Wyoming thaw and a new schedule

Ok, I know, I am overdue an update! Here we go!
Yes, we finally got out of Wyoming. That night about 9:30pm we heard they had opened the road, but were still reporting high winds, blowing snow, etc. We also knew all the others that had been stuck around the closure would be hitting the road, so we decided to sit tight until 3am. Weather report had it clearing after that and by that time, the road would be cleared of all the "impatient" ones that had to be there yesterday. That put us about 16hrs behind what our schedule should have been, but this is the weekend pull, so we have until Monday and Tuesday before these loads are late.
We had some good rest in Rock Springs, so we pressed on to Aurora without stopping. Got there about midnite. We pulled up and and ,,,,,uh oh, the gate was closed! No worries, I spotted the security guard in his car in front of the building. I flash my lights, and just know he will come right over and let us in.........welll, maybe if I flash them again,,,,,,,,,,,no luck! Hmmmm,,,,maybe a little toot on the horn.....nope,,,alright,,,now he's going to get the air horn!,,,,and again! Alright, this isn't funny, we are tired and need to get on our way. AH HA,,the spot llight! AND the air horn! Finally, his lights come on and he moseys over and lets us in. 10 minutes I have parked the loaded trailer, unhooked, hooked up to the empty, and we are out the gate. Sure hope that guard catches up on HIS sleep too!.
We make our way over to Gary,,and guess what?! The gate is locked. And there is the guard, or at least his car in front of docks. Flash the lights,,,honk the horn, now the air horn, now the spot light. Yup, we go thru the same routine. a few times. I even get out, and try to see if he is in the car or not. Can't tell. Back to the air horn for some loooong blasts just in case he is inside. FINALLY a groggy security guard wakes up, makes his way over, and tries to unlock the gate. He can't see the keys, and has a hard time with it. Then looks for the right paperwork and can't tell which packet says CFI/Conway Truckload. By this time I've had it. I get out, grab the paperwork from him, and mumble something about if he weren't sleeping he could read the damn thing. I show him ours, get in the truck, find the trailer, run across the scales, adjust the rear tandems, and out the gate the gate. He even waives at us!
Now that we are fully functional, we decide to head back as far as we can. Little naps enroute help, relieving each other when it is time, and helping each other stay awake. We make it back to SLC about 6hours behind our normal Sunday schedule. Lately we have gotten in around 7-8pm. This trip is about 1am Monday morning, but we manage to get there and give ourselves a day off.
Weather was fantastic this time, and managed to get some riding in. The mountains sure are getting pretty, starting to turn green and lose all the white winter coat.
Tuesday morning, and back at the grind. We get our load about 6am (local)and head out. This trip we decide to try a little different schedule and see how it works out. We will drive till about 7pm (Central) and park for the nite (well, 6hrs anyway). This will put us just past Grand Island, Ne. At that time, we shoudn't have any problem finding a parking spot. Late at nite, they get hard to come by. We will sleep till 1am, get up and go. We still get into Aurora about 1:00pm Wednesday and get over to Gary and get a shower at the Pilot. Back to the Gary yard, and an early nite. This time we are tired and ready for bed. Most weeks, it's kinda early at 7pm for bed, but 3am comes awful early too. This time we are ready, and sleep good, a first for the Gary yard.
Thurs morning we grab our trailer, and guess what,,,Hazmat load! Oh well, only paint, so it's a flammable load.
We manage to get straight back to SLC about 3am, and sleep for about 3 hrs then back at it again. Got our trailer and now enroute back to Aurora.
These last trips we tried something new as well. At the Pilot truckstop, we purchased a "lunchbox" cooker. It is a black box that looks very much like the old style lunch boxes our parents took to work. This one plugs into the 12v system and cooks at about 300 degrees. It has little aluminum pans available (also at Walmart the bread pans work ) that fit inside to help with clean-up. We have cooked some strips of steak marinated with sauce, a pork tenderloin roll, and tonite some chicken strips sitting on orange slices. This is kinda nice. A nice hot meal at the end of a long day is a welcome addition.
For those interested, we did not really have to "purchase" the cooker. As with most chains, Pilot will you a "frequent fueler" card. Use it everytime you fill up, and you collect points on it for each gallon. A point is worth a penny. It adds up with these big trucks!
We have got our curtains for the cab, a cooler that sits up next to the driver to keep the drinks cold when the co-pilot is not available, and now this cooker. Each purchase was in the $25-30 range, so as you see, it adds up.
Ok, I have rambled on long enough, and you're probably snoring by now. :) Enjoy!
Till next time, keep it safe out there!