May 7,2008

View of the day-The wheat is a ways off in Oklahoma, but still looks good.

It was raining when we got up this morning, but by the time we got loaded up it had quit and we were left with an overcast, cool day.

We made it to Great Bend in time for Al to check in with the CaseIH dealer where the combine will be delivered and prepped for the upcoming season. He also found a toy he couldn't live without...but it adds to his collection. We had lunch with Ken, Kevin and their families at Pizza Hut, which made Al's day...a far cry from the PH at home with it's postage stamp size buffet table and the $8 price tag.

We had a good visit and then made our way out to the Great Bend airport where the 3I Show was set up. They have displays down two, mile long runways and in four huge display buildings. The weather didn't make the walk about very nice with the overcast skies and the brisk NW wind howling...just like home. We managed to see a lot of stuff we could have used, but the thought of hauling it around all afternoon wasn't an option. We figured we could pick it up on the way out, but since everything closed before we got through everything, we only came out with a bag of freebies...oh, and a new fuel pump for the slip tank on the back of the pickup.

After the show we stopped to do laundry and then headed north, stopping in Hays for another Walmart fix. Once we were done there we forged straight through to Holdredge, NE and the familiar sign of the Super 8. We haven't timed things right to get a swim and a hot tub in, but since the hotel only had two rooms left and one of them had a whirlpool tub, we made do with it.

Tomorrow we sail through South Dakota, and rain is in the forecast...

May 6, 2008

View of the day-Al and Keith checking out the crop.

We left Pratt, stopped in Cherokee to get the rigs and headed down to Davidson. An uneventful trip, warm and bucking a wind. We got out to the farm and unloaded, then went out with Keith to check the crops. They are looking pretty darn nice...big heads and a really good stand.

We headed back to Pratt around 6:30pm and rolled into town at 11:30. We managed to catch the tail end of the storms that were passing through the area again. The desk clerk said there had been hail at her place...not too much, we hope.

Tomorrow we go to Great Bend for the day to attend the 3I Show and do a bit of visiting. Al will get his first Pizza Hut fix of the trip...always something to look forward to.

Our speedometer quit during the trip today, so the mileage count will have to wait...

May 5, 2008

View of the day-Al & Marilyn at the Grand Island CaseIH factory standing with their new combine, just prior to driving it off the line.

What a day!!!

Marilyn tried to stay awake for the Dallas Stars overtime win, but at 12:45am after three overtime periods, it was time to call it a night. Great news to wake up to, finding out the Stars had won in the fourth overtime...woo hoo!

We had an appointment to meet at the CaseIH building at 9:30am, and after loading up the truck and finding our way across town to the factory, we were ready for our tour. We met with Charlene, the tour coordinator and Dennis our tour guide and after drooling over some items for sale in the display cabinet-hats, shirts, mugs, toys, etc. we headed out to the floor to see some action.

Before we started the tour, Dennis took us over to see our combine...at least as much as had been assembled...and explained how much further it had to go and when we would be able to watch the final steps and drive it off the line. We were really honored when the plant manager came over, welcomed us and thanked us for buying their product.

Dennis took us around some of the 15 acres of manufacturing, explaining a lot of the history of the plant and showing us how the various sheets of metal were laser cut then formed into all manner of combine parts. When you have repaired a combine and have replaced some of these parts, to see them being cut, shaped and painted was really neat.

This factory is not unionized, so we were able to talk to a lot of the workers, and they actually came over to ask us questions about where we were from and why we had come for a tour. After a fascinating tour, we were invited to have lunch before we were to go out and watch our combine go through the last five stations of it's construction. We watched as the sheilds were put on at one station, then the striping and decals, the tires going on and at the end, the final testing before Al was able to drive it off the line and out into the yard. A thrill he says he can now cross off his list.

We went back into the main room to have a drink and cookie, and had a great visit with a couple of other tour guides that had been showing another group of "dignitaries" through the factory. After Charlene rounded up our Case Store purchases she returned just as the manager of operations was thanking us for purchasing their product and taking the time to come and see it built. He then presented us with a beautiful framed photo of us(that would be in the eye of the beholder)with a plaque on the bottom commemorating the date...what a fabulous end to an amazing day.

It was unbelievable to see the amount of combines being built, they put through 22 per day, and when we drove the combine out into the yard there must have been 250 of various colors (10 red to 1 yellow) and every one of them was sold. There must have been 50 on rail cars in the yard waiting to be shipped to Baltimore to go various places around the world.

Recently a custom harvester had bought his 100th CaseIH combine and we received the same attention that he did after only 8, which was really heartwarming. We also received a small laser cut plaque, available only from the factory.

We started back to Cherokee and go caught in a terrific storm, so we stopped in Pratt, Kansas for the night...just as well, it had been a long day.

Laptop issues means this will be somewhat short...we're at 1905km/1185 miles.

Today we make our final destination...

May 4, 2008

View of the day-Al checking things over during a pit stop at the Kansas/Oklahoma border.

We left Great Bend fighting a south wind...we knew the wind pushing us wouldn't last forever. After an uneventful couple of hours of driving, we made it to Cherokee and parked the rigs.

On the way down we met a couple of semis doing a back haul pulling empty combine trailers. We recognized them, and they us, gave us a wave and flash of the lights, then carried on their way back to Minnesota. Not long after, Al got a call on his cell from one of the guys informing us that there was a lot of construction on our usual route to Davidson, and that we should use the alternate route that they had found.
It is so great to have a network of fellow harvesters that are willing to help out at any chance they get. We may only see them a few times a year, but it is always quality time and we really can call them our friends.

After we visited with a couple of local farmers, had lunch, it was time to head north to Grand Island, NE with the pickup. We arrived there about 8pm, booked a room and Marilyn got to get a Walmart fix in...just a short one, mind you.

Tomorrow morning we get our tour of the CNH factory to see the last couple of stations our combine will go through before it comes off the line after lunch. Expect lots of pictures tomorrow.

Marilyn didn't take note of the mileage before coming to the room, so the drive tally will wait.

And then we drive back to Cherokee...

May 3, 2008

View of the day-passing Al on the way to Great Bend, Kansas.

A long day of driving, covering almost three states. Southern South Dakota and northern Nebraska had a lot of water laying in the fields and ditches, and even some lingering snow on the north side of the trees and rocks. It has been quite a while since there has been that much moisture laying around.

The original plan had been to get as far as Phillipsburg in northern Kansas, leave the rigs and run up to Grand Island, Nebraska for Sunday and Monday. The day was going so well, we decided to forge the extra 130 miles and get as far as Great Bend, then leave early Sunday for Cherokee, Oklahoma where we would leave the rigs and then go back to Grand Island. This would make the last leg of the move only 225 miles from Cherokee to Davidson. Of course, it also means the trip to Grand Island has stretched from 260 miles roundtrip to 700 miles...like we don't drive enough.

The temps are getting warmer, we're actually seeing leaves coming out on the trees...and the sweet spring time sounds of the meadowlark!

Logged today 896 km/556 miles. Total covered 1733 km/1076 miles.

Oklahoma, here we come...

May 2, 2008

View of the day-Dear me...fueling up in Gettysburg, SD.

We left Carlyle relatively early and made the border in good time...however, it took longer than normal to get through. First there was a line up, and it couldn't just be small vehicles...no...semis and grain trucks. We bided our time and then pulled up to the stop sign in front of the building, as we have done for the last 15 years. Now, normally, the officer tells us to drive ahead and park out of the way so we can go in and get our paperwork put through. As he stuck his head out of the door and yelled across the driveway, Marilyn, in anticipation of the usual order, started to pull ahead. Not a good idea as the officer started yelling to stop and come inside, a portent of things to come...

Once inside, we handed our paperwork over and being as we were the first harvesters the other officer had put through, had a bit of a time getting that bit of business done...fortunately, this officer was somewhat milder than the first one. Of course, the first officer was the one who had to go out and check on the various serial numbers on the equipment. One look at our paperwork and he wanted to know where the serial number was for the pickup. Now, Marilyn has included that number on the list for the past 15 years, only to be told to take it off the list...a fine time to decide to do that...Mr. Happy gave another strike to us.

Now he goes out to look at the serial numbers on the trailers, etc. and comes back saying the number on the header trailer is wrong. We have two identical header trailers and because Marilyn wasn't sure which one we had brought when making out the list, she made two lists, one with each number...and...you guessed it...handed in the wrong one. Not satisfied with that mistake, Marilyn rewrites the number, but instead of 14525, in her dyslexia, writes 14252...which sent Mr. Happy into another round of...well...just another round.

Next he discovers the Freightliner has the wrong serial number as well. Now, this number was written down directly from the registration and has been used for the last 15 years, AND has been checked in and out by the border guards twice yearly. Apparently they just look at the last 6 numbers and not the alphabets in front of them. Marilyn changes these...and gets them wrong again...leaving out the last digit...

We finally made it out alive, and they let us in to the US to work again...much to Al's chagrin(not really). We left the border at 11:30 DST and made Kenmare for lunch. Now, Marilyn has Hot Stuff hot wings on the brain because that is what she always has at the Cenex...they are the best! Well, the way the day has started, is it any surprise that Mr. Happy's mother is working and won't cook any wings? Can it get any worse?

It was time to "SUAD"-Shut up and drive...our motto for the summer...well...all the time actually. There were wind warnings everywhere but thankfully it was coming out of the NE so we did get a pretty good push most of the way. We did have a few straight east runs which slowed us down and sucked up the fuel, but all in all the wind helped. It was not nice when we had to stop for fuel or "pit stops"...funny how 50 degrees (sorry, we are out of the metric zone) can seem cold. That temp in March would have us in tshirts!

We are just getting into the zone where the trees are starting to bud, and the grass in the ditches is showing up green. There is the odd field of winter wheat that is a couple inches high, making it look a little more like spring...mind you, the Black Hills and some points east of there had 14 inches of snow last night and the interstate was closed between Wall and Wyoming. Fortunately it isn't coming this way, although it was raining here until 4pm, according to the clerk at the motel...great for the crops.

We made Gettysburg, SD at 6:30pm, fueled up and hit the motel. Al went out to visit with one of the farmers we work for here and to check out the changes around town and Marilyn did laundry...some things never change.

Logged today 644 km/400 miles...total to date 845 km/525 miles.

Tomorrow...Kansas...

May 1, 2008

View of the day-The Freightliner, tractor and grain cart are parked out front of our yard and ready to roll on a new season.

Not much to report just yet...we're in Carlyle for the night ready to cross the border into the USA tomorrow (if things go well...). An uneventful day of loading and rushing to get everything packed for the first haul down. The straight header will be picked up in Carlyle, where it has wintered and then it will be "shut up and drive" for a few days until we reach Kansas.

Logged today 211 km/131 miles.

Don't want to give too much away...