Windy!

Wednesday night the wind picked up to a steady howl and rocked the 5th wheel most of the night, we even had some rain! Luckily I had already rolled the awning up being warned by the weatherman that a change was coming. The wind blew our patio rug around some. I normally stake it down on all four corners but the pad we are parked on is as hard as limestone and I could only get one stake to go into the ground :-0

I had large rocks on the other corners but they were not large enough :-)

I was a little worried about my cell phone signal booster antenna that is mounted on a telescoping pole. I use the small ball bungees to attach the pole to our ladder on the rear of the 5th wheel. I checked it several times during the night and it never budged. Good deal!

The drilling rig finally arrived on site and now all they gave to do is put it back together :-). The rig is spread out all over the pad and there are two very large cranes waiting to move all pieces into position and then hoist it all into the air so the crew can start drilling. They are anticipating "spading in" Sunday or Monday.

Tim and Earl are the boss' at this rig and they are called the "company men". Tim left early this morning and didn't return until well after dark, He was at the old drill site lighting a fire under the crew there to get the rest of the rig moved over to this site. He always stops and talks to us and fills us in on the activities of the day. He patiently answers all of our questions about oil drilling and life around a rig. He told me this evening that once they are drilling he will come and get us one at a time and give us a tour of the rig. How cool is that! I'm really looking forward to seeing and learning all about it.

Rudee made chicken wings and fried green tomatoes for supper. She even tossed my wings in Hooters hot sauce! I couldn't talk her into wearing short shorts and a low cut top while serving them though :-)

There are several generator powered portable lights at the drilling site that the drilling company has rented to illuminate the work site. The company that own them had people her all night last night setting them up and making sure they were all working properly. I was talking to one of them and he asked me if I knew we had a visitor last night. I guess there was a coyote sniffing around our 5th wheel around 1:30 this morning.

I was outside several times during the night but never saw the coyote which is probably a good thing :-).

Tomorrow they start raising the rig but it will take a couple of days to get it put together and vertical. I'll make sure and get some photos and I'll keep you posted!

Meeting the neighbors

Wednesday was another hot and dusty day here at the Hinkle gate. I had a little business overnight, mostly people turning into our site and being in the wrong place.

The water truck did arrive as promised and made a couple of passes and as predicted the dust was back within a couple of hours :-( Oh well, the effort was appreciated.

We had a surprise visit from Lou Minichino who, along with his wife Lil, are guarding a gate a few miles from us. I was grabbing some sleep and didn't get to meet him but we have already been corresponding by email. He and Rudee had a nice visit. They are rookies at this gate guarding thing too and have only been on their gate a few days longer than us.

I needed to make a run into town for a few supplies so took care of that late in the afternoon. There is another gate about 3 miles from us that I pass by on my drive to town and on my way back I saw the guard outside so I stopped in and introduced myself to Fay. She is a widow who is gate guarding alone! She works this gate 24/7 all by herself. That has to be tough when things are busy. I have no idea how she gets to leave to get her groceries and other errands done.

Once I made it back to the 5er I started our supper. Salmon Patties with roasted potatoes and a salad. Turned out pretty well even though I was just "wingin it" for most of the meal. We had 2 patties left over and Rudee froze them for a future meal.

The gate got busy right when we were wanting to eat so we took our salads outside in the shade to eat between checking vehicles in and out.

We both had the feeling we were being watched. Ever have that feeling? Rudee found out we have more neighbors :-)

I talked to the "safety man" and the only part of the rig is here. The rest of it should arrive sometime Thursday and he said they would probably start drilling sometime this week end. The drilling will last for around 3 weeks and then they tear down and move on. Sometimes they take their gate guards along to their new site if they like them.

The drilling crew came in late this evening and moved into their housing units at the well site. Looks like Hinkle A-2H will be more than just a gravel spot on the side of the road soon. I'll keep you posted.

busy day at Hinkel A-2H

I was up and down most of the night. I only had one vehicle enter our gate and he was lost and looking for the adjacent rig. I just couldn't sleep, afraid of missing an alarm I guess. I got up for good shortly after 3am and watched TV trying not to disturb Rudee.

Once daylight hit the gate got busy fast. We were only checking in the pick ups and 4 wheelers. The semi trucks we just waived through per the boss man's instructions.

We ended up having over 60 in and outs logged on our sheets and easily three times that many semis coming in and out.

The rig pad is taking shape and the actually rig is due in tomorrow. I'm not sure how long it will take them to raise the rig but it should be interesting :-)

The work is really easy. When a vehicle arrives we simply log them in getting the drivers name, company and license plate number. We log the date and time they arrive as well. Then when they leave we mark that time too.

Most everyone is friendly here and we are enjoying ourselves. The worst thing is probably all the dust stirred up by the traffic. Lots and lots of dust covering everything.

We were excited to see a water truck show up and start wetting down the road but they stopped when they got to our lane :-(

The company man Tim has promised us that a water truck will be here for us in the morning. That should help keep the dust down for an hour or two :-).

We saw two large birds across the road from us and once I was able to get on the internet we ID'd them as Common Black Hawks. They were busy hunting for food near the highway. Our only other wild life sighting was a small preying mantis and a butterfly :-) but we have been warned of the scorpions and rattle snakes. Let me tell you, that got Rudee's attention! I had to go purchase a long handled shovel in case we have to go on the defensive :-)!

We have gotten used to the constant hum of the generator. I expected it to be a lot louder then it is and now I hardly notice it at all. The rest of our utilities are continuing to work as they should so life is good here at the gate. I'll keep you posted