BLOWIN' IN THE WIND

This is our latest load, fresh out of Little Falls, Minnesota. We started experiencing winds on our return from Winnipeg and they continued to blow as we got loaded and then left for our first stop in Williston, North Dakota. Now normally, these rigs do not get good gas mileage. On average, you are doing good if you get around 7 miles to the gallon. When we have boats loaded as they are here, each one of those boats act as a parachute. Add a strong 35mph head wind and it makes for some challenging driving and lousy gas mileage.

Another victim of the strong winds is the shrink wrap on the boats. On more than one occasion we have had to pull over and completely remove the wrap as it was torn to shreds from the wind. This time Craig caught the damage early. We bundled up as much as we could so that we were still able to move and made our way outside. Our first battle was with the ladder. It hadn't been used in awhile, and along with the frigid weather the metal was not cooperative in releasing it's grip so that we could open it and extend it in order for Craig to get up high enough to try and repair the shrink wrap.

So with the battle of the ladder won, Craig climbed up as I stood by to make sure the ladder remained firmly grounded. But I must confess, I did step away just long enough to take this picture, let's just keep that our little secret. Craig went to work repairing the rip and we quickly gathered up our ladder, loaded it back onto the truck and jumped inside to warm up.

We made it to our first stop in Williston, ND Thursday afternoon. Unbenounst to us, they needed a crane, so we waited about an hour for its arrival. Having safely unloaded the pontoon boat we were off to find the one small truck stop in town to stay for the night. One wrong turn, and a tight spot to make a turn around, we found the truck stop and settled in for the night.

Arising Friday morning we made our way towards the border and the dreaded Customs. I have been of late, trying to channel my best friend Cori, and her attitude about not worrying. So with that in mind, I tried throwing caution to the wind that still plagued us and made our way to the Customs booth. Low and behold it worked! With a red Customs stamp on our paperwork we were cleared to enter Canada and make our way to Calgary.

Since we would not be able to deliver the last three boats until Monday morning, we had all the time in the world to get there. With a stop in Swift Current, Manitoba for the night, we arrived in Calgary Saturday around noon. The new Flying J Truck Stop will be our home with the dealership only 2 miles up the road.

We know after we off load the boats Monday morning that we will be sent right back to Little Falls for a load of boats going to Loomis, California. We also know that we will not be home for Thanksgiving, but if all goes well, we should be home in Modesto the Monday following Thanksgiving. As far as anything else? Well, as Bob Dylan so eloquently said......."The answers my friend are blowin in the wind, the answers are blowin in the wind"