Life's a Beach

All week I like all of you work my ass off. I am very fortunate to be able to come home to what I think is probably one of the greatest places to live. White Rock BC. I really feel that you cannot beat the smell and feel of the ocean. I know it is a matter of opinion but what ev.

Even my dog is chillin'

After a decent week this week I came home to Tour de White Rock. For those who don't know what that is, it is a three day bike race and each stage exercises different skills. Friday is the hill climb, we have lots of those, Saturday is the Criterion and Sunday is the road race.

It is a chance to not only enjoy the
race but to visit with the

neighbours. I mean I walk out my door and into hay bales set up to save the racers from themselves.

This week was great, only did two rounders to Calgary and my pace was a bit slower than usual. The worst part of the week was when my Tripak Air Conditioner packed it in. For those that don't know what that it is, it is a small engine that provides AC power, circulates engine fluid in the winter time and runs an air conditioner. With this we ( the company ) save cash by not idling the tractor engine but the greater benefit is the fact we decrease the carbon foot print.

Needless to say with the temp up in the 80-90 range I did not get much sleep without the air running. Think of sleeping in a big metal box under direct sun.....not fun. Anyhow had that fixed and now life is a dream....

Fast forward one week.

Worked my butt off in order to earn a week of holiday. Ran 4000 miles this week from Monday evening to Sunday AM. So all in all a bit bagged but the effort will pay off.

I think what killed me this week is running the rocks and seeing and smelling the smoke from the fires. It makes for great photos but what kills me is that people seem to think it is ok to throw cigarette butts out the window of the vehicle.

So home for a couple of days and off I go for one rounder to Calgary then off for a week....will update on my return.

Check out the latest set of pics from July.

Am I crazy?

So for a living I drive....back and forth in the Rockies....we all know that.

I have rambled of how the Vistas can continually change blah blah blah....

I look at myself as being a semi retired Air Force/Government geek with a hobby that pays well.

So why am I looking to by an RV. You would think I would have had enough of the road but no.....

Here is the issue though...I am certain there are many pro's and con's to the purchase of a unit but I have no idea where to start. We used to do a CBA, Cost Benefit Analysis to determine if a venture or project would be cost effective and give the desired result.

This applies to all things in life but not sure where to start....so if there are any readers that have some thoughts comment away.

Last week was decent but I felt behind the eight ball for much of it. Our yard is located on River Road which is accessible from the North and South. My wife took me to the truck at about 1500 and as luck would have it the road was closed in both directions so back home I went for about 3 hours....finally got to the yard, got the beast and off to the client I went. All in all I started my run a total of 5 hours late which in itself is not terrible but the kicker is that I had not slept during the day....stupid.

Anyway the run that I am on does not leave much time to adjust through the week so that late start haunted me throughout the week.....wha....

Very few animal sightings this week...I suppose as the summer progresses the animals stay on higher ground. Probably cooler. Well that my theory anyway.

I did see a black bear walking on an access road by the Coquihalla near some campers. What makes people want to be so close to bears is beyond me. I will take the RV :)

Encountered a number of slow moving tourists this week....it seems as the weeks move on the tourists get stupider if that is a word. They have a tendency to blow by me as I climb some serious grades pulling 56,000 lbs of Chicken McNuggets and then as I come down the other side they slow to 80 K or so.....They don't realize that I am slow on the up hill but can go like a SOB on the down side. Damn RV ers....can't wait to get one and piss of the truckers hee hee.

So I am home for a couple of days then off again Tuesday....just two runs then home again....gotta love this run. Off I go to research RV's

Later.

Update

Although it may appear that I have stopped blogging, the fact is that I find I am not that interesting of a read.

I am feeling like a bad Catholic that has not been to confession in some time. So here goes.

Bless me readers as it has been 3 months since my last blog entry. During that time I have......

-started a dedicated run between Richmond BC and Calgary AB, and on occasion Red Deer, AB. Although it is not glamorous it serves my family and I well. I run twice weekly and alternate between a Monday Wednesday run and a Tuesday Thursday run.

I think what I like best is that it is predictable and allows me to have a two day weekend one week and a four day weekend the next. I run about 2500 miles per week and work four days a week to get it. Sounds like a cake walk but you max out your hours pretty quick as each load eastbound has 2-3 drops per load.

I have to say that HR has treated my family and I very well in that when I need to alter my running pattern they did their best to accommodate. Of course this may not always the run I am on but for now I will enjoy it and stick to the Rockies.

The Rockies always throws you a new view each trip whether it is wildlife or moon phase or lighting and valley mist you are never bored. In fact I think it really allows you to focus on just how awesome Mother Nature is and how lucky we are to be able to enjoy it.

Just last trip eastbound I was able to see two huge elk with racks 3-4 feet across easily and a rare sighting of two grizzly bears in Banff. It was if they were posing for photos. On the way back west more bear and deer.

As usual there is the usual suspects at Golden and the sheep hang out on the roadside. Another sight to see is the mountain goats, all white and long hair....only at night so far so pics where not possible. I like them and the elk because they are not skittish like the deer. Deer will bolt out without warning whereas the others could care less about you and your truck.

All this gets old to the reader I had assumed but I had a great surprise two weeks ago. A reader had asked if this was the Al Urquhart that truly understood what MCSE stood for. And I of course said Must Consult Someone Else. It was his way of confirming my identity and getting me to think whom I was talking with.

As it turns out after many email exchanges it was a former student from Iceland who had commented he had seen the blog and figured I was doing alright.....that got me thinking I should update as there are people actually reading this dribble.

I saw a comment today that asked....did you stop blogging? So here I sit blogging.....not the most interesting but whatever. I had originally started this so people could see the transition from a project manager stressed beyond belief back to a trucker. I guess the transition never really ends.....

Next week I will try and provide some interesting photos from my adventure....yes it is still and adventure.

Later