Wingnut's Crazy 'Trucking Daze' Thread!

[Wingnut]

Here are some materials needed by drivers: fuel network guides, reefer alarm codes, etc. Of course, a truck driver had to buy his own atlas and 'Exit Guide' if he wanted 'em, but I grabbed those right away... a trucker's atlas comes in handy and can keep you out of trouble, while an 'Exit Guide' lets you know what services are available at each exit on every major interstate. Before I went trucking, I never even knew such guides existed, lol. Meh, live and learn...

When ya join the transportation industry, ya can't forget the all-important 'Bull$h!t Bag!'

Here I am camping in Anza-Borrego with some gal I used to know...

That was Borrego Palm Canyon, a campground where we spent the night... next morning, we drove out to Truckhaven Rocks and climbed to one summit for a view of the surrounding desert. Looks like I'm sweatin' in this "selfie" we took, it was a steep climb, lol. I think we went on to do the slot canyon by the Calcite Mine, but this was our first objective.

Look closely at that last pic, and you can see my big ol' red Freightshaker parked in the upper left quadrant, lol. Funny to think that in those days, even when I had time off I was still driving the tractor around and burning company fuel, lol. The truck had a SatComm dome mounted atop it, high on the bulkhead above the catwalk, and I'd routinely cover it with foil to prevent the company from knowing that I was out goofing off in their truck, lol. Just the way it was in those days... here's a shot of the pyramid in Memphis, TN.

 

[Wingnut]

Got a couple shots of truck camping in Lark Canyon, out by Boulevard, CA. Great place to take friends camping, I'd always sleep in the tent and let my friends sleep in the truck, aye? A new experience for them, and I've always liked tent camping. We'd drag firewood out there (strapped down to the catwalk) and have big ol' bonfires at night... party and BBQ under a million stars, aye? Lots of fun, and I probably took a dozen different friends out there with me over the years... my niece & nephew too, along with their friends. The following morning, after a nice breakfast, we'd break camp & roll north to the Carrizo Badlands Overlook, if we hadn't already visited it the previous afternoon. Good times!

Here's the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial in Mobile, AL... just a few shots taken during my visit. I had some better shots of the battleship & submarine, but I reckon I gave them away to folks who liked 'em. Meh, no worries, this first shot shows my red & white USX rig parked out by the B-52 'Calamity Jane'---some other trucker was already visiting the memorial, so I simply parked alongside that rig.

A couple of pics taken in cold weather... first shot shows some backwoods PA facility with an approach on dirt, lol.

 

[Wingnut]

Okay, lemme see what's next... I think this big ol' lumber mill was in southern Alabama.

Next, we have shots of the 'Truman Home' (and library) in Independence, MO... plus some shots of the 'Subtropolis' near Independence & Kansas City, it is a large underground storage facility carved out of limestone. That place was a trip, a group of underground warehouses with docks and everything, lol. You could roll for quite some distance underground, trying to find your shipper's location, lol. But using limestone caverns for cold storage makes perfect sense, as the caverns will already be cooler underground.

Now, that company put me into a cr@ppy old flat-top tractor, so they didn't last very long... I was already spoiled by living out of a Freightshaker Condo, you understand. So ol' KLLM got drop-kicked like I was starrin' in the NFL... no great loss, they were nowhere near as organized as USX. Oh, yeah, USX fell by the wayside after some dispatcher failed to get me home for a specific holiday... I hadn't yet learned that holidays are just like any other days in the trucking industry, lol.

That last pic shows the aquarium in Chattanooga in the background... and here are a couple of postcards for Bacpacker, showing the battleground on Lookout Mountain.

That was also known as 'The Battle Above The Clouds' due to the cloud layer seen in the artist's rendition. Interesting location, I walked the ground there, same way I walked Vicksburg and Gettysburg. You get a better feel for what occurred when you walk the ground, aye? Here's a filler shot of some backup in traffic, Lord knows where, lol...

 

[Wingnut]

Some shots of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock, NC... I had a blast there, stopping to get cleaned up in the Rocky Broad River and hiking in Chimney Rock Park. I was coming out of the woods with a load and when I saw Chimney Rock, I told myself, "That's it, I'm stopping to check out this place!" Rolled through the hamlet, parked by the river, washed my hair by the truck and donned some board shorts for a dip... that water was COLD too, coming out of the hills the way it did. Nice little village though, and the park is awesome, a destination in its own right!

 

[Wingnut]

More shots of Chimney Rock, NC...

Look closely in those last two pics, and you can see my truck parked in that back lot (upper left quadrant in last pic). That gorge is around 2500' deep, IIRC, so the views are pretty nice.

 

[Wingnut]

Last Chimney Rock shots...

That's 404' Hickory Nut Falls, featured in the remake of 'THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS' with Daniel Day-Lewis. The story took place in upstate NY, but the cliff scenes were filmed at Chimney Rock, NC, lol. The 'Cliff Trail' is spectacular, wish I still had some shots of it, but I must have given 'em away. Just watch the flick, can't beat the scenery in it. Next, we go to Chicago's West Side, where I was getting my wagon loaded in the shadow of the Sears Tower...

 

[Wingnut]

Views from the SkyDeck of the Sears Tower... now the building is called by some idiotic name, lol.

More Chi-Town shots...

Dunno where this happy water tank was... but at least it's happy, lol.

And here are some old beat-up road tractors which had clearly been involved in rollover wrecks...

"SHOWROOM CONDITION!!!"

Almost forgot these three filler shots...

 

[Wingnut]

Okay, been awhile since I visited this thread, I've been busy posting trucking shots at another site, lol... and since I have a bunch of trucking shots on my camera card right now, I'll throw down a few, 10-4? But only a teaser round, as I'm ready to cut loose and PAR-TAY with some tequila shots on top of the beer I'm drinking, lol. I was just outside covering the blackberry vine---temp will drop to 16* or 17* F tonight---and boy, that wind is COLD! I couldn't cover the fruit trees yet, gotta wait till the wind dies down, and when I tackle that task later tonight, I intend to have plenty of "antifreeze" in my system, lol. Anyway, let's do a special round of pics, howzabout this 1953 Bull-Nose Kenworth? Let's see, the calendar year is now 2023, so we're talking about a 70-year-old rig... I'm sure it's still rolling around the country and looking good in truck shows, aye? Here we go with "WOOLY BULLY!" Y'all enjoy the pics, I'll post more trucking shots manana! CHEERS!!!

P.S. Gotta love the diamond-plated 5th wheel, lol... it makes a statement! Here's a bonus pic to round out the set!

That's a 53' wagon... convertible model, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Okay, time to PAR-TAY!!! HASTA LUEGO!!!

 

[Spikedriver]

That truck is beautiful, but when I look at it all I can think is that it must be a rough riding SOB. My mom's cousin hauled grain and cattle for many years with a cab over, and it beat him up so bad that he had to give up trucking...

 

[Wingnut]

Yeah, I imagine it's pretty rough, a little smoother with a loaded wagon behind it... but ya gotta admit, it's a classic KW, lol.

When I get around to it, I'll post some more trucking pics... maybe later this afternoon, lol. First I gotta burn off this mild hangover, get some breakfast, do dishes, get cleaned up, etc., etc. Haircut too, I can't forget that, lol...

 

[Wingnut]

Okay, I gotta clear my memory/storage card in the Canon cam so it's ready for the race this weekend, which means I'm gonna post some trucking pics, lol. Once I post 'em, I can erase the card and I'll be stylin' for the 'Tarantula 100!' So, let's see what we have here...

Nice jet engine in that racing bus, lol...

 

[Wingnut]

Saw these old workhorses in a pallet yard in Bakersfield... too good to pass up, lol.

"SHOWROOM CONDITION!!!"

That old farm tractor was in the same yard, lol... next, we have a rollover wreck on CA-99, with a salvage crew transferring product to a waiting rig in the rain, right through a damage hole in the roof of the wagon.

"WELCOME TO THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY!!!"

That last pic shows a stone bridge over 200 years old spanning the Juniata River in Pennsylvania... the ancient Romans would be proud that it's still standing, lol.

 

[Wingnut]

Hmm, what else do we have? Lemme see...

Road tractors & drivers waiting for their wagons to get loaded down in San Antone...

Shots taken at the Alamo...

San Antone boat ride along the River Walk, an awesome venue ...

Rush hour out west, lol...

 

[Wingnut]

Okay, lemme see...

"Mr. Parking Lot, what have you done?"

At least this Nova didn't get damaged...

A marina in the Buckeye... Alum Creek Lake, Ohio.

Armor on lowboy... looks like a self-propelled howitzer.

Three cabovers in Texas, lol...

Marine KW...

 

[Wingnut]

Party barge aboard lowboy...

Oversized load tooling west on I-80 in Nebraska...

Wide open in Utah with the hammer down, lol...

Not my truck, just messing with the scale of that HUGE outcrop or formation that resembles a ship...

A couple pics taped together for a wider view, lol...

Looks like Humphreys Peak, highest point in Arizona at 12,633' elevation, as seen from somewhere near Winslow...

 

[Wingnut]

Okey-dokey, moving on, we have my niece at a young age goofing off in my tractor at home in Coronado, lol...

Nice 'African Engineering' with the mini-bungees to put the CB mike right where I wanted it lol. Sometimes ya just do whatcha gotta do, 10-4?

This old abandoned service station in Roswell had some classic graphic artwork...

I always liked this shot of a rain squall in the Arizona desert, even if it is a bit crooked in the frame, lol...

Another view of Steins Peak, New Mexico... awesome cragging venue for technical rock climbers!

More shots of the ol' Bulldog Mack seen in a yard in the 'Tar Heel' (NC).

 

[Wingnut]

Gettin' kinda hungry, so I'll finish posting pics manana before I head for the race... that leftover roast beef is calling my name from the fridge, lol. Maybe I can post one more round before I bail for the evening...

Remember, I'm using the digital Canon cam to take pics of old paper photographs, so at times there is a ghostly reflection of the Canon cam and my fingers, or just some glare due to angle and lighting, aye? Meh, y'all are hardcore, you can handle it, lol... I'm off to slap together a big ol' plate of primo leftovers! Back manana to post more pics! Cheers!

 

[Wingnut]

Okay, let's get this camera card cleared... what do we have today?

Ah, just the ticket, a lovely paper recycling mill in Snowflake, AZ, lol...

A good place to take a blind date... and I mean BLIND, white cane and all, lol. Here's a spillway shot from the dam at Alum Creek Lake, OH, this pic belongs with that marina shot I posted earlier.

Here's a tight squeeze on the West Side of Chicago, it wasn't easy putting that 53' wagon back in the corner, lol.

AFTER I got in there, some jackhole opened the gate behind my truck, which would've made life easier...

Next, we have Vedauwoo, WY, a magical place... here's a bonus link to the story behind my first visit.

Vision Quest At Vedawoo

There are more pics of Vedauwoo in this thread: Random outdoor adventure shots...

 

[Wingnut]

Howzabout some open road & sky pics?

A little fuzzy, but here's the Colorado River near Topock, AZ...

This one has a ghostly reflection of the Canon cam and my fingers, but I still like the colors...

A tall dust devil just north of Las Vegas, NV...

Look closely at the next pic, and you'll see the 'Dancing Gremlin' clouds, lol...

Desert flora at the entrance to Kartchner Caverns near Benson, AZ...

Clouds in the mountains...

Along the mighty Columbia River...

 

[Wingnut]

Philly from the Camden side of the Delaware River...

Now we go to Philly's waterfront to tour the Moshulu, which has a crazy nautical history: Moshulu

Al's Pier 40 Cheesesteak Shack made the BEST cheesesteaks & grilled Italian sausage & pepper sandwiches!

Narrow bridge work in Pennsylvania, lol...

Shots of Greensburg, PA, including this driver about to get a ticket (a.k.a. "driving award").

And trees turning color in NE Ohio...

 

[Wingnut]

Hmm, what else do we have?

Bridge work...

Dunno why this gal was strolling past the lumber wreck... off-duty nurse, maybe?

Maybe she just wanted to play "Pickup Stix!"

The Mall of America in Minneapolis... before it became Somalianapolis, lol.

I rode all those rides, the logjam ride was probably my favorite, lol...

 

[Wingnut]

Hmm, what next?

This HUGE oversized rig had about 100 wheels on it, lol...

Fuzzy RV wreck shot... gotta love the multiple fluid leaks!

And this one: "DON'T WORRY, OFFICER, I ALWAYS PARK THIS WAY ON THE INTERSTATE!"

Alright, let's visit Fort Hood, TX, once the "Armor Capital of the World!"

This one looks good for rush hour traffic on the 405, lol...

 

[Bacpacker]

You took some interesting shots during your time in the rig.

 

[Wingnut]

More Fort Hood pics...

I like this bad boy armored car, PERFECT for late-night liquor store runs in the ghetto, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Looks Russian, lol... but we also have THIS armored car, which is SWEEEEET! Easier to park at the beach too...

This is for when those ghetto hood rats get outta hand, lol...

 

[Wingnut]

Dang, I'm having too much fun here, lol... but I'm almost done, gotta get ready for that race this afternoon!

Captured Russian T-34? Or..?

A "mule" for hauling stuff short distances...

This German field piece looks just right for discouraging door-to-door salesmen, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc.

For those pesky Gulf Coast skeeters...

Check the wheels on this old Italian number... no need to worry about these being stolen in the ghetto, lol.

 

[Wingnut]

Last but not least, two pics which were odd men out, lol... first we have a custom bug screen on a Pete grille, I like the cacti, eagle & snake, 10-4?

And a shot of the South Shore Marina on the Great Salt Lake in Utah... nice mountain scenery in the background!

Okay, youse H&CL heroes, time for me to get going... hope y'all enjoyed the pics, more trucking shots will be posted here in the future! Gotta erase the camera memory/storage card now and plug in the battery charger! CHEERS!!!