Tour of Duty 16th August 2019 to 28th August 2019
Part II: 20th August to 26th August

I awoke in Brighton, Colorado to fair weather on Tuesday the 20th of August. I had a late start due to my very late arrival the night before. I got a ride to the rental car company. I got the rental car a bit later than I originally wanted. It took me longer to reach Interstate 70 because I took various local roads to avoid taking the E-470 toll road and I did not want to take Interstate 76 to double back into Denver and away from my destination. Before I left Brighton I got unleaded for 2.159$ per gallon. I got a few drops of rain while the sky was mostly sunny just west of Limon, CO. I made a pit stop in Limon and saw thunderclouds building up. I stopped and took some pictures of Flagler, CO then took pictures of Kanorado, KS before stopping in Goodland, KS and having evening rations at Steak and Shake. I had a good light show and experienced brief heavy rain near Brewster, KS. Brewster, KS is on Interstate 70 in far western Kansas where the time zone changes from Mountain Time to Central Time. I stopped in Colby, KS for more fuel and made the mistake of using the ethanol-free at 2.729$ per gallon. There was some off and on rain between Brewster and WaKeeney, KS along with a light show. I spent the night in WaKeeney, KS.

Wednesday I had a late start and I barely avoided more storms. I stopped and took some pictures of Russell, KS. then I continued on to Salina and dropped off the car and got a ride to the shipper. I was given the location of the truck and the truck needed a boost in order to start. I loaded my gear and did the inspection and alas I felt something I should not have near my right elbow and I saw a bumble bee on my shirt sleeve. I was wearing a long sleeved shirt and the bumble bee stung me through my shirtsleeve. I imagine that the shirtsleeve kept the sting from being as bad as it might have otherwise and I ended up killing the bee. I concluded the inspection and got signed off and was good to go.

Trip: Origin of Salina, KS. Intended destination of Victor, MT Diverted to Missoula, MT 1,352 paid miles
Make: 2013 Kenworth
Model: Road Tractor, Daycab (no sleeper)
Transmission: Automatic
Governed Speed: 71mph/114kph
Route: Interstate 70 to Kansas 27 to Nebraska 27 to US34 to US385 to Colorado 11 to Interstate 80 to US385 to Nebraska 92 to US26 to Interstate 25 to Interstate 90 to US93 to US10
Highest elevation: 6,393 feet at Homestake Pass Continental Divide Interstate 90 about 10 miles east of Butte, MT
Highest diesel price USA: 2.869$ per gallon at Pilot/Town Pump Billings, MT
Lowest diesel price USA: 2.799$ per gallon at Pilot Salina, KS and Colby, KS
Permits Required: NE, WY and MT Trip Permits

I headed to the nearby Pilot to take on fuel and I took a break there before heading west. I made a pit stop in Bunker Hill, KS and took pictures of the sunset there. I stopped in Hays, KS and had evening rations at Whiskey Creek Wood Fire Grill. I ended up spending the night in WaKeeney, KS.

Thursday there was light rain to start in WaKeeney, KS but I got out of that rather quickly. I stopped and took pictures of Oakley, KS. I stopped in Colby, KS to top off the fuel. I did not really need fuel but I wanted to see how the fuel economy was. Somewhere between Colby, KS and Goodland, KS I saw that there were diagnostic fault codes being thrown. Something was wrong so I stopped in Goodland and notified dispatch and was told to call someone else and to make a long story short I was ultimately told to proceed. I took two-lane roads and stopped in Wray, CO to stretch out and take some pictures of that town. Then I continued north on US385 and made a pit stop in Holyoke, CO. There was a thunderstorm and rain from Holyoke, CO to Julesburg, CO. I finally got on Interstate 80 and headed west and immediately got into a construction zone. I got off the Interstate in Sidney, NE and checked into my hotel and there was an issue as the first room I was assigned was partially flooded. I was given another room assignment which was satisfactory. Afterward I took a walk to Perkins where I had evening rations. I was the last customer served before that place closed at midnight. I spent the night in Sidney, NE.

Friday I had a late start and after a phone call I headed to the Sidney Regional Medical Centre and paid a surprise visit to Bootwearer Preacher who was there due to medical issues. This was the first time in over a decade that I saw Bootwearer Preacher. His grandson was also there and I met him for the first time. After the visit I headed to downtown Sidney and took some pictures and it started to rain. I left and got out of the rain pretty quickly as I headed north on US385 then west on Nebraska 92. I stopped at the Chimney Rock Natural Historic Site near Bayard, NE. I paid the admission of 3$ and I took some pictures then I headed to Scottsbluff, NE where I took pictures of that city and I had late afternoon/early evening rations at Jimmy John's. By the time I was ready to leave Scottsbluff the skies were cloudy and before I got out of Scottsbluff I encountered heavy thunderstorm activity with torrential rain. The thunderstorm activity continued through Morrill, NE and Mitchell, NE into Wyoming and it started to let up in Torrington, WY. I made a pit stop in Torrington before proceeding to the Port of Entry where I got Wyoming Trip Permit. The rain quit and I continued to Interstate 25 where I headed north. I spent the night in Evansville, WY.

Saturday when I fired up I saw another diagnostic fault code saying Engine Derate. I wanted to see if that was really the case so I got on the Interstate and drove three miles to a truckstop. I was able to do the governed speed so I concluded that it was a false code and I opted not to bother after hours dispatch about it but notify dispatch on Monday. I got underway and made a stop in Kaycee, WY where I took pictures and had midday rations. I stopped in Buffalo, WY and Sheridan, WY and took pictures of those respective cities before getting Montana Trip Permit at a weigh scale before leaving Wyoming. I stopped in Hardin, MT and had evening rations at McDonalds and while I was eating there was a rain shower. The rain quit by the time I was done. Between Hardin and Billings I saw a light show and there was some rain. There were issues with the first room assigned to me at the hotel I was staying so I was assigned another room and got a late checkout. I was also up late doing laundry. I spent the night in Billings, MT.

Sunday I got underway too late for morning church. I stopped in Columbus, MT and took pictures of that town. I took pictures of Bozeman, MT and proceeded to Butte, MT where I attended evening service at Old Fashion Baptist Church. After church I took some pictures of downtown Butte then proceeded to truckstop in nearby Rocker, MT and found that there was major construction where a new rotary was being built. I had evening rations then proceeded west on Interstate 90 and I spent the night in Deer Lodge, MT.

Monday morning I notified dispatch and the receiver about the fault codes. Dispatch told me to wait for an answer about where to go as the receiver was not going to take the truck in its condition with fault codes. I got word to divert to a dealership in Missoula, MT so I proceeded there and after I arrived I was told to end the trip there. That diversion made it possible for me to catch a bus out of Missoula that very same afternoon. I got transport to the bus depot in Missoula and bought a ticket to Spokane, Washington. For some reason the agent had some sort of computer issue so I ended up not being charged the usual 15$ for a second checked bag. I barely had time to use the washroom before the bus arrived, my checked bags were put into the hold and I boarded.

Jefferson Lines #0941 Missoula, MT to Spokane, WA
Depart: Scheduled 15h15, actual 15h27
Arrive: Scheduled 16h05, actual 17h58
Reclaim checked bags immediatly after disembarking

*This was a rather scenic ride. There was a fair amount of construction on Interstate 90 in Montana and some in Idaho. We made intermediate stops in Kellogg, ID and Coeur d'Alene, ID. I got off briefly to stretch out in Kellogg, ID but everyone stayed on in Coeur d'Alene, ID. The load was very light with only 6 to 8 passengers. We left Missoula 12 minutes late and arrived in Spokane 7 minutes early. I reclaimed my bags and took the lift downstairs and headed out to get transport to hotel.

After I checked into hotel I took a walk throughout much of Spokane, WA and I took 100 pictures of Spokane. I had evening rations at Dick's Hamburger Stand and I spent the night in Spokane, WA.


Bunker Hill, Kansas sunset 21st August 2019