“Mile Marker”

The story of Paul & Denise; Walking through the parking lot with the smell of diesel in the blustery air, looking over the remaining row of trucks, many with chicken lights still ablaze, gave me a pang of sadness because Mid America Trucking Show 2023 was at an end. It had been an exciting weekend of big rigs, great music, and making new friends. It was at that moment I knew I had to return next year because I still wanted to hear one more artist I had missed. It was then I picked up on a song faintly in the air, walking toward the sound, I took a few last pictures as I began to recognize the melody. Smiling to myself I wondered who was playing my kind of music, which is to say “songwriters” music. There is something to be said about authenticity and the ability to tell a story set to music. A trucker standing by this Great Dane stainless trailer with soft light streaming down toward us made eye contact with me as I asked, “Are you listening to Long Haul Paul?” He shook his head, “...

They say life can change in an instant ;  this is unfortunately something The Ashley Family can attest to.  Six-year-old, Karson Ashley,  had been struggling with sickness and tests in March of 2025 confirmed  a rare  f orm of  “fusion”  leukemia,  referred to as Mixed-Phenotype Acute Leukemia or MPAL .  Karson is the son of Eastview, Kentucky’s Cody Ashley, who is an over the roa d  truck driver for Michael Cain Trucking  out of Big  C lifty, Kentucky  and mother, Danni Proctor.  Mike  Cain is the Great Grandpa of Karson who comes from a long line of grain & feed haulers.  When your Dad dy d rives a big purple Peterbilt, a kid like Karson can’t help but light up at the   sight of all that chrome and s teel.  “Karson calls it “his truck,” said  Billy Ashley, lovingly  r eferred  to as “ PawPaw ”  by Karson.   As he spoke with me  this past Saturday in Son or a, Ken...

 Let me take you back a few days, I’m home from working my 9 to 5 trying to accomplish a few things on our household list. I figure the more I can cross off on my own the more time my trucker husband and I can spend together when he gets off the road. Most days I stay warp speed busy and try not to dwell on his being away but this particular day its gnawing at me. Now other trucker wives I’ve spoken with have agreed that you learn the unique sound of your man’s truck. They do sound a tad bit different and being around one over time you pick it up pretty quickly. They also agree with me that no other sound will get your immediate attention like air brakes when his truck pulls in. On this day I had the blinds open a crack to add sunlight to the room and lift my spirits. I caught a bit of motion outside the window and then I heard it. “Phssssh!” I knew right away what it meant. My heart jumped in my chest that tap of excitement and I headed toward the door. It can be tough on a trucke...

 Chances are if I told you that an industry legend in the world of trucking had slipped peacefully on down the road to eternity today, you would ask his name, well…. her name was Mirah “Lesa” Worley Hughes, but truck drivers knew her as YoYo. A true highway heroine, if you had the privilege of meeting her you might have been taken aback by her tiny petite frame but you better not have  underestimated her. That little lady could gear jam with the best of them. Under her trademark cowgirl hat sat a dedicated professional truck driver with over 40 years of coast to coast experience. A Tennessee native born in Lenior City back in 1956, no rig was too big and no horse was too coarse. While reviewing videos of her the past few days her soft spoken calm demeanor struck me, even while running in the first ever Atlanta Motor Speedway “bobtail" truck race, back in 1979, which she won, she held the hammer down and floated that 13 Peterbilt right past the competition at well over 100mph. ...

 Many people will not understand what I’m about to share, but that is okay because the ones who get it, “get it.” It’s Sunday, it’s sunny, it’s blue skies with blue in my heart. Why? He is outside doing his walk around, greasing the fifth wheel, thumping his tires, and carrying his bag out. I’m in the house meal prepping for his leave and watching out the window as he prepares to leave home…again. I know it’s not only me that dreads Sunday and is on edge. I work to remain positive and smile but sometimes, like today, it just breaks through. I’d like to say I make the perfect restful environment for him to prepare to sleep long enough to get up at 2am and leave out but sometimes my emotions get the best of me and I’ll pick a fight or just shut down entirely, say nothing and feel numb. I think these various responses are coping mechanisms for being in love with a man who gets paid to leave me. I know many couples struggle with excessive time apart, truckers, military, tow boaters, tr...

 Welcome friends; this page is dedicated to the men & women who keep this country rolling and those who love and support them. “Mile Marker,” is a blog where I interview those behind the scenes, the ones who know best what being a trucker’s spouse is all about. It’s where I discuss my life and the impact trucking has had on my family. If you’re going to survive the ride you better have a Hard Shell! #TruckersWife #milemarker #hardshelllife Find me on Facebook: Hard Shell Life (Bobbi McGee)