Tour of Duty 17th March 2021 to 22nd March 2021
Part II: The Trip 18th March to 22nd March

I awoke on Thursday 18th March in Dallas, Texas. After I got ready and checked out I ended up ordering Lyft to the shipper in Cleburne. There was a wait as there were not all that many drivers. It was a struggle as the driver's GPS wanted to route him on a toll road but I told him to stay off the toll road no matter what. That resulted it a longer trip. I arrived at the shipper, checked in and someone from the shipper took me to the truck. It turned out the truck needed a boost as it wouldn't start right away. I noticed an indicator light on and a message on the dash saying to check transmission. The situation was resolved after I shut the motor off and restarted it. The act of shutting off the motor and restarting it cleared the fault as the indicator light and message on dash disappeared. I got word to proceed and got started.

Trip: Cleburne, TX to Denver, CO 812 actual miles
Make: 2021 Hino
Model: Box Truck
Transmission: Automatic
Governed Speed: At least 70mph
Route: Texas 174 to US67 to Texas 171 to US180 to US281 to US287 to Interstate 40 to US87 to Interstate 25 to Interstate 225 to Interstate 70
Highest elevation: 7,834 feet Raton Pass Interstate 25 at the NM/CO state line
Highest diesel price: 3.289$ per gallon at Loves Memphis, TX
Lowest diesel price: 3.079$ per gallon at Pilot Weatherford, TX
Permits Required: NM Trip Permit

I made my way to the Pilot in Weatherford, TX where I took on fuel. Then I took some pictures of downtown Weatherford and travelled new roads but did not see a whole lot as it was dark. I stopped in Jacksboro, TX and had evening rations. I continued north on US281 and caught US287 and spent the night in Wichita Falls, TX

Friday I continued north on US287. I stopped at Walmart in Vernon, TX to get some supplies. I had late midday rations at Holy Smokes BBQ in Quanah, TX. I walked up to the drive thru window to order which was allowed at that location. I had a sliced Beef Brisket sandwich. I continued and saw sunset near Claude, TX and made a stop in Amarillo, TX before continuing to Dumas, TX where I had late evening rations at Braums. The person who served me went above and beyond in my opinion which is unfortunately all to uncommon these days. I spent the night in Dumas, TX.

Saturday it was quite windy. I stopped in Dalhart, TX and had midday rations at Hodies Bar BQ. The filling station that was 1.999$ last time I was in Dalhart went up to 2.749$ per gallon which is still cheap compared to southern California. I made pit stops in Texline, TX; Clayton, NM and Des Moines, NM. The winds diminished somewhat by the time I reached Raton, NM and I started my run up Interstate 25 and went over the Raton Pass into Colorado. I had evening rations at Wendy's in Trinidad, CO. There were problems getting lodging in Pueblo and Colorado Springs so I settled for an expensive room and spent the night in Colorado City, CO.

Sunday morning I awoke too late to attend church anywhere plus the nearest place would likely have been in Pueblo. It was dry to start. I went through Pueblo and light rain started in Fountain, CO. I got off in Colorado Springs and found a safe place to park and took a walk and took some pictures. Then I got back on the 25 and the rain intensified on the north end of Colorado Springs then changed to snow. I stopped to take on some fuel in Monument, CO. Snow continued as I got into a construction zone. The snow quit about the time I cleared Castle Rock, CO. I made it to Denver and shut down 1.3 miles or about 2km from delivery location. It was not snowing when I shut down. I checked in and got my gear into the room. Arrangements were made and someone from Messiah Baptist Church in Denver picked me up and took me to that church for Sunday Evening service. I heard the Bootwearer Preacher with a Beard preach and the message was on Genesis 6. Afterward it was snowing and the Bootwearer Preacher with a Beard took me back to hotel. I phoned in a pizza since it was snowing. The service was timely but the pizza place would not supply napkins out of fear of the cooties. I spent a snowy night in Denver, CO.

Monday it was snowing when I got up but it quit before I was ready to go. I saw there were no other suitable trips. I fired up and headed to the receiver for execution of delivery and conclusion of this trip. Whether or not that was the conclusion of my driving career remains to be seen but that is a possibility. After delivery was completed I scanned in the paperwork to the company. Then I ordered a ride to DEN.

I arrived at DEN and it turned out I was dropped off at the wrong level so I took the lift to ticketing and proceeded to check in and check bags. My bags weighed 45.0 and 40.5lbs. I cleared security with TSA Precheck. There was no additional screening to my carry on items. It took 13 minutes from beginning of check in to clear of security then another 16 minutes to get to the gate. I got a bottle of water for additional hydration onboard.

Southwest #324 DEN-LGB B-737-700 Boarding Pass A23
Seat 22F Cruising altitude 40,000 feet Estimated flying time 2:01, actual 2:00
Depart: Gate C45 Scheduled 14h05, actual 14h14 Taxi: 14 minutes
Arrive: Gate 1 Scheduled 15h40, actual 15h33 Taxi: 3 minutes
Reclaim checked bags 18-19 minutes after arrival

We boarded via jetway. The plane was not totally full with load of 100/143 plus a crew of five. Pushback was 9 minutes late and takeoff was to the west. I saw some of the north side of the Denver metro area before clouds increased and blocked view below at 0:03. At 0:08 I felt bumps and clouds broke at 0:16. Drink orders were taken at 0:21. I got Snack Mix at 0:23. At 0:27 it was announced there would be bumps. I saw Grand Junction, CO and vicinity at 0:30 and seatbelt sign went off. I got cup of 7 up at 0:32. I saw the Colorado River at 0:35. I felt bumps at 0:52 and seatbelt sign went on. Clouds increased and blocked view below for a time. Seatbelt sign went off at 0:57. Clouds broke enough I saw Mesquite, NV at 1:12. At 1:18 I saw Nellis AFB and North Las Vegas, NV. I saw LAS and Interstate 15 at 1:20. I saw Jean, NV at 1:23. I saw Baker, CA at 1:30. I felt descent at 1:32 and descent was announced at 1:34 and winds were out of south and it was 62F at LGB. We crossed Interstate 40 at 1:35 and seatbelt sign went on at 1:36. I saw Barstow to the distance at 1:38. I saw Lucerne Valley, CA at 1:40. We went over the San Bernardino Mountains and I saw Big Bear Lake at 1:42 and Lake Arrowhead was farther away. I saw San Bernardino at 1:44 and we went over Redlands at 1:45. We were over Riverside at 1:47 and I saw Lake Mathews at 1:48. We crossed Interstate 15 at 1:49 and I saw Corona with Norco farther out. We went over the Santa Ana Mountains and I saw Prado Dam to the distance at 1:50. We crossed Interstate 5 over Tustin at 1:53. We crossed California 55 over Santa Ana at 1:54 and we crossed Interstate 405 and I saw the junction with California 73 over Costa Mesa at 1:55. We were over Huntington Beach at 1:56 and we went over the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station at 1:57. I saw the JFTB Los Alamitos at 1:58 followed by the Interstate 405/605 interchange. We crossed Interstate 405 once more and landed to the northwest. I saw Signal Hill during taxi and we arrived at gate 7 minutes early. We deplaned via ramp from front door.

After I reclaimed my checked bags I pulled up the Uber app to order a ride home and was told the price range was 44-47$. I said no thanks and closed the app and tried Lyft which wanted 18.99$. I ordered ride but no cars were available. I tried Uber again and they wanted a higher price. I tried Lyft again and they wanted 20.99$. Still no drivers available so I thought I would try Uber once more. Uber wanted 55-58$ this for a ride of 6.1 or 7.8 miles depending on route. I closed the app and went over to the taxi stand and took a taxi home for 30.76$ including tip which was more than what Lyft wanted but significantly cheaper than what Uber wanted.


Fort Worth, Texas

My ride from Cleburne, Texas to Denver, Colorado

Bootwearer Preacher with a Beard Messiah Baptist Church Denver, Colorado

Snowy scene Denver, Colorado