Our RV Adventures

With 61 vehicles through the gate today, our count was back to normal after the slow holiday weekend. Nice, but it didn’t last.

I did get both bells working again, at least for a while anyway. The one behind us, at the entrance from the highway, the one we really need, wears out the fastest, because it’s on hard pavement. But the other one, at the entrance to the actual pad, is on dirt, so it’s a little more forgiving and lasts longer.

About 12:15 this afternoon I drove over to the Hearne Post Office to retrieve my wayward Amazon package. I had called them at 7am this morning hoping to catch someone there early before they had a chance to send it back.

The lady was very nice and quickly found my package and said they’d hold it for me. But after getting there, it all kinda went downhill. But they were nice about it.

I explained my situation, and that according to the landowner, that this is valid address, and that he’s received UPS, FedEx, and Priority Mail there with no problems. I said we were just a quarter mile down the road from Blue Moon BBQ, and that I’d seen the mail truck there delivering mail.

They said that to have mail delivered to us I needed to put a mailbox out on the highway. I said that Blue Moon doesn’t have a mailbox. The carrier walked inside and handed them the mail so why can’t he just stop here and hand me my package.

That stumped them for a minute, before one of them said that I could just get a PO Box at the post office. I explained that Amazon won’t ship to a PO Box because they can’t guarantee how something would be shipped. If it comes by UPS or FedEx then the PO Box address won’t work.

I then ask if I put a mailbox out on the highway and I get a package that won’t fit in the mailbox, which I doubt any of ours will. (today’s package was the size of a briefcase), what’s going to happen? Will he drive the additional 50 feet and hand the package to one of us, or will he put a slip in the mailbox telling us we can pick our package up at the Post Office?

Stumped ‘em again.

Then I ask that if I were to get a PO Box there, and a package came in and it wouldn’t fit in the box, what would happen? One of them said that they would put a slip in the box telling me I had a package and that I could pick it up at the counter.

So then I ask how is that any  different than what I’m doing now? Why do I need a PO Box when Amazon won’t ship to a PO Box.  When Amazon notifies me the package is here, I’ll come over and pick it up.

Stumped ‘em again. But they were nice about it.

So I don’t know where I stand on this. I’ve got a couple of more packages in the pipeline, so we’ll just see what happens.

On the subject of Amazon, one of the things in our Amazon care package today was a Laptop/Book light like this.

I’ve already got one like it for our big clock in the rig, but I wanted another one to light our clock outside under the canopy.

One thing that I like about this one is that it is both battery-powered and USB rechargeable. Some I’ve used only work when they’re plugged into a USB port, and others are only battery-powered so you have to keep replacing the batteries.

Works great.

Wrapping up, it looks like Fall may be peeking around the corner, at least for a few days. By next weekend we’re looking at highs in the low to mid 80’s and lows at night in the mid 60’s.

Nice!

Thought for the Day:

“In the scientific world the worst kind of evidence is eyewitness testimony because it is so unreliable. Yet it will get you convicted in the a court of law.”

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Today begins our 3rd week here at Blue Moon Gate, another slow day with only 37 vehicles coming through our gate, just a few more than yesterday’s low count.

I spent part of the afternoon working on our bell system, trying to fix a leakage problem. Gate Guard Services supplies us with one of those old fashioned bells like they used to have at gas stations a while back.

Lengths of rubber hose  are laid out across the entrance and exits and are connected to a bell. When a vehicle drives over a the hose, the increase in air pressure in the hose causes the bell to ring. The only problem with this is that after a couple of weeks of being run over by 80,000 pound truckloads of oil rig stuff, the hoses are either so flatten that they don’t generate enough air pressure change, or they’re just plain leaking.

Then I have to splice in sections of new hose, but for some reason I’m still having a problem with the one that alert us that a vehicle is leaving the pad. So I may just set up one of my Mighty Mule Driveway Alarms to fix that problem once and for all.

I mentioned yesterday about the new, ‘better’ WiFi system being installed on the pad, since the Company Man was going to let us use it. I noticed that the datacom people had put a couple of antennas up on a pole, and when I got a closer look today, they’re the same Wilson directional antennas that I use on my Wilson booster system.

And I may still need to set mine up, since the new, ‘better’ system only gives me one bar of signal and my devices won’t stay connected. So we’ll see.

The high note of the day was that we got fed again, this time with a setup in the Safety trailer with a serve-yourself spread. They had Shredded Brisket, Pulled Pork, Potato Salad, Beans, and buns laid out, and you make your own.

I went down and made Jan and I both a sandwich of each, and a big serving of Potato Salad. I didn’t get any Beans because the Styrofoam containers they furnished didn’t have any divisions in them, so it would have just all run together. It was only later in one of those ‘Doh!’ moments that I realized that I should have just spooned the Beans into another container.

I made the sandwiches big enough, and thick enough that we just ate half of each one, so we’ll have another meal tomorrow.

And it was really good BBQ, too.

About 3 we had another squall line come through, giving us about 30 minutes of heavy rain, thunder, and lightning. And the lightning part means the rig shuts down for the duration, and everyone goes inside.

I guess you can’t be too careful when you’re working on a 200 foot tall lightning rod.

I have been constantly amazed over our 5 years of gate guarding how many drivers don’t speak English. I mean, not even enough to understand, “What’s your name?”.

So I have to resort to ¿Cuál es tu nombre? ¿Primero? ¿Apellido?

That’s “What’s your name? First? Last (or Surname)?”

Luckily we lived in Colombia, SA when I was a kid, so I can normally stumble through making myself understood. I do have to be careful sometimes because Colombian Spanish is not the same as Mexican Spanish which is not the same as Spain Spanish. And each one has its own idioms.

For example, you’ve probably at times had Pico de Gallo at a Mexican restaurant. Well, ‘pico de gallo’ translates to ‘rooster beaks’. Supposedly it’s called that because of the little pieces of red tomatoes and white onions in the mix. Of course it really could be rooster beaks, I guess.

And don’t even get me started on Portuguese. It’s just enough like Spanish to get you either slapped or shot, depending on the situation.

“If you can hear the shot, you aren’t the target.”

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