Trip XVII.

____DAY 1: It's now four years since I flew into Winnipeg Airport on a sadly now defunct Zoom jet and pitched up at the BFS yard for the first time. A lot has changed, the fleet was then over 160 trucks, now it's just over a hundred. Some things are the same, you can still be despatched to anywhere in North America at any time; which is one of the major attractions of the job for me. After unloading last weeks load of resin, I load a load of lumber that came from a West Fraser mill; by coincidence, the same as my first ever load down into the States, 4 years ago. Through to Sauk Centre at the end of the first day.
____DAY 2: The Truckers Inn at Sauk Center is a BP franchised fuel stop but seems as busy as ever, even with the bad publicity of the Gulf oil spill, no one is boycotting. A hot day on Interstates 94, 39 and 8o; finishing at Princeton, Il. The first night of the summer when it's too hot sleep. Just before midnight I resort to running the engine for an hour; chilling the interior down to freezing point. Only then can I sleep.

____DAY 3: The lumber yard say they have more wood in stock than they have sold in the last five years; but they unload me with good humour. Back at the Road Ranger Truckstop on the 80, it's not along wait before reload details. A steel frame from Batavia, just west of Chicago, to Saskatchewan; quickly loaded from the Massey-Ferguson spare parts warehouse. Light-weight, a strong tail wind and I'm up to the Minnesota/Wisconsin border for the night.
____DAY 4: Tornados touched down in Minnesota during the night, at breakfast in Hasty, Mn. I watch TV pictures of devestation just 1 hours drive away. At lunchtime, I'm the only one watching England/Algeria at Fargo's Stamart Truckstop. Maybe they knew something I didn't; 1-1, was totally boring. By 8 o'clock, I'm back in the yard at Steinbach; Saturday off, 5 hours on Sunday to get to Whitewood, Saskatchewan.
____Overall Distance:-2973 kms.