Author: Becky

Well it finally happened! After years of driving to and from rigs and parking on rigs I finally bumped something.  When you park on the rig for safety reasons you have to back in.  If there is an emergency it’s easier to get out without reversing and because most collisions happen when backing up.

Well that is what happened to me today. I moved Hank from the back 40 to in front of the trailers so I could load my stuff in preparation of my departure.  While backing up to park between a trailer and a basket I was a little off on my line up and managed to bump Hank right into the basket. Luckily, if you can say such a thing, the basked has nobs on the end for the forklift to move it that just happen to be right at tail light height. CRUNCH! Luckily it was only the cover for the taillight and the rear window or anything else more damaging.

Its areal ego blow but I managed to recover well. I loaded my stuff and moved Hank back and set to work on making the taillight street legal.  Closer inspection found that the light was undamaged and still functioning just the red cover is broke. It is safety plastic so it brakes rather than shatters. It was a low impact collision so most of the pieces where recovered. I am missing one piece but the rest fit back together well.

             

The rig is tripping so I had a chance to fix it right away. To put all the parts back together I had to detach humpdy dumpdy from the rest of the car. Everything these days are plastic and just pop right out. I managed to get all the pieces to fit back together and taped them in place. I made sure to seal it up good so no dust from the road gets in and fries the bulb.  A little red sharpie and we will be good to go long enough to get a new cover. Hopefully they are not a $300 part.

Off to look for parts!

Over the last few weeks I have been periodically busy and not in almost equal measure.  They have let me work days for the last few weeks and it makes a difference in how much free time there is during the daylight.  It’s been fantastic! I forget how busy the pad can get on days. Somedays it’s moving thousands of feet of pipe around. Other days it’s installing Christmas trees on well heads.  Somedays it’s having wireline trucks on location. Either way any day we have simulation operations going on it’s a good idea to watch your step!

On my down time between thunderstorms there has been enough time to do some exploring of North Dakota. One day that involved going to the North unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Beautiful views. Really is one of the pretties’ parts of the state. The farther you get from the river the uglier the state gets.

 

The down time activity I’m most proud of is the experiment I ran by testing out some new camping gear for our next bike adventure.

Experiment Report:

The Experiment: Conduct a test run of new camping equipment in preparation for biking trips.

Desired Result:  To spend a night in new to me tent walking distance from the rig without being discovered.

Execution: About 45 minutes before sunset I left the rig as if going for my normal evening walk with my backpack filed with my tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag.  I went down the road and then wandered off in to the field well out of sight of the road and rig and all manmade things. Found a lovely flat spot on a little ridge with a view. A perfect spot. The new tent set up quite easily as the sun was setting. The new pad inflated with no holes and fit in the tent. The new sleeping bag fit as well.

Observations: In no particular order. Crickets are nocturnal and never shut up. The moon is almost completely full.  There is a pack of coyotes in the area approximately 5-6 of them and they don’t like it when the rig blows its horn. An empty backpack works well as a pillow.  The tent seams small at first but after crawling inside its comfortable.  Don’t pick a spot while wearing headphones.

Results:  My spot was well picked for sight and cover but was too close to the rig. I could hear the rig and the forklift working thru the night. When the rig blew its horn the coyotes answered.  I slept great for 2 hours and then woke up and tossed for a few hours before sleeping again. After the rig horn woke me for a second time at 2 in the morning I decided to call the experiment early and packed it all up in less time than it took to set up. I headed home to my bed.

Conclusion: The new equipment worked well and will serve quite perfectly. In that regard the experiment worked well even if it was incomplete.   Equipment 5 out of 5, stealth 5 out of 5, location 3 out of 5, sleep 4 out of 8.

A new Rig and A new place.  Yet again moving rigs. So fun fact in 1883 when they set up the time zones they used the river as the dividing line. I’m now working south of the Little Missouri River. You would think that means I’m in Mountain Time Zone but no! This rig is so close to the river and the office is in Texas so this Rig is working on Central Time. Nothing wrong with that if you stay on the rig or go to town north of the rig but if you go to Dickinson to get groceries or see a movie or the doctors you better make sure you have the right time!

New Rig also means a different way of doing things. This rig is batch drilling 4 holes. What that means is they drill the top part and the curve and then move on to the next hole and come back later for the Horizontal.  In between the wells they walk the rig from one hole to the next. Takes a few hours to walk the rig.  Between the casing and walking and the drilling of the very top part of the hole it makes for a few days off for us!

With my few days of limited freedom I went on a wild goose chase of an adventure! And I found what I was looking for: The Geographical Center of North America! It’s a small monument at the cross roads in Rugby, ND.

1000 miles from everywhere.  1100 miles to the coast in Washington and 1500 miles to the coast in Maine.

 

In short miles from everywhere! But I get to add another pin to the map as it were. I have been to the end of the land in the Arctic Circle, the prime meridian, and now the middle of the continent. Where will I go next!?

 

The first day they had me doing the most boring part of the job nonstop. In a normal day in the field we look at maybe 15-25 samples on the busiest days. That is broken up with walking outside and doing other parts of the job. But in the office it is look at samples and write descriptions nonstop so it becomes 10 samples an hour for 8 hours!

The second day things got better with looking a logs and correlating different wells. This is the complicated stuff that makes the job so awesome. When we can look at wells over a mile away and figure out what the structure of the rock in our well will look like it’s pretty awesome. Sometimes it’s very complicated with unusual dips and folds that can take a strait forward well and wreak havoc!

The boss takes us to taco Tuesdays so that makes the work day go a lot faster.

By day three I’m washing the samples in the shop. It’s a reparative task but it’s out of the direct line of sight of the boss and we get to turn on music so it goes by much faster. The chemicals always adds a quince smell that lingers in clothes for days. Slowly but surely over the course of the week I am remembering how to do my job. It’s kind of piecemeal in the office but it all comes flying back. I am excited to get back in the field and do the whole thing.

The best part of working in the office is I have 4 extra hours a day to do things. I have been exploring the town and with the fantastic weather I have been outside as much as possible! The problem coming up is the weekend.  With no work to go to I don’t know what I will do with so very much free time! I feel like Maggie Smith in Downton Abby

After months of not working I’m finally back! The lights were starting to get dim but luckily oil is on the way back up. This year I have worked a total of 21 days. That would not be a problem if this was January but it is April! The last few months have been great.  I got a lot of living in and would have liked to do more. Moved Apartments, had a snow day, showed out of town friends around town, made new friends,  a few bike rides and made cookies! It may seem like little things to people who get to come home to their kitchen every night and make whatever they like but when you live a crazy life like me it can be a real treat.

One of the highlights of the days off was the snow day where Rome was covered in 5 inches of fluffy white stuff. It brought the city to a standstill! It was glorious! I love the snow and when you add the ridiculousness of the Italian it just makes for a perfect cluster of disaster!

A few short days after the snow storm they turned the Colosseum green for St Patty’s day. Turned the city in to a whole different type of disaster.

The best highlight was after we had moved to our new apartment in a lovely Italian beach town.  In the middle of spring the whole place smells of purple lilac and fresh salt sea breeze!  I know it sounds like a laundry soap commercial but that’s how it smells! The day after Easter the whole country shuts down for a holiday because of this one of our very good friends hosts a big party. In years past we have had to travel for several hours to get to the party. This year we walked five minutes down the street carrying our potluck dishes! Something I’m not sure I have ever done even in America. The Italians that were out enjoying the lovely sunshine looked at us like we had corn growing out of our ears. But they smile when you wish them Buona Pasqua! The party was a great time and there is nothing like spring a beach town. We even swam in the Mediterranean one day.

But sadly the lovely holiday had to end. This week I am working in the office and it is truly the worst! Perhaps it is the jet-lag, or the long hours traveling, or maybe it really is the office.

For those of you who don’t know I meet my husband through our hobby at the time of civil war reenacting. We both got in to it for different reasons and in different ways but we stayed because we found the same things: an amazing group of friends that became family, a sense of adventure, excitement, and eventually each other, all set against a historical background (with a slight chance of death).  It is probably the thing we miss most since moving to Europe.  We have been on an unofficial quest to find something new to fill the gap. After our last trip I think we have found the solution.

On our last trip we both came to the conclusion that there had to be a better way. We love traveling and seeing new places but when you go through too many cities too fast they all start to blur together into a long check list. See the castle, town hall, cathedral, town square, and get the t-shirt.  We enjoyed ourselves don’t get me wrong and the places we saw where amazing but at the brake neck speed it’s hard to truly get a sense of the country or the people.  We were packed too heavy, had too many transfers, and spent too much money.  In short we felt like the worst kind of American tourists.

We both agreed that this is not the way to see the world. After much thought and consideration an idea formed: Bike Touring!  Here was the perfect solution, elegant, classy, and physically engaging. We can slow down and see more in a short time. We can camp and get back to nature for cheaper.  In every way a win.  A cheaper, more engaged, self-paced way to see new things.  To be honest we haven’t been able to stop talking about it since. So it with great pleasure I introduce our new (to us) bikes!

We found a bike shop in Rome that rebuilds bikes (among other things) so in a way you could say these bikes are custom made.  We are off on our first test ride today. The goal is to eventually work up to biking across all of Europe or any other continent.  Let’s see if our new hobby is exciting as our old!

 

Things I have learned about engine block heaters in North Dakota:

• The first thing I learned about engine block heaters is to plug it in before the weather gets cold!!!

• That and to have an extension cord in the back so you have something to plug the car too.  The trick with power cords is to make sure they are not too long or too short.  If they are too long you trip over them on the way to work.  But remember to pull the cord up before the snows come and cover it.

• I have been plugged in Hank for over a week and it has made a different. When I go out to start him up he fires up a lot easier and drives a little smoother.  I think it is worth the hassle of plugging him in and unplugging him. The smartest thing to do is drape the power cord over the mirror so that you don’t drive off without unplugging first.

     

On a side not it’s -5 and snowing tonight.

 

When I’m not running around Europe or drilling wells I have adventures playing with my car. My car, we will call him Hank, is not the newest or shiniest but for the most part he gets me from place to place.  FOR THE MOST PART…

Apparently Hank doesn’t like it when the temperature is 21 degrees below 0. Can’t say that I blame him but it would be nice if he would start. Well on day a few weeks ago when it was really cold I went out to start Hank up and he wouldn’t start. Dun dun dun! So I had to beg a jump from my coworker who had jumper cables. Took three tries but eventually turned over. We drove to town and promptly bought a new battery.  I had to install it in the weak winter sunshine in -15 degree weather. Lucky for me I come prepared with tool kit and the knowledge how to change a battery.

But after that Hank fired right up. But the weather will not be getting any better so today we are sitting at the dealership getting an engine block heater installed.

It doesn’t look like a very exciting time but this will keep my engine warm in the winter for years to come.  Of course we had to take the extreme approach because Hank has a ribbed oil pan. That means a simple stick on heater won’t work.  When it’s all done we have a little plug that hangs out the front of the grill that gets plugged in to the side of a building.

Ta-da!  Hours later we are all done! you can hardly see it but that little plug is going to be a life saver.

 

After spending three weeks hanging out in Europe I sadly have to start making my way back to work today. Today Arty and I are cooling our heals in Amsterdam on our lay over. I really don’t want to go back to work. (who does?).

On this time off we did some adventuring! Woot! I left work just as we were finishing the curve and getting ready to case the hole. I flew to Budapest and meet up with my hubby! We spent three days seeing the sights of Budapest. We saw the castle and churches and Christmas markets! The markets were everywhere and wonderful! All the crafts where truly homemade and the food was delicious. They have this thing called a chimney cake. Think of a vertical donut about 6-12 inches tall that is hallow on the inside then rolled in cinnamon and sugar. We found the best ones where filled with chocolate! The most touristy thing we did was to take a dinner cruise on the Danube River. It was a blast! We had a window table and it truly was the best way to see the city at night.

Next came New Years in Vienna. We had a great place right in the middle of the city. The town was bustling with New Year’s partyers. We just happened to get front row seats to a fantastic concert in the cathedral (as part of the last mass of the year) the full orchestra with choir was beyond fantastic. The music was wonderful. Our seats where so good I have sat father back when I was in the orchestra. After that we wandered the town and watched everyone enjoying themselves at the city wide party. They have wine and champagne stops everywhere and every square has a band. By midnight we were in the square by the cathedral and at midnight it is tradition to waltz. I so glad I brought my waltzing partner! Think this will be a new tradition from now on.

After spending the next few days casing the Hapsburgs around Vienna we were off to Prague. As always the trains make like easy. We had a great place right off the main drag in Prague. The best part of Prague for both of us after living in Italy for 3 years was the beer! So much beer. Prague also had great Christmas markets still going. The castle complex was massive up on the hill and photographed well. The city is full of church spires. The old city center is dense and compact but the surrounding urban sprawl is massive. The biggest let down in Prague was that the paints set call “the Slavic epic” was not on display. Oh well guess we will have to come back.

After that it was home to Rome sweet home.  After what seems like only a few days of getting my life in order here I’m off again. With a heavy heart and lighter wallet I’m heading back to work.

As with all holidays there are some fine folk who don’t get to go home. This year I am among them. We celebrated with 4 days of feasting and drilling 6,000 feet.  This year’s feasts where very generously cooked by our Companyman and the sales men who keep bringing us turkeys. So far the count is 6 huge turkeys, 2 prim ribs, and 1 huge slab of salmon.  YUM YUM!

And a huge thank you to the cleanup crew!

The food has been wonderful and it’s a good thing too because it distracts us from the cold.  Today the high was a shocking -14⁰F. Tonight the low will be -20⁰F with a wind-chill nocking it down another 10⁰. Now I know what some of you are saying “it’s a dry cold” well let me tell you Horse hockey!!!  With the wind isn’t blowing it’s not bad but when you add that sharp blistering wind it instantly becomes stupid cold!

One cold thing when the fresh ice shards are falling from the sky (can’t call them flakes that’s too soft a term for them) the flares on the prairie glow extra bright and look like giant searchlights.

The most wonderful part about this time of year is not the lights hung with care, or the long hours of darkness, or the fact that we have rounded the hump and are starting our trip back to the sun. No no no.  The absolute best part of this time of year is when you take that first step outside and your nose hairs instantly freeze!

I hope you all truly have a great and wonderful Christmas someplace warm with lots of lights. I hope remember all the folks who aren’t home today for one reason or another. Not just the ones working hard to keep the lights on but all the ones that make civilized life possible.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!