Is it hot yet?

Our one year anniversary gate guarding came and went a few days ago. This time last year we were just a few days on our first gate down in the Tilden area, still feeling the excitement of a new adventure started. We survived that gate with all its ups and down, from sorting out the locals(we were on Hayes Ranch Road), to being moved on short notice next to the location, downwind and less than 200 ft from a very active and smelly flarestack. Fast-forward one year and here we are, still hard at it except now we are chasing a drilling rig around South Texas.

I'm feeling kinda lucky today because we have a few clouds drifting by, affording me a bit of occasional shade as I sit here writing this on our mud-porch. I could go around back and sit under the tree, yes, we have a tree that is a few feet behind the rv, but the signal bells are harder to hear and the view isnt as nice. I can see the traffic on fm99, about a mile north of us, go by and at night we get the lights from Karnes City and the prison to the north-east, this is by far, one of the nicest views and locations we have been on.

The coach we purchased October of last year is performing wonderfully and we couldn't be happier with it. For a spur of the moment, emergency purchase, we have been  incredibly fortunate.

The biggest drawback for us has been time off. Toie and I haven't been able to spend more than a couple hours away together in about the last 6 months and this time of year is really not condusive to doing so considering the general shortage of guards. We do plan on taking a bit of time for ourselves here shortly after the weather cools a bit.

As a side note, trying to write a blog post while juggling traffic presents it own set of challenges. Such as lost trains of thoughts.

Time off is a relative thing.

Over six months, that is the amount of time its been since Toie and I have had any time off that didn't involve having to rig up or rig down the RV. Not that we haven't tried to have someone come out and keep an eye on things while we take a little much needed time for ourselves, it just seems to be "that" time of year.  We started upon our quest for a bit of time away over a month ago and it seems that the stars have not been aligned to our favor, so we kept soldiering on, the days becoming a never ending blur of traffic and dust.

We actually had an ulterior motive for taking the time. Lacey (daughter) moved from Missouri and has been staying with us so we figured on taking her to the coast and getting all the paperwork done so that she could make a little money and cover for us when we wanted a "date" night.  After many failed attempts of getting coverage for ourselves we finally decided that the girls would strike out for the coast on their own to get all the details taken care of and spend some time at the beach.

Yesterday morning Toie and Lacey made the 100+ mile, 2 hour drive across South Texas towards Corpus Christi. Traveling south on Highway 181 gives a glimpse and feel of what travel was like before the federal highway system existed.  Overgrown and abandoned roadside gas stations along with other "attractions" now barely visible hearken back to a time that the journey was part of the adventure, not just an inconvenient intermission to the destination.

Below are a few photos from that trip.

Corpus Christi Beach

Windmill near Taft, Texas

USS Lexington

Shrimp Boat in the Marina

Along the Waterfront

Standing on the seawall looking for fish in the water below

Gremlins and water

Over the last day or two we have been the recipients of a copious amout of rainfall here at the gate.  Yesterday at the height of the storm we had about an inch of standing water on the road and a river a few inches deep running underneath and behind the rv. Resulting in the left front leveling jack sinking a few inches into the mud. After the rain subsided a bit I stuck a measuring tape into the bucket I keep sitting outside (that was empty at the beginning of the rainstorm) and found that there were 4 inches of water there. That is a whole lot of rainfall in a short period of time.  San Antonio Airport received about 7 inches of rain in about an hour period from the same line of storms that affected us so we are counting ourselves lucky.  Looking out the window I can see it has started sprinkling again and the radar is showing a storm coming at us from the northwest.  We continue to be under a flash flood warning for the time being.

On the subject of Gremlins.  I'm not sure if this place is haunted or what but it seems that everytime we solve a problem here, two more pop up.  It has become a constaant back and forth between us and the rig, We fix an issue, they have a problem. They get their problem fixed and we start having issues again.  The latest is the water pump for our external water tank suddenly stopped working, I keep a backup in the  basement for just such an emergency, and in a few minutes I had water restored to the rv and we were back in business.  Well they started having problems down on the pad this morning, something about a piece of stuck equipment.  I'm sure when they get that resolved, something will hiccup up here at the gate.    Stuff like this have been going on as long as we've been here and it has become a running joke between us and some of the righands.

Hopefully  we wont float away!!!

Happy Memorial Everyone!

I'm gonna go see about leveling this ole bitch back up.

The perils of gate guarding/Easter storm damage.

One of the perils of doing this kind of work is the rapidly changing weather conditions. Andy Jones from My Old RV suffered significant damage late Easter due to a storm over in the Millet/Los Angeles area. He has posted pictures on his blog as well as a description of events during the storm.

Andy has been a guiding light to many a gate guard and unfortunately is unable to financially absorb all the costs of the damage incurred to his RV.  I want to ask all of my readers in the gate guard community to please head over to Andy's blog and make use of the donate button there.

Time flies when your having... fun?

It has been close to a year since been started fulltime rv'ing in our friends front yard.  From a moving to Texas and becoming oil field gate guards to having to replace the rv unexpectantly in October and the recent birth of our granddaughter Aria, it has been quite the adventure.

Little did we know what challenges awaited, from generator problems to emptying the tanks without making a huge mess. getting sunburnt, freezing temperatures, tire blow outs and the occasional wild animal we have risen to the occasion each and every time.

One of the biggest lessons we have learned is that this lifestyle is definitely not for the weak hearted or the insecure.  This is not a vacation but rather a lifestyle choice, we work just as hard, if not harder than some to be able to enjoy the "perks." 

Another lesson learned was to slow down and enjoy the journey. Society has become so focused on goals and destinations we often forget that the journey itself is part of the adventure and many times we miss out on what happens along the way. We may not move long distances as often as some but in this line of work we move much more often than others.

As we had begin our second year a whole new set of challenges will need to be met.  We hope that the experience we have gained will make these mere speed bumps in our road.

Sunrise

The sunrise this morning was spectacular.

Why can't I stay out of the Sun?

It's been a nice couple days here. The RV is positioned so that I get shade all day long without the awning being out. Most of the time a nice breeze is blowing to keep me cool and the scenery is nice. This morning it was so foggy that I couldn't see over 300 feet and could even see my shadow against the fog with the lights on behind me.  Traffic actually slowed down for awhile, a few gravel trucks went by with their flashers on and quite a few people used the apron of the gate road as a place to turn around, and being that we have the only light tower near the road for miles we were like a beacon in the mist.  After the sun came up I turned off our generator to check to oil and left it off for almost an hour. The fog kept things nice and cool and the silence was beautiful.  As used to the drone of the thing as we are, sometimes its nice not to hear it.

Still working some bugs out of the new coach. The antenna wire for the television had become brittle and broke a few days ago. I need to fix the battery tie-downs and I will probably check the air filter and plugs soon too.  Most things seem to be small maintenance items. The old girl just needs a little TLC.

I've had a few thing rattling around the old noggin as of late about doing the gate guard thing. The list kinda goes like this:

1.) This definately is not for everyone.
2.) Talking to the safety guys is super-beneficial.
3.) Don't get attached to your Ez-Up.
4.) Flexibility is a must.

The hours can be brutal. Working 80+ hours a week, most of them outside, with no days off takes its toll. Working out a schedule quickly helps, so does going to town. Sometimes a little break is good. Being able to move reasonably well is an absolute must. The other day I was running backwards up the road towards the pad so that I could get trucks off the busy highway. One of the truck drivers told me he had never seen a gate guard do that before. There is a bit of physicality required to do this.

We have made a habit to find out who the safety guys are pretty quickly when we start a new gate.  We are H2S awareness certified and may get "fit test" certified soon too if the guys have the time.  Fit testing is to make sure you can put on a gas mask properly in case you happen to be involved in an H2S event. These classes don't cost a thing and the information can save your life.

I swear the wind in South Texas likes to eat ez-ups.  In our case, it was a wind "out of nowhere" that was the demise of both of ours.  The first one was lifted straight up into the air and then thrown over the top of the RV. The little ropes that come attached to them just aren't enough. The second one got rolled across the road and seemed to survive okay, we put it back up and tied it back down for the remainder of that gate assignment.  I even started removing the tarp when the winds picked up to prevent it from happening again. When we put it up on our next gate, a wind hit it and folded the frame like it was made of paper. A little duct tape got it through the week but it didn't survive being taken down again.

Staying flexible and keeping an open mind is an absolute must, things can change here in a matter of moments and being able to roll with the punches is an absolute requirement. Traffic can go from a nice slow pace to rush hour in a large city in seconds.

There are other things that doing this requires, a good first aid kit, a good set of tools, multimeter, a sense of humor, just to name a few.  When I was on the roof, the guys ging through the gate seemed to be entertained by it. Maybe it was because I was laying on my stomach waiting for Toie to hand me a tool and I was waving, who knows.

What Next?!?

Toie felt compelled to wake me up early today because she saw some coyotes (4 legged kind) moving around the light tower and on the lease road "behind" us. There were 3 of them and one looked like a large male, he was busy marking the road and giving the place a pretty good sniff. I guess they had been hanging around for a bit and had been pretty vocal while checking out the area. I tried getting their attention with the game caller to no avail, I guess they couldn't hear it over the noise from the generator. I tried laying back down for the short time before I actually had to get up. That was a mistake, just a few minutes after I laid on the couch we had a sand truck driver come down the hill and miss the turn to go out the gate. He stopped before he got off the road but he came pretty close to our light tower. Well, he must have scared it because a few minutes after that all the lights went out. I got back up and went outside to turn on the little lights and check the light tower to see what was wrong with it. It was still running, the circuit breaker seemed OK, the ballast indicators were lit, just no lights. So I shut it down to let it cool down for about a half an hour because these lights won't restart while they are hot. During which time I discovered the starting battery on our coach was discharged to the point that the horn won't even blow. Keep in mind this all happened between 3:30 and 4:30 this morning. At about 5am I restarted the light tower, turned back on the lights and it had no problems until I shut them back off at 7:45 this morning. Now all I have to do is re-charge that battery.  What a morning!!

Job Security

I found an interesting article today while looking up a few phone numbers.  

Economist puts Eagle Ford lifespan at 16+ years.

The Eagle Ford Shale should have a 16-year productive lifespan that could grow as drilling capabilities improve, a Texas A&M University economist told San Antonio business leaders Thursday.... To read more, click here.

New Gate and New other things

It's been quite a scramble the last few days.  We were recently informed that our next gate will be a long term one, possibly as long as a year.  We are scheduled to be placed on Saturday if everything goes as planned.

Some of you may have noticed that I changed the photo of our RV at the top of the blog. Thats because recent developments have forced us to purchase another coach.  The old coach was traded in towards our new home, a 1997 Fleetwood Flair.

Two things really affected our decision to replace the old beast a few months ahead of schedule, first being the long term potential for our next assigmment and second the old beast had suffered some damage from a recent windstorm and was quickly becoming unlivable.

I was shocked and amazed at the amount of "stuff" we had crammed into that small little space.  We are still scrambling to get it all in its place before we move again.

Its getting late and tomorrow will be another long day.

Be Safe Everyone.

Back in the yard

We are back in the yard waiting on a new gate. We were finished with our gate yesterday and nothing was available immediately so we were told to return to the yard. We decided to go to the Karnes City yard this time for a few reasons. One being that we were closer to it than Whitsett, and two being is we like the area. We were lucky enough to get the last spot in the yard, two more RV's showed up just minutes after we pulled in.  This yard is quite a bit smaller than the one in Whitsett, and much closer to the road.  It gets pretty noisy with the truck traffic right behind the rig.

Its been a long day, I hope everyone is having a good time.  Will post more soon.

Its that time of year.

Andy over at My Old RV has an excellent blog post today about the availability of Gate Guard jobs this time of year. I won't recreate it, but if you want to read it you can do so by clicking here.

Things have definitely slowed a bit here and we count ourselves lucky by having a gate. We had planned it out to spend a few of the summer months here just for that reason. It's easy to forget that up north it is quickly turning to winter and the "Winter Texans" are on the way south. I guess that we are in the same category this year being as it is one of transition for us.

We are still in our first year of full timing and so far it has been quite an adventure. We realize, now, that this is just the tiniest tip of the iceberg, so to speak and that many more adventures are in our future. We are learning that we really like the San Antonio area, not enough to re-invest into a sticks and bricks lifestyle, but enough to make it one of our winter-time favorites.

Toie and I were discussing satellite TV the other day after she saw a post on Facebook from Edgar Hansen about it being crab season in Alaska. We were weighing the option of doing it now or waiting until we get into a newer coach. She told me about a satellite setup that one of the ladies at a gate guard luncheon had told her about and how she thought that would be the way to go being as there isn't any real setup to it. Place the unit where you want it, turn it on and it does the rest. I've seen what she is talking about and will definitely research it further as an option if our newer coach doesn't have satellite installed.

We are hoping that our next gate is a longer term than the ones we have been on previously. One reason is so we can save more quickly for that newer coach and another is so we can setup mail service.  We still haven't decided if we are going to keep our residency in Iowa or change it to an RV friendlier state next year. 

We are digging the full-time RV lifestyle though.  We may check out options for the northwest soon, the freedom is so exciting.

Why do the cows stare at the dog?

I've noticed an interesting phenomenom going on between Moe and any neighboring cattle.  On our first gate, it was the first time that Moe had seen cattle up close.  He first noticed the juveniles in a pasture to the south of us, so I walked him nearer the fence so that he could see and smell them better.  At first the cows were a bit put off, but then they started showing up daily looking over at us. Once they got to see the dog they would move away.  Then the ranch manager moved some adults into the pasture that was behind our rv, I actually witnessed Moe do a double take at the much larger cows.  While the adults never took the interest that the juveniles did, it was still funny to witness.

Fast forward a few weeks to our present gate.  Moe spotted the cattle when I took him out.  I walked him towards the fence and the cattle moved away, I could almost sense the disappointment coming from him.  A few days later, I take Moe out again and there are a dozen cattle, adults and juveniles, lined up at the fence watching the dog walk towards the back of the pad, when he disappeared behind the rv, that peaked their interest.  They waited and watched and when he laid down a couple more came over for a look. They must have watched him for 15 minutes.  When I walked him over towards them, they stayed and let us get within about 30 feet, at which point Moe got so excited that he was wagging his tail so hard that his whole body was wagging as well.

It is so weird.

The ways the wind blows. Life stuff......

Its been a uneventful few days here. Besides counting the vultures that perch on a nearby high tension tower (67 two nights ago) and logging traffic in and out, it's been pretty quiet. The wind did actually work itself up pretty good the last few days. It kicked up so much dust at one point that we couldn't see the pad.

I did have an interesting experience with one of the local birds yesterday.  The bird landed not 6 feet from me, hopped under my chair to get under the rv, popped out from under the steps with a huge moth in its mouth, then hopped under the table and back under the chair I sit in to the place it landed in the first place, then flew off.  That is the closest anything like that has gotten to me.

We also had a scorpion wander across the mat last night.  The thing was about 2 inches long and headed for the rv when Toie spotted it.  She grabbed Moe and kept him away while I took care of it.  When it crawled back under the mat near where she was, she made me kill it. The scorpions here won't kill you, but they can put one heck of a hurtin' on ya.

I touched on the subject of caterers in a previous post and at that time we had pretty much nothing but a really good experience .  Lately I wish we had that caterer back.  Some of the food they bring out here for the boys is absolute dreck. While we do appreciate being included and getting a free meal, it should at least be
edible. We have even caught them serving the same food twice in one day.  It's been absolutely hit and miss, we never now how its going to be.

It kinda hit me the other day on how many people take interest in the old beasty. I had a 10 minute conversation with one guy about it and we have multiple offers to buy it when we replace it.  Who would have thought that a 35 year old rig would generate so much interest.  When we are through with it I would like to find someone that would either restore her or give the drivetrain a second life.  She  runs that good.

I repaired the CB the other day. The old magnetic mount for the antenna had failed  so I replaced it with a mirror mount style that I mounted to the roof rack on the rv.  We can hear the truck drivers and if need be, call for help.

On a different note, a few weeks ago an act of extreme violence was commited against a gate guard about 75 - 100 miles from where we presently are. While there aren't a lot of details available, most of us are changing the way we handle the gate, and certain kinds of traffic at night.  A light tower at the gate is quickly becoming a necessity in certain areas.  I hope everyone near that area remains safe.


Have a safe day!

My buddy Dave

Before we left Iowa to do the gate guard thing here in Texas I worked with my buddy Dave. Dave is one of those guys that will tell you like it is, EXACTLY the way he sees it. There is no being thin skinned or overly sensitive when Dave is around, he'll eat your lunch.

Dave is also one of those guys that won't hesitate to help a friend or co-worker in trouble.  Underneath that gruff exterior and above his chicken legs beats a heart of pure gold.

I'm writing this post for a couple reasons. First to wave a big ole' hello and how the
heck are ya. And second, just to poke the bear, because deep down, he likes it.

HEY DAVE!  F#¥€ Off!!

We miss you, call us!

My two cents....

I hve been wanting to put my 2 cents into our blog for quite awhile now but really didn't know what to write about.  So I decided I would ramble on about our trip to the gulf.  We had a great time..... I mostly enjoyed sitting in the ocean having the waves come up and litterally push me over.  Although Moe didn't care for the waves whatsoever....  I was kind of nervous about the sign that said jellyfish present.  After actually seeing a few of these Moon Jellies as they are called I had great reservations going into the ocean until we went down to Padre Isaland.  That's where I sat in the water.

 I had a great time at the Texas State Aquarium.  I cannot wait until we can take our grandson Kaydn there.  He will have such a blast.  

 Anyone who visits the Gulf really should take the time to go pay their respects to the USS Lexington.  It is well worth the money.   Make sure your legs are in great shape cause you go up and down a million steps.   My legs hurt so bad for two days afterwards but, it was worth the pain.

 All in all it was fantastic especially since I got to spend it with Bryan....

Rush Hour

It's funny the things you think about when you're sitting alone watching the world go by.  Shift changes can be busy times, a whole lot of vehicles come in and then a short time later, a bunch come out. Oil field rush hour I like to call it.

Our friendly neighborhood vultures are about the same way.  At last count we had 47 of them roosting on a nearby high tension tower. It makes for quite a spectacular display in the mornings when they all take off for the day. The result being a raptor rush hour. The smaller birds don't seem to enjoy this as much as I do.  I even got a low level fly over yesterday when one wanted a closer look.

The nearby cattle are never in a rush and the local turkeys dislike speeders on the county road next to where we are.  They have even slowed a few down by running towards the road and then flying up near the offending vehicle.  This is great entertainment for few vultures that hang around in the trees across the street. I call them "the goon squad" and have even gotten into a staring contest a couple of times with them.

The 30 or so hogs usually rush to cross the road between us and the well because they don't like the noise or the traffic. I haven't had the honor of seeing them yet but I think they checked us out one of the first nights we were here, the smell was something that has to be experienced first hand, there is no describing it.

Right now its about that time when the vultures have returned to their roost, the cows should be by soon and we get a little "quiet" time.

Have a Great Day everyone!

Occupying time

I've been keeping mental notes lately on how we spend our time while we are working a gate and there are a few things I've noticed.

First, television takes up quite a bit.  We watch local over the air stations and like ME TV quite a bit.

Second, Computer time like Facebook, Words with Friends, Blogging, playing the PSP or Wii
helps pass the time.

Toie and I both read the 50 shades of Gray series.

Talking to some of the delivery drivers passes some of the time.

And here is what I think is the best one:

Reprogramming your electronic game caller to see of you can get the cows to look at you.

You know you've arrived when you are trying to entertain the local animals.

And now I know why the dog looks at me like he does!

Have a great day everyone

Night Shift and a big bug just hit me in the nose.

It seems funny that on our first gate Toie had the night shift because of the South Texas heat during the day. Since then, I have been working most nights and I have enjoyed it for the most part.

Light towers are a mixed blessing. It's nice to have the abundance of light so that you can see any critters coming from a farther distance.  The bugs usually don't bother you as much and the truck drivers can see you more clearly.  The down side is the extra noise and all that light and noise make it difficult to have a window open on cool nights.

Light towers also impart a sense of security.  for example, during frac'ing the light tower provides a well lit area and a slightly busy road. The smaller lights leave me feeling slightly clausterphobic.

The old beast is starting to show her age.  The engine and transmission run like a champ but we are starting to have issues with the house end of her.  Since we are closer to a bigger town I am going to have to pick up a few things to shape her up a bit.  The rear bumper that Rob and I installed is working out great but the extra weight of the generator is causing some issues with the frame and floor, which in turn causes issues with the door.  The generator may have to become someone else's project.

Living the Dream

I haven't had a whole lot of time to sit down and put fingers to keyboard and update the blog.  Our last gate was a short one, only lasting about a week. We moved a few days ago and have been settling in.

We had a coyote walk right by the RV tonight, its the first one we have seen close up.  I don't mind seeing a single one but I don't want to see a pack.

Ez-up number two finally gave up.  It had been tossed across a road on our first gate and a strong gust of wind after being set up on our second gate, buckled the frame.  I did get it to last the week we were there with a little duck tape, but the frame didn't survive being taken down again.  The lesson learned was that the cheapy ones are just that, cheap.  I am now looking for a good quality replacement because Toie is only going to give me one more shot at this.

We received our licenses from Texas the other day.  It feels good to have them in hand. We just have to find someone with a laminating machine to seal them up.

We are in a beautiful area right now.Hopefully we get to stay awhile.