The Shed Saga

Sep16

Jack is happy to report that he has finished at least one project so far this summer (actually it’s autumn now in Fairbanks).

He fixed the roof on the shed and shingled it. (I’m telling you, Jack can do anything!)

Here is a photo of him in the middle of the project:

This shed has a bit of a story.

When we first moved into our house, we had to move it since we wanted to build a garage and it was in the way. Jack tackled the job himself.

This is him putting the shed on the trailer, getting it ready to be moved:

We realize this is probably the equivalent of drinking while using power tools. Kids, take note, do NOT drink alcohol while moving a shed! 🙂

The next day, with the shed on the trailer, Jack just barely gives it a little gas to see how sturdy it is. It was just fine.

This is where it ended up.

(If you want to see a few seconds of this heavy haul project in progress, click here.)

The 4-wheeler is holding it in place.

He had to prop it up on blocks until he could give it a more stable foundation…!!!

Here is the “more stable” foundation when the project was mostly done.

This is not where the shed finally ended up, though he didn’t do the moving this time. It’s present and permanent spot you can see on the first photo. We will finish siding it at the same time we side the garage that has yet to be built.

Hope everyone is doing well! Thanks for reading. 🙂

Dirty Truck!

Sep1

Hello again, sorry it’s been so long since we’ve posted. Life has been hectic. You would think that it would slow down a bit if you aren’t working, but that just means more things need to get done…!

Since Jack is taking some time off (he still works for Carlile) he had to clean out 2019 so it can be used by other drivers while he’s gone.

While I was helping him remove his stuff, I noticed that there was a lot of dirt on this truck and I felt the need to document this. 🙂

I hope you enjoy this gallery of dirty truck photos:

Thanks for looking and have a great Labor Day!

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Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum Fundraiser – July 2010

Aug20

In July of 2010 Jack helped raise money for the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum along with Lisa Kelly and Carey Hall.

It was a fun day, but this little guy was the cherry on top!

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For a few more photos of old airplanes at the aviation museum click here.

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Seize the Day

Aug12

I’m happy to report that Jack has decided to take a little time off! Always being on the road, he feels like life has been passing him by in the endless search for the next “load”. Alaska has too many awesome things to offer to always be seeing it out the truck window instead of experiencing it himself. Maybe a couple of road trips are in our future!

Jack says howdy to all his fans! Thanks for staying tuned. And don’t worry, Jack isn’t planning on quitting trucking or Carlile either. He just needs to have a little fun again!

May 2007, Chena Hot Springs Road

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Why are the Wheelbases of Alaskan Trucks so long?

Jul26

Someone asked a question on Facebook about why the wheelbases of big rigs in Alaska are so long. Jack says they are so long in order to fit extra long loads.

Here is a photo of the long wheelbase being utilized:

Down in the states, the wheelbase would be much shorter on most trucks. In other words, the wheels would be much closer to the body of the truck and this sized pipe would result in more rear overhang, thus needing more permits and a more complicated set up. So to avoid that, the wheelbase has been lengthened, since these kinds of loads are commonplace in Alaska.

Since Jack has a long wheel base he can haul another trailer behind this one, as seen here:

This is the second trailer – it has a load of sheet pile (sheets of metal that are driven into the ground and used for road construction or for bridge construction).

(In the first photo you can see part of the second trailer but it’s hard to make out because there is another trailer of pipe behind it. In the second photo I erased the pipe behind so you can see the load on the second trailer better.)

Here are a few more photos of the Salcha-Valdez pipe haul.

The last piece of pipe being loaded!

Jack is so happy to be on his LAST VALDEZ RUN so he can get back on the Dalton!!

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Push Trucking, Kid Style

Jul21

Here’s Tyson “Bubba” Stollings – Jack’s big fan – showing his version of push trucking. Maybe one day he’ll be doing the real thing!

Still Hauling Pipe

Jul16

Here are some photos of the job Jack is presently working on, hauling huge pipe sections from the port of Valdez to Salcha where there is a railroad bridge being built across the Tanana River.

Empty trailers, waiting for the pipe.

This is a photo from an earlier post: the trucks loaded with 2 lengths of pipe each, and more pipe in the background that still needed to be loaded and hauled to Salcha. Each section is 6 feet in diameter and 43 feet long. That stack has been transported by now but more has arrived from other barges.

Eight inch wood dunnage cradling the pipe. It gives space for the forks to pick it up and set it down, and the pipe chalks (upper wood pieces) stop it from rolling until they get it tied down. Each piece of pipe is 25,000 pounds.

The trucks have to stop at quite a few roadwork sites along the Richardson Highway. This is in the canyon just north of Valdez.

A couple of days ago Jack was held up at some roadwork for almost 2 hours. Since the Richardson is one of only a couple of major highways in Alaska, there must have been a line of ticked-off tourists 10 miles long!

Anyone interested in more information about this bridge project can go to this link: State of Alaska webpage.

Mini-Me

Jul14

If this isn’t the funniest and cutest thing on earth we don’t know what is!

This is a little Jack Jessee look-alike that that got posted on Facebook, by Jamie Stollings. What’s so funny is that this little Jack Jessee appears to have recently been let out of his cage. We warned Jamie Stollings to make sure he was put back in his cage at night… so funny. Jack and I laughed for at least an hour about this. Thanks to the Stollings. We really loved this.

Jack gets his ATV stuck on a muddy trail!

Jul11

Yes, Jack got stuck in a mud puddle. It was a big mud puddle though! If fact, it was kind of a swamp.

He was not pleased! After sticking a few pieces of wood under the vehicle for traction and not getting any we gave up and started walking. Thank goodness it was only a mile back to the road! I stayed there with our dog and Jack hitched a ride back to our house to get the 4-wheeler that has a winch on it. So in a flash Jack was back, and soon we had the side-by-side out and we were heading down the trail on our merry way… it was already 11pm but Jack needed to balance his hard work with some hard play so we didn’t get home for another 2 or 3 hours!

We found a great easement trail!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with side-by-sides, they are similar to 4-wheelers but bigger and you can sit side by side behind a wind shield. It’s more comfortable than a 4-wheeler, warmer, and you don’t get rained on. Best of all, our old mutt can ride instead of run so he doesn’t wear himself out. He must be part sled dog because he would run himself into the ground if you let him.

Moral of the story: have a winch on your ATV if you are going to drive it through mud. Jack hadn’t gotten around to buying one when we got stuck. But you can be sure it’s at the top of his to-do list now! Either way, it was a very fun night and we probably wouldn’t change a thing even if we could. 🙂

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Jack & the band Heart at a Special Olympics Fundraiser

Jul7

Jack went up on the stage for a photo-op just to prove later that it really was the band Heart at “The World’s Largest Convoy”, a fundraiser for the Special Olympics in Seattle, Washington in September 2009 (see last post for more on this topic).