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The first trip to OklahomaLeaving from home, Bowdle, S.D., to our first stop in Olney, Texas, is approximately 1,010 miles, which takes two to three days to travel. We can only travel during the day because the majority of the equipment consists of wide loads. As a result, we always try to leave early so we can travel further. Another reason for this is because it is cooler. Our equipment is less likely to overheat and our tires are less likely to get damaged from the heat. While on the road, moving the equipment becomes a teamwork process. We have radios that allow us to communicate with each other about vehicles and dangers coming from each way. Each person plays an important role in this. The person in the lead is responsible for setting the pace and alerting the rest of the crew of upcoming precautions such as other wide loads, narrow bridges, upcoming stop signs and anything else that drivers of the wide load equipment should be aware of. The rest of the trucks and vehicles are responsible for maintaining enough distance between the other vehicles they are following. This allows other vehicles to pass more safely. They also warn the truck in front of them when someone is following them. I have heard that the biggest complaints from people, who live in the Heartland, are road construction and harvesters during the summer. This makes me think of the song "International Harvester" by country music singer, Craig Morgan. I can't help but laugh when I hear this song. While the song may not be completely accurate to a custom harvester's actual move, the song portrays how moving can be just as frustrating for harvesters as it is to the people who are trying to get around us. On the other hand, it isn't a surprise that drivers get frustrated following us. We aren't always driving as fast as the speed limit and since we are wide loads, we are hard to pass. I wasn't kidding when I said you were boarding a train. When our entire operation is moving, a driver has to pass 11 long vehicles to get around us --four trucks pulling combines, one truck pulling the grain cart, one truck pulling the service trailer, two trucks pulling double grain trailers and three pickups pulling campers. Passing us would make any sane driver crazy. For harvesting crews, finding parking spots can be a pain but is necessary because we have to take breaks to check the equipment such as tires, safety chains and load binders. This allows our drivers a break. After two days of travel, we finally arrived on May 27, and started harvesting on May 30. Jada Bulgin can be reached at jada@allaboardharvest.com.
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