Under the Coffee Pot

Still in Omaha, at the truck stop that features the world's largest coffee pot:

We had a few hours of sun today, but it remains bitterly cold and gusty. 

The water lines are frozen. We've opened cabinet doors and drawers to try to thaw them, but without success.

We're using our little ceramic heater to stay warm, and it's keeping up pretty well. We've hung a sheet between the sleeper and the cab to function as an air barrier. It's astonishing how much cold transfers into the cab through all that glass up there - the interior of the windows and windshield were thoroughly coated with a thick layer of frost this morning.

The truck didn't want to start this morning. After cranking for what seemed like forever, she finally caught. We left her in a high idle while we went inside for breakfast, and the frost had melted by the time we came back out. The brakes were frozen, too; Hoss had to rock the truck using the accelerator until they finally let go. Once everything was working normally, we shut down the diesel and went back on electric power.

We're in service and waiting for a job. This is a one-a-day board, meaning it averages only one outbound load a day, so we didn't expect to be dispatched out today.  We'll see what tomorrow brings. If a job isn't forthcoming, we may move on our own dime.

It may sound miserable, but we're warm, we have satellite TV and internet, and plenty of soups and water for tea and cocoa. Later, we'll crank up the heated mattress pad and snuggle while we watch a movie. And the cat will be right smack in the middle.