I got the keys!

I got my truck today. It's a 2400 series 2002 columbia with 488,000 on it... It's been well used but is still in good working condition and it still looks good. The only way you can tell it's been used is that the seats are a bit worn and ripped but nothing a nice ford racing seat cover won't fix... Also, as you work yourself up the totem pole you get nicer and nicer trucks. We were told we wouldn't have our first trucks for very long... somewhere between 3-9 months.

It's a cummins isx engine and man, this this rumbles big time... More of a low deep sound rather than a clanky detriot. I inspected it and it's all good except for a reading light thats out and I need a new matress. everything gets fixed tonight and we finish orientation tomorrow and I'm out of here heading back south down to sacramento for a couple days.

I'm getting my truck!

Well, I had this huge page all typed out and I lost it... oh well, heres the basics...

I found out that tomorrow we are getting the keys to our trucks! No, we don't get to leave yet, but we do get to find out what truck is our and do a full blown inspection. Anything that we find wrong or something that's not how we want it, we write it down and tomorrow night it's fixed and ready for us on friday so that we can finish up here and hopefully taking off on my own with my first dispatch down to sacramento...I hope!

Anyways, I found out what truck I'm getting. A 2300 or 2400 Series Columbia!!! The truck I wanted. It's not brand new but it's a hell of a lot better than some of the other trucks students get. It's a manual so I can grind the gears instead of stupid semi automatic trucks...bleh. I'm not sure what exact truck it is yet, but I'm just so excited I'm getting a columbia, I can finally stop worrying about which one I'm going to get!

My truck will look basically like this...

What a day...

So here I am in a totally different hotel than I was yesterday... doh.

It all started when Mike ( a friend of my trainers) took me up from portland to Pacific, Washington. We dropped his truck off at the gordon terminal and walked into a dispatch office. Picture the NASA shuttle control room with computers and kiosks everywhere. That's where all the Dispatchers dispatch us drivers to different customers and locations around the country. The weekend dispatch told us that the hotel for students coming off of trainers trucks were to go to the Val-U-Inn. So we went over there and they didn't have a reservation for me. It was 9pm and we were not able to get ahold of anyone ( kinda funny because this is supposed to be a 24/7 company...) So I just put the room on my card because gordon would for sure pay me back. Well, I gave them a call this morning and she said "You're where?" with a stunned tone. I suppose this hotel and Gordon had a falling out and no one ever notified the weekend dispatchers... hmm. She said for me to get my stuff and let the hotel know that I will be checking out early and to have them shuttle me over to the gordon HQ. I had breakfast (make your own belgian waffles rule!) and got all my junk together. I checked out and asked for the shuttle. They said "Oh I'm sorry, we don't go there anymore" hmm, now I'm screwed. It's only 4 miles away for crying out loud. So gordon arranged for a driver to come over and pick me up. Turns out it was a driver who was on "light duty" meaning he was hurt on the job (back problems) and to be still eligable for his medical benefits he had to misc. work around the terminal. He's driven for gordon for 14 years and is counting down the days until he can go back out on the road.

When i got to gordon finally I was set up on a computer to do some finishing assignments that only took 3 hours... ouch, but I 'm glad I won't have to do that one agian. They served us a lunch consisting of some gourmet pizza hut. The other hotel shuttle bus came and picked some other students and I up and brought us to here, the Travelodge Suites which is anything but a suite but rather a small room with just enough room for a bed and a bathroom...hahaha well not quite, but still, it's not as nice as the other place, plus it's a lot further to walk to everything around here. I wish I had my bike! They do have wireless internet in the room so I'm happy.

So How about some more photos?


Wonderful friday night traffic in Fairfield,CA after coming back from Napa.


A rainy day in Clackamas, Oregon near Portland.


A Snowplow near Yreka, California.


What do you think?

I'm done with training!

I know everyone, it's been a long time since I've been able to update you guys but I am here now...

I don't even know where to begin. Training was a lot better than what I was thinking it was going to be. I learned the basics about being out there on the road, the gordon company procedures, the do's and dont's and everything else in between. In the end I wound up with having four, yes 4 trainers. No, I never switched to a new one, but my trainer curtis and his friends are one of the most knowledgeable and nicest people here at gordon. Curtis (my trainer) was the best trainer that I could of been teamed with, even some high up company guy's said the same too. Don, James and Mike who run on the Target and GP dedicated fleets have helped me out so much. Thanks to don for making me stay up till 2:30 in the morning at the Casino in Corning answering all my questions and just plain bullshittin' with me... James who now has left gordon to persue the life of an Owner Operator in his new volvo 770.... drool. Mike for driving me up here to pacific and giving me all his goodies he doesn't need anymore... I can wait to hook up my XM!

Theres to much to type out here, instead I'm going to do a photo essay in no particular order... *CLICK on the photos to make them bigger*


A nasty crash in roseburg, oregon. Shut down I-5 south for most of the day. This is the reason I will not drive a Gasoline Tanker. In this case, one of the tires got hot and blew up causing this truck to lost control and smash into some construction barriers. Driver was killed and when we drove by the truck was just burning. It was not even full, those flames are just left from the vapors and gasses still left in the tanks...


Snowing up and over the mountains heading toward oregon.


This is what it looks like when a couple hundred trucks stretched over miles just when the chain restriction was lifted for Ashland. TONS of trucks were on the shoulder putting on chains when all of a sudden they heard that the restriction was lifted. Some guys drove over the hill with only half of their chains on while others scrambled and pulled them off and got going. It was complete chaois making it over the mountain. A steady stream of trucks racing up the mountain and some four wheelers who made it really dangerous by going to slow... or cutting us off... But we made it. The mountain was snowy but the roads were wet... why did they even have a chain law? I will never know


Snowing in California near Mt. Shasta


Derrick and I with this lovely photo on valentines day... hahahaha


A clear day on Mount Shasta. Taken in the weed rest area.



Heading into the fog...


Curtis spent 2 hours polishing only half the fuel tank to only drive into a snow storm the next day to have all his work ruined... oops


75ft long and over 80,000lbs moving down the road at 55... don't cut trucks off!