Profile For Little Syster (a.k.a. Sunshine)

Old School - time sure has flown by! Last week was a good reminder that no matter how much "flow" a driver may have, the change of seasons will throw a wrench in things. I chained up more last week than all of last season!

Bud A. - Hey! Haven't seen you around lately. Hope all is well! Got a load headed to Cali out of Pueblo. Slinkies!!!! Wooohooo! Quite the line to get loaded today.

G-Town and Serah - Thank you! It's been quite the experience :)

6 string and Rick - I've been so horrible about posting :( I know...thanks for reading my stuff though! Hope all has been well with you both!

Thanks Brett! Please excuse the delayed reply.

We're always thrilled when you stop by and congratulations on the anniversary!

I took the liberty of updating your status from 'rookie solo driver' to 'experienced driver' - how great is that, right??? Very cool.

Since I can't seem to wind down for the night, which is no good considering I'm doing an 8/2 and have to be rolling in 6 hrs for a delivery in Layton, UT, I figured I'd take a minute to say hello again. My official anniversary was actually October 7th, but time flies when you're having fun! I've driven over 115k miles, from one coast to the other. I can tell you exactly what road signs I down shift/up shift at on I 70 between Denver and Gypsum, CO, and where the best spots to stay are in 7 of the 11 western. I'm still running hard and loving it! I did switch from long hauls/OTR to short hauls and have found that I can make the same amount and have the luxury of being home every weekend. I have a good flow tarping/untarping, have little to no trouble throwing straps, and actually prefer running mountain roads than the interstates. Recently, I found that my short hauling has taken its toll on my backing abilities since I run mostly drywall and Lowes DC loads which deliver in open lots instead of dock areas. When I get down time, I've been sneaking in 30 mins to an hour of backing practice. I don't want to be the flatbed stereotype!! Anyways, all is well with your Lil' Syster/Sunshine!! Just checking in! Sorry I don't swing by more often. Lost of love to my trucking family!

Haha! I feel bad about checking out for as long as I have. I guess it just gets monotonous and I feel silly even writing about anything that goes on out here. The latest excitement is that I spent most of my afternoon throwing my tissue box at my various windows trying to kill the flies that got in yesterday.

It was so awesome running into you Bud! It has been way too long since I've posted anything on TT. All has been well and after getting to shake your hand it's even better!! Thanks for saying hi

Oh, and I'd be happy to help you tarp! In this breeze the more hands the merrier!

Oh and we're governed at 65 mph. Because I burn my clock out most days, with a little finagling I'm able to run pretty long and hard if necessary on recap.

MPW vary; sometimes it's 2500 while other times its 3000. And rarely it's 1800 (that's when I start getting a little persnickety and pushy with dispatch).

Glad you like the post guys! And TPC, you're right, I'm too stubborn to give up or risk this job. I really do love it. :)

Ack!!! I oopsied! 12 days because I had to split two of my stops between two days! Sorry about that... 10 stops, 12 days...

5530 miles, 10 days, 12 stops, and all on recap.

Syster- Neat post! 5530 miles in 10 days. That's 553 miles/day. What is your truck governed at? Seems like you might have to do around 70-75 mph on the interstate to do it on recaps.

About how many miles do you average per week?

HELLO!!!

Man I've missed you guys :) Sorry I fell off the map for a while there. I'm at my 50k mile mark and decided it was time to update you, my dear friends!

This career choice has made me so much happier than I ever imagined. Sure, there have been hard days, but what job doesn't? I've actually grown to genuinely enjoy tarping. I figured, it is what it is. No point in focusing on the negative. Instead, I try to focus on making it as pretty as possible. I did go through a horrific wind storm through AZ last week that demolished both tarps; something that made me very sad as I know they're expensive and I try to keep everything in tip top shape.

I did my first coast to coast turn around; that was a blast. 5530 miles, 10 days, 12 stops, and all on recap. I enjoyed driving through my old stomping grounds and got quite a different perspective sitting up so high. I was in Prince George, VA, during all those tornadoes. Luckily, I was not harmed and was able to carrying on and make all my deliveries on time, if not early.

Lately, I've been running back and forth between Colorado and Arizona. I'm a little bit over it, but that's ok.

Anyways, back to unloading :)

Hope all is well with everyone!

Ps: I love that Cash song :)

Thank you all so very much! Man those were some good hugs!!!

And I did it! I drove that road like a champ :) It was really scary, but I just put my Dubstep mix on and pumped some good beats the whole way up. Got a rhythm to the curves. Kept it in 7th on the way up and cruised down in 8th. Missed the turn off for 67 at 2nd street toward the mine going out of Cripple Creek and had to go around the block but that's ok.

I wish I had seen the posts about getting pictures sooner. They looked like ants crawling up the mounds. Big old dumps! They were super cool :) I got this one but the dump that was there wasn't by the time I got the camera focused.

Traffic wasn't any better today, but I fought my way back to the yard and am currently sitting at home. The migrain I woke up with is almost gone and I have a dog curled up at my feet, a belly full of momma's home cooking, and a glass of wine to help with sleeping tonight. I don't work this week so I'm treating myself :)

Sending the biggest, sunshiniest, love-filled hug to all of you!!! Happy Thanksgiving :) Thank you for picking me up when I was down.