Alberta trucker Mike Murchison shares his experiences on the road through music, photography and humour.
Photo: "Elbows and Angles" by Mike Murchison
by Mike Murchison On the north side of Highway 3 just east of Coaldale Alberta sits a series of bins, a complex set of conveyers and spidery looking pipes that reach 100 ft up into the air. Day in and
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Gordon LIghtfoot's iconic image Photo: YouTube
Kathy was the type of girl a guy like me could fall in love within a heartbeat. She was a much older woman: she was in grade 11, and I sadly was in grade 10. The rule back then was
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Photo: "Men at Work" Mike Murchison
Can’t find anybody to work. Or no one wants to work anymore. It’s a common thread. Not just where I live, but seemingly every place I travel.
I cover Alberta and the Northwest US states, and this discussion has crossed my table a lot. Employers can’t find anyone to work.
I’m sure there are a variant of factors involved. The wage that’s being offered, the hours as well as the expectations. Tie that into the cost of living and you might just have a perfect storm brewing.
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by Mike Murchison So, let’s weigh in on the shape of the highways in Northern Ontario. I’m referring to Highways 11 and 17. The “Trans Canada” highway. The main east-west corridor that gets you from the Manitoba border down to
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"I started hauling cattle from feedlots to a processing plant in Utah about 2 months ago. It's hard work and I’m not sure why I’m doing it at my age. But I like a challenge. I also like working with animals." Photo: Mike Murchison
Loading cows into a trailer (a semi-confined space) is not natural to them. They get nervous and anything to calm them down helps.
Me! I talk to them, sing to them. Treat ‘em like I’d want to be treated. Then when I have them loaded, I ease on the accelerator, softly on the brake, gently round the curves.
We don’t want any cows falling. That’s called a ‘downer’. And if one goes down it can get trampled by the others. I’ve been lucky or smart. None down on my loads.
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“Deep Fried Medicare” Photo: Mike Murchison by Mike Murchison Nothing like the rhythm off the road. Wheels humming, pistons stroking…. but what happens when YOU have a stroke…? Driver health is often put on the back burner; it’s often neglected
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So why now? Why haul cows at my age? Hell, I’m 61 years old. I should be looking for the least amount of physical stress that might be available to me.
But no!
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Winter can seem longer when there’s no heat. Worse when its dark.
You think life is picking on you, and you can drift into the Negative realm of your mental capacities.
Breaking down in what seems “The Middle of Nowhere” (don’t bother punching it in Google Maps) can seem inconvenient and maybe cruel.
“Why me? Why now?’”
Well.
Breaking down near the house doesn’t really count in my books. You’ve got to be at least 150 miles from anything for it to count on your fortitude scale.
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Montana says "good night." Mike Murchison
It’s out here that Cowboys did and still do make a go of it. Moving the stock from one grazing pasture to another. Punching holes in the watering hole so cattle can access the water. Spreading hay bales across a white landscape to feed the herd.
It still goes on, and I see it all the time. Day and night. The art and business of cowboyography is alive and well. You just need to know where to look.
Trucking is similar in many ways. You’re out there. Cutting through those windswept acres in the dead of winter on a concrete trail.