It all went south

We got a 2400 mile trip. It picked up near Harrisburg and is going to Tucson Arizona. We got this trip after a very rough incident with our company. I will post about that later, it is a whole other story for another time.

I was very happy to get dispatched on this load. I am excited to go where there is warmth.

The sunsets are always fantastic in Arizona.

We got left in the dust by this sweet car.

Then we got this load. It picked up in Chandler, AZ and was going to Los Angeles. We are so happy to get out of the cold and snow. 

Lucy found some green grass in Phoenix. She loved it.

We really did enjoy our trip out west, although it was not without a problem. We got a flat tire in the desert. Our truck uses super single tires instead of two regular tires so they are quite expensive anyway. But when it happens in the desert....well, it's almost disgraceful. We spent two nights in the Phoenix area and one night on our way to Los Angeles. 

We were sure that we would have to wait a few days for our turn to get a load out of California. Usually we sit for awhile or else we accept runs up and down the west coast. But we got offered a "secret" load picking up right away and getting us back to St. Louis. We accepted it and that was the end of LOs Angeles just like that.

A secret load is a load that is high dollar, high security load that we cannot disclose our location or talk about while doing the trip. Plus, one of us has to be awake and watching the load at all times.

So we left LA on Monday around noon and made it to St Louis before 6am on Wednesday.

We hit snowy roads in Flagstaff, AZ and had them the rest of the way off and on. By the time we reached Missouri the roads were horrible.

We saw many accidents.

Oh I am hating the weather really bad this year!

Anyway here is a southwest recipe that I came across while on this trip. I can't wait to try it.

Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread

all-purpose flour – 3 cups

cornmeal – 1 cup

sugar – ¼ cup

baking powder – 2 tbsp

salt – 1 tsp

milk – 2 cup

eggs – 3, beaten

butter – 1 cup melted

cheddar cheese – 8 ounces, grated

jalapenos – 3 – 4 tbsp – pickled, roughly chopped

In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together.

In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (including the jalapenos).

Quickly add the wet mix to the dry, and stir until the batter is almost smooth. (it will be very thick)

Heat the oven to 425 F (200 C), and let the batter rest while the oven is heating.

Grease your pan or skillet with butter, scrape in the dough, and smooth the top.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown, and a toothpick comes out clean.

(be sure and do the toothpick test, even though it can appear done on the outside, it’s very important that it’s cooked through).