Kirkella to Calgary - 08/31/09

Big sky day on the prairies.  I wished I had a plastic bubble over me rather than the cab of the truck.  Not a cloud all day, just blue sky and prairies.  I get lost in myself on days like this.  Just set up the cruise and take it all in - no radio, no ipod, no phone, no CB - just cruisin' - very cool day.

 Took this shot just west of Brooks, Ab. at the rest area after doing my last drop of the day in Brooks.

It was a busy one though.  Over a thousand kilometers and 3 drops.  Another busy one tomorrow too.  Tomorrow it's into the mountains for some interior work.

Thunder Bay to Kirkella, Mb. - 08/30/09

I've been off for a few days. I'm always surprised at how tired I feel the first couple of days back out on the road. Takes a little while to get back in the groove. Funny, but it's the same way when I get home off the road. I like to take at least four days because I spend the first couple going around in circles not knowing what to do with myself. All those little things I think about on the road that I want to get done when I get home seem to overwhelm me. That shouldn't be. Those little things are just that, little things. They still get to me though. Life is difficult. I know, I know, don't sweat the small stuff.

Last couple of days have been busy. I left Friday night (08/28) and have to be in Regina tomorrow morning - 2800 km. Been feeling a little melancholy today as it's my daughter's birthday. Although we celebrated together the other day I often feel I'm passing the important things in life as I fly down the road. It's a job hazard, I know. The whole point of been out here is to support the people you care for - that's the financial reality. It's somewhat of a paradox though. How do you support someone when you're not there ninety percent of the time? Life really is difficult. Life is difficult: that's my new mantra.

Brandon to T-Bay: 08/21/09

Man was I feeling tired today. Thought it might have been the weather in Winnipeg - cold, cloudy and wet again - but I'm sure it was the extra long run I went for earlier in the week when I was in Sicamous. I started running a little over a year ago for fitness, sort of fell of the wagon last winter then took it up with renewed passion in May of this year. Now I'm addicted. I like it. Problem is my brain still feels like a 30 year old but my body let's me know in no uncertain terms when I overdo it. For the most part I've learned to take rest days to recover but with improved fitness comes the feeling of been "bulletproof". That's usually when I get into trouble. (:

Today was very weird weatherwise. Started of sunny in Brandon. Then cloudy, cool and wet in Winnipeg. Then sunny again as soon as I got about 50 km east of the Peg. One of our business partners I was talking to today said he's never seen so much cloud and so little sun. Weird that it always seems to be isolated around Winnipeg. Maybe they will have a warm and dry winter since they have had a wet and cool summer? We can hope. Warm is not a word that comes easily to your lips during the winter in Winnipeg!

Medicine Hat to Brandon - 08/20/09

My favourite time of day is the early morning. I love taking in the sunrise. The light at that time of the day is awesome. Just east of Maple Creek I got into some ground fog. It sat below my windshield as I drove into the sunrise giving you the feeling you were floating in a cloud. Very surreal. As you broke out of the fog all of the tall grass in the median and on either side of the road was coated with large beads of water backlit by the sunrise. Amazing when your moving at 60 mph and you can still see that detail. I love this job. Now I know why so many people like to cycle across the prairies. Moving slowly through that experience would be even more amazing. We were not designed to experience life at 60 mph. Funny, seems more and more people want to move through life at an even faster pace than that.

For a couple of hours after that experience I mulled over that thought. I got to thinking about the hours of service we live by and a prevailing mindset that feels 16 hours in a shift just isn't enough time to allow you to get things done. Starting your day at six or seven in the morning and been able to work through until ten or eleven at night seems like a long enough day to me. I'm not sure I even want to work that hard to earn a respectable living. More on those thoughts later. There was an interesting feature article on the Today's Trucking website this month regarding hours of service. You can check it out here.

The rest of the day panned out as most days do. No major surprises or catastrophes. Although I wanted to end up in Headingley not Brandon but I spent a little too much time stopped over in Regina. C'est la vie. There is always tomorrow.