Driving through the Storm~

 These last few days & winter storm Fern made, for some challenging driving for Butch!

1-24-2026 - 10:55 p.m. Love's, New Florence, MO

After making a delivery & picking up a load in Kansas City on the 23rd, the storm caught up to him as he was leaving MO Saturday morning.  He was heading east to make a delivery in Louisville, KY.

1-25-2026 - 1:36 p.m. 

The storm increased in strength as he traveled east.  It had taken miles for the lines of semis to sort themselves out when he'd left New Florence.  He was at the head of the line, behind a snowplow, until a flatbed entered from an onramp.  (Miles later, he passed the flatbed, stuck on the shoulder of the road.)

1-25-2026 - 2:50 p.m. 

The driving was non-stop.  Trucks were everywhere.  Every on & off ramp had lines of semis sitting.  If there was any incline at all, the tires spun & they were going nowhere.  If they pulled onto the shoulder, that's where they stayed, without enough traction to get rolling again.  

After making an attempt to find parking or take a break at a Road Ranger at the state line, he continued on to the Love's in Haubstadt, IN.  The Warner driver (in the above photo) pulling a Walmart trailer hadn't checked his hitch pin.  The trailer had disconnected from the truck, blocking the way out.

1-25-2025 - 5:30 p.m. Parked at Love's

This Love's at Haubstadt, IN was proactive & had a plow working to keep the lot clear of snow.  

1-26-2026 - 6:00 a.m.

Monday morning, the best of plans, changed.  Butch said the entire place could hear when the driver of the truck above started the engine.  The semi was making a loud banging noise.  The driver got out, lifted the hood, then shut the truck down, right where it was.  Another driver asked him to move it - the answer was no.  The angle made it impossible for other trucks to get out.

1-26-2026 7:25 a.m. 

Butch told me it was sheer luck that allowed him to leave.  He had to back up all the way to the fuel islands, make a U-turn, then go the wrong direction through the island to reach the entrance.  He said if even one of the trucks at the fuel island had been pulled forward, he wouldn't have gotten out at all.  By the time he was on the access road, he looked back to see a total tangle of semis.  Ahead of him was open road!

1-26-2026 By 11 a.m. he'd arrived at his delivery!  

He was the only truck that had made it in for a delivery.  Of course, that didn't mean they were in any hurry to unload him.  He was called to back to the dock by 1:29 p.m. & unloaded at 2:05 p.m.  He almost always gets his next dispatch once he's unloaded.  That didn't happen today.  He decided to go to the nearest Love's in Shepherdsville, KY.  When he arrived there, at 3:03 p.m.  it was full to overflowing.  He decided to go on to a rest area, but the next two were closed.  

1-26-2026 - 4:00 p.m. Pilot Pendelton, KY

Finally, by late afternoon he found a spot at the Pilot.  His dispatches came in too & he'd actually picked the correct direction to drive.

1-27-2026 - 3:40 a.m.

The Pilot, a busy place 24-hours a day.

1-27-2026 - 6:00 a.m. Clear Road! 

Always happy to be clear of a truck stop, I was happy to see he had a clear road this morning!  

1-27-2026 Arrival - 9:05 a.m. 

At his pickup, in Rushville, IN he was backed to the dock by 9:35 a.m.  By 10:30 a.m. he was loaded & leaving - heading west!  Next stop would have been York, NE but he was diverted to Omaha to drop his trailer so another driver could get home.  Hopefully he'll get a reprieve from the snow!