NEW WEBSITE!!!!!

For all the latest updates make sure you check out www.truckerchris.com

Lot's of new photos, videos and trucking industry related info.

It's the end of the road...

This will be my last post on my blog. As you guys can tell from the last year since I've been back on the road that they updates are getting further and further apart. I just don't have the time to type out a long blog and then add photos to it like I used to. In the last couple months I've started a Flickr account ( ) Where I've been posting all my photos instead of just the handful I post on this blog along with a description below each image. It's a lot faster and I like how I can share my photos a lot easier than getting people to try and come to my blog. So For everyone who still wants to keep updated on my travels and photos go on over to flickr and sign up. It's real quick, especially if you already have a Yahoo account. You can find my photo albums by click on this direct link (make sure you save it to your bookmarks!)


http://www.flickr.com/photos/truckerchris


To stay updated day by day add me on myspace at "http://www.myspace.com/kona911 . I update that several times a day as to where I am in the country and what I'm doing by cell phone.

If you have a facebook account, you can also add me there too...
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1608796864 but you have to be a member in order to see my photos.

If you have any questions you can email me @ truckerchris@gmail.com

Thanks for following me over the last 3 years but now it's time to roll on out...

Chris

April update...

Sitting next to the railroad tracks in Yreka, CA




Not much new around here. Miles are down due to a bad economy but I'm still running around. The past 3 weeks I've been running Interstate 5 from Washington State to California and back. It's sort of like being on a dedicated run because I've been able to spend a few nights at home... Right now I'm in Portland, OR at the Jubitz truck stop. It's like the Iowa 80 of the west coast. I'm delivering in Seattle, WA at Safeway at 6am with a full load of rice krispy treats!

Heres another round of photos...

(click the photo below to go to the photo album)

Chris

Blog Update 4/12/09

Where have I been?

Wyoming in the winter = fun


Well lets see... After my last update in early January my 5 year old point and shoot camera decided to die. It was a bit weird, but I didn't even think about not taking photos for almost a month. I just sort of forgot about photos. I sorta enjoyed being able to take a look around at everything going by instead of hunting for my camera and focusing on if the camera is setup right and so on... Well, I was home about two weeks ago and I purchased a new camera so I'm back. I splurged just a bit and bought a Canon G10. I had a G2 years ago and man, this G10 is awesome! I'm actually thinking of selling my Nikon D2X Digital SLR since this G10 can do everything that camera can and still fit in my pocket... Also when I was home I was lucky enough to get deathly sick. I haven't been sick in years so I guess it was my time but god sure punished me. I ended up taking a couple more days off at home before coming back out. I then ran from Sacramento (where I live) to LA and then back north to Sacramento, then back south to LA and then Back north to Portland. That was the first week and nothing to exciting to take photos of since I've traveled that route hundreds of times before. Once I got up to portland, I took a quick reset at a friends house and I picked up this load going to Louisville, KY. 2300 miles and I still have 350 to go tomorrow before I arrive at the customer.

These 2300 miles have thrown everything at me. From Clear skies to blizzards and tornado warnings. I've had a little bit of everything thrown at me. Anyways, I decided to switch up how I post photos. Usually I take a few of my favorites and post them up and leave a dozen or sometimes a lot more in my collection... I've changed that up and started a Picasa web photo album. I'll be posting all my photos (this time it's about 30) in a album and putting the link down below. This is the first time I've done this so give me some feedback. It's set to be public so you don't have to be a member to view them. You can also post comments but I'm not sure if you have to be a member or not (if you have a google account, just sign in and you're good). If you're not a memember, why not just sign up so you can post comments on a photo of your choice? I'd love to hear what everyone thinks...

Blog Update - 2/28/09

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Chris

New Years Resolutions...

I guess I started my New Years Resolutions about 3 months ago but I'm going to keep on doing it. I quit eating fast food and drinking soda. For the past 5 years I've been eating fast food daily but it wasn't so hard on me as I kept moving and was always doing things on the weekends when I was working locally and going to school. I rode my mountain bike, dirt bike and did other outdoor hobbies that kept me happy with how I looked... Well, In the last year since I've gotten really serious about trucking and I'm not just out here to see the country, I'm out here to make as much money as I can, I haven't been exercising. I was lazy, parking in the front row, eating Supersized fast food 1-3 times a day. I just didn't care. Well, If I'm going to continue doing this job for the rest of my life, I don't want to be a fat ass. So I woke up one morning and quit it cold turkey. I've given in 3 times since then and had Taco Bell (my absolute favorite...oh man...lol) but I've gotten better and now drink unsweetend Ice tea (yuck, but oh well, it's better than soda) and eat a sit down meal daily. I've gotten used to it and I look forward to it. Sitting down and reading the latest truckers magazine or listening to other drivers tell their stories.

Another resolution? Perhaps I could post more...???


Freezing rain is fun.



Picking up a loaded trailer in Iowa bound for Sacramento.




Blowing snow in Iowa is not fun.



-34 in Minnesota. Bernie, I don't know how you do it. Click on Bernies blog to the right and check out the kind of weather he has to deal with on a regular basis...No thanks!




ICCCCCCCCCY in Wyoming.



It cleared up in Utah and I thought that just maybe I could make it home without playing in anymore snow..........




I was wrong. Nevada was getting hit hard.





If the road is open I will keep on trucking, even if they require chains. So I had to chain up. I drove on snow packed roads for the first 200 miles of Nevada but for about 50miles somewhere around the middle they wanted us to put them on??? The roads were still the same? I was confused but I wanted to make it home for the holidays so I went out and put them on.







Fast forward two weeks and I'm back out Truckin'. I picked up a load here in El Monte, CA this morning. Here I am sitting in the left lane, parked and with my hazards on. I was waiting for.........






The roach coach to leave the clothing factory. He was parked blocking the dock...



I luckily made it on my first try and let all the annoyed cars by me. I was surpised, I only got flipped off and honked at once while blocking the whole road trying to back up...



Right now I'm sitting in Eloy, AZ at the TA for the night and will heading to Texas tomorrow morning. See ya

Chris

P.S. How do you guys know that I was driving when I took those photos of myself without my seat belt on? I was actually parked for those... I always wear my seat belt.

Is it summer yet?????

Today was amazing... Not amazing as in a nice summer drive through some beautiful part of the country. Instead it was an amazing day of fighting 40mph sidewinds, blowing snow, negative temps, and idiot drivers for over 600 miles... It's amazing how cold it is outside (-19) and people still drive around as if it was normal temps out. People still cut me off, people don't drive with their lights on, people still take their sweet ass time passing me and people still don't use their blinkers... HELLO!!!???? If it was nice and sunny out with dry roads I could stop pretty quick compared to now if you did something stupid in front of me... Now, I'm just going to plow into your family and jack knife for something that wasn't my fault. It amazes me how people can be so stupid... Anyways, heres some photos:

This was shot 10 minutes ago and it's still coming down... It's a blizzard now and my truck is shaking back and forth as if it was a earthquake...



This was taking about 30min ago... Now as I look out the window, the black asphalt is now covered completely by at least 3" of fresh snow.



This what it felt like for 600 miles today... My truck was leaning to the right from a easterly wind. Im used to the truck leaning from all my trips across nebraska, but today I actually twice thought I was going to roll. My super light load (11k) and really strong winds played games with me all day.




Check the flag...



Woohoo!!! Blowing snow whiteout!!! not.



Deep Concentration trying to avoid soccer moms heading to starbucks.




Now wouldn't you think to yourself that it's icy out, snowing, and the trucks must be driving 35mph for a reason? Not this guy, along with countless other dumbass's who decided to pass us and then end up in the ditch... hahahaha - Taken in Iowa two weeks ago.


I-70 eastbound over loveland pass in Vail, CO yesterday.




I-70 eastbound through the Colorado River Canyon which is one of my favorite insterstate sections in the whole country...




Who would of thought that two days ago is was driving through nice weather in Utah... Absolutely beautiful.







Welcome to my office.



Climbing loveland pass with the diff's locked and keeping the RPM's up so that I don't spin out.

I know, I know, I know, I'm a slacker with these updates...

But I have a good excuse, I've never ran so hard over the past few months as I have here at Schneider. For the past month I've had 4000+ mile weeks which is damn good considering all the restrictions put on a trucker these days. I've been running so hard that it's slowly catching up with me but it's the busy season right before christmas and I want to make as much $$$ as I can... Freight slows down big time after Christmas so I'll be taking 2 days off for Xmas then I'll be home in January for a week or so of much needed time off. Until then, It's all about running hard. For example, 3 days ago I left Laredo texas and drove 1800 miles up here to Carlisle,PA. Tomorrow I'll be getting loaded with beauty products heading to Ohio then it's time to pick up a preloaded trailer bound for Mc Donough,GA (atlanta) then it's back down to Laredo Texas for the 4th time in 3 weeks. Another 4000 mile week coming right up! Bring it on!


Heavy snow and freezing rain last week in Michigan and Ohio turned my nice clean truck into a disaster then I picked up a load in this Powder like dusty yard in Louisana last Saturday and it made it even worse...



That's all dust... more like powder...



This is only a portion of the brand new cars and trucks at the Laredo, TX Border Control HQ



I dropped my truck off at 4 State Trucks, Home of the Chrome Shop Mafia and the TV Show on CMT Called "Trick my Truck" to get a custom stereo installed... Now I can cruise in style with the music turned way up and vibrating everything... I love it.




I should buy a house here cause I roll through there almost on a weekly basis. Dallas, TX.



Running north along the Oregon Coast near Newport, OR.



As soon as I turned east and away from the Beaches I hit some fog through the Tree's heading towards Salem, OR.



South of US93 towards Winnemucca, NV one afternoon with a load of Sugar from Boise, ID.



While it may not be much, this is the first snow I hit in my truck since purchasing it. October 31st - Montana.



More snow in Walcott, IA at Iowa 80. The Worlds Largest Truck Stop.



Try spending two hours searching for an empty trailer in one of the west coast's largest intermodal (rail) yard. I have promised myself and my dispatcher that I will NEVER NEVER NEVER go back to the Los Angeles rail yard. NEVER!!!!



Climbing Ashland grade coming into Medford, OR.


Eric and I hanging out in Missouri a couple weeks ago...



A Sunset in Nevada on US93



Jerod (He drives locally for Schneider out of the Fontana (LA) Terminal. I met up with him for the day and we went to the truck that I posted earlier...