Sandman's Journal

The fish truckers have returned. We arrived in Killdeer last night around midnight. I'm thinking that trucking might be right up my alley . . . once I can figure out how to properly shift. Driving a big rig with 18 wheels and 18 gears is exponentially more difficult than driving a car with 4 wheels and 4 gears.

My first adventure with Goodall Trucking began Wednesday evening, when Shawn and I cruised ten hours to Renville, MN, to pick up 11,000 lbs. of live tilapia. From there we drove 16 hours to an alligator farm near Alamosa, CO, where we dumped the carsick pescados into large holding tanks. (Note: Any dead fish, known as "morts," are fed to the alligators and crocs. Ninety-nine percent of the fish usually survive, though, and are re-sold by Colorado Gators farmers to Asian restaurants in Denver.) After the unloading, we were given a generous tour of the facility. There are some famous and large alligators there, not to mention many other exotic reptiles, birds, amphibians, and mammals.

Friday evening we made it to the home of Shawn's brother and sister-in-law in Denver. After a satiating supper cooked by Kim, the Goodall boys and I drove to Coors Field and watched the Colorado Rockies whip the Washington Nationals in dramatic come-from-behind fashion. The Rockies were down 1-5 in the bottom of the ninth, and came back to win 6-5.

Yesterday morning we boogied home. I drove for a total of five hours. The rest of the time I gandered at roadside scenery, watched two movies in the sleeper cab, and slept.