"The only thing worse than drinking water from the toilet..."

"... is cheering for Kyle Busch."

I swear, those were the words I saw on the back of a car I saw this morning. He had a lot of other NASCAR signs, stickers and such back there as well so I'm assuming this message has to do with that sport, but I'm not sure since I'm not a fan.

This load I'm on has two PetSmart stops, both in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It stands to reason that one of the stops has to be first, as the cargo is loaded in the trailer that way. Now, the printouts and seals from the PetSmart Distribution Center showed that I was to be at store A at 0500, then store B at 0700. No problemo. Of course, our own company computer system shows it the other way around, but who would you trust: the guys who loaded the trailer or the people who got an electronic copy of the details?

I arrive at store A a bit early and I get out and chat with the guy who will be doing the unloading. We break the seal, only to discover that the product in the back of the trailer really is intended for the other store, and his six pallets are wayyyy up in front. If it were the other way around he could have temporarily taken off a few pallets, gotten his stuff then put the others back on but no way with almost two dozen. I slam and lock the doors then head out across town to the other PetSmart.

Arrive at the other stop and quickly open the trailer doors and back up to the dock. No point in waiting for someone to break the seal -- there is only the broken one in back now from Stop A. The guy at the other store said for them to call if there were any questions, but they were cool. While they efficiently removed twenty pallets from the trailer I spent some time inside checking out the cats in the Adoption Center. Too cute.

Finally, the load is off and it turns out they got shorted a pallet. No big deal, it is noted on the bills and we both sign. I head back outside, move the truck off the dock, seal it up then beat feet back the way I came to store A.

I get backed into their dock and they are waiting for me. There was another driver here earlier that left off a lot of cargo, so they aren't unhappy that they only got six more pallets from me. They are off in a jiffy and I'm on my way.

That Digby trailer I'm hauling? Orders are to tow it up to Denver and drop it in their yard on the north side. Done.

My new orders are to grab an empty from the ConWay yard in nearby Henderson then head up to My All-Time Favorite Meatpacking Plant (NOT!) in Greeley, Colorado. Only, the trailer I pick up is low on fuel and needs a washout. I quickly head over to the local Pilot to take care of both problems, but there is a backlog of probably 20 rigs trying to get through the single-bay Blue Beacon wash there. The only other truck wash in town is over at the Sapp Bros truck stop a few miles away, but drivers confirm that it is shut down due to being out of water for one reason or another. Just great.

I head north about 15 miles on I-76 to a small Tomahawk truck stop that has a kind of rinky-dink truck wash bay at the end and wouldn't you know it, there is a short line. An hour or so later the trailer is clean and I'm in Greeley, dropping off the trailer at the plant and being placed on their dreaded "will call" list. This means you leave them your name and cell phone number and, in theory, they "will call" you.

Who knows, it might actually work this time.