Daily Archives: April 22, 2012
Out of Touch with the World . . .
or Two Flat Tires in One Day.
Wednesday, April 18th
Today was the last day of operation for our rig. So it was a busy day with all the equipment pulling out.
In other news, I had two flat tires today on the ‘dirt road from hell’. The 8 miles was bad enough, but then on Tuesday they brought a road grater in to smooth out the bumps.
Well, it did that all right, but it also traded the worn-down rocks with new, sharper rocks underneath. So I ended up with a second flat before I could get the first one fixed.
This means we’re kind of stranded here I until I can get someone to bring me two new tires. Both of the old ones have cuts in them, not punctures. Almost like someone had stuck a knife in them, so I doubt they can be repaired.
Thursday, April 19th
Since our drill rig and crew pulled out yesterday, we didn’t think we’d have much traffic this morning, but the day turned out to be relatively busy.
I had kind of expected Larry, our supervisor, to show up and tell us to move out
I tried to patch my leaky tires, but without success. Although they’re slow leaks, the nearest town is 35 miles away, and I don’t think I can make it that far.
We also found out why we haven’t been told to move. I was told by a consultant coming through the gate that a new rig on a new site is coming in next Tuesday, and should be operating for about a month. After that, we’ll see.
Friday, April 20th
Although I had the gate open about 5:45, the first vehicle didn’t show up until about 8am. Fine by me. I’ve read 6 books and four magazines since we got here last Sunday. Finally starting to whittle down that stack.
Our supervisor, Larry, showed up today to top off our diesel and water tanks, and also fix a couple of things.
The pump in our sewer system wasn’t working, so the liquid was filling up the collection tank (the small green tank) and not being pumped up into the big green storage tank. This meant everything was just backing up into our grey tank.
I had checked things out and the pump (a submersible macerator pump) had just died. It only took Larry about 10 minutes to replace the pump and test it out.
The other thing that needed repairing was our vehicle alarm bell. It’s one of those old-time gas station bells that rings when you drive over the rubber hoses. Replacing the bell unit fixed the problem.
Then later in the afternoon, we had a weather trifecta . . . rain, hail, and high winds. But our canopy and awnings all came through OK.
Tomorrow I hope I can get our tires replaced so I can get this posted. I also plan to order us a cell phone booster to see if we can get cell/Internet service with it.
And so it goes.
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Thought for the Day:
The Tripolitan Wars taught our young republic vital lessons, among them: tyrants cannot be appeased, peace cannot be purchased, and there is no substitute for victory. Too bad we sometimes forget those lessons.
gfdgsfdg
