Tour of Duty 11th September 2020 to 8th October 2020
Part V: 29th September to 6th October

Tuesday 29th September it was wet outside when I awoke as it rained during the previous night. I checked out and it was not raining when I got the shuttle to ATL but the ground was wet. I arrived at ATL and walked to the terminal and I checked in and checked my bags which weighed 43.0 and 44.0lbs. I cleared security after using TSA Precheck and there was no additional screening. However my mask broke during my ID check so the TSA furnished a new mask for me. Total time from beginning of check in to clear of security was about 15 minutes. Then I went downstairs and got the train to Concourse C and headed to the gate and I saw it was raining outside.

Southwest #2418 ATL-HOU B-737-700 Boarding Pass A60
Seat 22A Cruising altitude 40,000 feet Estimated flying time not given, actual flying time 1:51
Depart: Gate C16 Scheduled 12h05, actual 12h04 Taxi: 9 minutes
Arrive: Gate 3 Scheduled 13h10, actual 13h09 Taxi: 5 minutes
Reclaim checked bags 21-22 minutes after arrival

It was raining as we boarded via jetway. The capacity controlled load was 79/93. Pushback was one minute early and takeoff was to the west from a wet runway. I saw ATL then we went into clouds within 32 seconds. At 0:04 it was announced there would be 20-30 minutes of rough air and I felt bumps during climb. At 0:21 I got cup of water. I got snack mix at 0:25. Seatbelt sign went off at 0:27 and clouds blocked view below. I got a second bag of snack mix at 0:29. Clouds started to break at 0:31. At 0:32 seatbelt sign went on as I felt bumps. At 0:38 I saw junction of Interstate 20/59 and US80 near Cuba, Alabama. Then I saw the weigh scales on Interstate 20/59 at Toomsuba, Mississippi. At 0:40 saw Meridian, Mississippi and vicinity. At 0:45 we crossed Interstate 20 somewhere east of Jackson, Mississippi. We crossed Interstate 55 somewhere over southern Mississippi at 0:57. I saw Natchez, Mississippi at 1:05 and we crossed the Mississippi River into Louisiana airspace at 1:07. At 1:15 we crossed Interstate 49 somewhere south of Alexandria, Louisiana. At 1:18 I saw the Louisiana Gulf Coast to the distance and at 1:22 I saw Lake Charles and vicinity to the distance. At 1:24 I thought I felt descent begin over Louisiana airspace with Lake Charles in view. I saw the Golden Triangle the Orange/Beaumont/Port Arthur area of southeast Texas at 1:27. I saw Vidor, Texas at 1:29 then Beaumont, Texas. Descent was announced at 1:34 and it was gusty and 79F at HOU. I saw Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel. I saw Interstate 10 then crossed Texas 225 at 1:42. We looped around and I saw Texas 288 on final approach. We made a hard landing to the northeast and arrived at gate one minute early. We deplaned via jetway.

I got my checked bags at baggage reclaim and got Uber to the shipper. I checked in and was told where the truck was and I discovered that the truck was an old beater. I loaded my gear and did the inspection and realised immediately this was going to be a long, uncomfortable and unpleasant ride as the truck had no air conditioning and no radio. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into when I accepted the dispatch for this trip. I found I had to turn on the lights for the flashers and turn signals to work. The truck was dirty inside and the only seatbelt was a lap belt with no shoulder restraint. I do not know what the original year of the truck was but the truck was rebuilt in 2011 and an automatic transmission was put in otherwise it was "old school" in all other respects. I learned the ride was very rough and it was a slow truck. I completed the inspection and got signed off and was good to go.

Trip: Humble, TX to Banning, CA 1,434 paid miles
Make: AM General, original year unknown, rebuilt in 2011
Model: 6 x 6 Tractor
Transmission: Automatic
Governed Speed: unknown
Route: US59 (future Interstate 69) to Interstate 610 to Interstate 10 to Anderson Loop 1604 outer ring road around San Antonio to Interstate 10 to US60 to Stapley Road to McKellips Road to Loop 202 to Interstate 10
Highest elevation: 4,974 feet Texas Canyon Interstate 10 14 miles east of Benson, AZ
Highest Diesel Price USA: 2.599$ per gallon at Pilot Quartzsite, AZ
Lowest Diesel Price USA: 1.949$ per gallon at Love's Seguin, TX
Permits Required: AZ and NM Trip Permits

I got started and stopped by a Verizon place in Humble to get a new charger cord for my phone. Then I really got started and headed south on the 59 and took the 610 ring road around Houston and caught the 10 west. I made a pit stop at dusk in Katy, TX. I reached Sealy, TX and parked and booked room. I checked in then sought out eating location for evening rations and found Pizza Hut did not have dine-in and some other locations closed early. I ended up eating at Whataburger but had chicken. I spent the night in Sealy, TX.

Wednesday I got started and stopped in Columbus, TX and had midday rations at Mikeska's Bar-B-Q. Then I went into downtown Columbus and found a safe and legal parking place and I took some pictures of downtown Columbus, TX before continuing west. I stopped in Seguin, TX and took on fuel then headed into the San Antonio area. I got caught in congestion and lost time on the 1604 Anderson Loop outer ring road around San Antonio. I rejoined the 10 west and got caught in construction west of San Antonio and in the Boerne area. I stopped in Kerrville, TX and attended midweek service at Victory Baptist Church. I met a guy I had previously interacted with only on Facebook. The message was on Assurance of Salvation. I had my phone plugged in to get juice during the service. Afterward I was unable to find a place with dine-in so I proceeded to Junction and stopped at Pilot to get food for late night rations. Then I headed to hotel and parked and booked room. I spent the night in Junction, TX.

Thursday I went into downtown Junction to mail something at the post office and I took some pictures of downtown Junction. Then I proceeded to Sonora, TX and took on fuel then I had midday rations at Pit Stop BBQ. Then I continued west to Ozona and took some pictures of Ozona before continuing to Fort Stockton and I took some pictures of Fort Stockton at dusk before proceeding to Dickey's BBQ where I had evening rations. Then I headed to Flying J for fuel. After I took on fuel I booked room in Van Horn on my smartphone. My smartphone was at about 34% when I left Fort Stockton but it lost all its charge when I arrived in Van Horn two hours and some change later. I checked in and plugged in the phone to charge it overnight. I spent the night in Van Horn, TX.

Friday I awoke and saw the phone still had no charge in spite of my efforts to charge it. Fortunately there was a computer in the lobby and I looked up Verizon locations in El Paso as there were none in Van Horn. I jotted down addresses as well as directions to several locations. I used telephone landline to contact the company I contract with and inform them of what happened as my smartphone went dead and I lost all the apps which is a major disaster. I headed into El Paso and made a pit stop at a truckstop on the east side of El Paso then went to a Verizon location on the northeast side of El Paso near Montwood and the Loop 375 ring road. I went to the door and banged on it as no one was there. Finally a young woman came and told me she just clocked out for a late lunch and would be unable to help me but gave me directions to another Verizon location on Zaragoza and Vista Del Sol. I went there and parked the truck next to the building for shade and saw a sign on the door saying, "out to lunch" so I waited and after at least a half hour someone came and opened the door. I got the bad news my phone totally died and they would not even be able to extract data from it, it was that dead. I had no choice but to get a new phone as a smartphone is now a necessity for my job, not just a luxury. This was expensive as the taxes for the new phone were excessive in my opinon. I felt I had poor customer service as I had never seen any Verizon stores close up for lunch in my area of southern California. I took some time to reinstall some apps needed to function on the road and I reconstructed my log on the corresponding app and I notified the company I had a new phone but the same phone number. I got started. It took 2hours 22 minutes to go less than 40 miles from the east side of El Paso to the west side of El Paso as the 10 was shut down. I thought I was going to have to exit at Geronimo to do a detour but the authorities started opening lanes and I was able to proceed. I stopped in Anthony, NM for evening rations then I took on fuel. I ended up finally saying "so long" to Texas and entered New Mexico. I spent the night in Las Cruces, NM.

Saturday I awoke and had a late start. I stopped in Deming, NM and went to Walmart to get some things. Then I proceeded to Lordsburg, NM where I took on fuel and had late afternoon/early evening rations. I entered Arizona and made some pit stops then parked in Tucson at hotel and booked room. Unfortunately my phone did not register the time change as Arizona is not on daylight savings time and the phone thought it was the next day and booked my room for the wrong night. Customer service was unavailable for Wyndham so to make a long story short I ended up booking a room at another location in Tucson and that burned up some time. I learned firsthand that at least some of the streets and roads in Tucson need to be resurfaced as the ride was quite rough. The original location was in a rather questionable part of town but in close proximity to Tucson Reformed Baptist Church a church I originally planned to attend for Sunday morning service but those plans were scotched due to the time burned up getting and going to and getting settled into hotel room. I ended up in an area that I felt was safer and I spent the night in Tucson, AZ.

Sunday I awoke to go anywhere to church so I got rolling and took a detour to avoid some construction. I finally got on the 10 and stopped in Eloy, AZ where I had midday rations. It got up to 106F/41C with no air conditioning which made for a rather uncomfortable experience but at least there was low humidity. I diverted to Mesa, AZ and ended up parking the truck in a residential neighbourhood (and got away with it as there were no signs prohibiting trucks or truck parking) and I attended Apologia Church. I heard James White teach on the Trinity. The main pastor, Jeff Durbin, was away at some sort of conference. I met another person, an open air preacher with whom I previously interacted with on Facebook. It was dusk, actually almost dark when church let out so the rest of the drive that evening was more pleasant. I stopped in Buckeye to take on some fuel and I got evening rations before proceeding west. I stopped in Quartzsite to take on a little fuel as I preferred not to take on fuel in California if I could help it. I crossed the Colorado River into California and I spent the night in Blythe, CA.

Monday I had another late start and had to stop frequently to hydrate as it once again got up to about 106F/41C. I had midday rations at Carl's Jr. in Coachella. I realised I would likely not make it to Banning before the receiver closed for the day. The weigh scale/inspection station on the east side of Banning was open and it took me some time to go through even though I used the "empty" lane and I was not pulled in for inspection. I parked and booked room and checked in. I went to Sizzler for evening rations. I spent the night in Banning, CA.

Tuesday I accepted dispatch and got locked into next trip. A rental car was arranged and I headed to receiver for execution of delivery and conclusion of this long, uncomfortable and challenging trip. There was some confusion as to where the rental car would be picked up but that got straightened out. I was dropped off at a street corner and ordered Lyft to the rental car place and got into the rental car. I stopped in Cabazon and got fuel and had midday rations at Hadley's. Only take out was available so I ate in the car. Then I continued east on the 10 and took California 62 and stopped in Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms to take pictures before taking Amboy Road. There was a considerable delay on Amboy Road as the California Highway Patrol stopped traffic in the middle of nowhere due to a movie being filmed. I saw the sunset while waiting. Then I continued and got on old Route 66 for a short time and stopped and took pictures of Amboy, CA. I had to take Kelbaker Road to the 40 as Route 66 was closed. I continued east on the 40 and stopped at Wendy's and had late evening rations in Lake Havasu City, AZ. I then continued and got room and spent the night in Kingman, AZ.


My ride from Humble, Texas to Banning, California




Wing window provided old school air conditioning

They were generous to put a fan in