200,000 Miles!

  Another OTR milestone!  August 23rd, in 19-months of driving, Butch reached 200,000-miles!  The red Freightliner Cascadia we named Traveler is the truck he's currently driving & best of the five trucks he's driven.  It took ten-months this time to travel 100,000 due in part to a slowdown in the economy earlier this year.

9-2-2023 Butch & Traveler~

 On the 22nd in Port Angeles, Butch had to ask that the trailer he was picking up be reloaded.  CA requires the center of the rear tandems to be at 40 ft. or less to navigate the highway & ramp configurations. The delay caused him to drive late that evening & travel south on WA Hwy 101 to I-5.  It was after 11:46 p.m. Pacific time when he stopped driving for the day. 

9-23-23 - 9:13 a.m. Gee Cee's Truck Stop, Toledo, WA

It was late morning the 23rd before the ten-hour break was over & he could again get on the road. Leaving Toldeo, it was a typical start to a cool Washington day. (The dispatch was to Stockton & on to Sacramento, CA.)  

8-23-23 Near Grants Pass, OR - 4 p.m. 

Smoke from the fires in Oregon was thick in the air the length of the state.  Even so, driving through Oregon is always beautiful.  The goal for the week, was to get Butch back to IA for his home time.  It takes some doing, now that he's driving the west coast.

TA Travel Center, Redding, CA - 8:19 p.m.

By evening, Butch reached Redding, CA & had passed the 200,000-mile mark!  Since November first of last year - there have been a few changes.  In December, Butch turned in his Blue Freightliner to be sold.  While waiting for his new truck, he picked up Rebel in Louisiana & drove that truck until December 16th, when he returned it to Salt Lake.  At the Premier Dealer, he made the move to his third red truck & third Freightliner, a 2020 - Traveler.  

Mid-June of this year, Blake Scott Logistics made a change from hauling trailers for D&D Transportation Services of Gooding, ID to Jacko Logistics in Vancouver, WA.  This change moved most of Butch's dispatches from the mid-west to the west coast.  On the positive side, the dispatching is improved & Butch is getting consistent miles.  The downside - Omaha is at the far eastern range of Jacko's usual routes.  There are no more overnight layovers at home & we both miss that.  He does manage to get home within 3-to-4-week intervals for a few days each time.

8-30-2023 - Traveler finally home, the night of the Blue Moon~

Traveler had 408,310 on the odometer when Butch took the wheel & he's enjoyed issue free driving for his second 100,000-miles. During Butch's drive today, Traveler's odometer turned over 500,000 miles!  The two of them make a great team!  Congratulations to my husband, an outstanding driver & to Traveler for staying sound!  

Year with Blake Scott Logistics & Visit to the Coast ~

 This morning, Butch was completing a dispatch - delivering a load of cardboard bales to McKinely Paper Company in Port Angeles, WA.  There, he was to pick up a loaded trailer going to AZ.  Upon arrival, he was told no trailer was loaded & would not be, until after the upcoming holiday.  Butch checked each Jacko trailer there, all were empty. 

Looking NW across the Salish Sea toward Hurricane Ridge~

Mid-morning Butch sent the photo above!  I'm so jealous!  Since he had nowhere to go & traffic was going past where he was parked, he decided check out where those cars were headed.  He ended up on Ediz Hook!  He parked Traveler & decided to enjoy the magnificent day on the coast!

Very choppy water!

Butch has completed his first year with Blake Scott Logistics, LLC.  Last June, Butch left CFI & we made the trip to TX to pick up his things from Big Red.  A few days later, Butch flew to Salt Lake City to pick up his first Freightliner.  He returned home to outfit Ranger on the 10th.

6-10-2022 Ranger's first time home~

Three days later - with the truck thoroughly cleaned & supplied - he & Nika were on the road.  At that time, Blake Scott was hauling trailers for D&D Transportation Services, Inc. out of Gooding, ID.  It worked out great for us, since there were dispatches delivering cheese to Carthage, MO.  Those dispatches usually allowed enough time - Butch could come home to spend a night on his way down & back west.

August, 2022 - Inside the "Caves"~

As the year progressed, D&D lost the contract to haul cheese.  We'd been spoiled - Butch stopping by home so often - was so nice.  Especially, after months of being gone for weeks at a time while driving for CFI.  

8-6-2022 Blue at home~

August, Butch was driving Blue, his second Freightliner.  Blue ended up in the shop mid-month.  Butch drove Rebel, a truck going to a dedicated route, during the two week wait for repairs.  With Blue back on the road - November first - Butch reached 100,000 miles.  Later in the month though - Blue was again in the shop.

It was great to have Butch home for several days over Thanksgiving.  He had enough time for us to get in a bike ride & catch up.  On the first of December he flew to Shreveport, Louisiana to recover Rebel. Butch continued to drive Rebel, while waiting on a "new to him" truck to arrive in Salt Lake.  He also picked up a brand new trailer from D&D.  The first & only one he had to date.

12-2-22 Rebel in Louisana~

Late December, Butch returned to Salt Lake to swap trucks yet again & picked up a newly purchased Freightliner.  This truck was in excellent condition & would be his - hopefully long term.  One of his first dispatches took him to WA state, where he managed a short visit with our youngest daughter & three Grandkids!  

12-18-2022 Josie, Butch, Ben & Skyla~

By year's end Butch brought Traveler home for the first time.

12-26-2023 Traveler at home~

January of this year, during another dispatch to UT, there was time for the new company logo to be installed on Traveler!  By Butch's first anniversary with the company, he had a "real" license plate & a prepass.

5-1-2023 Mason & Courtney

In May, Butch had yet another dispatch to Kent, WA.  Daughter Courtney & Grandson Mason made the long, harrowing drive through miles of traffic to meet with Papa for dinner.  There's never a complaint when the dispatch goes up to the NW - even with the traffic!

April 30th, 2023 Traveler!

Mid-June - Blake Scott made a change.  The company drivers would now be hauling trailers for Jacko Logistics'.  Butch dropped off his last D&D trailer on June 15th, in Gooding, ID.  He bobtailed to Vancouver, WA & picked up his first Jacko trailer.  Jacko operates in 11 western states & we're yet to see how far east Butch will be dispatched.

Up until now, dispatching has been much improved.  As of this morning, it looks like Butch will still be waiting for a load after he completes his 34-hour reset today.  A beautiful place for a reset, but a shame he's so close to family, yet unable to visit if the delay stretches into several days...  

To date, Butch has driven just over 179,000 miles, 137,000 of those with Blake Scott.  It's almost funny how WA state tries to lure Butch to return.  Our youngest daughter & her family have moved back from Astoria OR to Camano Is.  Our oldest & her family are still in Duvall & now Butch is hauling trailers for a Vancouver based company!