Adventure

Glen Millard : Glen “The Duck” was born in Saskatchewan. He has driven trucks for 50 years, mostly long hauling. He’s now retired, that is until another adventure comes along.
Posted By Glen Millard : Glen “The Duck” was born in Saskatchewan. He has driven trucks for 50 years, mostly long hauling. He’s now retired, that is until another adventure comes along. On 2022-09-12 15:27:42

We have all dealt with governments that make us think someone did not show up for work that day. This adventure begins in September in Edmonton. I was hauling automobiles for Allies Systems. I was given a load to Hay River, NWT, for the Ford dealer and one Ford four-wheel drive work truck was to be taken to the barge that ships to the isolated settlements further north. This truck was destined for Kugluktuk, NWT or what is now called Nunavut, to a government construction site.
I loaded in Edmonton, and nothing out of the ordinary happened on the way to Hay River, where I unloaded at the Kingland Ford dealership. From there, I took the last truck to the barge landing out of town. I went into the office and showed them the paperwork, and the lady said the only problem is that this is September, and the barge stops shipping in July. That way, the barge is back to Hay River before freeze-up. Then she said that they were not allowing equipment to be left in the compound over winter this year. Right about then, I thought I should phone Kingland and the terminal back in Edmonton.
The government handles this in Quebec, which is 3 hours different, so I was left waiting for further directions. It was a test of patience but I had been tested long before this. (I’ve helped raise three teenagers.) Finally, I got told to bring the pickup truck back to Edmonton. I asked about the rate of pay to return. They said that the rate from Edmonton to Hay River was very good. They (the government) would pay a back haul (less rate) since I was returning to Edmonton anyway. My reply was No! No! No! My truck doesn’t run any cheaper going up or returning. They finally agreed that the return trip would pay the same as going up to Hay River. I hauled the truck back to the compound in Edmonton and parked it inside the fenced yard. It sat there for almost a year. I don’t know whatever happened to it. I thought many times that a normal person would have arranged the connections before it was shipped. Maybe the day it was arranged, the person in charge didn’t come to work. I often thought a foreman was still waiting for a Ford truck to arrive.  
Sometime later, in the winter, I was asked if I wanted to go to Sea-Tac (Seattle, Washington Airport) and load seven cars at the airport and take them to Hay River. They were all 4-cylinder diesel engine cars from different manufacturers. There was Volvo, Volkswagon, Ford Tempo, Dodge Rampage and others. The idea was to test them under winter conditions and compare them to Volkswagon. After testing them in Hay River during the winter, the plan was to ship them to desert countries to test them in hot weather.
The Hay River test was two weeks long, and I thought that sounded like my kind of trip. I went empty to Seattle and loaded the vehicles with no problems. The paperwork was in order, and they sent me on my way. Everything was fine until I got to Edmonton, where five ghost cars suddenly surrounded me with all the red and blue lights flashing. There were six officers, all dressed casually (no uniforms). The first came to my door and told me that I had to look at his badge in his pocket. The second officer said they were with the internal taxation department and wanted to know if the tax had been paid on the vehicles. I told them there were no problems at Sea-Tac or the border and that they were going to Hay River for cold weather testing. They are not for sale, and they are owned by manufacturing companies. I told them that if they wanted to follow me to our storage and office, they would be able to talk to one of my many bosses. We all went to our office, and two hours later, they sent me on my way. The rest of the trip to Hay River went well. I unloaded at Kingland Ford in minus -20 to -25 weather, signed the bills, and returned to Edmonton.
Three weeks later, I got a call asking if I wanted to pick up those vehicles and bring them back to Edmonton. Without thinking, I answered with three letters, YES! So  I went to Hay River and out of town to a field where the tests took place. It was -38, and they had not been started for a week. Not one of them started on their own except the Volkswagon. I was excited to see the service truck from Kingland Motors finally show up to help start them. I took them back to Edmonton and unloaded them at a balmy -12, and they all started. Those trips were what made me want to haul automobiles for thirty years.
If a person maintains a positive attitude and a happy outlook on life, each trip is an adventure.


Previous Blogs

Bella Coola by Glen Mallard

Hole in One by Dave Madill

On The Wrong Road by John Maywood

Wildlife by Colin Black

On the Road Again by Myrna Chartrand...

Cooking Class by Scott Casey

Know Your Limits by Ed Murdoch...

2020 Vision by Greg Evasiuk...

Jokes

With 35 years of combined publishing experience, you will see this unique and much improved trucking magazine called Pro Trucker Driver's Choice Magazine

Getting Started

Lawful Torture

Little Star

It's Now Or Never

Winter Blues

Sheep

The First Time

Let's Block the Road!

In the Face of History

Human Trafficing

Nature’s Child

Distracted Driving

WE EXIST TO ASSIST

The Virus

"What do you look forward to?"

“Fuel Tanks”

You want me to go where?

From Zero to Hero to Zero

ELD’s and Speed Limiters – Are They Really Safe?

The Dream (July 2005)

The Lonesome Camaraderie of the Transportation Industry

Strange Times

Lockdown Toilets

Life goes on

The Czech Invasion.

A Steep Learning Curve

Fools Casting Calls

We Are All In This Together

How to get Time Off

A New Year

Added Benefits of Trucking

An ill Wind

Loving the Road

Insecure Loads

Memories

All Things Shiny and New

B-Trains

The Good Ol’ Days

Cold Trip

Brexit

A Moment’s Distraction

Have or Have not

Music and Me

Travels With Ringo

Distracted Driver

Changes

ELDs, Roads and Covid

Female of The Species

The Switch

Flood of 60

Crimes Against Humanity

Training Hours

In the Truck’s Clutches

Attitude & Altitude

Wide Open Spaces (and closed in places)

Trucking is a Trade

A night to remember

Loading Heavy Equipment

CLIMATE CHANGE & TRUCKING

Truck Routes

Then and Now

Attitude & Altitude

A Girl Just Wants to Have Fun…

The Weekend!

Unity

How I Write

In The Beginning Part 3

Tires and Unions

Stay Safe

My Rant…

Isolation

I learned a New Trick

It ain’t the years - it’s the miles.

It’s Time, Gentlemen, Time

Coincidences

The Brain

Blind Man's Buff

Editor's Note

The Flitting

Eastbound

What I Did This Summer

Pictures

Adventure

Show Ready

Trolls

Big Rig Weekends

Love and Trucking

Books and Covers

Like a Boss

It's a Wonderful World

Common Sense By Glen “The duck” Millard

Dad meets a “Bear.”

All Experience isn’t Good Experience…

The Weather Outside is Frightful…

Common Sense

Bad Breaks and Good Luck

Driving Through My Memories for January/February 2023

Service???

Time to Reset!

Halcyon Days of Trucking

All Experience…

The Piggy Bus Encounter

Sports and Life Lessons

Winter Storms

Humboldt Tragedy_MELT program

Driving Through My Memories

On The Road Again

Wait Over Weight

I Write

Elliot Lake

The Good (?) Old Trucks

Canadian and Proud of it

Six Cans for Buffalo Joe

Monkeys and Peanuts

Safety First

30? 60? 90? Late Pay

Nothing New

Technology

Has anything changed?

Holidays - Then Back To The Grind.

Old Trucker Troubles

Loose Moose

Some of the Trucks I've Seen

The Last Ride

Cold Load Home

Make it a Holiday

Winter Wonderland Trucking

Thinning the Herd

Just Be There…

And to All, a Good Night!

Dumb and Dumber

Helping Out in a Clutch

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

Driver Retention Matters_ New Volvo VNL

Consistency

Tires and Trouble

Idle time

Dinner on the Road

Load Security

Tourist Trucking

The Last Ride