A new week, a year older!

Again, sorry it has taken so long for me to post a new one!  I hope you guys had a great weekend!  My week last week was pretty busy.  I ran to Waco every day to finish the week out.  Somebody hit my truck #24 when it was parked at the yard.  But it was an easy fix - nothing a few bolts in the bumper to put it back in place couldn't fix.  With that, I thought I'd put a few pictures of #24 on here since it's been back to my first few posts when I had #24 in it! 

Parked at the yard.  Lots of antennas, huh?

At the fuel island at the Wes-T-Go truckstop in Tye, TX

New Construction at the Wes-T-Go.

See the differences in the buildings?  The old one is on the left.  The old white painted cinder blocks.  The new construction on the right with stucco and austin stone.  Should be pretty nice once completed!  See all the new tires for sale in the foreground?  Take a guess at what a new tire costs!!  Just one. 



The steel mill in Midlothian is on a voluntary shut-down.  That means that they won't take any scrap until October because they have too much and aren't producing new steel fast enough to get rid of the scrap.  That's the general reason.  I'm sure there are more reasons that are more complex, but that's the general idea.  That means I won't be making any Saturday loads into the DFW metroplex for a while.  I actually had 2 days off this weekend, the first in several months.  I got to watch my Texas A&M football team lose.  It was close, but sadly - they lost. 

I got to hang out with my baby Lindsey.  She's walking all over the house now.  She chases the dog down and pets her.  She pulls all of her toys out and makes a big mess!  We joke that once she's in bed, it looks like hurricane Lindsey came through!!  She's so cute, though. 

I have a birthday on September 26, Monday.  We celebrated it on Sunday with some VERY good home cooking and a friend brought over his 4-wheeler and we rode it around a bit.  I got some new jeans, a belt, and some cards from family.  It was a good time.  I'm now 32 years old!! 

I got your bar graph!!!  Wow, you guys are learning some cool stuff!!  Bar graphs are very useful and are found in news articles, business proposals, financial information, and all kinds of applications.  Looks like you guys are pretty busy around the house!!  Awesome!  I'm glad you guys are chipping in and helping out.  *high five*



I will be going to Waco all this week and I'll try to learn more about the towns I go through & share that with you!  I will also be going to Guymon, Oklahoma this weekend if the steel mill in Midlothian is still closed. 



OKLAHOMA?!?!?  I own a home in Oklahoma.  Back in April I was working in Oklahoma and moved back to Texas - where I love.  I was a plant manager for a feed mill.  We have had our home on the market up there for quite some time.  I am going up there to replace some sheet metal on our back porch and check on things.  My wife & I are VERY ready for that house to sell!!  It's hard being an absentee owner!!  We would really like to take the money we make off the house and use it to buy some farmland or a house out here for ourselves.  We really like living in the family farm house, but we would really like to have something of our own here!! 

I will send updates if/when I take that trip to Oklahoma and tell you a little bit about Guymon!  I hope you guys had a great weekend!  Remember - I want some guesses on the price of a new tire!!  I'll give you a hint.  A new tire for my truck is $230.  It's a size 265/75/17.  My wife's suburban takes a 245/70/16 size and it was $200 for just one.  My truck's tire sizes are 295/75/22.5 and 11R 24.5.  Maybe you can do an average of your guesses??  I'm looking forward to hearing from you!  --Mr. Walker

Early Wednesday then cleaning

Today, my day started at 3:00 AM.  I sure hope nobody reading this is awake at 3:00 AM on a regular basis.  If you are, there are some cool things going on.  It's very quiet out on the roads.  Hardly anybody is out except for big trucks.  The wind is usually very still.  We got a LOT of wind out here, but at 3:00 AM - it's usually very calm & peaceful.  After that, you get to see people going to work, the sunrise, businesses opening up.  It's like the world is coming alive.  I guess you could say I'm a morning person.  I love the mornings. 

Pressure Washer

I got a ride from one of our other drivers, "Matt".  He took me down to Sweetwater and I picked up truck #24.  It ran like a champ all the way down to Waco.  I was out of there by 9:00 AM and headed back.  Since I got back so early I decided to wash the truck myself (also, the carwash place we usually go to was closed).  We have a pressure washer at work and I fired it up and started washing it down.  It wasn't long and it was very clean.  Then, as I was getting loaded, I was busy in the cab wiping everything down.  Since it sat so long, it had quite a bit of dust everywhere.  So, I used some Armor All and wiped down the dash, instrument panel, doors, cabinets and even the floors.  Then, I got glass cleaner and cleaned all of the windows.  I was pretty proud of myself.  It looked pretty good! 

So, what are some things you guys have to clean?  Do you have any chores at home where you have things to clean?  When I was in 4th grade I had to feed our dog "Buster".  I had to do dishes from time to time and help with the vacuuming when I was asked to.  I took over mowing the lawn but I don't remember if that was before, during, or after 4th grade. 

I need to train MY can how to mow the lawn!!!

...or how to vacuum??



Go around the room, and let's see what house chores you guys have!!  Let me know what the top 5 chores you guys have in common!! 

Helping around the house is important.  We all have a responsibility to help out in our families.  Even though we don't always hear it - our families are very helpful for the help you give them!!  I'm sure you guys all help out and for that:  GREAT JOB!!  I'll propose a challenge.  Do something around the house without being asked by someone in your family.  Not only will you feel good about it, but your family might really notice and appreciate it. 

They might not appreciate this, though. 

I hope you guys are having a great week!  --Robbie

So long, truck #10!!

Truck #10 was good to me.  Only one bad spot was when they left the key on over the weekend & the batteries were dead but other than that - it ran like a champ.  I had it for 2 weeks even, I believe.  In those 2 weeks I put on about 6,500 miles on it.  That's enough miles for about 2 oil changes on a car!!  That's enough miles to go from Los Angeles to New York City then back to Los Angeles and then back to New York City!

I will have #24 tomorrow for my run to Waco.  I should have it the rest of the week.  I sure hope all of it's problems are taken care of!!

Okay, so I want you guys to take a look at the map!  I want to tell you about Cisco, TX.  Cisco is almost right in the middle between Snyder & Midlothian.  It's right on I-20.  Ever hear of the Hilton Hotels?  Well, the very first Hilton Hotel was in Cisco, TX.  It's where Conrad Hilton started the Hilton chain in 1919.  It's a big oil boom town.  It originally started in 1881 with a post office & store when the railroad came through.  A tornado nearly destroyed the town in 1893, but the Dallas mayor sent some people to help clean it up.  It's also the site of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery.  On Christmas Eve, a gang of 4 men (one of them obviously dressed as Santa) robbed a bank.  I hate to be the spoiler - the guys didn't get away.  It was a bloody gun battle, just like a western movie.  Cisco College is in Cisco, TX - a very affordable community college. 



Also, a year and a half ago I got stuck in a snowstorm there.  We were living in East Texas and were travelling to be with my family in Snyder.  A big ice & snow storm hit and we got stuck in Ranger, TX.  We slowly made it to Cisco and it was about Midnight.  There was a church that had opened a shelter and I slept in the truck while it was idling while my wife (pregnant with Lindsey at the time) slept in the shelter.  We woke up Christmas morning still stuck but we put the truck in 4x4 and eased down the road.  The roads were a mess but after hours on the road, we finally made it there on Christmas afternoon. 

I also like to park at a place between a pretty good mexican food restaurant and a carwash when I need a nap sometimes.  It's very quiet and off the highway.  It's well lit so it's safe. 

I hope your week is going well.  It's starting to storm here, so that's my post for the night.  I need to turn this off before the power goes out!!  Until next time...  --Robbie

Delay of game penalty!

I know I'm behind on my posts, so I'll try to catch everyone up as best I can.  (I get a delay of game penalty!)

$650!  That will buy you a new 42" flatscreen TV, set of 4 tires for an SUV, about 1 1/2 months worth of groceries for my house, a new laptop, 3 Nintendo Wii's, 2 roundtrip flights to Orlando, Florida & back, what could you buy with $650???  That was just one fuel up for me!!

You guys got it right!!  I got Mrs. Hnizdo's email.  Sounds like you've got some of this fuel island math down!!  Long division/multiplication is tough, but it will come in handy once you master it. 

So, in my last post, I was showing you guys our awesome rain storm.  We got 2 inches of rain out of that storm.  SO cool!!  We got a little shower Sunday morning as well but it was just 1/10 of an inch. 

My parents came into town over the weekend.  They own the farm where we live.  They were in town to visit with some friends and help do a few things around the farm.  They picked up a donkey and some firewood down in Clyde, TX - where my brother lives. 

My nephew Dalton riding Pedro the donkey.

Friday night I headed in to Midlothian to the mill and I got word from my boss that the mill had been evacuated!  Apparently something broke in the melt shop that has all the lava-hot melted steel and it was close enough to an oxygen pipeline that it could have been hazardous.  So, they took the safest bet and evacuated everyone & sent everyone home.  (SCIENCE TIDBIT:  Oxygen is one of the main fuel sources for a fire.  If something VERY hot gets a pure oxygen source, it would have been a very fast and quick burning fire!) 

I called my wife's grandmother (Grandma Joy!).  She lives there in Midlothian.  She sleeps in the afternoons and a little at night and she was up late.  I asked if I could snooze at her place for a little bit, so I parked the truck in a safe church parking lot and walked about 5-10 minutes to her house from there.  I got about 5 hours of sleep and went into the mill at about 9:00 AM.  (Thanks Grandma Joy!!)  That gave me the opportunity to get some good pictures of the Midlothian steel mill during the day!  Ready for it?  Here we go!

Acres of brand new steel

Shredder in Midlothian.  Good view of the conveyor that feeds it!

Grapple feeding the shredder conveyor.

Steel mill on the left, scale house middle bottom.  We have two scales.  Left one is for inbound traffic (loaded), Right one is for outbound traffic (empty).

More acres and tons of brand new steel ready to be picked up and hauled off to constructions sites around the world!

On Saturday, I made another run to Midlothian but thankfully it was very unventful.  I had a lot of traffic that day that I had to deal with.  I suppose lots of construction is done on the weekend when it's not as busy.  Then, there are some spots where the construction goes on for months.  Those are usually bigger projects.  Saturday, we had supper with my parents.  Then, we had some birthday cake.  Yes, folks - my birthday is in September.  September 26, 1979 is my birthday.  We celebrated it a little early since I don't get to be with my parents much.  It was great spending time with them!

Sunday, we spent the morning with my parents briefly before they had to leave.  We went to church and ate lunch with some friends and had a relaxing day at home on Sunday night. 

Monday was interesting.  I went to Sweetwater like usual and was there at about 5:00 AM.  My truck was dead!!  So, when I say dead - I mean it wouldn't crank!  My key was left on!  So, I tried charging it with jumper cables from my truck.  Then I put a battery charger on it.  Then I put an even BIGGER battery charger on it and still nothing.  Finally, I took the batteries off.  This truck has 3 huge 12 volt batteries with 600 cranking amps each (Most trucks have 4 of them!  Your parents' car has just 1!).  That's 1800 amps total!!  I had them tested and 2 of the 3 batteries were bad.  Sooooo.... I picked up 3 new batteries from our parts store and put them in.  I got inside, turned the key and it fired up like a champ!!  It was a little bit aggrivating to go through all of that work trying to get it to start just to find out I had a couple of bad batteries!!!  But it does feel good knowing that truck #10 has good, new, fresh batteries in it.

ALSO:  Truck 24 is back from the shop!!  The shop called that truck our 'Homing Pigeon'.  Since it likes to go back to the Freightliner shop all the time!!  Hopefully, it will be on the road for a good while before having to go back into the shop!!  I went and picked it up with another driver "James" today down in Abilene, TX.

This should catch you up to now.  It's Monday night & I'm watching a little bit of the Monday Night Football game.  My Broncos & Cowboys won, so that's cool!!  I watched Lindsey while my wife Kasey went to spend some time with some friends.  She played and ate dinner and then we read some books and she went to bed.  She's soooo cute!  I hope you guys had a great weekend and that school is going well!!  Until next time!  --Robbie 

Good Rain!!

It finally came down!  It cooled off and the rain came down.  There was some thunder & lightning with it, but it wasn't much. 

This was driving in this morning.  We have a dirt driveway that's about 1/4 mile long.  Nice low clouds and soaking drizzle. 

Then it came down!!  It turned the ground into a temporary pond.  My oh my - we sure needed this!! 

This was before it really came down.  This is a view of my backyard.  Those are wind turbines in the background.  They take all the wind we have and turn it into electricity.  We have three of them really close to us on our neighbor's property.  I'll see if I can't get some more close ups later on! 

I know it might seem pretty silly to be so excited about some rain, but we haven't had rain like this in 11 months.  A lot of grass has dried up and withered away or burned in the wildfires.  I read that over 1 million acres in Texas have burned in Texas this year.  It was said that if you take the entire area of Connecticut and Rhode Island and put it together - more acres have burned than that amount of area.  It's also noted that 2011 is the hottest Summer ever recorded since they've began taking records.  So, we're pretty grateful for this rain & cold front that came through. 

Well, I'm about to take off on my run tonight (Thursday).  I will be finishing the week off by taking 2 more loads to the steel mill in Midlothian.  535 miles from Snyder to the steel mill & back.  Not too bad. I hope you guys are having a great week at school.  Let me know what your answer was for the pump price & I'll post the answer!  Take care.  --Robbie

Going Nocturnal

First of all, I owe you guys a picture of truck #10:

Big difference, huh?  This one is called a daycab.  It doesn't have a sleeper compartment.  The cab is much smaller, but it's cozy.  This truck is the newest one in the fleet and only has 256,250 miles on it.  Not too bad, actually!!  It has a 500 horsepower diesel engine in it.  MORE than enough power!  Much different but still a pretty good truck!
So, since my schedule changed I've had to go 'nocturnal'.  I have to sleep during the day and work at night.  It's tough to do in the middle of the week and a little bit easier to change over during the weekend.  The steel mill in Midlothian is a much busier place than Waco and can take a lot longer to get unloaded.  So far, it's been pretty good, I hope it goes well the rest of the week there in Midlothian!  I'll keep you posted & let you know. 

I have a good math quiz for ya!!

So, we have the price per gallon & we have the gallons.  Now, we need to know the price! 

173.844 x 3.739 = ?? 

I know you guys can get this one.  Let me know what you think it is & tomorrow I will try to post a picture of the price!  It's a big number! 

I hear we have some cooler weather & rain coming!  I sure hope the weather predictions are correct!  We could sure use the relief.  I hope you guys are having a great week.  --Robbie

Quick Blog

Howdy!  Today was a quick run to Waco.  I got news my routine is going to change the rest of this week.  I'll be running to Midlothian, TX starting EARLY morning Wednesday.  I will be taking short iron/steel in to meet our company's quota. 

I am still in Truck #10.  I wasn't able to get a picture, so I'm going to try my hardest to get it for the next blog! 

Soooo.... since we decided to do a detailed history of certain towns, I picked one out.  I've been going through this town twice a day & seeing a sign that says "Clifton, Norwegian Capital of Texas".  I decided to go online & look a few things up about Clifton, TX. 

Clifton was settled in the Winter of 1852 by four families who called thier town Cliff Town after a natural limestone cliff nearby.  It has gradually evolved to Clifton.  In 1880, the local railroad built a station 1 mile South of Clifton and the town grew towards the rail station.  In the late 1860s, a group of Norwegians who immigrated to the United States settled in the area.  Today, every 1st weekend in December the town has a Norwegian Country Christmas Tour.  There is a festival with food, a carnival, and other traditions are carried out. 

Today, Clifton (which is the Bosque County) is the biggest city in the county.  Bosque County is the county right next to Waco.  Clifton's population is around 3,500 people.  It's economy is served by farming, ranching, limestone (calcium), and hunting.  Notable Residents:  Zach Duke (pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks), Brad Winchester (hockey player for the Aniheim Mighty Ducks), and Bobby Joe Conrad (former Dallas Cowboys & Texas A&M football player). 

When I go through Clifton in the Winter, the town puts out all kinds of Christmas lights!  I think most of that is for the Norwegian Country Christmas. 

I hope you guys are having a great week!  --Robbie