After delivering in New Jersey on a Friday, we sat until Tuesday waiting for the next load. Surprising to sit that long in that area, but okay with us. We needed a break.
Tuesday we headed to Hazelton, Pa for a load going to Auburn, Ga. After that it was a load picking up in Duncan, South Carolina delivering in Columbia, Mo. Pretty routine on all pickups and deliveries.
After that, we again got to go to the dreaded chemical plant in Mt. Vernon, Indiana. It was just as frustrating this time as it was the first time. The load we picked up delivered in Eau Claire, Wi. That made me happy because I love the scenery in that area. As long as it's not winter time anyway.
We made our delivery and found a truck stop to park, shower and eat. After all those things were accomplished, we still didn't have a load so we both laid down to sleep. In the middle of the night, dispatch called with a load offer picking up in Roberts, Wi and delivering in Duffield, Alberta, Canada. Not knowing where that was, I had to pull out the map. I wasn't thrilled with what I saw.
I turned the load down and the negotiations began. Again, another driver had a load going to Canada, but the driver doesn't go there. I really had no interest in going that far out of our freight zone so I kept turning it down and the dispatcher kept after me. Finally, he wore me down and we agreed on an amount. The amount included a return trip to St. Paul, Mn empty. I was shocked that he agreed to it, but apparently the load was paying well enough that they could afford it.
I had to wake John up and tell him where we were going. He was less than thrilled. It was a 1300 mile trip, each way. We got to the swap point and took over the freight. The other driver was in a tractor trailer and the freight was one pallet. What a waste! I guess it's not my problem though. We took off and drove and drove and drove. Made it across the border with no problems. I guess the reason it seemed like such a long trip is that most of it was done in Canada. No cell phone and no internet. Makes for a really boring trip.
We eventually got near our delivery point and I was having trouble figuring out the exact place we needed to go to. I called dispatch and was advised to stop and ask the locals. Great. I went to a truck stop and asked the guy working there and he was no help either. I took back off and drove around in BFE until I spotted the lights of the power plant. I kept working my way closer and closer and we finally got there. Got unloaded and began the long drive back to the US.
We were getting so close to the border and getting excited about being back in the US when dispatch called. Unbelievably they had another load that needed to be picked up from a driver who doesn't do Canada, going back to Alberta. This time the load picked up in Fargo, ND and delivered in Calgary, Alberta. I tried to tell them no, but they kept pressuring me and finally I agreed to do it for the same deal as the first one. The trip had to include return mileage back to St. Paul, Mn. They agreed.
We went to Fargo and stopped off for a shower and a meal before heading over for the swap. We got the freight and once again started the journey. This time was even worse because we were tired and we already knew what the route and all the scenery was going to look like. It was a long boring trip. We got there and it turned out to be a mall that was undergoing renovation so there were no docks and total chaos. Luckily John handled it and got us unloaded. We went to the nearest truckstop and slept for 14 hours straight. After that, we started the drive back to Fargo. We took our time and enjoyed the sights along the way. This time we decided to exit Canada thru Sweetgrass in Montana and then drive across to Fargo. It added some miles to the trip but was worth it to us. On the way down to Sweetgrass we had the Rocky Mountains to our west. This was our first time to ever see them and they were impressive!
Driving through Montana seemed like we had gone back in time to the Old West. I don't think things have changed much there. All in all, it was an enjoyable drive because we took our time and got to see some places that we had only heard about before that.
Hopefully, there are no more Alberta loads waiting on us when we get back!
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