On the Road: Big Rig Days

In 2004 I was at a crossroads where I had to make a decision. I was not making enough to cover expenses living in Colorado so I decided to change course.

I decided to go to a school to learn to drive big rigs, semi's, 18-wheelers.

Here are a few pictures of the days on the road and the equipment I drove. See if you think you would have enjoyed driving a Big Rig.

This is my first truck. It was a 2003 Freightliner I started driving in 2005.

I lived in the sleeper and it was very comfortable. It had a Refrigerator, TV, Heat and Air Condition, Closet, and real comfortable bed.

If you look close you can see my buddy and friend Sage, a border collie.

A great friend.

There were many beautiful places. This was just south of Moab, Utah.

Delivering to Family Dollar stores required an ability to back-up the truck to doors in tight places.

Outside of Grand Junction, Colorado are some really cool mountains.

This golf ball house is located in western Arizona near Lake Havasue.

What a place to live.

The trucks were very comfortable and really easy to drive once you got the hang of it. On the driver's seat is the computer I used to get and send messages to the company from all over the US.

BIG TEX is a restaurant in Amerillo, Texas where if you can eat a 54 ounce steak you get it free.

I thought the sunset against this hillside was a beautiful color.

I drove in winter also. This is east of Flagstaff, Arizona on Interstate 40.

In the distance was a herd of Elk.

Cattle of the west are often feed hay when the snow is so deep they can not get to the grass underneath. This was on the border between Wyoming and Idaho.

It's not the best picture but I think you can see the Bald Eagle.

It could be very cold and windy putting 100 gallons of diesel fuel into the truck. I had to fuel my own truck and check the oil at every stop.

There were some really nice snowy days as well.

This was at a rest stop along the interstate.

My second truck was shorter so I could deliver into Canada which had overall length restrictions. This one had only 50,000 miles and was only a few months old.

This was very early in the morning in Toronto, Canada at a hotel on Lake Ontario. I had a load of mattresses to be delivered. I had to park the truck on the street during rush hour and it did not make drivers happy. It was there for an hour. I got to go take a walk along the water front while men unloaded the truck.