Adventures in Christmas tree hauling

I got a job!

Some neighbors/friends/fellow farmers needed help driving truck and their son who, I keep thinking of as the teenager who I used to run stacker with, talked me in to driving. I have become super hesitant about new situations, especially driving truck. I get lost easily, I have an incredibly hard time following more than one step directions, I don't write the directions down correctly as I still think I can remember details, and I am super uptight about this, which makes it all worse.

My friend gown up from a super enthusiastic kid, to a super enthusiastic farmer who seems, if not eternally optimistic, absolutely without fear and a really good salesman. Plus, I am broke...

So with trepidation I agreed to drive.

We started at the main tree farm at 5 a.m. Monday. It was over an hour drive to the field. 

My truck was a 1990 GMC General, almost Minneapols-Moline yellow, with a 6V92 Detroit and a 5 spd Allison transmission. This was a new experience. The automatic takes some getting used to but then I also didn't have to shift all the time. The engine had enough power to make the transmission not frustrating and the truck steered good.

I followed his dad to the field. There were a lot of trucks already. They trees are loaded by helicopter.

We started in the dark heading for the sunrise and ended in the dark heading for sunset.

Lots of farmers contributed trucks. The yellow bed racks are cages to hold the tree bundles.

The helicopter picked up large bundles of trees and deposited them in the truck. He was good!

The first trip started fine and then I missed my turn coming out of the tree yard. We were hauling to a yard different from where we started. It was located in the middle of nowhere. Kings Valley, Oregon. We turned off of highway 99W at Suver and took Adair road to Kings Valley.  

I missed the road back and got headed to Wren. Then I had to find a place to turn around. Not so easy on a narrow hilly road. Once I got turned around I found my missed turn with no problem.

I knew how many miles it was to Wren so figured out right away I was lost, it was just hard finding a spot I could turn around. I ended up backing into a driveway to turn around.

I blame the GPS. I was trying to mark my route so I wouldn't get lost and I wasn't paying proper attention. Fortunately I tried to take pictures at the junctions so I had the road signs in my phone. (I have been lost before)

Then, I got stuck behind a tractor on the narrow two land road. I was so far behind... The second load went like a breeze.

This was my fuel gauge after the second load

This was my second load which went very well. Notice the fall colors. Notice how stinking rough the road is. 

Then I noticed the fuel gauge moving and I started to get worried. I was back to get my third load of the day and it was around 4 p.m. I was worried about driving in the dark a little bit but was more worried about fuel. I could find a metal flag to dip the tank but it sounded like a solid 1/4 full. It should have made it. Or so we thought...

The fuel gauge started showing 1/8 going down hill and 1/4 plus going up hill. This is never a good sign.

 

The trip back was beautiful. But soon it started getting dark. I realized I couldn't see. I tried high beams and low beams. I knew one head light was out on low beam but on high I could see in the morning. After flipping the dimmer switch many times they started working better.

Then there was an accident on 99W. I could see returning trucks flashing their lights at me. I figured it was due to my missing headlight. I saw the emergency lights just past where I could take an alternate route. 

I called my boss who was driving the other truck. He was waiting for me at the unloading point. Everyone had started to worry about my fuel consumption.

I was setting in traffic hoping the gauge would quit moving.

The accident turned out to be not that big a deal and I was on my way soon. When I got to the tree farm we decided to leave the truck and I road back to the main location in the other truck.

Yesterday morning we went back and there was only about three inches in the tank. And there was a flat tire... And I got lost, (but not as bad as the guy that they ended up sending the helicopter to find and then there was the guy whose truck broke down and had to be towed, or the guy who lost his clutch, or the drivers who were using googlemaps and got routed to a low clearance bridge so I won't complain)

But, now I have to go to work here at home. I have half a beef to pick up, feed to sell, I need to make some sort of device to fill 50lb bags, I have to work on my bathroom floor, and the house hot water heater seems to be on the fritz...