Tour of Duty 30th August 2010 to 29th October 2010
Part I: 30th August to 7th September

At the end of the previous tour of duty I was flown home before I really wanted to go home. So I asked about available trips and was told there was one available from Boise, ID to Billings, MT and the company booked me an air ticket from LAX to BOI on Southwest.

I got a ride to the Metro Green Line Station in Norwalk and for a dollar and some change I took the Green Line to the Aviation Station near LAX. On the way I saw Law Enforcement Officers asking for proof of payment of fare and I produced my ticket and was left alone but I saw the officers writing out citations to those who did not have proof of payment. Upon arrival at Aviation Station I hopped on a bus that took me to the lower level at Terminal 1 and I took the lift to the ticketing level.

I checked in and my checked bags weighed 46.5lbs and 48.0lbs. I cleared security after a short queue. There was no secondary screening but my boot bag was swabbed.

Southwest #974 LAX-RNO B-737-700 Boarding Pass A39 Seat 21F Cruising altitude 40,000 feet Estimated flying time 0:57, actual 0:55
Depart Gate 13 Scheduled 11h35, actual 11h37 Taxi: 5 minutes
Arrive B7 Scheduled 12h50, actual 12h42 Taxi: 3 minutes

Plane was not full, only 88 passengers. I saw my bags loaded onto the belt going into the hold. Pushback was 2 minutes late. Takeoff was to the west and I saw Marina del Rey, Venice, Santa Monica and West Los Angeles. It was a hazy day. We went over the ocean. I saw Malibu, the Santa Monica Mountains and the San Fernando Valley to the distance. At 0:04 we made landfall over Malibu and looking back I saw the Palos Verdes Peninsula and much of the LA basin smothered in haze.

At 0:05 I got pretzels. We passed over the San Fernando Valley and I saw US101 and BUR to the distance then I saw Interstate 5, CA 118 and other freeways in the San Fernando Valley. Then I saw the Santa Clarita Valley and the junction of Interstate 5 and California 14 and the Antelope Valley to the distance.

At 0:09 I saw Castaic Lake. At 0:12 I saw Edwards AFB to the distance. At 0:13 I saw Tehachapi with Mojave farther out. We went over the extreme southeast San Joaquin Valley. At 0:16 we crossed California 58 as it came down from the Tehachapi Mountains. At 0:18 I saw Lake Isabella. At 0:19 cruise was announced and the seatbelt sign went off. At 0:21 I got cup of soda. I was almost given the wrong drink. I saw foothills down below and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

At 0:25 I saw smoke from a fire. At 0:30 I saw part of the Owens Valley past the mountains. I felt descent begin at 0:34. Seatbelt sign went on at the same time. It was announced it was mostly clear and 66F at RNO. At 0:35 I saw Mono Lake and at 0:40 I saw what looked to be Bridgeport, CA. I saw Lake Tahoe to the left at 0:48. I felt bumps at 0:50 while still abreast of Lake Tahoe. I saw US395 below and some real good bumps and I saw some new highways being built. We landed south to north and arrived at gate 8 minutes early and deplaned via jetway.

Southwest #1409 RNO-BOI B-737-700 Boarding Pass A30 Seat 4A Cruising altitude 39,000 feet Estimated flying time, actual 0:50
Depart B1 Scheduled 14h35, actual 14h38 Taxi: 8 minutes
Arrive Gate 15 Scheduled 16h40, actual 16h38 Taxi: 1 minute
Reclaimed bags 13-14 minutes after arrival

Plane was not full with only 71 passengers. Announcement was made it was 70F and clear at BOI. Pushback was 3 minutes late. Takeoff was to the north and I saw downtown Reno and I saw junction of Interstate 80 and US395. We made a turn to the northeast and there were some clouds. At 0:07 I saw what looked to be Pyramid Lake partially blocked by clouds. There was drink run and I got cup of soda at 0:16.

Cruise was announced at 0:18 but seatbelt sign stayed on due to bumps. I got pretzels at 0:21. I felt descent begin at 0:22. Clouds totally blocked the view so I was unsure of the location. Descent was announced at 0:30 and it was 72F with scattered clouds at BOI. I saw clouds start to break as we progressed. I saw farmland on approach and downtown Boise to the distance. I saw Interstate 84 and the rest area as we swung out before heading north and west. We landed east to west and arrived 2 minutes early and after I got my bags I hired a taxi to the shipper.

Trip: Boise, ID to Billings, MT 622 paid miles Route: Interstate 84 to Interstate 86 to Interstate 15 to Montana 55 to Montana 41 to Interstate 90 to Montana 3 Maximum elevation: 6,870 feet at Monida Pass on Interstate 15 at the ID/MT state line
Highest fuel price: $3.139/gallon at Flying J Blackfoot, ID
Lowest fuel price: $2.879/gallon at Town Pump Dillon, MT
Permits needed: ID and MT Trip Permits

This was a cab and chassis of a garbage truck with an automatic transmission. I got started and found out that either the speedometer was not working properly or the truck was not able to do any better than 40mph. I spent the first night in Bliss, ID. There was fair weather in almost all of Idaho. It clouded up as I approached Montana and I spent second night in Dillon, MT after finding the scale in Lima, MT was closed. By the way, I found out the speedometer was not working properly and was showing a false speed as I was able to do between 60 and 65mph when I took into account the time and distance travelled.

Following day I stopped in Twin Bridges, MT for lunch at the Wagon Wheel. There were some rain showers off and on. I had a considerable wait in ordering a Trip Permit before it was faxed to the truckstop I was waiting at in Whitehall, MT. I had more rain east of Big Timber and made an evening delivery in Billings and was taken to motel where I spent the night.

Next day I was told I'd be flying to Edmonton to get a truck for Cincinnati, OH. I got the shuttle to BIL and checked in at UA and $60 later my two bags were checked. I cleared security after a short queue. A container of keys and coins was taken out and examined separately otherwise there was no additional screening or manual search of carry ons.

United #406 BIL-DEN A-320 Seating 2 Seat 25F Cruising altitude 35,000 feet Estimated flying time 1:00, actual 1:07
Depart A1 Scheduled 13h29, actual 13h32 Taxi: 7 minutes
Arrive B49 Scheduled 14h55, actual 14h55 Taxi: 8 minutes

We boarded via jetway. Pushback was 3 minutes late. Takeoff was to the west northwest. There were mumps immediately after takeoff. We made turns to head to DEN. I saw Interstate 90, Laurel, MT and the Yellowstone River. There was drink run and I got can of soda. Channel 9 was operational.

I felt descent begin at 0:37. I saw what appeared to be Interstate 80 somewhere west of Laramie, WY. Seatbelt sign went on at 0:42 and descent was announced at 0:43. I saw the Rocky Mountains and at 0:52 I saw Longmont, CO and Interstate 25. At 0:55 I saw Interstate 76 and we overflew DEN. I felt bumps during the latter part of descent. We crossed Interstate 70 at 0:59 and I saw downtown Denver in the distant haze before we turned around and we landed south to north. We arrived at gate right on time.

United Express #7530 DEN-YEG E-170 Seating 2 Seat 16F Cruising altitude not given Estimated flying time 2:40, actual 2:27
Depart B58 Scheduled 18h30, actual 18h40 Taxi: 9 minutes
Arrive gate 64 Scheduled 21h16, actual 21h25 Taxi: 8 minutes
Reclaim bags 26-27 minutes after arrival

Pushback was 10 minutes late. Takeoff was to the north and I saw the Plains of Eastern Colorado. There were some bumps on climb. Seatbelt sign went off at 0:15. There were some bumps and seatbelt sign went on at 0:45. I got cup of soda at 0:49. Seatbelt sign went off at 1:44. I felt descent begin at 2:12. Seatbelt sign went on again at 2:17. Descent was announced and it it was 61F and mostly clear at YEG. I saw the lights of the Edmonton area on approach and some twilight was still on the horizon. We landed to the east southeast and arrived 9 minutes late. I was sent to Immigration and after a brief chat I went to bag reclaim and the bags had not yet arrived. After I got my bags and got a motel shuttle and spent the night in Leduc, AB.

Trip: Nisku, AB with intended destination of Cincinnati, OH. Plan was 1,941 paid miles. Breakdown near North Battleford, SK resulting in truck being towed to Saskatoon, SK and trip being aborted there. 337 actual paid miles
Route: Alberta 2 to Anthony Henday to Alberta/Saskatchewan 16 Yellowhead Highway. Maximum elevation: unknown but at least 2,373 feet in Edmonton, AB.
Price of fuel: $0.819CAD/litre at Flying J Sherwood Park, AB
Permits Required: none

A friend of mine from Leduc picked me up and took me to the shipper. This was a 1998 tank truck. The fan for air conditioning kept cutting off and on constantly. That did not stop me. I got started and fueling was a fiasco as I used the card reader outside and the screen froze up. Then I moved to another pump and went inside and someone inside made a mistake that cost a considerable amount of time. I did meet up with another friend of mine from Edmonton before I proceeded. I ended up spending the first night at a friends house in Islay, AB.

Next day the weather was good. I had a late start due to some fellowship with friends. I made a pit stops in Lloydminster and Maidstone, SK and had an early light supper in North Battleford. About 25 minutes out of North Battleford between Denholm and Ruddell, SK, the red shutdown light came on but everything else seemed normal and I was not sure what the trouble as the engine did NOT shut down. Then I saw the engine oil temperature going up and the oil pressure dropping and I saw a wide spot (in addition to the breakdown lane) and I pulled off and shut the motor down. I rang breakdown and waited about 3h20min for a service guy to come out and he found out the oil was overfilled and diesel fuel was leaking into the oil crankcase causing the oil pressure to drop. A decision was made to send a hook to tow the truck to the dealership in Saskatoon. I saw lightning to the south as I waited. Finally the tow truck arrived and the truck was towed and I had got to bed after 03h00 in Saskatoon, SK.

Next day was Sunday. After not enough sleep I got up and got cleaned up and checked out of the motel and was taken to Southside Baptist Church for morning service and I made it in time for the message. The message was on Nehemiah 3:28 The Horse Gate in reference to Christian service only valid in the local church. The evening message was on the "god" called circumstances. The pastor was gracious to put me up at his place Sunday night but his schedule necessitated that I spend Monday night back at motel as it was Labour Day and not only was the dealership closed but so was Central Dispatch. I spent a rainy Labour Day in Saskatoon.

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