Our center also saw reduced volume on the 24th but management kept all the peak routes in and had the dense city routes stiill use helpers as long as they wanted to and code 5 and get done early.
My peak season route was a split car made up of portions of two ajoining rural drivers north of Palmer, AK. While those two drivers start remotly out in the Mat-Su Valley, I start and end at the Anchorage Center about an hour away.
Christmas Eve Day's dispatch showed 62 stops vs. 95-105 the days before, but still have all the miles. I finished my stops at about 1800 then was directed to go help another driver in another part of the Mat-Su about 15 miles away.
On the way I broke both tire chains and had to pull them off. Finally met up with the other driver and we split up the remaining stops. The territory was not "in my wheelhouse" so to speak, it was all mapbook navigation. Of course some of the roads out there exist in the mapbook but nowhere else. So while it was only six more stops, it was slow going.
The last stop I looked for at least 30 minutes, in an area where the "streets" are two tire tracks thru the snow and street signs and house numbers, well, dont make me laugh. Pitch black and now my spot light is running out of juice. I never did find it; I called the driver whose route this territorry usually is covered by and even he wasn't sure where this address was. He has been doing the area for like 17 years! I called the center and said this one wasn't going to make it, and they agreed and had me return to the center. At least I don't think it was a Christmas pacakge, looked like a membership kit for the NRA.
Drove back into Wasilla and back to Anchorage, punched out at 3 minutes shy of 13 hours. But the only send again was the one I could not find. I had a few comments late in the day from customers i.e. "I didn't think we would get this today!" which is kinda cool.
Our center manager and one on-car supe were stil at the center when I got in at 2215.
