Northwest and Southwest Runs (Tour of Duty 6-14 2007)
 

6-14 April 2007

After some time at home it was time to go back to work and I was looking forward to getting out of the rut between Dodge Center, MN and Burlington, ON (see previous trip report for details). I was told about a truck in La Quinta, CA going to Portland, OR so I rented a car and drove to La Quinta and got to the shipper. It got to around 90F in La Quinta which is in the Coachella Valley/Palm Springs area.

Trip: La Quinta, CA to Portland, OR 1,088 paid miles Route: Interstate 10 to California 30 to Interstate 215 to US395 to California 58 to California 99 to California 46 to Interstate 5 to Interstate 205

It was about 90F in La Quinta when I started out. I experience a very few raindrops going up the Cajon Pass. I had dinner at Domingo's in Boron, CA. I had a steak sandwich; the steak was OK but the fries were not very good. I did enjoy their Tortilla Chips. I called it a night in Mojave.

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Next morning it was windy when I woke up and there were winds elsewhere. I was taken to Sunday evening church at Victory Baptist in Roseburg, OR. There was some rain south of Grants then some more rain in the Roseburg area. Monday there were rain showers alternating with dry periods. I was told about a run from San Antonio, TX to Fontana, CA but found air tickets from PDX to SAT were too expensive to make the run worthwhile so I accepted a Dixon, CA to Phoenix, AZ run instead. I delivered Monday late afternoon and elected to lay over Tuesday as the truck in Dixon, CA was not going to be ready until Wednesday late afternoon.

Tuesday I purchased a ticket on the MAX light rail system that went into downtown Portland, to the airport, to Gresham on the east side and Hillsboro and Beaverton on the west side. I decided on getting an all-day pass at a reasonable price to make things simple and took the MAX first to Old Town where I walked around and took pictures then to Pioneer Square downtown where I took even more pictures and walked around quite a lot.

Wednesday I took the free shuttle to PDX. There was a short line and I paid for the air ticket with cash. I got "A" boarding pass. I saw my checked bags searched then I cleared security and there was no secondary screening and my carry-ons were not searched.

Southwest #309 PDX-SMF B-737-300 Seat 11A Exit Row Cruising Altitude 35,000' Estimated flying time not given, actual 1:06. Scheduled departure
13h30, actual 13h29 Scheduled arrival 14h55, actual 14h49 Ticket cost: $152.40

Plane not very full noticed 58 pax on board. Pushback 1 minute early followed by taxi of 8 minutes and takeoff to east. I saw raindrops just after pushback. I saw Columbia River and Interstate 205 immediately after takeoff. There was some choppy air immediately after climb and we were into the clouds at 0:02 and above clouds by 0:08. Seatbelt sign went off at 0:17. Ritz chips and peanuts were served along with drink run; got cup of ginger ale. There were a few breaks in the clouds here and there but not enough for me to tell where we were. I got second cup of ginger ale without asking. I felt descent start at 0:43 and seatbelt sign went on at 0:50. Announcement was made there was a little rain and it was 57F at SMF. There were some bumps during mid to late part of descent. I saw farmland and Interstate 5 as we approached and landing was made north to south on wet runway. It was raining when we landed. Taxi was 4 minutes and we were 6 minutes early. I went to bag claim and got first bag at 15h08, last bag at 15h10.

It quit raining by the time I took van to Dixon where I picked up the truck.

Trip: Dixon, CA to Phoenix, AZ 777 miles. Routes: Interstate 80 to Interstate 80 Business to Interstate 5 to California 46 to California 99 to California 58 back to California 99 to Interstate 5 to California 138 to California 14 to California 138 to California 18 US395 to Interstate 15 to Interstate 215 to California 30 to Interstate 10 to Interstate 17.

There were a few raindrops to start but it was clearing. Next day started windy and I had a good tailwind for part of the time. However California 58 east of Edison was closed to trucks due to high winds so I had to detour back to Interstate 5 then east on California 138 and south on 14 before proceeding east again on California 138 and 18 before I caught US395 south to Interstate 10. It turned out that I dropped the truck off on Saturday and flew home.

I got taxi to Sky Harbor, stood in line for over 30 minutes to purchase ticket and got a "B" boarding pass to SNA. I checked bags, paid for ticket and cleared security. No secondary and no search of carry-ons.

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Southwest #1118 PHX-SNA B-737-700 Seat 22A Cruising altitude not given Estimated time 0:56, actual 0:58 Scheduled departure 16h10, actual 16h15 Scheduled arrival 17h20, actual 17h25 Ticket cost: $123.40

Plane was full or nearly full with at least 129 pax, perhaps totally full. Pushback was 5 minutes late, taxi 8 minutes then takeoff to the east. Passed Loop 101, turned south, saw US60 Superstition Freeway and AZ87 Beeline Highway, east valley cities then turn west. There was a drink run and got cup of soda. I saw Colorado River and Blythe at 0:23. Peanuts were offered but declined. There were some bumps en route. I saw Chiriaco Summit and later Coachella Valley. Descent started 0:30 just past Coachella. Seatbelt sign stayed on whole flight. Went directly over PSP, saw Mt. San Jacinto and later San Jacinto/Hemet area followed by Perris, Canyon Lake, Lake Elsinore and Interstate 15. We crossed the Santa Ana Mountains into Orange County and I saw Irvine Lake and CA241 Toll Road. We landed toward the ocean, taxi was 3 minutes and we arrived 5 minutes late. First bag came out 17h40 and last bag at 17h43. I took shuttle home.

As always, I enjoy reading your reports. Thank you.