Oh what fun it is..

I'll be brief this time.

Plenty of things happened out there this past week or so, but most of them were variations on the same thing.

Driving in a winter wonderland.

That being the case, I thought I'd just toss out a few passing impressions.

Driving northward into a Kentucky that looked a lot like it did in the last entry.
The truck made three separate attempts to wander off and explore the snowy fields, but all of them were fairly halfhearted.

The third time was the only one that really stimulated the heart rate. I was trundling carefully through the night, headed for a truck stop and a good night's sleep (oh, please...), when I noticed a pickup parked halfway on the shoulder and halfway on the road. It's driver seemed to be thinking about some Good Samaritan work for the big black Chrysler that had just swapped ends and backed down a six- or eight-foot ditch. When I tried to slip around them, the truck decided that ditch looked like a nice place to spend the night.

Fortunately, as I said, it wasn't too insistent. But it made me quite glad I was taking my time and looking for trouble. I actually had time to discuss the matter.

I was also glad the warehouse where I'd just dropped a loaded trailer didn't have an empty. Straightening out in time might have been more complicated if I'd been driving a tractor-trailer...

Cold-weather fashion
I'm from far enough southward that the ladies don't put quite as much effort into nice outfits that keep them from freezing. From Indiana northward they seem to think about it more. I kept seeing neat, well-matched outfits--usually a miniskirt-length coat, a reasonably modest skirt, and tights. Most often, all three items were black, though there were variations. Warm and flattering at once.

Not very trucking-related, but it passes the time...

Washington, D. C. in the wintertime
Two hours to cover thirty miles on the Beltway. And it was a long way from rush hour.

'nuff said.

Modern conveniences
Got to a customer with twenty-odd tons of household cleaning products, and parked in an out-of-the way place while I found out which dock I'd be backing up to. Got back to my truck, put it in gear,

and listened to the wheels spin.

I had to borrow a snow shovel and a bag of salt to get out of the parking space. Most embarrassing. The truck has an anti-skid traction control system--which had apparently quit just before I got here.

There's something to be said about a gadget, made to keep you from slipping on the ice, deciding it won't work in cold weather. But I won't say it. Ladies may be reading...

* * *

Then I came home, the week a blur behind me. Two days in a place where water would't freeze if I leave it outside. Perhaps it's just as well I go back out tomorrow. I'm getting spoiled down here...