A reader asked via email why I am still
working and what my job involves.
The first answer is the money comes in handy.
The job involves driving to three
hospitals (sometimes four and meeting a driver from a different route for a transfer) and picking up medical specimens (blood, urine, feces, tissue) and
packing them for shipment via air freight or direct delivery to other labs.
Nothing about the job is particularly difficult or requires specialized
training. There is a lot of detail,
mainly the proper transport (refrigerated packs, dry ice) and accountability.
What might be termed “chain of custody”. Considerable molesting of electrons
with tablets and scanners are used (my weakest skill set).
Mainly the job involves driving 500 miles
in all weather conditions. Company policy is, if the highways are open, we go.
There are two of us assigned to this
route. We are both old farts with decades of dealing with bad roads and
mechanical problems. Neither of us are subject to “vapors”.
Starting around 0330, we leave Greeley,
CO westbound to Interstate 25, then North to Wheatland, WY.
These are some camera feeds from various
highway department cameras. These are live and best viewed during daylight
hours.
This site has such high winds the cameras
get blown out of position.
The first stop is Wheatland, WY. From
there we go to Torrington, WY on US 26 via Guernsey and Ft. Laramie. This route
is prone to thick fog. No camera coverage for this segment.
From Torrington we go East (directly into
the rising sun) on US 26 to Scottsbluff, NE.
From Scottsbluff we head South on Hwy 71
via Kimball, NE to Colorado
Hwy 14. Hwy 71 is four well maintained and plowed
lanes to Kimball. After Kimball it is two lanes, no shoulders, not plowed at night, and the Colorado section
is poor overall condition.
At Hwy 14 we head West for nine miles and
then turn South on Hwy 52 to Fort Morgan.
This camera site has one error. Hwy 52
runs North-South, not East-West as stated on the site.
From Kimball to Fort Morgan there is not
one commercial establishment. Cell phone coverage is intermittent. There are numerous missile silos to remind you of
what OldAFSarge calls, “Armageddon on demand”.
Some of the locals are not friendly.
An occasional annoyance are a string of
Air Force Hummvee’s tooling along at 40 mph. Up armored with a weapon turret.
Sometimes they have a machine gun mounted.
From Fort Morgan it is all four lane
Interstate and toll roads to Denver International Airport (DIA) where most
specimens are air freighted to the Mayo Lab in Rochester MN.
Leaving DIA we make our way northward to
Greeley where we deliver the last of the specimens and inter hospital packages
and mail.
After pickup of inter hospital
mail and packages for delivery the next day, we return to base, finish
paperwork, and clock out. Usually it is a 13 hour day without weather delays.
One positive of the job is no
micromanagement. I check in with dispatch and check out. Days will go by
without talking to anyone in management. We drive a Prius, which I dislike, but
there is no skimping on maintenance, tires, and repairs.
I have hopes 2017 will bring to an end
some long term problems I deal with and I can finally retire. For now, the job
allows me to do things important to me and those who depend on me.
10 comments:
It sounds like a good job in many respects, but hazardous in winter months. Clearly you have to enjoy driving. How many days per week are you on the road?
It is a shame that money makes us do what we prefer not to do. Health, bills, food, booze, party until 8:00 p.m., and other stuff. Good luck with 2017, but I do believe you will miss being on the road.
Scheduled days are Mon, Tue, Wed. Keeps me just under 40 hours and full time benefits, such as they are.
Always have wanted to see what is on the other side of the ridge. Finances and obligations no impediment, I would have a truck camper on a 4x4 and travel full time.
I've actually covered a good chunk of your route over the last several years.
I haven't been very far East of I-25, but the rest of your route is familiar to me.
You an look forward to some twisties to run your Supra over up in the hills.
That's a lot of BIS miles... Wow! And yes, stay safe, especially in these conditions. Thankfully, you're 'experienced'... :-)
Lots of blown over trucks in CO and Wyo. Wind Monday was 65+mph all along !-25 from NM to Montana.
That's a lot of great territory, and it's good you don't have to put in a lot of miles in on E-470. We go from Parker to Greeley a lot, and the tolls cost us a friggin' fortune.
So, are you a fan of the Longmire Mysteries? In the TV show, there's a lot of screen time driving long hours across WY, but of course it's filmed in NM, so the look isn't quite right. That might drive you crazy since you drive those WY routes so often.
E-470 is a scam - no public accountability. Try coating your front and rear plates with several layers of clear sealant from a spray can. Makes them harder to read by the cameras.
I'm one of the eccentrics who doesn't watch television. Cannot abide the advertisements and too unmotivated to learn how to use TiVo.
I've driven most of the NM roads though more in the Northern part of the state.
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
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