Tour of Duty 7th September 2019 to 8th October 2019
Part V: 14th September to 20th September

I awoke early Saturday 14th September in Humble, Texas. I got ready and got transport to La Porte. When I arrived the truck was not ready so I waited until it was ready. I loaded my gear and did the Safety Inspection and was good to go.

Trip: La Porte, TX to Hankinson, ND 1,286 paid miles
Make: 2017 Kenworth
Model: Vacuum Truck
Transmission: Standard straight 10-speed
Governed Speed: 64mph
Route: Texas 225 to Texas 146 to Interstate 10 to Interstate 610 to Interstate 45 to US75 to US69 to Interstate 44 to Interstate 49 to Interstate 35 to Interstate 29 to North Dakota 11 to County Road 1
Maximum elevation: 2,050 feet Interstate 29 Summit, SD
Highest diesel price USA: 3.199$ per gallon at Flying J Sioux Falls, SD
Lowest diesel price USA: 2.799$ per gallon at Coffee Cup Summit, SD
Permits Required: SD Trip Permit

I got underway but stopped at truckstop in Channelview, TX where I took a nap then I had midday rations at Schlotzsky's Deli. Then I continued saw a few raindrops between Willis, TX and Huntsville, TX. I stopped in Huntsville, TX where I took on fuel and had another nap. I continued up the 45 and stopped in Fairfield, TX for evening rations. I spent the night in Corsicana, TX.

Sunday it was hot. I continued the trip north on the 45 which changed to US75 in the heart of Dallas, TX. I stopped at QT in McKinney, TX for midday rations. I took on fuel in Atoka, OK and was going to go to a church in Atoka for evening service but I aborted plans as it appeared that some turns might not be makeable for the truck that I had. I instead continued north and after a pit stop in Checotah I ran into patchy fog from Muskogee on and I ended up spending the night in Big Cabin/Vinita, OK.

Monday I hopped on the Will Rogers Turnpike and then entered Missouri. I took on fuel in Joplin then started my run north on Interstate 49. I stopped in Nevada, MO for early evening rations then continued north into the Kansas City area. There was no availability for hotel rooms on the 29 corridor from St-Joseph, MO to Percival, IA. Actually there was one place that had rooms in St-Joseph but I was unable to get confirmation of suitable truck parking so I ended up spending the night well shy of where I wanted to be. I spent the night in Platte City, MO.

Tuesday I continued north and soon after entering Iowa I saw evidence of major flooding that happened earlier in the spring. One of the exits was still closed due to high floodwaters. I stopped in Council Bluffs, IA to take on fuel. The company did not e-mail me the South Dakota Trip Permit. I stopped in Sioux City, IA for evening rations at Wendy's. I saw on an app I had that the Port of Entry in South Dakota I'd be using was likely closed so I looked it up and phoned and got another Port of Entry and ended up unable to purchase Trip Permit so I opted to shut down shy of the Port of Entry. I ended up spending the night in North Sioux City, SD.

Wednesday I stopped at the Port of Entry and got Trip Permit. Later the Trip Permit the company did order finally got e-mailed to me...too late! I stopped in Sioux Falls to take on fuel. Then I stopped in Watertown, SD for evening rations and afterwards I took a few pictures of the Watertown area including first fall colours that I saw. I continued north and stopped in Summit, SD for more fuel. I ended up spending the night in Wahpeton, ND.

Thursday I got locked into another trip and I learned the closest rental car availability was in Fargo. There was a trip from Linton, ND to Kansas City, MO that ended up being taken by another driver so I had to rethink my plans. I got locked into another trip. I phoned up a taxi company in Wahpeton for arrangements to be met and picked up at the receiver in Hankinson. There was no Uber or Lyft in Hankinson, ND. I then went and took on fuel for the last time in Hankinson and after that I proceeded to the receiver and ended up making delivery and I loaded my gear directly to the taxi and we took off for Fargo. While en route the company booked the rental car from Fargo to MSP then an air ticket was booked from MSP to DAL via STL.

I arrived in Fargo and got into the rental car. I got unleaded in Fargo at 2.359$ per gallon. I took a few pictures of West Fargo then made stops where I took pictures of Moorhead, MN, Fergus Falls, MN and Alexandria, MN. I forget where I stopped for evening rations. I stopped and took some nighttime pictures of downtown Minneapolis then I spent the night in St-Paul, MN.

Friday the 20th of September I headed to the State Capitol and parked nearby. I took some pictures of the Capitol and downtown St-Paul. I saw some sort of demonstration regarding climate change at the Capitol Grounds. Then I headed to MSP and turned in the rental car. I got luggage cart and headed to the Humphrey Terminal and checked in and checked my bags which weighed 45.5 and 45.0lbs. I cleared security after a queue and opted out and was patted down. There was no additional screening of my carry on items. Total time from beginning of check in to clear of security was 33 minutes.

Southwest #1211 MSP-STL B-737-700 Boarding Pass B38
Seat 21D Cruising altitude 35,000 feet Estimated flying time 1:05, actual 1:02
Depart: Gate H11 Scheduled 14h35, actual 14h40 Taxi: 10 minutes
Arrive: Gate E16 Scheduled 16h00, actual 15h55 Taxi: 3 minutes

We boarded via jetway. The plane was full or nearly full. This was the first time this year I was unable to get a window seat so I settled for an aisle seat rather being stuck in a middle seat. The plane was full or nearly full. It was announced it was 89F with clouds in the area at STL. Pushback was 5 minutes late and I was unsure of the direction of takeoff. After takeoff the person who had the window seat closed the window blind for much of the flight. I got pretzels at 0:16. I got cup of soda at 0:27. I felt descent at 0:30. At 0:34 it was announced there were scattered clouds and it was 90F at STL. I felt some bumps on descent. Seatbelt sign stayed on the entire flight.

Fairfield, Texas sunset 14th September 2019

Corsicana, Texas 14th September 2019

West Fargo, North Dakota
The window blind went up prior to landing and it appeared we landed to the east. We arrived at gate 5 minutes early and we deplaned via jetway.

I learned my connecting flight to DAL was delayed as it was late leaving DAL. I had evening rations at Burger King. During my wait a thunderstorm and heavy rain hit STL. The rain quit by the time my connecting flight was ready to board but the ground was still wet.

Southwest #616 STL-DAL B-737-700 Boarding Pass A47
Seat 22F Cruising altitude 38,000 feet Estimated flying time 1:15, actual 1:17
Depart: Gate E12 Scheduled 17h35, actual 19h04 Taxi/Hold: 9 minutes
Arrive: Gate 2 Scheduled 19h10, actual 20h33 Taxi: 3 minutes
Reclaim checked bags 24-26 minutes after arrival

We boarded via jetway. The plane was full. It was announced there were Air Traffic Control delays at DAL. Pushback was 1h29min late. We held for a short time due to ATC delay from DAL. We took off to the east and I saw Interstate 70 and we circled around to the right and I saw Interstate 170, Interstate 64 and Interstate 270. We went into clouds at 0:06 and over clouds at 0:09. I saw the twilight. Seatbelt sign went off at 0:28. I got cup of soda at 0:31. Seatbelt sign went on at 0:35. Descent was announced at 0:36 and turbulence was expected as the winds were gusting to 33mph at DAL. I got pretzels at 0:37. I saw the lights of northeast Texas at 1:02. I felt some bumps during descent. We landed to the south and arrived at gate 1h23min late. We deplaned via jetway.

I got my checked bags and got picked up by hotel shuttle. I did laundry that evening. I spent the night in Dallas, TX.


Fairfield, Texas 14th September 2019

Corsicana, Texas 14th September 2019

Watertown, South Dakota

Watertown, South Dakota fall colours 18th September 2019

Watertown, South Dakota fall colours 18th September 2019

Watertown, South Dakota

West Fargo, North Dakota