Fortunately I wont be needing this today.
The several mile long downgrade towards Salt Lake City.
This type of combination are common in several of the western states. I know Carryfast will love this one.
Driving through Salt Lake City, Utah.
Those distances are in miles so that gives an impression of how empty and vast this part of the US is.
The Great Salt Lake.
Almost at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah.
and again.
The sign says it all.
The famous speedway at Bonneville.
Yet another scale, this time on the way out of Utah, only a mile from Nevada.
And here it is, Nevada, 47 out of 48 states ticked off the list.
I couldn’t resist a few snaps of this old Georgia registered Kenworth parked in West Wendover, just inside Nevada.
Welcome to West Wendover, Nevada.
Below are a few scenes driving across Nevada.
TA truckstop, one of the large truckstop chains in the US.
Thats a reassuring sign!
Nevada desert.
I called it a night just outside the town of Winnemucca after 10 and a half hours driving. Apparently this towns claim to fame is that it was the scene of a bank robbery by Butch Cassidy in 1900.
Day 6. Sunday 16th June 2013. Winnemucca, Nevada to Lodi, California. 619km.
Today was to be the final day of the trip across to California. By now I’m on Pacific time, my 4th time zone and 4 hours behind Atlantic time.
I start the day at 9:45 my time as I’m now in now rush and can take it easy. Two hours down the road I pull in to the Pilot truckstop in Fernley to get the truck washed. The California DOT are apparently renowned for being keen on the slightest thing and hate to see a dirty truck, especially one with any sort of oil or grime coming off it. So to the truck wash it is for a full tractor unit and engine bay wash for $49, about £32 according to xe.com (other money conversion websites are available).
Waiting in line to get the truck washed.
This was parked next to me in the opposite line. Note the two diesel tanks, he had the same on the other side too.
Nice and clean.
Time to hit the road again on the last stretch to the California state line.
Driving through Reno, the last major town in Nevada before California.
Finally, 48 out of 48 states! Ambition achieved with the mere passing of a sign, quite an anti-climax really.
Soon after the state line you hit the Donner Pass which isn’t to be taken lightly with a heavy load. In the winter it must be a nightmare, proof if such were needed of that fact are the many snow chain retailers on each and every exit for about 30 or so miles and the numerous pull over points for trucks to chain up/off.
Not far to go now.
Once at Sacramento its time to take Interstate 5 south towards Los Angles, though I’ll only be going about an hour south to the town of Stockton.
Almost at my delivery now. I’m heading to a produce farm about 10 miles outside of Stockton.
Getting tipped.
Over 5000km with a load of paper potato bags!
Once empty I headed back to Stockton and then north again up Interstate 5 to the Flying J truckstop in Lodi. All being well and reload pending, I’m intending to take a 36 hour reset here and hire a car for some sight seeing.
Day 7. Monday 17th June 2013. Off Duty. Sight seeing in San Fransisco.
The day started with a call to the office to be informed that I’d be loading some 40 or so miles away tomorrow (Tuesday) in the Napa Valley. A full load of wine going back to Whitby, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. This was the news I wanted as it gave me the whole day to do as I wished. A quick phone call to the local Enterprise car hire centre in Lodi, some 8 miles away soon saw a car booked and they came out to the truckstop to collect me. Within the hour I was making towards San Fransisco with all haste.
After crossing the impressive Bay Bridge in to the city of San Fransisco and just heading totally blind in the general direction of downtown and to the waterfront I found a car park to leave the Mazda 3 in. One thing I soon found out is that San Fransisco is a very expensive place and parking for the remainder of the day was something like $25 or $30.
Parking sorted and both camera’s at the ready, I started to hoof it down the waterfront until I eventually came to the terminal of the bay cruise tours that take one under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. You can visit Alcatraz but unfortunately due to incredible demand it was booked out until 7 days time, so definitely something to book well in advance to any one thinking of visiting San Fransisco.
A superb hour on the boat ensued with amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge as we sailed under and then did a full circle around Alcatraz. Afterwards I continued down the waterfront and found a preserved WWII Submarine that was open to the public so couldn’t resist a look around that.
The day was now drawing to a close so I made my way back to the car to deposit the various souvenirs I’d purchased and as the traffic was horrendous I decided to spend a few hours walking in the other direction towards the skyscrapers of downtown and the famous China Town. This was well worth the walk, even in flip flops that turned out to be a rather stupid choice of footwear on my part. I never learn!
The visit would not have been complete without actually driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, so I took the long way back to Lodi, adding maybe 15-20 miles on to the journey but it was worth it just for the experience of driving over one of the most famous and iconic bridges in the world. I left San Fransisco feeling very pleased that I’d managed to visit, but also frustrated that I’d only had a limited time there and missed out on seeing so much on offer. But any visit was better than no visit and when you’re doing this job I believe in taking what opportunities you have to visit places.
I arrived back at the truckstop at midnight local, so 4am my time, parked the car round the front and limped to my truck with very sore calve muscles due to my inappropriate footwear.
Below are some snaps from San Fransisco.
Heading in to the city.
Along the waterfront.
Sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge.
and again.
Alcatraz.
Time to head back to dry land.
USS Pampanito.
Inside the USS Pampanito.
and another.
Down to the business end, forward torpedo tubes.
The Transamerica Pyramid building. The tallest building in San Fransisco.
Chinatown.
and again.
San Fransisco is famous for its steep hills, as evident here in this photo.
Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge at the end of the day, its a poor photo due to the lighting but its all I have.
and finally the hire car that made it all possible.
Day 8. Tuesday 18th June 2013. Lodi, California to Winnemucca, Nevada. 651km.
My return journey large mirrored by outward bound trip so I will try and be much briefer, especially with the photos.
After returning the hire car I made my way over to the town of American Canyon which is in the wine producing region of the Napa Valley just north of San Fransisco. Upon arrival I was immediately backed on to a door and loaded in just over an hour with a full load of wine destined for Canada. Not long after I was on my way eastwards and after crossing the first scale with a green light I made for Nevada with all haste. California is all well and good to visit but driving a truck there isn’t very enjoyable. There is a 55mph truck speed limit, you have to have your trailer axles right forward and that can make it a pain to get your axle weights correct with a heavy load and so on so I breathed a sigh of relief when I crossed in to Nevada and could put my foot down without fear of over zealous police officers and proceeded to do a much more sensible 65mph while many of the other trucks were flying past on, or perhaps over the 75mph universal speed limit.
I called it a day in Winnemucca once again, just before 11pm. Only 7:45 driving today but I didn’t have to be in Whitby, Ontario until the following Monday evening and all being well I’d be there Saturday afternoon so no rush.
Getting loaded in American Canyon, California. I had the hood open out of boredom, this however was to become a common sight later in the trip!
Heading high up in to the Sierra Nevada once again and towards the Donner Pass.
and down the other side.
Back to Nevada, time to put my foot down and end the tedium of 55mph.
High winds were causing major dust storms in the Nevada desert.
Day 9. Wednesday 19th June 2013. Winnemucca, Nevada to Rawlins, Wyoming. 1034km.
An uneventful day heading east. Basically retracing my footsteps the same way I came.
Heading back across the Bonneville Salt Flats towards Salt Lake City.
The strong winds continued and the signs were not wrong. Thankfully I had a fairly heavy load on.
Plenty of open road in this part of America.
Day 10. Thursday 20th June 2013. Rawlins, Wyoming to Underwood, Iowa. 1075km.
Another day without much to report that wasn’t already covered in the outward journey. Apart from some grocery shopping in the Walmart in Laramie, Wyoming nothing much happened and by now I’m ready for home.
Wyoming.
An elevated water tanker in Wyoming.
Day 11. Friday 21st June 2013. Underwood, Iowa to Altoona, Iowa. Only 258 due to breakdown.
Today was supposed to be another boring day with good millage. The plan was to motor over to Toronto as quickly as possible and have a few days off there, go sight seeing in Toronto and catch the train to Niagara Falls. My truck had other ideas unfortunately.
I’d left the engine running all night, not something I like to do but the heat was unbearable and at bed time was still well above 30’c. I awoke in the morning and pressed on, oblivious to the problems that would soon confront me. Two and a half hours down the road I pulled in to a rest area to use the toilet and without thinking turned the engine off after a minute or two. The moment I’d done so all sorts of beeps and alarms sounded and she wouldn’t start again, and was only showing 9.8 volts on the dashboard instead of the normal 12.2 with the engine off. A nearby truck couldn’t jump start me so help had to be called.
About two hours later a pickup truck arrived with a mechanic who obviously didn’t want to be there. He hooked up his jump leads, started his generator with within seconds my power inverter was making loud popping sounds, smoke was bellowing out of the back of it, my front head light bulbs had blown and my dashboard was going absolutely haywire. He immediately turned off his generator and said “Oh, they sometimes don’t like that, when I put 17 volts in to them”. Now, I’m no mechanic but on a 12volt vehicle that receives 14 volts from the alternator, is putting 17 volts in to it a good idea? Obviously my truck didn’t like it. He then declared my batteries were fine but it was my starter motor that was jammed. This was despite the fact that as soon as he removed his jump leads, my dash was reading 9.8 volts again. He couldn’t get it started and as there was nothing he could do, he buggered off, not before leaving a bill with me for $247.
A few hours later two tow trucks turned up from a different company. In the state of Iowa its not legal to tow a truck and trailer together, they have to be moved separately. So a few hours later another bill for $1054 was left in my hand at a Flying J truckstop in Altoona, Iowa where they had onsite garage facilities and they were the only people within 250 miles who’d see to me that day. The local freightliner dealer wouldn’t touch me for 3 and a half days!!
I then spent all night roaming the truckstop while they slowly worked away on my truck. I had a shower, I had a meal, I chatted with the people behind the workshop service desk, I walked around the truckstop several times, I tried laying down in my truck but the 35’c heat and workshop noise made that unbearable so I went back inside and had some bizarre conversations with some American drivers. I will never understand how half of these drivers manage to get dressed in the morning, let alone figure out how to turn a key and drive across the country. Finally by 7am I was fixed, and had another bill in my hand, this time for £1199. This was for a new alternator, apparently my original one had a faulty diode and was over charging the batteries and over time frying them and as a consequence I needed four new batteries. Upon asking about the starter motor, it turns out that was fine. So the first idiot who came out to me charged us $247 for the privilege of blowing up my inverter and head lights and completely mis-diagnosing the issue. Wonderful. All in all it came to about $2500.
By now I was nothing more than a walking zombie so I pulled out of the workshop, drove round to my trailer, connected and went to bed, not waking again until after midday.
Heavy rainstorm near Des Moines, Iowa.
Tow truck to the rescue.
and again.
Day 12. Saturday 22nd June 2013. Altoona, Iowa to Grand Ledge, Michigan. 842km.
Due to the above mentioned ordeal it wasn’t until 13:30 that I pulled out of the truckstop in Altoona, Iowa. Still, I was in no hurry and had days to spare due to the delivery appointment so I’d just drive as far as I felt like and then call it a day.
Good progress was made across Iowa and Illinois, past Chicago and in to Michigan. I could have gone a few hours further but couldn’t be bothered and the was really no need so after eight and a half hours of driving I called it a night in the Flying J in Grand Ledge, Michigan.
Passing the Iowa 80 again.
Traffic wasn’t bad for a Saturday afternoon on the southern edge of Chicago.
Day 13. Sunday 23rd June 2013. Grand Ledge, Michigan to Pickering, Ontario (Canada). 569km.
I didn’t have much to do today apart from run the last part of Michigan to the Canadian border and then in to Toronto. An hour after starting I pulled in to the Walmart in Burton once again to stock up on supplies and then heading for the Pilot in Port Huron once more for diesel and a shower. Once those familiar routines were fulfilled I trundled up to the border a few miles away and re-entered Canada without issue.
I have friends in Kitchener, Ontario which is on route to Toronto so decided to go and visit them for a few hours. They came out to Canada at the same time as myself and he worked at the same company as me. Last year they made the decision to leave New Brunswick and start afresh in Ontario and now live in Kitchener. After a pleasant 3 hour stay there I headed through Toronto to the eastern suburbs and parked in the little Flying J truckstop in Pickering, only 10 miles from my delivery. It has to be said that while this truckstop is a recent takeover and leaves much to be desired compared to most Flying J’s, they have superb wifi and as such I didn’t use my Canadian dongle which costs a fortune in usage compared to my UK equivalent I use when back in England.
Almost at the border.
For some reason its cheaper going in to Canada on the very same bridge, despite paying both tolls in the same currency.
The bridge in question.
The body of water separating the US from Canada.
Looking down at the Canada customs yard, not very busy today.
Canada customs booth. No problem today, a few stamps on my paperwork and I’m in.
Day 14. Monday 24th June 2013. Pickering, Ontario. 0km!!!
Well it all went wrong again today. My delivery that was supposed to be at 15:45 was wrong and I now couldn’t go and unload for another 24 hours until the same time tomorrow. This is the major flaw of driving in North America. On mileage pay you don’t earn unless you’re moving. I’ll now sit in Toronto for no money at all, through no fault of my own.
As I had nothing else to do I prepared a meal and indulged in some comfort eating. This time a stir fry.
Day 15. Tuesday 25th June 2013. Pickering, Ontario to Whitby, Ontario and back to Pickering. 38km!!!
After a long lay in I decided to go in and make use of the free showers banked on my loyalty card. They were nowhere near as good as the usual high standard but better than nothing and it was much needed.
I headed down to the Ontario Liquor Control Board warehouse to unload. In most provinces in Canada (perhaps all?) alcohol is a government monopoly and is only sold in provincial alcohol stores. After much BS and having to don a vis-vest and steel toe capped boots for the first time in several months I proceeded to back on to a door and start the long process of getting unloaded in a highly unionised and militant government enterprise. They had to be the most miserable bunch of jobsworths I’ve had the misfortune of encountering for a few years.
After a few hours in there I was finally empty and beated a retreat back to the Flying J truckstop in Pickering again. As my unloading had been delayed by 24 hours, I’d lost my reload and as such had to sit and wait until Wednesday and just hope they could find me something. So today I drove the grand total of 38km which is 23 miles. At .36 cents per mile I earned a grand total of $8.28 or £5.17 in proper money. This added to the fact that I earnt nothing the day before and had no idea of whether I’d even have a reload the next day was really starting to wind me up. Anyway, back to the truckstop it was.
Arriving to unload at jobsworth central.
Day 16. Wednesday 26th June 2013. Pickering, Ontario to Montreal, Quebec. 629km.
Having set no alarm, I awoke mid morning to my satellite computer beeping away to inform me of a reload. Excellent, I thought. Until that was I scrolled down and saw that it wasn’t going to get me all the way home, but only half way, to Montreal to be exact. Obviously work is very slack at the moment and they got me anything they could to get me moving, but I still felt very annoyed none the less.
I proceeded back across Toronto to the north western suburb of Brampton, otherwise known as Bramladesh due to its similarity to the likes of London, Leicester or Bradford. Upon arriving at the Kuhne & Nagel warehouse the miserable Bramladeshi snapped that I was an hour early and to bugger off and come back in an hour! Charming.
I duly came back in an hour and was promptly loaded for Montreal for a midnight delivery…ffs.
Arriving to load in Brampton, Ontario.
Some of my neighbours getting loaded in Brampton.
Backed on getting loaded. Thankfully they took less than an hour.
Heading back through Toronto again, some typical Toronto traffic.
I arrived just outside Montreal at about 11pm my time so 10pm local and wasted an hour in a small truckstop. I was delivering to a Sears RDC, basically a North American department store that sells practically everything. No point in turning up too early I thought as there would be nowhere to park nearby if turned away. Like always I’d google earth and street viewed the place. I arrived just before midnight local and to my delight only had to drop my trailer on a door, pull back outside and go to bed and they’d call me when it was done. At about 5am my phone rang to inform me the trailer was empty but rather hook up now and drive around looking for somewhere to park “off card” I’d just stay put until morning, they weren’t happy about it but I didn’t really give them a choice. Their shunter moves the trailers to a holding yard once they’re empty any way, so it made no difference to them.
Day 17. Thursday 27th June 2013. Montreal, Quebec. to Oromocto, New Brunswick. 909km.
I awoke again at about 10:30 in the morning to the tune of my satellite going off again. They had a reload for me in Joliette, about 30 miles east of Montreal towards Quebec City, on the north side of the river. I’ve been there before, its all toilet paper and kitchen roll etc, very light but they can take ages to load it. This load was destined for Sobey’s RDC in Oromocto, New Brunswick. Sobey’s is a supermarket chain in Canada.
I made my way over to Joliette, leaving Montreal at about mid day and was given a door to back on to. On the door next to me was another New Brunswick truck from AYR Motor Express driven by a German driver, whom I chatted with for some time. After two and a half hours on the door I finally got a green light, went for my paperwork and hit the road. My delivery was for 5am the next morning and I wouldn’t even get there until 2am. More day and night nonsense for little pay. The load would get me home so needs must and all that.
After loading I continued down Autoroute 40 to Quebec City and then cross the river to the southern side. This bridge is the lowest crossing of the Saint Lawrence. Continuing east bound down Autoroute 20 to Riviere du Loup (translates as River of wolves, or Wolf River) and then bear off south towards New Brunswick. Arriving in New Brunswick the scale was of course open as it almost always is but with a light load there was nothing to fear. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway because the DOT officer inside was busy talking to a driver who had parked in the yard and had her back to me so I drove over and out without issue.
I stopped for a shower in a brand new Shell truckstop in Edmundston, the first town you come to in New Brunswick on the recommendation of a friend. The showers there were totally mind blowing. I regretted not taking my camera inside with me because they made the facilties earlier in the trip look like nothing. When I go back next time I’ll be asking where they get their towels from, I’ve never felt such soft towels before and would like some for my home.
Another three hours would pass before I finally made it to Oromocto at just before 2am. Officially they don’t start receiving until 5am but they will usually put you on a door when you arrive if they have one. Upon arrival it was almost deserted so I went inside to book in and was immediately given door # 20. Great I thought, I can back on now and go straight to bed. No such luck, door 20 had a bloody trailer on it, and they wouldn’t let me back on to one of the 3 empty doors an either side but said I’d have to wait until 5am when the shunter would come in to work and move the trailer. Bloody marvelous, I was tired enough as it was and could do without that, but there was nothing I could do about it so went to sleep for 3 hours, woke up just before 5am to find the shunter in the process of moving the trailer and I then backed on and went to bed. In the UK this would have been impossible as I’d have been beyond my spread over, here on paper log books its a none issue. I could have being difficult and refused to move off card but that would only result in me sitting there 24 hours until a new booking was made the following day and that would definitely have been by far the worse of the two evils. After backing on to the door, I pulled the curtains around again and hit the bed.
Heading towards Quebec City after loading in Joliette.
Traffic in Trois Rivieres, Quebec.
Crossing the Saint Lawrence in Quebec City, again, in traffic.
Day 18. Friday 28th June 2013. Oromocto, New Brunswick to Woodstock, New Brusnwick (Home) 121km.
At about 7am I got a knock on the door with my signed paperwork. Officially I couldn’t move until 10am with an 8hr break so I pulled out on to the road, closed my doors and went back to bed for a few hours. I had intended to set off for home at 10am as I already knew I was heading back to the yard empty but due to the messing about in the night had an extra two hours sleep and departed at mid day for the hour and a bit drive back to the yard.
This weekend see’s Canada Day on Monday so its a long weekend and upon arriving in the yard, dropping the trailer and walking in to the office to hand in my paperwork they said it’d be at least Tuesday until they had something to go out with. Fine by me, the last week of the trip was a financial write off but that aside, I’m going home for a few days anyway. I was soon back in my truck for the quick 4km bobtail ride back home, where it all began 18 days earlier.
The End.
probably a vostapo lover 
ooh hand held camera, 
not in the middle of the windscreen. 
I like the pic of the hill in San Fran with the “Gangbangers” hanging out outside the shop