Saturday, October 31, 2009

More pix from the past


Here's a close-up of some giant lupine (below) Marcia and I spotted on a roadtrip in northern Wisconsin a few years ago. Great light combined with a thick stand of blossoms made for some very nice photos!
Above is a fiddlehead fern just a few days out of the ground that I shot in the woods close to the house a couple of springs back.

Stuck in Portland, Maine

Find myself in Portland, ME tonight and for the rest of the weekend. Assigned a short run that I cannot deliver until 5 am Monday. Decided to stop here to be able to get decent TV reception and have some good food not found along the Interstate. Took my camera and a book and walked to the downtown "tourist area" along the waterfront, about 1.5 miles. Decent weather but a strong wind was blowing making the hike a teary-eyed trek. Made it there and back (within 100 yards anyway) before the rain started, good timing.

Walked the restaurant district trying to decide what to have for dinner. Settled on a pub featuring a number of local micro-brews and seafood. Had a lobster roll, an Octoberfest and then a wheat beer. Tasty except for the bread used for the roll, pretty standard and a bit dry. The beer was great.

Planned to post a few pix of the wharf area, but found my batteries dead when I pulled out my camera. They're in the charger as I write.

During my walk I noticed what appeared to be some homeless people in the area. Pushing grocery carts, digging through trash cans and such. As I returned to where I'd parked my rig, I saw a man and woman climbing onto the low rooftop of a warehouse with their belongings. I guess it's where they planned to spend the night. It's a sad sight to see people living like that in the wealthiest country in the world. That and the fact that this part of the country is cold, wet, snowy and miserable as winter approaches. I was tempted to suggest to them to head south, sleeping on the streets in warm climes is certainly less stressful and would seem to be a good deal more comfortable. Well, there it is, my first rant. Albeit a tame one, a rant it was.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Past Images

Posting a few pix from the past for your viewing pleasure.



While this is not my photograph (it was taken by Marcia on a trip west that included Death Valley) it's a photo of me picking my way across the Devil's Golf Course with camera and tripod looking for the "perfect spot" to get my shot.






This image is from a rainy evening in Wisconsin Rapids. I had been cruising the community searching for a photo for the next day's issue and coming up with nothing. I decided to make a time-exposure of vehicles turning at a well-lit intersection to create light trails left by headlights and such. Turned out rather well, received lots of positive comments about this image.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Return from San Diego

Just back on the road after getting my first vacation since becoming a driver for a living. Didn't get home on the day requested, a bit of a stressful way to begin a vacation trip to California! Got home mid-day the day before we were to fly out, a 9 am flight.

Had to unload my personal belongings from the rig in case the company needed to let another driver use it during my absense. What a pain! I live in this rig for about two weeks at a time with a two or three day break before I'm behind the wheel and on the road again for the next trip. Being the pack-rat I am, I tend to accumulate a lot of stuff. I have a small fridge, a 5-drawer "pantry" and a supply of food in both.

This rig is, after all, my mini-RV and my workplace. It contains my bed, kitchen, office and entertainment center. I have a lot of stuff to unload and reload when I return.

Anyway, spent 7 1/2 hours waiting to get loaded at a local papermill for my 1st run. That time was spent restoring my rig and writing this. Going to PA with 45,000 lbs of paper. Love those rolling Pennsylvania hills with a heavy load!

Stopped at the local bigbox to stock up on a few groceries. Plan to make Beloit where I can spend the night and get me some Starbucks in the morning. I don't think there are many truckers that plan for Starbucks stops along their route.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Starting out

Just in case someone comes across this blog before I'm ready to start really adding a lot to it, let me know how you found it. I will have pix and stories to post as time permits. Tales of fellow truckers now that I am one, and of some of the idiots I've encountered along the way.

I don't often have time to stop and photograph as I travel the highways of the US and Canada, but I'll get what I can and place choice favorites from the past.

Keep an eye out for a big orange rig with Wisconsin stickers in the windows. Doug