FF2: Filling in the Suburbs

[krigl]

Today we were hired to take a frac tank from Mexicali in Mexico up to Indio in California. My first job doing something oil industry-related after getting qualified to haul cisterns crammed full of flammable liquids. I think the tank was empty, though, but hey, it's a start!


Getting set up in Calexico, my brother in my seat in the cab. Or did he shoot this one? I can never remember.


Well, this is definitely me, and it's time to start moving.








Novel speed retarders.


I love the wide, spectacular arid landscapes down here.


The region actually has very fertile soil, which is why the previous sets showed quite a lot of farming. I read that 50 different crops are grown. The water comes from irrigation of course, not rainfall.




Mexicali is here.


Fuel looked a bit low.


All this detail makes you really feel like you're there.


My brother hides in the back when we're driving. He's so quiet, you wouldn't even know he was there.


Crossing the border into the US.


Mexicali's twin on the Californian side, Calexico.


Nearby are the towns of Fornimex, Mexifornical and the almost unpronouncable Ainocrofixemilac.




Our route takes us via El Centro and Brawley, but I didn't manage to grab much by way of urban shots, what with driving and all that.






We're weighing ourselves more often than a diet addict these days.




Arriving at Indio.


The UOP jobsite. Needed to make a veeeeery wide turn to get the frac tank through the gate undamaged, or indeed, at all.


Parking up.


And we're done. Next time we venture further into south California, to Fresno.
Cheers! Krigl

[krigl]

A second set from south California today - from Indio up to Fresno, past Los Angeles and Bakersfield.


We're using a Kenworth T680 midroof, 455hp, not bad.


Dark and atmospheric as we set off with our cargo of lemonade.








A quick glimpse of Indio, shame about the green icon at the gas station, but still. I could remove them with a mod, but it's already hard enough to find a gas station that actually provides fuel among the many that don't.


Epic wind farm at Palm Springs. Project Reforma adds places to the south of California along with pretty much all of Mexico, I think this is one of them.




Heading towards LA.




We just had a quick glimpse as we rattled by, but still, it's more than we saw of Bakersfield, which was zero, nada, nic.


A tiny taste of Los Angeles' concrete jungle.


Steep grades, better watch my speed and break out the jake.




Just in case...




Orchards and waggons as we near Fresno.






Here's Fresno.




Hard parking was easy this time.


Yep, I'm good, bro. You?

The next sets will take us from Yuma back to Arizona.
Cheers! Krigl

[krigl]

This time we have the first part of a trip from Yuma, California to Flagstaff, Arizona.


We've got a good-looking 410hp 49X day cab to get us there, and the cargo is... ...erm derp derp where did I write it down? Tableware. There you go. Plates and bowls and things. For Swift, again.


Driving through Yuma.


I checked my email account today looking for stuff relevant to Christmas and found an email from ProMods sent on 10th December saying that the compatibility update for 1.49 has been out since 6th December. Interesting news. I can't find any mention of it anywhere, not even in the several threads where people are asking when it's going to be and people are answering IRWIR. The download is indeed available, so that's nice. Looking forward to Norway! But I'm going to finish this little tour first.


Ouch! So bright.


Weighing again.


Today we're passing through a bunch of places which were probably mostly added by Project Reforma: Holtville (close to El Centro), Glamis, Palo Verde and Blythe. All in California still.






Plenty of agriculture on show here.








Houses in Palo Verde.








Blythe.


Getting a bit low - time for a top up.


Eyeballing the AI.
We finish the job in the next set.
Krigl

[krigl]

Returning to Arizona in this set, with an evening drive via Kingman to Flagstaff.




Ehrenburg, I think.








A rare shower of rain as we cross the state line into Arizona.




Sundown.


I believe these are the lights of Kingman glowing in the dusky gloom.




Or these. Hard to say, it was getting dark.






Looks like we've reached Flagstaff.








And we're done. The next few sets will see us visiting Arizona's other neighbours - Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and finally Mexico once more.
Cheers!
Krigl

[krigl]

We're off to everyone's favourite place in ATS, Nevada, today. Starting off in Phoenix, Arizona.


So, what are we hauling? Paper, for UPS.








A lot of wilderness driving in the next two sets, which I enjoy.




Nearby Camp Verde.






Varied landscapes too.




On the freeway to Kingman.






Passing Kingman.


Now we'll be turning towards Vegas.




One day SCS will revisit the region and bring it up to the standard of the eastern states. Can't wait.


The Hoover Dam lies on the state line, so we're about to enter Nevada.


And not much further on we're in Las Vegas, Dan's old stamping ground.




Alright then, Office Rats, come and get it!


I'm going to just check out the blimp.


And the discarded trolley. Next time we take day trip through eastern Nevada up to Ely.
Cheers! Krigl

[krigl]

In the second half of our merrie jaunt into Nevada, we head north to Ely.


Carrying metal pipes, which I absolutely didn't want to do, but there were no suitable standard cargoes going up to Ely. LoneStar looking mega chipper as usual.


Spotted in the yard in Las Vegas.




I enjoy the exotic vibe of these southwestern cities. Hideously hot there, though.








Las Vegas behind us, we're out in the dusty desert once more.


Plenty of space and time alone with your thoughts out here.


Searched google maps and the internet as I did a few years ago for these radio telescopes south of the Crystal Springs ghost town. Nothing. SCS must have made them up, or misplaced them, is my guess.




Mazany Creek, this place is called, apparently. Whaaaaaat????? Just looked it up. Does not exist in Nevada. Trucksim wiki says it's FICTIONAL, possibly named after an ex-employee of SCS called Vaclav Mazany. I thought the name looked Czech. WTF. A fictional named settlement? Caliente is around there in real life. I wonder why they did that. Maybe to show appreciation for his efforts in the earliest years of ATS? And they thought no one will want to go to Nevada anyway so it doesn't matter? Well, if they can do that, they can also randomly place a large array of radio telescopes too, right, to make the desert 'more interesting'? Episodes from the infancy of ATS... couldn't get away with it now, methinks.


Those guys are still fighting to stop the bulldozers moving in on their trailer park.


Chipper McChipper Face stopping for gas at an unmarked place which is probably Panaca in real life. There's a Shell gas station and it's quite green there.




Moving towards Pioche now, which has two things going for it.


1. It's real.
2. It looks like it might rhyme with brioche, and I like brioche.


This wind farm is also there in real life. Go figure. Pronunciations in the USA can be surprising for a European, though. For example, if you were carrying a cargo of buoys to Boise, you might think it sounds like ''boys to boys'', where as it might actually be more like 'buweys to boysie''.


Not far from Ely now.


Arrived.




Howdy, cowboy.


Well, we're going here.


Pipes delivered. Our next journey will be from Flagstaff, Nevada up to Moab in Utah.
Krigl

[krigl]

Driving northeast through Arizona from Flagstaff to the Utah border today.


VNL 300 with 400hp and a load of... paper? Paper. Again. This time, it is the Office Rats of Moab that are desirous of pressed bleached wood pulp.


Passing through Flagstaff.


Not entirely successful attempt to get a shot of Flagstaff's main landmarks.








Do we need any? Nah.


Without the 'realistic economy (hard mode)' I'm banking substantial amounts of green. Got about 80K already. It's still going to be a while before I can afford a new three-slot garage and a truck, though. Could buy the garage and then sell Medford, I suppose, and use that money to buy the truck. Not sure if it's possible to sell your home garage, though. Probably will keep it and upgrade it later. I think I'll put my first proper garage somewhere in NW Colorado, so kind of in the middle of the growing ATS map for the coming few years.






Approaching Kayenta now.


Yup. Kayenta is part of the Navajo Nation, apparently, and is not far short of Monument Valley.




Cacti!






Now we're passing through spectacular Monument Valley, and we've entered Utah.










Ah, I remember this place.


If only I could remember its name. Maybe it's too small to have one?
We continue to Moab in the next set.
Krigl

[krigl]

Second part of a trip from Flagstaff, Arizona to Moab, Utah, in this set.


Is that really the name? I think they might be bluffing.






Alright, why not. Just in case. It's not like I'm paying for it, anyhow.






Ooh, green.




A source of water. That explains it, I guess.




This green paradise is called Monticello, which means Mount Cello in Italian. Maybe.




Last stretch to Moab now, but not before we reach THE entertainment destination of the West.






You've heard of hole in the sock, here's Hole n'' the Rock. Not sure what n'' is supposed to mean. Should it be 'n'? So it's like fish 'n' chips. It's all a bit sus isn't it, really?




Moab up ahead.






Backing round a corner. Tricky. Brother kept the area clear and showed me what's what with a video call from his phone.




A final view from Moab. Next time - off to New Mexico.
Thanks for looking in! Krigl

[krigl]

Today we start off again in Flagstaff, Arizona, and head over the state line to Gallup in New Mexico.


Beautiful old Pete 389.


Haulin' glass.


Flagstaff looking very festive this morning.


UPS, I did it again.


Let's join the flow of traffic heading east.










Into New Mexico.


Weigh station. Operator checking out my rig.


Very scenic round here. Apparently a lot of westerns were filmed in the area around Gallup, with the film stars and crews staying in a hotel there.


And here it is - Gallup.


Gallup has a high population of Native Americans, and with it's Hollywood history, seems like it could be one of the most interesting towns in these parts.


Perhaps we could do a survey, see what New Mexico residents think - is Gallup the most interesting town in their state.


We could call the survey the Gallup Poll.


Yeah, well, anyway, time to get this glass parked.


Nicely lined up first time. Like a boss.


Next set - over to Albuquerque and then down to Socorro.
Krigl

[krigl]

A second set featuring New Mexico today - driving from Gallup near the border with Arizona through the capital Albuquerque and then down to Socorro.


Loaded up with a double trailer of floor tiles at the Home of Everything's Included. And I just wanted to drive standard curtainsiders, dry vans and reefers.


Dragging our heavy load out of Gallup in a bulky VNL 860.


The Galoop, some kind of sculpture. The town has a very rich cultural life for its size, and sports a fair amount of public art - murals and the like. It also hosts a major ballooning event, the Red Rock Ballooning Rally.


I was inspired to read an article on ballooning and balloon flight theory after visiting Gallup. Nice pictures, but I wasn't very impressed with the theory side of the article.


It just seemed like a lot of hot air.


Making tracks towards Albuquerque now. That tent, or whatever it is, in the distance seems extremely familiar.




A new colour palette once again.








New Mexico styleee.






Look Ma, Albuquerque!
No no, Timmy, that's just a big bridge. Albuquerque's a whole city!
Pa catches Timmy's eye and winks. Timmy reclines back in his seat. He's got the best Mum ever, but there are some things that only Dad understands.




The Rio Grande, probably maybe.


Down to Socorro now. We're going to make two trips from New Mexico - one up into Colorado, which I'm keen to do, as I've seen less than 5% of it so far, and another hopefully into the north of Mexico for a bit more Reforma goodness.


Socorro.




And we're done. Colorado next time, then.
Krigl