And Now..... The Rest of the Story

Isn't that what Paul Harvey use to say on the radio? Well, here is the story about the rest of summer 2012. As I started in the previous blog, it was very busy so I will post pictures and only a little narrative.
Trip to Maine....wouldn't be complete without a downeast lobster boil...thanks to Millie.

 

Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park

 

Bar Harbour Harbor

 

Wine Tour of Seneca Lake New York with friends

 

New roof on the house thanks to John and Wendy Dreese, Paul Hardy, Josh and Tiff Saiers and John and me.

 

The annual Lip Rippers Chicken BBQ

 

Wine tour of Seneca Lake New York with friends

 

                    John's niece's wedding..Bride Gina and Proud Father Paul (John's younger brother)

 

Mostoller Boys.... Paul, Chris (John's son) John and Jimmy

 

 

Mr and Mrs James Vaughn

 

Our friends John and Wendy Dreese bought their first motor home and are preparing to sell their house and "hit the road".

Here is Sydney teaching his friend Sophie some of the perks of the RV lifestyle.

 

With the leaves turning gold and red, the nights getting chillier and the wandering lust creeping over me, it's time to turn tail and GO !!

 

 

Summer of 2012...... So BUSY!!

I haven't written in months..we have been busy since we arrived back home. First of all as we were within 90 miles of home, John decided to have our driveway pad widened. That meant we had to park somewhere else until our friend Darren Smith brought his equipment and some fill in for us. We stayed at a campground 7 miles away for about 5 days before arriving at the house. From there it was go, go, go.
I am going to list some of our activities with a few photos. If I narrated, as I usually do, this blog entry would be several pages long. This list is in no particular order and not everything is included...
1. Babysitting Lukas.... what a joy he is. Just started walking.

2. Dinners out with Chris, Jeremy & Chelsea & Lukas, John and Wendy.

3. New glasses for both John and myself.

4. July 4th picnic with John & Wendy, Paul Hardy and Wendy's parents

5. High school graduation party for my nephew Alex Sullivan. He's off to Penn State in the fall.

6. John & I power washed, scrapped and repainted the front porch and window moldings. 

7. Partied Hardy at Paul Hardy's western party. I made pulled pork.

8. Had both the Jeep and Yaris in to the mechanic for their yearly inspections.

9. Attended a Jeep Rally and ride in Williamsport to benefit the Wounded Warrior Program.

10. Went to the farmer's market in the near-by town of Lewisburg several times.

11. Had another yard sale weekend with John & Wendy Dreese. John was surprised at how much "stuff" we still had after last year's sale. (Actually it was mostly his things that he couldn't seem to part with last year)

12. We spent several weeks cleaning up last fall's leaves and this springs weeds from areas around the house. We were hoping we wouldn't have to do any of that with tenants in the house, but.... it seems everyone has their own definition of "upkeep".

13. My son Jeremy and his family (Chelsea & Lukas) have purchased a fixer-upper mobile home, so John and I have been spending long days rebuilding walls, kitchen cabinets and painting all six rooms. I was inside painting away... took a break and looked out the window to find the guys lounging instead of working. Isn't it just like a man !!

 

14. John worked with the "3 Old Men Construction Co" to replace the deck and front porch on John & Wendy's rental property. For those new to the blog the 3 old men are John, Paul and John. One can't see well, one can't hear well and one has a bum knee. So they figure the 3 together make one really good worker.

15. Went to the shooting range with John and Wendy to learn how to shoot the pistol we carry. Also got to shoot the AK 47......  fun!!!! Here's pistol packin Wendy...

16. I have convinced John to sell the Yaris. I can't see paying a monthly payment and insurance on a car that sits in the garage for 9 months out of the year when we travel. We have a buyer and will be completing that transaction next week. Meanwhile, John has put a down payment on a motorcycle...... remember that carrier we bought in Florida last fall..... ?
Well it seems that the cycle is a bit heavy for the Jeep so tomorrow it goes to the mechanic to have some sort of lifting mechanism applied. It never ends.
17. Replaced the floor of the coal shed. A small hole appeared during the winter and the tennants covered it with a sheet of tin.....  so we repaired it properly by placing a new floor on top of the old for extra added strength.
18. John made my bucket light and it is now hanging on the patio. In this picture you can also see our new gas grill we purchased from the proceeds of our yard sale.

Things yet to do this summer.....
1. Pick up the cycle.....  oh yeah
2. Replace the roof on the house. Before picture

 

3. Go to Bar Harbor Maine after Labor Day to visit with Millie and Ray and eat Lobster!!
4. Visit New York State wine country on a day trip with friends.
5. Attend John's niece Gina's wedding in Williamsport the middle of October
6. Have the "Rose" inspected and tuned up for our travels.
7. Have more fun !!!

 

GO......

We are on the GO.... If you are an American History buff, or are into Civil War history or follow American Indian lore, or just enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature, you must make a trip on the Natches Trace. The Trace is an early interstate highway prior to automobiles. The earlier settlers used to take their goods down the waterways from the north to the southern ports then hike back up the trace. The preserved road/path runs through Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee for over 400 miles. The original was over 500 miles long and has a curious story to tell that includes robbers, Indians, mud holes, Meriweather Lewis (Head of the Lewis and Clark expedition) and many more. Here is a snapshot through the front window while driving on the Trace.

In some areas you can walk the actual path that was the Trace. We did that in several locations. Of course, John followed Sydney's example and left his mark.

The story of the Trace is told along the way at stations or should I say stands. Thats what the inns along the trail were called by the pioneers. These stands offered meals and a bed for weary travelers. Only one stand remains.... at French Camp in Mississippi.

We stayed at several campgrounds along the way. There are 3 free camping areas as well as state parks, a Corp of Engineer park and even a Thousand Trail park. We stayed at 1 free one, the Corp park and the TT. The corp park called Piney Grove had the best sites we've ever had... really large and all situated with a lake view. While wandering around I kept seeing these white buckets hanging in the trees or on hooks.

 At first I thought maybe it had to do with fishing since every third site had a boat..... but eventually I had to ask someone and learned that they were lights. The campers in this area attach a light to the inside of the bucket lid. They say it gives a nice light and doesn't attract the bugs. I'm having John make me one..... they work great!

I think we also found the friendliest campground. We stopped for a few days at the TT in Tennessee - Natches Trace. We pulled in and were setting up when Roger and Betty, our neighbors brought us dinner (cornbread salad and hot wings). There is a high number of annual campers at this facility and everyone is one big happy family. Very friendly place. Then John discovered this homemade still....

I suspect this may be the source of the "happy" attitude!!

We are still on the GO.... back to Pa. We should be there in a few days. Time to see Lucas, check the house, touch base with family and friends and so much more.

SET.......

We spent 3 days in San Antonio at Iron Horse RV. These guys were great to work with. They are not a dealership....  all they do is work on RVs. We had an oil and filter change, new air filter, belts replaced, grease job as well as have our slide problem fixed. It appears that we had a hydraulic celinoide go bad. We had to wait 3 days for the extended warranty company to approve the repair. We stayed right in the lot with full hookup while we waited.
The following morning we headed north on I 35 towards Dallas. In past years, we traveled east on Route 10, last year was route Route 80 (because we were in Yellowstone), so this year we decided to do Route 20 and hit the Natches Trace Parkway. More about that when we get there.
We stopped for a few days, at a Thousand Trails preserve that we haven't visited yet. It's called Lake Tawakoni and it is about 55 miles east of Dallas. Just like Medina Lake outside San Antonio, it is a man-made recreational area. Unlike Lake Medina it has water in it. And....Water Lilies..... thousands of water lilies.....just beautiful. Sydney and I walked the nature trails and then Syd went swimming in the lake. He hasn't had an opportunity to swim for months so he has been going every day.... and loving it.

It is a large and beautiful area and as we have found with most TT parks it has been neglected recently. There are boat slips, 2 pools, 2 recreation buildings (one designated "family" and one designated "adult only") and all the usual recreational games. Golf carts are almost a necessity here because the place is so large. We ran across this one that John immediately coveted....

They do like their Jeeps in Texas.... even golf cart size.

One of the reasons we stayed here for a few days is because 20 some miles from here is the largest Flea Market in Texas and supposedly the world. It encompasses over 200 acres on a daily basis. But in May and October it is even bigger. We spent most of Saturday walking around it in 95 degree heat. I was exhausted by the end of the day. And, yes Ray, there were plenty of idiots who brought their dogs to walk around in that heat among all those people.

 We carry 3 propane tanks in the RV, so John bought a charcoal grill. So after John goes to the store to buy a bag of charcoal, we are going to grill steaks for dinner tonight. Tomorrow morning we are set to head out for Mississippi and the Natches Trace.

.

Ready....

Yes, we are still alive and kicking. It has been so long since I've written a post, I'm sure someone was wondering. Well, our first rig gig is now history. On Wednesday May 23rd we were told by PXP (Plains Exploration & Production) that our services were no longer needed. So here we are in the Gate Guard Services yard in Karnes City.

We will be staying here until Tuesday after Memorial Day, when we will travel north to San Antonio to have regular maintenance (Oil change, new filters and fix a small leak in our hydraulic slide) done on the RV prior to our trip east and north to Pa. This company (Gate Guard Services) is really nice to work for. Everyone is friendly and helpful.

Now a recap of our experience.

We learned about the process and stages of bringing an oil well into production. We watched a production pad go from a blank slate...

to a completed entity.

We watched 20 to 25 oil tankers per day fill up. Each tanker holds 185 barrels of oil. SO....185 barrels X 20 tankers = 3700 barrels per day X 7days a week = 25,900 barrels per week X $95.00 per barrel = $2,460,500.00 per week. And that's a low estimate.

I think the hardest part of the job was boredom. Because you do the same thing day in and day out the boredom can get to you unless......

You build a rock garden to tend......

or watch John sleep as the oil tankers pass him by....

or count the number of bugs that are attracted to the lights.

Also you can make games to play with the drivers such as...
          Password - On Mothers Day the pass word to leave the gate was "Mother". I reminded them all to thank a mother in their life.
          Toll - One day I told them that the following day there would be a toll because I was out of Klondike Bars.....  I actually got 3 Klondike bars and half a pizza the next day.

Probably what we will remember most are the people themselves. The guys who were gracious enough to play along with my many games, the neighbors who brought us baked goodies to eat (Cheryl), Rosco the dog who kept running away from home to visit us and the landowners Art and Albert Garcia who told us a little bit about the history of the land and the community...... thank you!

First Rig Gig

It has been  long time since I've written something but I wanted to work at this job for a while before I formed an opinion and shared it with others....... so here goes. We arrived at our first rig assignment mid afternoon on a Monday. We are situated just outside the city limits of Kairnes City, Texas (southwest of San Antonio). We are 4 miles from a WalMart, Pizza Hut, Subway and various restaurants. This is good.... some rigs are in the middle of no where and people have to drive 30 - 40 miles to grocery shop.
It didn't take log to get set up because Gate Guard Services assigns a "tender" to each gate. He brings the generator, water, septic system, lights, bell, sign, helps you get situated and then comes as needed to service the equipment and replenish the fuel and water supply. Our tender, Mark, visits us about once a week. The gate we were assigned services several activities for one company, Plains Exploration and Production (known as PXP). This gate has 4 "pads", 3 that will be used for drilling, and 1 that will be a "production pad". The gate is also an access point for a portion of a pipeline that will be bringing oil from all the wells in the area to the production pad for processing. Currently there is one well being drilled and that is the only activity we are to monitor, even though all the other workers and suppliers entered via our gate. It took a while for us to recognize the rig workers and suppliers from the others, but eventually I developed a system that worked. I asked the production pad people to wave as they entered, the pipeline people blinked their lights and the rig people stopped to check in.
Let me give you the lay of the land. Here is the motor home at the gate.That's Trinidad Rig 52 in the background behind the jeep.

This is the sun setting over the production pad across from us. The pad is about the size of 4 or 5 football fields.

It is springtime here and the flowers are blooming everywhere. Our neighbor on the other side of the production pad has a field full of these pretty red and pink flowers.

One week after our arrival, the first of the production pad equipment started to arrive.

Tomorrow, will be 5 weeks that we are here and the pad has changed considerably.

Their are 17 tanks, miles of pipeline, about 10 processors and Friday they brought in a huge compressor..... followed by a policeman. It seems they pulled a power line down in town when making a turn. It required a monstrous crane just to move the compressor from the truck to it's new location.

As for the job....... I like it. I call the rig guys my boys ....they look soooo young and work sooooo hard. 12 hours on, 12 hours off straight for 2 weeks, then 2 weeks off. I have been a nurse (one of them had an allergic reaction, one a rash and another a bowel problem), a guidance counselor (a trainee appeared at the gate at 11PM...."I quit, I'm going home"), a dorm mother, ("Well if I was into knives, yes, I think I would like that pink sequined pocket knife you bought your girlfriend") and marriage counselor. I've baked them cookies, received hugs and thanks. Some I am sorry to see leave, but never once have I been treated unkindly or without respect. Everything is "yes mam".
Here I am in my Easter Bonnet guarding the gate.

Some times we are steady busy and sometimes, like today, it is very slow. I look at it like this.... they are paying me to read a book, crochet an afghan, do my laundry and housecleaning. The hardest part is arranging things so that one of us is awake and available to check someone in or out 24 hours a day, everyday. Our rig is done drilling and the rig leaves tomorrow. We will be switched from drilling to production..... whatever that means..... I'll let you know. We are planning to continue this until the end of May. We 're also talking about spending next winter working here..... with the price of diesel fuel these days... it may be the only way we can afford to travel the remainder of the year.
I received this picture of Lukas yesterday..... enjoying Easter.

The Year of the Gremlins

But first ..... I have been asked many times about how Sydney travels. I usually answer "fine". But they say a picture is worth a thousand words.... so.....This was taken as we traveled I-10 from Arizona to Texas.

Here's another photo of our travel through Texas

Now... the reason we traveled from Arizona to Texas. This year we have had one thing after another go wrong. We feel like a gremlin has hopped on board and is traveling with us. When we reached Texas, our satilite dish would not hone in on a signal. We tried for 2 days.... John called a local RV dealer to try to get it fixed but they couldn't see us for 2 weeks. Since we needed to get to Corpus Christie in 3 days, John decided to purchase a portable satelite dish. We spent $200.00 for a used one from a fellow TT member. This combined with the universal joints, the door lock, the bin strut, the generator, and the water pump to name a few....... were all unexpected expenses we have had this year. Next year we will need to purchase 6 new tires, and they are expensive.

SO..... we decided to go to work in the oil fields in Texas for a few months. We have several friends who are doing this. They work as Gate Guards and their responsibility is to log vehicles in and out of the site. We had to be licensed, which meant being finger printed and have an FBI check. We are now parked in the "Yard" waiting for an assignment. Our friends Millie and Ray are here with us so the wait is not boring. Here are a few photos.

We expect to receive an assignment within a week. I'll keep you posted.