YRH - A Trucking Company's Story

[WesternStar1976]

Going Back to Cali....

Amazingly, this will be the first trip I've made into California since I started writing about YRH. Let me say this - I LOVE California - the history, architecture, from the sun and surf of San Diego to the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles to the majestic views in San Francisco and literally every other city/town. I also HATE California and it's for 1 simple reason. 55 MPH. Cruising through Utah and southern New Mexico at a brisk 80 MPH, the 55 MPH speed limit on California's interstates makes me feel like I'm going backwards.

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[WesternStar1976]

Some days it's 'let's explore,' other days it's 'let's work.' Today is a 'let's work' day. Oakland Port to Elko, NV. Interesting fact, the GPS route takes me through Truckee, CA -I haven't been near Truckee since my 9th delivery, I'm on 396 now. Crazy how this world is sometimes!!

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[WesternStar1976]

153 Options for our next delivery between the Options and Freight available...153! Random number generator chooses the EXACT opposite of what we just dropped off. Elko back to Oakland?!? I guess it wasn't the same because it was at night, but..... That interstate around Reno can be treacherous (like the stairway) make sure you are mindful of your cargo weight, your speed, and the traffic around you. There is a sharp-ish turn with no sign or warning.

Photo Op: Nugget (Nudged) Casino in Reno. For more than 60 years the Nugget Casino Resort has been an iconic destination in the Reno-Sparks, Nevada area. The Nugget features a full-service casino, 1,380 guest rooms and suites situated in two 28-story guest towers, five restaurants, 110,000 square feet of meeting and special event space, a year-round atrium pool, a fitness center and three live entertainment venues.

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If the random number generator sends me back to Elko, I will just start choosing my own jobs for a while

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[WesternStar1976]

California Dreaming......

California really is a wonderful state. Its dynamic changes in elevation, landscape, and flora area all testaments to that. It was interesting to me that I had spent so much time in Southern California (early on) and almost none in the Tahoe Forest area (Truckee, Susanville), I guess the Random Number heard me as our next job had us leaving Oakland in the middle of the night for a few hours drive north to Redding, CA.

As I rolled onto the interstate leaving Oakland, I managed to snap this photo

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The California Hotel which opened in the early days of the Great Depression and became an important cultural center for the African-American community of San Francisco's East Bay during the 1940s, 50s and 60s.

You can check out, but you can never leave.

It's Saturday here IRL, wondering what RNG (random number generator) has in store for us today!!!

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[WesternStar1976]

Still California Dreaming...

RNG sent us from Redding down to Bakersfield, CA - actually halfway between Fresno and Bakersfield to BNSF off of State Route 99. So, since we are well outside of the city limits, we will pick up from BNSF and RNG a load for our next haul.

We picked up our load to BNSF from Crown Ford in Redding, CA - a load of 2024 F-150's. Stopped in the wonderful town of Stockton for some gas and while there got service done on our truck (basic R&M, and a fresh set of tires).

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[WesternStar1976]

I complain (duh) about things from time to time and I shouldn't. I use RNG to add a layer to ATS where I'm not just picking easy/known routes/cities. Sometimes I get stuck in a loop (same state or reverse routes), sometimes I get to drive from California to Texas!! Such is the case today, outside Bakersfield to outside Lubbock, TX. Beautiful drive, a lot of time on I-40 East, always fond of I-40 because I drive it everyday IRL here in NC.

Our last job had us dropping off Ford F-150's outside of Bakersfield, to be exact about halfway between Fresno and Bakersfield. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to talk about this Photo Op, but our route from BNSF out of Bakersfield to us to it.

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This is the Bakersfield sign, it is located over Sillect Ave, just northwest of downtown Bakersfield. It was originally built in 1949, renovated and moved to its current location in 1999 and ATS is mentioned on its Wikipedia page!! This sign is a yellow arch in which blue letters spell out the name of the city. It is supported by two towers, which were inspired by the Beale Memorial Clock Tower design. The sign is illuminated by indirect lighting. Typically, the letters are transparent and the lights, which are underneath the letters, shine through them. With indirect lighting, the letters are solid and the light, which is still underneath the letters, shines down onto the arch. The result is the letters appear black on top of a lighted backdrop. The light used is green. Built by California Neon Sign Company.

Also on this trip, we drove through the town of Fort Sumner, NM - which in 1881 is where Billy the Kid was said to have been shot and killed, his grave is located in Old Fort Sumner Cemetery, and if you're passing through stop at the Billy the Kid Museum on East Sumner Ave.

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History is awesome!!! I won't bore with paragraphs about the Wild West and Outlaws and Lawmen, maybe when I play RDR2 again.

Our delivery today was Iron Pipes, we dropped them off at Tyson off of 114th St (outside the beltline) in the Orchard Park neighborhood, southwest of Lubbock. There are 3 companies out this way with deliveries, so I will choose (RNG) from one of them instead of the 35+ mile trip to Lubbock proper.

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[WesternStar1976]

While I was getting ready to leave Lubbock, I got a call from a buddy of mine up near Amarillo. Eddie Bracken, runs the Organic Valley plant just southwest of Amarillo and was in need of a Crawler Tractor that happened to be up the road from my last delivery in Lubbock at the Robert Mondavi Winery. Friends do what friends do, I went and picked it up and headed north on I-27 and dropped it off to a grateful Eddie in just under 4 hours.

The Panhandle of Texas, is a beautiful region of the state and country. Driving North on a lazy Saturday afternoon through these farm towns is something I recommend someone does often. Grain Elevators pepper the landscape like low rise rural skyscrapers. Saw one off to my right and (of course) had to do some digging.
IRL:

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ATS:

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I believe this Grain Elevator belongs to Gavilon Grains (now Viterra, Ltd.) in Plainview, TX. Said it before, will say it again (probably 5x today), developers NAILED it.

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[WesternStar1976]

Nothing Butter Than Driving East Through Texas

Ha ha. Picked up a load of butter from Organic Valley and had the pleasure of heading east towards Longview, TX for a midnight run. I am hoping beyond hope that one day I can continue East on I-20 into the Pelican State!!!! We finally got back into delivering to a more urban locale, so I will depend on RNG for my next job. We ended the day at the Walmart Logistics Center in Longview, off of Neiman Marcus Parkway.

Along the way - PHOTO OP!!! The Childress County Courthouse and Veterans Memorial in Childress, TX corner of Main St and Highway 287.

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[WesternStar1976]

God Blessed Texas!!!

RNG picked San Angelo, TX for me as my next job!!! Well, not exactly, we took a Wheel Loader from Western Metal in Longview, about 90 miles SW on Highway 67 likely near Sherwood Texas. BUT.......driving through San Angelo means I have discovered every city in Texas!! Unbelievable that it took me 204 game days to reach every city in Texas. That leaves Montana (1), Washington (1), Arizona (3), Oklahoma (1), and Colorado (1) as the states I still need to complete. Pioneer, like Rustic Label, is a rural delivery so we will chance it and see if they have anything available otherwise we will have to travel 50-75 miles to the next city/town.

Photo Ops:

Hendrick Medical Center South (formerly Abilene Medical Center) off of US83, outside of Abilene, TX

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Runnels County Courthouse and Veterans Memorial in Ballinger, TX

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Also, watched the Video of Wind Power Plants, which in game is on the right side of Highway 67 headed towards Fort Stockton.

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[WesternStar1976]

San Angelo to Houston

So, so many wonderful towns along the way. It's hard for me not to stop a take photos of everything, but I want to save some for future trips and I don't want to get bogged down by doing research instead of hauling.

Picked up a Boom Lift from Pioneer destined for the Port of Houston. Houston, by the way, is one of the few cities where I have to zoom in on my GPS as I approach the city limits. The cloverleafs around this wonderful city can be extremely confusing (especially at night) and the detours can had hours onto what might already be a tight schedule. I started off heading back towards Ballinger, TX, this time turning South onto Route 83. Just south of Ballinger I came across this towering over the trees.

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The Cross
The Cross stands a few miles south of Ballinger just off of US Highway 83. The iconic monument was donated by the Jim and Doris Studer family.

Construction was by Steve Jansa of Jansa Construction in Rowena. It was erected on Oct. 6-7, 1993. There was a multi-faith dedication on Nov. 28, 1993.

Heading to the Ports in ATS is a fun experience. You get the feel of the ordered chaos that goes on from ships being loaded and unloaded and they massive amounts of cargo that are held in these yards. You have the security checkpoints and a lot of twists and turns. Sometimes it can be difficult to find the drop off point, but all in all it's another layer of hauling that makes ATS so much fun. Now, the RNG should be able to provide me a interesting trip for my next job, there will be plenty of choices leaving the Port.

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