Ice road trucking

No snow plows today. Must all be on holiday or the money has run out till next year.

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Emma the Poser

Apparently this is the peace sign.... It was swearing when I grew up...

Bull hauler and his dad

We got up at 0430. We weren't loading to 0630, but I had a few jobs to do before we started. our company has changed names so there was new registration for the trucks and as a consequence new number plates as well. We were ready to leave for 0500 once we had got all the stuff ready and loaded the car. We were loaded by 0700 and on our way to Pasco, Washington.

First stop was just past Sparwood, BC, to check the animals. Jake climbed the side of the trailer and made sure they were all stood up and comfortable.

Here is a picture of the worlds largest truck. Jake took the picture as we zoomed past.. (no time to stop son, you saw it in the summer)

Ice on the window was on the inside.

Waiting for our pancake breakfast on the way back.

This is a tunnel in the side of the mountain. Its just west of fernie and its quite tight if you meet another truck going the other way..

Jake was happy to get back to Alberta. Only two hours to go until will get home; by this stage he was pretty bored..

I missed the picture of his face when the boss sent a message saying that we had to go straight to Clyde to load. Clyde is 6 hours north, so his face went straight south when I told him we were not going home.. Luckily for him his mum took pity and drove to Granum to get him as we past.

It was a good trip and some quality bonding time for father and son. Watch this space for Laurens go after Christmas, as we venture out to Utah...

A banger for work......

Getting everybody up at the crack of sparrows, to take me to work is no more... Check out my new wheels...... Style is everything in Canada and street cred that much more..

Lights on....

Not very good pics, but its not a very good camera.....

Lights for crimbo....

Sarah had me up the ladders and balanced precariously on the roof to fix our 280 red bulbs to the side of the house.. These pics are of the placement and the night time result will follow on the official turning on ceremony..

Dentist..

Been to see the dentist this morning who informs me that I need a route canal. The procedure plus the cap will cost us around $750. Thats my part of the bargain; the insurance has to pay more. Oh how I miss the national health.....

Bull Hauler for real....

Today I came back from Toppenish in Washington at a rate of knots. There was an auction on in Fort Macleod and there were some animals that needed moving there from BC. By all accounts I now work in the cattle business, not the trucking business; so it was a drive through the night job (if you know what I mean). I arrived at the ranch in the pitch black and pouring rain, where the only source of light was from the farmers truck lights and my trailer lights. I was told to pick up 7 yearlings, 17 cows and 1 BULL.
The biggest steer I have picked up has been in the region of 1600 pound which I thought was absolutely massive. This bull was around 2200 pound and only just fit through the door as it took its massive bulk up the ramp. I followed it up a tentatively and just skulked around in the corner of the trailer as he made his own way to the nose of the trailer. I got behind my gate and although I had it in my hand, kept my prod at bay. I pleaded with him to go down the front, which he obliged me with. This was good as I didn't upset him, he didn't turn on me and I got out alive. I got a bit of advise off the farmer as I followed him up, which was; don't prod him, don't piss him off and he won't make mince meat of you.
I suppose now I can say I am a paid up member of the bull hauler fraternity....

Some truck pics and a work catch-up...

This week involved 2 round trips to Utah.. Although they are not as far as going to Colorado in one hit, I find them more tiring because you don't have the two days to get home. Its there one day and straight back the next. That being said, I was kinda hoping to get three of these this week, but that didn't pan out.

I have now been doing this job for five months now and I am getting more confident by the day. Working out the amount of animals that go in each compartment is all down to you. You work this out, based on the average of each animal. If you look at the side picture of the cattle liner you can see that when you have the fourth lift axle off of the ground there is an overhang at the back. This means that your trailer acts like a pendulum scale. You have to have just under three times as much weight on the back as you have over your drives. (If you get it wrong then its ticket time.) The DOT do however, give you a little leeway as the animals can move, but its not a lot. I am glad that I have had the summer months to get used to the animals and the mathematics.

The cattle industry is seasonal and at the moment is our busiest time. I worked for the dutch for many years and this is by far the hardest I have ever worked. The good thing is though, along with the hard work comes the big pay checks, and lets face it, that's why I go to work. Apparently the J months are the ones that are most slack, so roll on next summer and our holiday to CalifornIA.

I woke up the other morning and the temperature gauge said that it was -4 outside so I wrapped up warm and ventured out into the dark ready to load. I had set my trailer up on the chute the night before, so I stood around talking with the other lads as the 1600 pound steers were brought up into the tubs. Once they were ready, I told the cowboy I wanted 4 for the nose of the trailer. I zapped them with the prod, ran up the chute after them and locked the door behind me (so they can't escape). Now that I am inside with the beasts its time to get them into the nose and you do this by bring across your centre gate to protect you from them. Speed is of the essence at this stage as the animals are normally coming back towards you. This game is all bluff with the animals and you have to pretend not to be scared; so raise your voice, shout and ball and get behind the gate. Trouble was the gate had frozen in the night and wouldn't budge and they were bearing down on me. So it was out the escape hatch in the roof, at a rate of knots for me. (Moral of the story, and its good to learn when it is relatively warm because at -4 I could force the gate to my way of thinking; check your gates are free and loose and in a position to do there jobs and not natter like a little old lady when you are supposed to be working.)

Sarah took Jake to see the WWF in Lethbridge the other night and I saw the trucks returning to California at the border. I took a pic of the John Cena trailer, Jake's favorite Wrestler and there is also a picture of the border looking back towards Canada at Sweetgrass Montana.

Completed fence..

The fence is now finished. Now that our border has been defined it is a lot easier to imagine the way we are going to landscape. That's us finished for this year, but we are left with lots of ideas for what we will do next spring.

Paintballing..

Some of the wounds from a days paintballing..

Blond or brunette??

New Fence is underway.....

Posts are in and the cement is coming.. As soon as the bloody rain stops it should be full steam ahead..

E Coli...

After 2 days of stomach cramps and emergency stopping at the side of the road to release my bowels, I have come to the conclusion that I have contracted E Coli from one of my cows.. Today the stomach seems to be more settled, but I think that is because I have a toilet at my disposal.. You can guarantee that tomorrow, when I go back to work, it will start again.. Moral of the story; if you get a mouth full of shit when washing out your trailer, don't swallow.

Henderson outdoor pool.

We left home about 1100 this morning after a hearty breakfast.. (pancakes, eggs and bacon) The pool opened at 1200, so the plan was to have a walk around the lake. We only got as far as the park and the kids wanted to play. We went on the see-saw and the twirly thing, tried to do cartwheels and handstands against the tree. I don't think I am as agile as I used to be.. Once in the pool in was suncream on as the sun was scorching.. (factor fifty for me, so I only burnt a little bit.) The water was lovely and warm.. We spent ages jumping and diving in (it was smiles all around)..