Huntsville, AL

I headed over to Athens this morning and arrived about an hour early. As I pulled in to the parking lot, I noticed it was almost entirely covered in snow. Where there wasn't snow, there was black ice that used to be snow. Always a fun way to start the day. After getting momentarily stuck on a patch of ice as I paused to let one of their local delivery trucks out, I cautiously made my way around to the back, where the docks were. The picture shows the gift that awaited me - a small snow and ice covered parking lot. On a hill. I waited until 8am, when the place opened, and a dock worker told me to back in to the far dock (on the other side of the truck in the picture - which, by the way, is the edge of the pavement). I didn't have anything better to do besides getting stuck in an ice-covered parking lot, so I decided I'd entertain his fantasy that it was somehow
possible to maneuver a 70' long articulating vehicle on a hill covered in ice. Predictably, I got stuck. A couple bags of oil dryer (basically, kitty litter) later and I had managed to back-up the hill, but was only able to get to the near dock. You know, the one that I couldn't use. "Just pull straight ahead, down there to the bottom of the hill, and then you can shift it over." Down there? Where that huge patch of ice is? Experience is the best teacher, some say. This guy still hadn't learned his lesson, and I felt obliged to give him some experience. Athens doesn't see much snow, afterall. So, down the hill I went. I really didn't have any other choice, because I couldn't make it any farther back up the hill. And, I'm stuck again. One guy brought out a huge tarp to put under the wheels. I hope it wasn't important, because it tore to shreds as my wheels spun, chewing it up on one side and spitting it out the other. Next, they bring out a couple more bags of oil dryer. Wise choice. I was able to get up the hill far enough to maneuver into position. And then the unloading process began. It took long enough for me to take a short nap, and that's all that mattered. I headed up to Dalton and picked-up a load of scrap paper that was miraculously not overweight.

Due to my adventure in Athens, I wasn't able to make it to Cherokee tonight, so I'll drop this off in the morning.