I love summer!! So much time to get to do things that I wouldn't normally be able to do :) The kids have been gone with Wil....visiting Mum-Mum and Pop-Pop and also spending some time with Pa-Paw and Grandma Chery. While they were away I got to rest up some, get a few things done around the house, and I got to do something new.
My friend Ken is a log truck driver, so I got to spend a day learning what that's all about :)
Our day started EARLY - so early that most would consider it the night before. He waits to hear the night before when he has to be where to pick up the first load. We were to be on the coast by 5am, which means getting to work by 3am, which meant I got picked up at 2:40am, which means my alarm went off at 1:30am! Oh my goodness that's early!!
Of course it's rather dark at 3am, so this is what it looks like when the trucks are getting ready to go...
Even though you can't see the trucks very well in the dark, trust me when I tell you they are large! I was a little intimidated, but managed to get myself hoisted into my seat with my lunch and bag o' stuff for the day.
Now Ken typically does two trips each day - he heads out to pick up the load, then brings it back to the mill...twice. The first trip out was completely in the dark, so i have no pictures of that. I did take pictures the second time we went out, so I'm going to use those to put the whole process in order :)
So this part I hadn't completely thought through...I know that he's going to pick up logs, which means we're driving into a forest, which means the roads aren't necessarily all that wide and paved! This wasn't noticable in the dark, but on our second trip out I realized that we were driving a rather large truck pretty far into a forest, and it wasn't all flat ground! It is very beautiful though....not a bad gig getting to see the sun come up over this every morning :)
Ok - so once you get out to where the logs are, the "shovel operator" (in this case a young man named "Skeeter") unfolds your trailer and loads the logs onto the back. It was hard to get a shot of this that fully conveys how big the logs are, but here's one of the loading process....
I was really impressed with the precision that they have with this - placing logs in like a puzzle, also trying to balance out the weight so that everything sits right and isn't too heavy. And I really can't say it enough, but everything is just HUGE out there!
After the truck is loaded we head on back to the mill...here's a shot of the road going out...
And this one was taken just before heading out onto the main road...
So yes, the road in and out is just one lane, so one might wonder how they all keep from running into each other (well I wondered!)
I've been learning some "trucker-speak" - copy? Earlier that morning we left about the same time another driver did, so he and Ken chatted over the CB much of the way to the coast - I teased him that they chat even more than girls do! But once we got in on those narrow forest roads, the CB was used to communicate where we were and whether or not we were traveling with a full load.
It's not the best shot, but I also tried to get a shot of all the other buttons, knobs, and gauges that are inside the truck....
All right - where were we?? We've got the truck all loaded up, and as we left the woods the first time it was just starting to light up outside and feel like morning! On the second trip we probably left around noon and ate a little lunch on the way out to the main road.
So after picking up the load we made our way to the mill. LOTS of trucks are making their way to the mill throughout the day, so it's likely that when you get there you'll have to wait in line....and now I'm wishing I had a picture of the line. Neither of our waits were too long, but the first one in the morning was definitely longer. The trucks come in from both directions, so there are trucks waiting to enter the mill on both sides of the road. What struck me funny, is that most of the guys know exactly who's turn it is to enter the mill...they don't just alternate from one side or the other, it's all about who got there first! It reminded me just a little bit of my work at the elementary schools where it is VERY important to not budge into line in front of anyone else!
So when it finally is your turn, you pull onto the scale and do some paperwork stuff (that's super technical trucker-speak people!) and then pull ahead to be unloaded. So while it took the shovel operator about 20-30 minutes to load your truck, it takes this guy about 2 minutes to unload it - all in one swipe!!
and then your truck's empty again!
Again, I'm not sure the picture can truly convey how big everything is! That unloader thing takes the logs to different places, but sometimes they end up on piles like this...
So after you unload there is a little self-service area where you can fold your trailer back up (I'm almost positive I'm using the wrong words for all this - I'm still new!)
After the 2nd load was delivered we were done! (kinda) - we still had to go fill up with fuel....
and there was paperwork to be done...
I think maybe it was 4:00 or so when we were back in Ken's car and driving back to my house. For those keeping score, that was 11 hours after arriving at the truck - long day!
What a great experience though - I learned lots and had fun doing it :) I leave you with a few more shots from the day....
In the truck at the end of the day - I look exhausted, right?! Slept like a baby last night :)
