Well, today was an interesting day. We arrived at the shipping location two hours early thanks to getting a head start last night. Somewhat infuriatingly however, we didn't get loaded for nearly four hours. Did I mention that its a nine hour drive back to Vegas assuming a constant speed of 60mph? Because it is.
Anyway, we weigh the load and it comes out to 45,000 pounds; a new personal record and very nearly putting us over the legal weight limit. I get to drive this massive thing through a rather circuitous route which includes a goddamn roundabout. Have you ever tried getting a 70-foot vehicle through a roundabout designed for cars? It's not very fun
More fun occurs as the sun starts going down and I realize that the dashboard lights are not lighting up, meaning I can't see any of my meters or gauges. Que a tense couple of hours as I attempt to drive purely by the sound of the engine, at least until I figure out a way to use my cell phone's camera light as a flashlight.
I also quite possibly almost died! Some jerk in a big truck of his own decides to pass me on a curving mountain road, and starts coming back waaaaay too early. If I hadn't stepped on the brakes as much as I did his trailer would have slammed right into the driver's side of the cab, and me with it. Ass didn't even realize how close it was, merely blinking his lights to say "Thanks!" and speeding off.
Still, it was all worth it when I finally pulled to the side to let my trainer take over. It was this empty stretch of Nevada highway; no lights in any direction save those of the occasional vehicle. I stepped out to answer the call of nature, just happened to look up...good god, there were so many stars. Bright ones, dim ones, I think I could even see the Milky Way. There was no moon either, so there was nothing to drown out the starlight. It was probably the best view of the night sky I've ever had, and I just wish I had a good enough camera to capture it.
