Oh Yeah. Gonna Be Here For A While!

Got here and got parked at 0830 this morning after rolling three and a half hours out of Hopkinsville KY. Had to lock the differential to get backed into this choice spot as it was already that slick. I was down to 30 MPH for the last 30-40 miles and was still driving by braille.

As of right now, there's a foot of snow on the ground, all the roads in Illinois are 100% covered, the temp has dropped 20 degrees in the last 3 hours, and the wind is rocking my truck and trailer (79000 pounds) like a pimply faced kid at his junior prom.

I got parked here in the nick of time, I'd say. MODOT says the roads there are pretty bad, too.

I'd also say that the chances of this truck rolling out at 2130 and being in Cedar Falls Iowa by 0600 are slim and none. And I think that was Slim I saw in the ditch with a pickup and a U-Haul trailer about 10 miles east of here.....

Oh well, I guess I'll settle in for a long winter's nap. Y'all stay safe out there!

Cheers, Howard

I stopped in Walcott, Iowa, last night, and after driving through Illinois, I ended up stopping at a service plaza in Elkhart, Indiana, for the night. I doubt I'll be in PA by midnight tomorrow night. Not with this weather.

Dave

I have been at the Flying J on I-255 exit 17a by St Louis since yesterday afternoon. I got here about 3pm yesterday.

I was really surprised to see so many trucks trying to be out in this mess today. Was interesting to watch folks trying to get into parking spots with all the snow already on the ground. One dude clipped a mirror of the truck next to the spot he was trying to get into. Happened to be another truck from the same company (the company name will remain a mystery so not to embarrass them).

Not too sure I will be trying to get to my 0800 appointment in the morning. Depends on what I see on the local weather news in the morning.

Ernie

Not too sure I will be trying to get to my 0800 appointment in the morning. Depends on what I see on the local weather news in the morning.

Ernie

Well, don't try to be a hero, buddy. This is really a bad blizzard. I lived through the Super Bowl blizzard in '72 and this is almost as bad. They're predicting -55 wind chills in MN tonight. That time, we had -80.

I'm not gonna even think about rolling until after sunup. But the way the trucks are jammed in this Road Ranger, I will probably be blocked in until much later than that. Can ya hear the tears running down my cheeks?

I finally figured out how to get this thing to idle without pushing the override button every 5 minutes so I can get some heat in here besides that lame a$$ bunk heater, thank God. That and an empty milk bottle and I'm as snug as a bug in a rug!

Cheers, Howard

I stopped in Walcott, Iowa, last night, and after driving through Illinois, I ended up stopping at a service plaza in Elkhart, Indiana, for the night. I doubt I'll be in PA by midnight tomorrow night. Not with this weather.

Dave

Don't take any unnecessary chances, Dave. Even if you have a trailer full of gold, it ain't worth dying for.

Cheers, Howard

Not too sure I will be trying to get to my 0800 appointment in the morning. Depends on what I see on the local weather news in the morning.

Ernie

Well, don't try to be a hero, buddy. This is really a bad blizzard. I lived through the Super Bowl blizzard in '72 and this is almost as bad. They're predicting -55 wind chills in MN tonight. That time, we had -80.

I'm not gonna even think about rolling until after sunup. But the way the trucks are jammed in this Road Ranger, I will probably be blocked in until much later than that. Can ya hear the tears running down my cheeks?

I finally figured out how to get this thing to idle without pushing the override button every 5 minutes so I can get some heat in here besides that lame a$$ bunk heater, thank God. That and an empty milk bottle and I'm as snug as a bug in a rug!

Cheers, Howard

I may be crazy, but not stupid. Will be checking weather before I attempt to move in the morning for sure.

Ernie

We've got trucks all over the place here in Lebanon IN. There are two guys jack-knifed in the parking lot, one of them blocking exiting the fuel pumps. At least four that I can see that are just stuck in the lanes of the lot - they can't go forward or backward - they've got their tandems locked in, but all they are doing is spinning on the layer of ice that is down below the 15 or 16 inches of snow lying on the ground. We even have got a roll-over just outside the exit of the truck stop, and there was another accident just North of us where one rig jack-knifed and then consequently got T-boned by the next rig who was following too closely.

There is a line as far as I can see on the interstate of trucks just sitting there still. The high temp tomorrow is supposed to be seven below, and the power has already gone out in the Flying J. Fortunately they've got a back-up generator. Even if I was dumb enough to try and get out of here in the morning there would be no way to get through the tangle of trucks that is piling up outside the truck stop. The wind is blowing so hard that inside my truck it feels like I'm in an earthquake. Yes it's going to be an interesting night. The only positive thing that I can figure is that the inconsiderate Lot Lizard who woke me at 3:20 this morning beating on my truck door will probably be so frozen stiff tonight that she won't be out trying to hustle up more business.

Please everyone be careful out there!

Now see I had a beautiful drive across, NV, UT and half of WY today until the temp dropped to a real feel of -30. Hoping it doesn't start snowing. Yall be safe if all goes well ill be in IA tomorrow. This winter sucks! Cant wait for spring. Last year wasnt nearly as bad.

We've got trucks all over the place here in Lebanon IN. There are two guys jack-knifed in the parking lot, one of them blocking exiting the fuel pumps. At least four that I can see that are just stuck in the lanes of the lot - they can't go forward or backward - they've got their tandems locked in, but all they are doing is spinning on the layer of ice that is down below the 15 or 16 inches of snow lying on the ground. We even have got a roll-over just outside the exit of the truck stop, and there was another accident just North of us where one rig jack-knifed and then consequently got T-boned by the next rig who was following too closely.

There is a line as far as I can see on the interstate of trucks just sitting there still. The high temp tomorrow is supposed to be seven below, and the power has already gone out in the Flying J. Fortunately they've got a back-up generator. Even if I was dumb enough to try and get out of here in the morning there would be no way to get through the tangle of trucks that is piling up outside the truck stop. The wind is blowing so hard that inside my truck it feels like I'm in an earthquake. Yes it's going to be an interesting night. The only positive thing that I can figure is that the inconsiderate Lot Lizard who woke me at 3:20 this morning beating on my truck door will probably be so frozen stiff tonight that she won't be out trying to hustle up more business.

Yeah, Mother Nature just woke me up and made me walk across the lot to use the men's room and we have the same situation here. Even if there was a path from here to the road (which there isn't for anything bigger than a Volkswagen) I don't think this Freightshaker is going to plow through this mess even with the diff locked.

Not that I wanna try. I almost busted my a$$ twice just trying to walk across it!

If they keep that lizard frozen, she may be of use for a while. Spring is still a long ways off.....

Cheers, Howard