Carroll, IA - Freezing my @#*( off

After getting that air leak fixed in Chicago, I was given a couple of local assignments. First I picked up my load from the OC and delivered that as a live unload, then I received another assignment in Chicagoland. I didn't even get on the Interstate for it; I went straight up one of the state routes to the facility, got the trailer loaded, and started heading toward a logistics yard to drop off the relay. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have even bothered getting on I-55, as traffic was starting to back up around 3 PM. The end result is that it took me over an hour and a half to go just 30 miles. The guy who was bringing in my next load as a relay was even more backed up and didn't arrive until after I'd run out of hours for the day.

Since I couldn't go anywhere last night with the relay, I had to get started around 2 AM this morning. I found the relay trailer quickly enough, but just scaling the load out turned into a significant problem; I had to take a detour to avoid various DOT scales, then came to a Pilot only to find that their scale was out of service. I tried a TA next and discovered that they didn't even have a CAT scale. It was another thirty miles to a Love's that actually had a working CAT scale; I had to pay the $9 out of pocket but found that I was legal weight wise and continued on my way.

Upon arriving at my delivery point, I checked in at the guard house, then proceeded to the receiving office and was told that I was only dropping the load, not waiting on a live unload. Fantastic, I thought, as drop and hook deals are generally much faster. I dropped off the trailer, grabbed the empty I was assigned ... and discovered that I could move it absolutely nowhere. In the process of doing my pre-trip inspection I'd managed to pack the snow down into nothing but ice, making it impossible to move that trailer at all. At the suggestion of the shipping office I unhooked and managed to somehow wiggle my way out from under the trailer. They assigned me another empty; I grabbed it and worried about doing my inspection after I got it off the ice. Everything checked out, so I called ops about a load, but they only said they were working on something.

While I waited to get a work assignment I went and grabbed lunch from a diner. After food I found I had a load that I can't get until tomorrow morning, but it's at a place that allows overnight parking. I had just enough time on my 14 to get there today so I just got behind the wheel and got moving. Finding the place was a challenge, though, as none of the warehouses on this block have street addresses visible and the facility's name on the street doesn't match what was on my work assignment or their voice mail. But I'm in the right place now, there's nobody here in the shipping office, and I'm far enough out of the way that I can't imagine they'll complain about me being here until they officially open at eight in the morning.

Once I get this load, I have the pleasure of going 470 miles to Green Bay, WI. Of that, none of the route is on the Interstate, though portions in Wisconsin have been built up to Interstate standards and much of the route in Iowa is a four-lane divided highway. I'm just hoping that I don't run into any inclement weather and that the roads are clear and dry, as I'd prefer to have enough time to go somewhere else after I deliver the load. In the best-case scenario, I'll have at least two hours to run and can get somewhere south of Milwaukee. At worst, I'll have to shut down early and deliver it Monday instead. Kinda hard to say, though, until I actually get on the road and assess things.