I wanted to miss the morning commute in Oklahoma City this morning so I started driving around 8 AM, to put me in that area around 10 AM. I made it there with no delays then fueled at our designated Pilot truck stop. My fueling suggestions had me fill up there even though I needed only 50 or 75 gallons to get me to Joplin so I assume the price there was lower than that of our home terminal.
There was a lot of construction along I-44 between Tulsa and the Missouri border and a lot of slow traffic narrowing down to single lane driving for much of the way. I patiently plodded along and eventually made my way up to Joplin where I arrived around 2 PM.
My friend Bob (Turtle) was in town so I invited him and two new CFI Crowder graduates to dinner at The Outback. I had a so-so T-Bone and enjoyed catching up and holding forth for a few hours before returning to the truck to clean, do laundry, etc. I told local dispatch I would board in the morning so we'll see how long it will take to get a load then.
I chanced upon Chaz and Shelly (CRB and CRB Wifey) while I was doing laundry. They are also Crowder graduates and have driven team since finishing. They were notified today they were getting a new truck (their old one had over 350,000 miles on it, about to the point where it will be sold off) and they were in to get it set up the way they want it and move in their gear. They report getting tons of miles, over 25,000 per month, though they spent most of January in the Northwest which they didn't like much!
