Monthly Archives: September 2014
Head’em Up, Move’m Out . . .
Well, things got a lot busier today. Yesterday we had 61 vehicles through the gate. Today we had 130. And it’s going to get even busier.
This is the view straight in front of us.
We were originally told this was going to be a frack pond.
WRONG!
This is a new pad site for a drill rig that will be coming in tomorrow or Saturday. So that should liven things up. AND we have a frack starting up sometime soon.
Last year on the frack site where we were at, we had two days of 300 vehicles coming through the gate. That will keep you jumping, believe me.
But with the bad comes the good, hopefully.
Drill Rigs and Fracking usually means catering trucks coming through. Which usually means we eat really well. So here’s hoping.
Here’s what our setup looks like.
The tree provides a lot of shade, enough so that the AC’s actually cycle on and off during the day. Imagine that. Of course as I said yesterday, the tree also ‘shades’ our view of the DirecTV satellite, so it’s not all fun and games. And I still haven’t found my longer cables yet. I haven’t needed them in several years, so I may have tucked them away really good.
One thing nice about this site is that we have our own trash trailer so I don’t have to schlep bags of garbage down to one of the pad sites. And this morning the Company Man sent us a load of pea gravel to cover up the muddy spots around our site. Very nice.
Something else nice is that the water trucks come by 2-3 times a day. Really keeps the dust down.
About 2:30 this morning I was in the middle of a cow stampede. About 2 dozen cows came running down the small farm road to our left, cross the main road, and then ran along the dirt embankment in front, and disappeared into the woods. Don’t know what it was, but something sure had them spooked.
For dinner tonight Jan fixed a great batch of Nachos, with a new twist. Nachos are one of our favorite ‘gate foods’ and we have them a couple of nights a week.
Normally Jan makes them using Tortilla Chips, Jalapeno Bean Dip, Shredded Mexican Cheese, and Jalapeno Slices. But she discovered we were out of the Bean Dip, so she opened a can of Hot Chili Beans, mashed them up some, and spread that on the chips. Covered with Shredded Cheese, and Jalapenos, and sprinkled with cumin, chili powder, and ground habanero spice, and popped in the microwave, you’ve got a great meal.
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Thought for the Day:
“Everything that’s done by the government is done in your name. You are responsible whether you like it or not.” – Helen Thomas
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New Adventures in Gate Guarding . . .
or Go Left to Turn Right.
We finally pulled out of the East View RV Ranch in Georgetown, TX at 9:20, about 20 minutes later than we planned because of an emergency repair.
Jan followed me in the truck to the front of the park where I hitched up. I had started the generator running to let it warm up a little before I put the AC loads on it, but when I came back in and turned them on, I had no power to the back on the coach, which meant the back AC and the refrigerator weren’t working.
So lifting up the bed, I dug into the transfer switch and I found I had power on both sides coming from the genset, but it wasn’t getting to the breaker. Wiggling wires around I found a loose connection on the bus panel that feeds the breaker so I went back up front to turn off the genset. Tightening the connection fixed the problem and a few minutes later we were on our way.
We took the SR130 Toll Road south for about 8 miles and then got on US79 east which took us all the way to Hearne. This was mostly 4 lane with only a few small towns along the way. At Hearne we turned south on US190 heading for Bryan,
Getting into Bryan we turned east, still on US 190, heading for North Zulch. (still looking for South Zulch) In North Zulch, we were told to turn right on FM39. But you can’t. Despite what Google Maps and Delorme Street Atlas tells you, you have to go left on FM39 which loops back over US190.
After we got turned around and heading in the right direction, we turned off FM39, and after passing an Emu ranch and a Llama farm, we arrived at our gate.
Pulling in we found Todd, who we knew from last year at Whitsett, waiting for us. The other couple had already left, so we got parked and I started setting up while Todd briefed Jan on the sign-in requirements.
And that looks to be pretty simple, just like last year. We get first and last name, company, tag number, and which of the 6 sites they’re going to. And as far as any passengers, it’s +1, +2, etc. Easy, Peasy.
The only slight complication is that we have to remind them going and coming that the speed limit is 15mph. And they’re really cracking down on it.
We’ve got a nice big oak tree that keeps the rig in the shade for most of the day, so that’s nice. But the nice big oak tree also blocks our view of the DirecTV satellite so I’m going to have to dig out my longer cables tomorrow so I can get the sat dome in the clear.
I’ll have pictures tomorrow.
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Thought for the Day:
I was pretty much thoughtless today. So there.
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