Seven Semi's in Four Years~

The 25th of February 2022, Butch received the keys to his first semi-truck. He had completed a month of training at Truck Dynasty for CFI in Joplin, MO, then another month (10,457-miles) driving with a trainer.  He wasn't able to leave town on his first dispatch until the 27th, when the roads reopened.

2-24-2022 - Big Red~

In the years since, Butch has driven seven trucks.  We gave them all a name; Big Red, Ranger, Blue, Rebel, Traveler, Maverick & Maverick II.  Four Freightliners & two Volvos.  Big Red was the only Kenworth, a T-680.  Big Red's breakdown & lengthy repair precipitated the move to Blake Scott Logistics June of 2022.

6-7-2022 - Ranger

In that same time, Butch has driven for four companies.  CFI, Blake Scott, Jacko & his current employer - Nationwide Transportation.  

9-8-2022 - Blue

With Blake Scott, he drove four of those seven trucks.  Butch moved from Ranger to Blue August of 2022.  A newer truck, but with quite a few miles.  After several visits to the shop for repairs, he was given another truck to drive until a replacement could be purchased.  

12-2-2022 - Rebel~

He ended up driving Rebel on two different occasions & loved this truck.  The newest Freightliner he'd driven. He didn't have too long to wait though, before he was called back to Salt Lake City to pick out his next, newer truck!  

2-8-2023 - Traveler with the new Blake Scott Logo~

December 16, 2022, Butch came home with Traveler.  He was driving Traveler when Blake Scott ran into difficulties & leased their last six trucks to Jacko out of Vancouver, WA.  Butch was the only driver Jacko hired, so he made the transition with Traveler. 

It wasn't a good match. Butch was driving the west coast again.  He did make the most of it though & managed several short visits with our daughters & grandkids!  He wasn't getting home either.  When he did, it would take forever to receive a dispatch to leave.  Jacko had very little business that wasn't in the west.  Butch had driven Traveler 96,888 when he handed the keys to Jacko October 24th, 2023.   

10-31-2023 Maverick~

Butch had applied at Nationwide during his home time, mid-October.  He was hired & was leaving on his first dispatch the end of the month, driving his first Volvo.  At first, he wasn't sure he liked the truck, but after a while, the roomy interior won him over. 

2-1-2025 Maverick II - days before the breakdown~

January 11, 2025, Butch was given the keys of a brand-new Volvo with 21 miles on the odometer.  February 5th, the truck was towed to McMahon Truck Center in Cincinnati, OH, for warranty engine replacement.  The odometer read 7,460 miles.

Returning to Omaha, Butch was given his original Volvo, Maverick to drive until the new truck was repaired.  Those first three years, Butch drove a total of 382,880 safe miles! 

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!  

Butch's first 100,000-Miles!

 Congratulations to my favorite Over the Road Truck Driver!

11-1-2022 - Butch & his big Blue Freightliner - at 100,288 miles!

Butch hit the big number at the end of today's drive!  Nine months to the day from when he first left Joplin with his trainer - the first of February.  Most new to the road drivers have arrived when they've reached 100,000 miles.  It can easily take a couple years to attain those miles.  Accomplishing it in nine months doesn't surprise me - knowing my husband!  It takes a lot of skill, grit, consistant dispatching & trucks that don't break down often!

An outline of the journey~

Butch completed his month of training at Truck Dynasty in Springfield, MO for CFI the end of January.  He was sent to Joplin where he met his Finisher, Steve.  The two of them left Joplin on February 1, 2022.  That first day Butch drove Steve's Kenworth T-680 623-miles.  

2-23-22 Butch is assigned Big Red!

By February 23rd, he had completed his time with his finisher & was assigned a truck!  From then on - he was on his own & on the road full-time.

3-3-2022 Big Red comes Home!

Early March, Butch came by home to outfit his new truck & pick me & Nika up!  We were going to see if we'd like traveling with him!  I did my best, but I've had difficulty with motion sickness my entire life.  It was a relief to me - when he was dispatched back through Council Bluffs a few days later.  I was happy to be home, but sad traveling wasn't for me.

5-26 - Big Red gets a tow~

Butch enjoyed another short home time in April.  The problem with asking for home time, is the difficulty in dispatching you to home & then back out!  We were lucky to be close to a large customer of CFI, so usually only lost an additional day or two.

By the 26th of May, Big Red's computer had gone out & the semi was towed into the Dallas Kenworth dealer.  When the mechanic said it would be a wait for the parts, Butch flew home.  After a five-days, Butch was told the parts could be weeks out. 

A friend mentioned the company she worked for - was looking for a driver.  Butch was hired by Blake Scott Logistics LLC.  Making this change would require a road-trip back to Seagoville, TX to unload Butch's things from Big Red.  He officially gave notice to CFI.  It was fun to take our truck & make the drive.  I hadn't been to TX for many years - so we made a short holiday out of it. 

Butch left for Salt Lake on June sixth, traveling light, with his duffle bag & a sleeping bag.  After an unplanned overnighter in Denver due to weather - he was in Salt Lake & on the road the following day.

6-7-2022 "Ranger" a 2016 Freightliner Cascadia

It didn't take him long, to appreciate driving a Freightliner, over the Kenworth T-680.  The larger engine, spacious cab & overall drivability of the semi was great.  Not being governed at 65 mph was a nice change too.

6-10-2022 Ranger comes home to be outfitted~

A short time later, Butch came home to outfit the truck & after an all too short stay, left again.  This time with Nika!  She was thrilled to go & seemed to love having a job to do.  Guarding the truck was an opportunity to bark!

7-9-2022 Nika on the road~

Butch was putting in some good miles but ended up with two flat tires on two separate occasions.  One drive tire & one steer.  Then another flat on a trailer.  Toward the end of July, he was notified Ranger was to be sold & he'd be driving another truck. 

A few weeks later, another driver met Butch & they exchanged trucks in the middle of WY. (Ranger was to be sold in TX & the other driver was picking up a almost new Kenworth.)

8-6-2022 Ranger & Blue~

It was fun to see the bright Blue Freightliner parking at home!  Another truck to thoroughly clean, replace air filters in the cab etc.  This truck was two-years newer than Ranger & sported new brakes & tires!

8-6-2022 Blue comes Home~

Just a couple weeks later, the AC went out!  Not a good thing in the middle of summer!  Butch drove to Gooding, ID with the windows down - where D&D Trucking called out a Freightliner mechanic.  Another part needed to be ordered & that was weeks away.

8-15-2022  Nika paitently waits on the cool concrete!

Butch was given another truck to drive in the interim.  Way better than waiting days & weeks for truck parts to arrive.  (As far as we've heard, Big Red is still parked at Seagoville, TX.)  The truck below was another Freightliner, newer with more options.  Butch really enjoyed driving it.  

8-18-22 Nika riding shotgun in their temporary truck Rebel~

By the 30th, Butch & Nika were back in Blue.  Rebel was moved to a  dedicated route.  

Our 40th anniversary was the second week of October.  We'd planned a trip to the far side of our state.  It's always a beautiful time of year to travel.  We visited the trucker's Nirvana - the I-80 Truck Stop.  Butch had stopped by once but hadn't had time to look around.  We spent a night in the area, which gave us time to tour the amazing museum.  We also did some shopping!  It was fun to see all the extra gadgets & customized items available.  Blue is sporting a new Look!

10-14-2022 New Bars & Mud Flags~

When we left for our trip - Nika stayed with our friend Doris.  Doris said Nika slept for almost two-days straight.  We decided her days as a trucking dog were over.  She'd lost weight & even though she had the heart for it, at ten-years young, it was too hard on her physically.  Since then, she's picked up weight again, has stopped shedding so heavily & her new winter coat is rich & beautiful.  (She let  the mailman know she was home!)  Butch misses her terribly & she listens to our daily phone conversations :-)

The trucking business is having ups & downs currently, as our economy suffers.  We're thankful Butch was able to make the move to Blake Scott Logistics LLC, when he did.  Driving refrigerated & moving supplies of food from one side of the country to the other is probably one of the most reliable trucking jobs.  There have been only a few cancelled loads.  Dispatches can run from; have it there yesterday, to four days to make a two-day run.  Even so, the wheels are turning!  Driving for a small company has been more beneficial for us so far - than if Butch had stayed with CFI.

10-27-2022 Heading out!

  Butch is able to occasionally come by home for a night or two - nice for us both!  We still have a few months to go before this first year of OTR driving is complete.  His goal was to drive the miles.  We're expecting he'll probably do at least another year of over-the-road to gain the required experience.  Then possibly move to a local company route.