International Space Station

Hey Kids,

I am still in Fontana, Ca waiting for a load. Looks like I won't be leaving until monday though. However, with some of the time I have I am reading about the International Space Station. It's short name is called the ISS.

I have been fascinated with space since I was a kid. I remember watching the Apollo rockets take off with the astronauts that would explore the moon. It was also exciting to watch when the capsule would come back to earth and splash into the sea where a Navy ship would then go and get the astronauts at the end of their mission. These days, they take off and come back to earth in the same vehicle...the Space Shuttle!

Over the past several years, the United States and other countries have been building the space station. Several space shuttle missions were used, and continue to be used to build the station. Many important things happen every day on the space station...so many that I could never say them all. However, all the experiments they do will help us with medicine, technology and other things that will make our life easier here on earth.

One post I read from an astronaut told about what she saw as she took a moment to look out of the window down towards earth. I thought it was fascinating, and thought you might like to read what she saw as well. You can click here to see what she wrote.

Here are a few more links you might like to see:

• Click here to see the dates you will be able to see the ISS in the sky where you live
• Click here to see what the space station crew is doing now
• Click here to see what your city looks like from space

So one question for you; can you guess how FAST the ISS travels around the earth? Write to me and give me your guess!

Also, let me know what kinds of things you are interested in. Perhaps what your hobbies are, or what you want to be when you grow up. Take care kids! Until next time....

Blessings,
~TruckerTony

I Am Learning About You Today!

Hi Kids,

Just wanted to let you know that I have delivered that heavy load of dog food. Today I will be sitting at a truck stop in Ontario, California and hopefully I can get a load that will take me towards home tomorrow.

So guess what I am doing since I have so much time today? I am reading about what your favorite songs are, who your favorite singers are, who your best friends are, what nationalities some of you are and other neat information you have written about on your class website.

I like reading about your book reports the best though! You are reading some very nice books, and many of them I have read to my own children. It's neat when you can read to your parents...try to do that as much as you can. It makes them feel good.

So keep reading your books, and I am going to go back now and read some more of what you kids have posted on your website. I am having fun doing that! Have a great weekend kids!

Blessings,
~TruckerTony

My Truck Broke Down - Again!

Hey Kids,

Well, when I went to start my truck yesterday it would not start. I had this problem when I was in Davenport, Iowa too. So when I get back to Salt Lake City, Utah I will have to put my truck into the fix-it shop so that they can change the batteries.

Because i had that problem, the company decided not to give me the Target load to Idaho. Instead, I am picking up 43,000 pounds of dog food today and taking it to Southern California. I will be there tonight.

So since I have received so many nice comments about my family, I have decided to show you some recent pictures of my girls. That's Kasie with Ronald; Katie has the soccer ball; Kimi is the black and white picture and Kristi is playing with the kitchen toy at church. The other picture is of the truck stop I stayed at in Reno, Nevada.

Have a great day kids! I've got to get this big truck rolling towards Southern California!

Blessings,
~TruckerTony

Gettin' Ready to Head to Idaho

Today's Pictures

Cheyenne, WY	Billion Year Old Rocks!
Rest Area Above Turnpike, IL	Stopped Train, Salt Lake City
Sunset - Fernley, NV	Rest Area - Fernley, NV
Rest Area - Fernley, NV	Truckee River - Fernley, NV

Hey Kids,

First, Ms Sison should be receiving a package from me today or tomorrow. I sent some information to you about the state of New Mexico so that you can get a better idea of what is there.

Today I am picking up at a big Target warehouse and taking part of the load to Elko, NV and the rest of the load to Twin Falls, Idaho. I will be taking anything from medicine, to toys, to big appliances and other items you would buy in a Target store.

The load will be lite, so I should not use as much fuel which is good because fuel costs a lot of money. In fact, fuel and tires cost the most when driving a truck so we do all we can to use less fuel and make our tires last longer. One easy way for our tires to last longer is to keep the proper amount of air in them. I check my tires every day before i start driving to make sure I have 100 psi (pounds per square inch) in my tires. The car your mom and dad drives has about 35 psi in those tires.

About the pictures above; i don't know if I have told you this before, but i used to drive a train just like that! I was actually a locomotive engineer for a few years driving freight trains like the one pictured and then I drove the Amtrak trains you see where you live. I used to drive through Emeryville, Sacramento, Martinez and other cities up there by where you live.

The pictures at the very top show an area close to Cheyenne, Wyoming. The marker says that the rocks in that area are over 1 billion years old!

After I deliver on Thursday morning in Twin Falls, ID I am hoping that I can go south into Utah for a couple of days off. Be sure to write to me when you can. Let me know what you think of the stuff I sent to you! Be good Kids!

Blessings,
~TruckerTony

Video Driving From Iowa Into Nebraska

Hey Kids,

I thought I would show you this quick video of me driving from Iowa into Nebraska. You will see a river and right in the middle of that river is the state line. You will also see the Welcome to Nebraska sign as it passes right over me. The video is about 1 minute long. Hope you like it!

Just click on that arrow at the bottom of the video.

Blessings,
~TruckerTony

Chicago!

Click on Picture to Make Bigger!

Hey Kids,

Wow..it's been a busy week for me so I am sorry I have not had time to post before this. I spent a lot of that time in Illinois last week, and even got close to Chicago. I have included some pictures of the Chicago skyline for you to see. Chicago is home to a very famous building. It is the tall black one with the white antennas at the top. Can you do a Google search and guess what the name of that building is?

During this trip I also got to take a quick load up to Wisconsin which is also very pretty. My load now is 28,000 pounds of blueberry muffins headed to Wal-Mart in Reno, NV which is getting very close to you! I picked that load up in Chicago on Thursday and will deliver Monday morning for a total of 1,900 miles.

I have a lot of pictures I took this time so I will be posting them over the next few posts. I will write again soon kids. Also, I am sending you something in the mail so Ms Sison should be receiving that either this coming week or the next. be good!

Blessings,
~TruckerTony

Pet Food to Davenport, Iowa

Hey Kids,

I picked up a load of pet food in Spanish Fork, UT going to Davenport, IA. It is only 14,000 pounds which is a light load, so I made good time getting to Nestle/Purina in Iowa. When I got there, I dropped my loaded trailer at an unloading door and picked up an empty trailer they had finished unloading and left.

I have been at a few truck stops the past few days and will be leaving for Illinois today (Sunday). Actually, Davenport, IA is right on the border of Iowa and Illinois, and I only need to go about 110 miles into Illinois to where I need to be on Monday. A highlight on my trip today will be going over a very big and famous river.

Can you look at the map on the border of Iowa and Illinois and see what river I will be crossing over?

I will try and get a picture for you when I cross the river. It is really pretty and the bridges are nice too.

The pictures I have included with this post show the sign to the World's Largest Truck Stop - the Iowa 80 located in Walcott, IA. There are a few pictures of the landscape of Iowa which I think is very pretty. The picture of the freeway signs was taken just as I crossed into Iowa from Nebraska. I thought it was neat showing the different cities I could go to.

Okay kids, have a great day and be sure to ask any questions or make comments on my blog if you have time.

Blessings,
~TruckerTony

Happy March Kids!

Hey Kids,

Well, this is my favorite month...it's my birthday on the 27th!

I wanted to show you what I have done over the past few weeks. Some of it you know about by my earlier posts on where I have been and what I have hauled. Take a look at the map above. Can you see how I almost made a big circle? That route is 3,059 miles long!

Click on the map to make it bigger and see if you can tell what states I have been in on that route.

Right now I am in Davenport, Iowa and will be leaving for Illinois this afternoon. Not sure what I will be picking up yet. Have a great day kids!

Blessings,
~TruckerTony