No, not the Hannah-Barbera classic of my youth. What I’m referring to is the load I just delivered.

Not all loads are the same. For loads such as the one I had the last two days, well I’ve taken to calling them Secret Squirrels. These loads are considered High Value loads and special procedures have to be taken with them. The video training for this was hysterical. Lots of over the top sneaky guys looking over the top sneaky and dramatically over acting and reacting in every scene. You know what I’m talking about, right? If not, all you have to do is watch any infomercial and you’ll instantly understand.

Some of the procedure examples for Secret Squirrels are;

1) No stopping within 200 miles of pickup.

2) When we do stop we must send a message indicating where we are (exit #, mile marker, truck stop name, etc) and how long we plan to be there.

3) The freight can’t be left unattended for more than ten minutes, unless placed in a pre-screened secure yard/ware- house, with cameras, on-duty guard, and fence or secure building. Also when stopped you should use Cuff Locks to secure your brake lines.

4) Never discuss what we are carrying. Basically, Fight Club rules apply.

5) Depending on the freight, or at the shippers request, additional rules may apply.

The value of the freight is what classifies it as High Value (I know you knew that but I feel it still needed to be said). Types of freight that would classify as Hi Val are pharmaceuticals, flat screen TVs, a trailer full of iPods/iPads/iPhones, and a trailer full of Victoria’s frilly bits (you know, the secret ones).

For my drive yesterday I drove from Tucumcari, NM to Kingman, AZ about 643 miles. It was pretty uneventful and somewhat boring. New Mexico is a beautiful state. Arizona has its moments but since it was dark as I was rolling through I missed those moments.

New Mexico currently has my favorite welcome sign. I think it’s just lovely.

Sometimes when you’re on the road, a sign will catch your eye and it will bother you for miles. This was the one for this trip:

Years ago, while living and working in Tulsa, OK, I had a friend named Sam and his biggest peeve in life was people who ended sentences with prepositions. He would be incensed by this sign. I then wondered (and this occupied my mind for at least 50+ miles) if the creative minds behind this campaign wrote this deliberately to stick into minds like mine who knew it was a slap in the face to the English language, or if they wrote it this way because it is how many Americans speak. Also, the lack of descriptor of “it’s” really bothered me.

The really amazing thing that happened on this trip was this:

No, not the mountain silly. Well it’s a bit hard to see in this picture. Let me try this a different way.

See it?

I drove with the mother trucking window open!!!! Oh it was glorious. After being in freezing weather for weeks to finally get some fresh air that wasn’t also trying to kill me was just lovely. I rode like that all day until the sun went down and it did wonders for my mood. That’s not to say I was in a bad mood, but the sun and the wind definitely turned my day up to 11.

Currently I’m in Fontana, CA waiting on a new load assignment. The plan is to route up back to WA so I can finally get my CDL license.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or random dad jokes, let me know.