"The Gate" Batesville, Texas Dec 10

Tuesday, December 10, 2013


"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 34 degrees and mostly sunny to 52 degrees and mostly sunny. A lot of frost today but yesterdays clouds have cleared into a nice day, cool but sunny nice.
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glad to see a nice sunrise

The gate traffic has picked up with the new work week and finding out today that two pumpjacks will be installed on the one pad. Or said another way twice the work I thought was going to be done. I do appreciate the traffic because the day passes faster for me going out to the gate and signing the trucks in and letting them out of the gate. When you just sit around waiting for someone to come the day drags on a long time. If I do something else like on Busters left side I get distracted and the vehicles are waiting for me at the gate, they honk (impatient) I do not want the honking to wake Bonnie.

Thru the brush the workover rig sticking up

While at the Lonestar Corral in Hondo, Texas Wednesday (Sunday to Wednesday) afternoon Bonnie and I got the call for a gate. We got Buster packed up and in the wind headed south to Dilly. When I went to start Tan Jan in Hondo, no go so I was able to get a jump start and on the way stopped at a NAPA store and purchased a new battery afer putting fuel in Buster. We meet the coordinator there at the fuel stop and headed for the gate assignment we are headed south on SR 85 for Big Wells and then he starts turning left on a changed planned route, I follow. He pulls into a camp area and we wait for information on a change on a change of plans. We camped there for the rest of the month. More of our year next post.

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas Dec 9

Monday, December 9, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 44 degrees and mostly cloudy wet fog to 48 degrees and cloudy wet. Wet light fog all day, visibility was good just wet mist all day.

Bonnie was able to nap overnight as I had to go down to Cotulla for a company meeting she was alone here from nine to after one o’clock. Our caliche road was in good shape but going down FM 117 there was a place where many trucks had come onto the road bringing out dirt and that made a mess of the Tan Jan with a mud coat.

In July Bonnie and I left San Antonio with Buster repaired and a new to us car and new eyeglasses feeling good, we stopped in the Kerrville area overnight then Fort Stockton after arriving there the refrigerator started acting up. So I purchased ice and headed to Carlsbad, New Mexico and Carlsbad RV to have the refrigerator trouble shot, finding the control board was bad. That under control, part ordered we went on to The Ranch in Lakewood. Now the rest of July was the doctor for us or the RV doctor for Buster. As we took Buster to Carlsbad RV for the board replacement. Then ten days later the cooling coils failed as we smelt ammonia from the coil leaking. Wait for parts again and another trip to the RV doctor for Buster.

We dragged into September with another appointment for Bonnie at the doctor and did not leave New Mexico soon enough as a thirty year flood came and flooded The Ranch and the arroyo on the road in and out. (Thursday and Friday nights) We were air lifted out by helicopter on Thursday to buses waiting to take the evacuees into a school in Carlsbad for two nights. The Red Cross and Southern Baptist convention were operating the shelter for us Ranch evacuees. Saturday afternoon we were back at the ranch and we left on Sunday for Fort Stockton, Texas staying there six days before moving on to The Lone Star Corral in Hondo, Texas. While in Fort Stockton I was looking for gate guard jobs by e-mailing and telephoning. Friday I got word from this company move closer and that will help get us a gate soon. It did help but it took until October first to actually get gate. More of our year next post.

 

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas Dec 8

Sunday, December 8, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 49 degrees and mostly cloudy to 62 degrees and mostly sunny.

On Friday June 21 we were released from the gate, actually we closed the gate as the requirement expired. We did get a heads up on Tuesday so we had time to get ready packing up and stowing things for travel. Bonnie and I took to a campground northeast of Pleasanton, Texas where we had been going to do our shopping while at the gate (48 miles from the gate). While setting up there and talking with the campground owner she suggested a restaurant in southeast San Antonio as we said that this will be the first night going out to eat together in more than three months.

Tan Jan & Buster parked at Texas RV

We were able to get our eyes checked and order new glasses while there in San Antonio. We ended staying there (eighteen nights) until Buster’s scheduled appointment for repairs needed, entrance step, electric transfer switch, batteries and others. While waiting for that we ended up purchasing a car to replace Silver Sally. Bonnie and I decided on Tan Jan (we did have a silver car for a long time but it was more than a color change. That also required adding towing base plates and electrical to Tan Jan and Texas RV Supply was able to do that also. We were able to stay overnight in Buster while the work was being done. We were there two nights before heading to The Ranch in New Mexico for doctor visits. More of our year next post.

Late this afternoon I made a trip to Pearsall for propane gas bottle refill, we have an extend a say valve thus extending the use of Busters onboard propane gas tank. We never pass the grocery or gasoline station. There is a meeting in Cotulla tomorrow that one of us must attend, company said. Another trip to town.

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas Dec 6 & 7

Friday, December 6, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 39 degrees and mostly cloudy wet to 45 degrees and mostly sunny. This is a biting cold, everything is wet but it has not rained, and almost fog.

Water tank truck going in

Not as many pickup trucks today and the tank trucks made it a point to arrive before eight-thirty as to not be involved with the pickup trucks waiting for nine AM start so there was not juggling of trucks this morning. The site leader had his morning meeting out there before the nine o’clock start. All of these workers were out before four o’clock and our day slowed down then. We will also have a slow weekend as the work on that pad is off for the weekend.

Pickup trucks lining up

Saturday, December 7, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 34 degrees and cloudy to 38 degrees and mostly cloudy. Just a cold dark day

Sunset

A continuation from last Sunday, my train of though just stopped. In the middle of February Bonnie and I left Florida (506 miles) headed for Texas to do gate guarding and along this trip we stopped in Alabama at the Escapees Rainbow Plantation and were able to have lunch one day with three other couples who are members at The Ranch in Lakewood New Mexico, a very nice visit with ranch friends. We continued our trip to Fort Worth, Texas (667 miles for Buster from Alabama) and took a test there for Non-Commissioned Security Officer.

After sunset

From there we headed south and while still traveling south to San Antonio we received a call to go and meet the gate guard coordinator for immediate gate assignment. Our first gate for three and three quarters months (350 miles for Buster to the gate) was in Mc Mullen County eight miles north of Tilden, Texas. More of our year next post.

Bonnie had a good sleep during the day today so she could watch Florida State Seminoles defeat Duke University for the ACC title and also end the season ranked number one for the BCS bowl.

It seems like the crude oil flows slower in this cold weather as today we got only half of our normal minimum number of crude oil tanked trucks hauling out oil.

  

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas Dec 5

Thursday, December 5, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 67 degrees and mostly cloudy with fog to 43 degrees and mostly cloudy. Winter storm Cleon is starting we are feeling the wind come up first and the temperature is dropping. On how much we get will depend on how far south the line moves as most of the "weather talkers" are saying just above San Antonio for the line, we will see.

Crude oil tanker departing the gate, mud from wheel spray

On Monday the oil truck traffic was higher to catch up to the long weekend production, meaning the truck traffic over the weekend was enough to not have the on site tanks get too full. Monday I was mussing that the month will be the same as the past few days.

Tuesday started the same and then these two flatbed trucks came and walking over to them I am thinking that I need to redirect them to another gate, wrong. They had a delivery for my gate, one of the pads was going to get a pumpjack. Oil was being produced by the artesian method and will be converted to a pumpjack.

Tuesday afternoon an oil company man came to the gate to check, actually three different oil company men in three pickup trucks over the course of the late morning to early afternoon with the last telling me he is the site leader for the pump job and they will only be working that site nine AM to four PM.

This morning I am out at eight-thirty signing up the trucks today mostly men in pickup trucks and then there is the other pad's traffic coming also and that can continue twenty-four hours a day to their pads to remove oil or the water that is coming up with the oil. So we had to reposition some pickup trucks to allow the tankers into their work areas while the pickup trucks waited for nine o’clock start. Other work is the "flowback crew" monitoring the well twenty-four hours a day, living on site in travel trailers.

After three this afternoon I left the gate in Bonnie's care to get drinking water in Pearsall and do some food shopping before the weather takes the road to mud again. Any trip into town includes a trip the car wash, pressure wash, to take off three layers of mud off and always leave town with a full tank of gasoline.


 

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas Dec 2 - 4

Monday, December 2, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 51 degrees and partly cloudy to 81 degrees and mostly sunny.

More tank truck traffic today as they catch up with oil production from the wells that is collected by the on site oil tanks. The trucks seem to come early in the morning and later in the afternoon thus the middle of the day is other in and out traffic.

Sunset 

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 50 degrees and mostly cloudy to 82 degrees and mostly sunny. Clouded up late in the afternoon but still a nice day.

Crude Oil Truck departing the gate

Well today two delivery trucks brought in a pump jack for one of the oil wells, installation crews and work over rig to follow soon.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 59 degrees and mostly cloudy and fog rolling in to 86 degrees and mostly sunny.

Moving in day;

Well today the crew came in, all different companies supplying different services and unique trucks and the workover rig. Belly dump trucks brought gravel and flat bed trucks brought all sorts of equipment used at the pad. An assortment of pickup trucks and one ton work trucks with one to four occupants. All the work on this pad will not start before nine in the morning and will be clear by four in the afternoon, interesting. Yet other pads are producing oil and trucking it our at anytime.   

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas Nov 30 - Dec 1

Saturday, November 30, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 49 degrees and partly cloudy to 73 degrees and partly sunny. A beautiful day outside low wind.

Bonnie was able to take a couple of naps during the night then stay up to see Florida State Seminoles defeat the University of Florida Gator’s. We still are in holiday mode traffic wise thru the gate only the minimum number of in’s and put’s here today.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 53 degrees and partly cloudy to 73 degrees and partly sunny. We started with fog and humid but cleared to partly sunny day.

Nice and easy day with NFL football and light traffic thru the gate. Wow December where has twenty thirteen gone.

Well actually we were all over the country in 2013 from North Carolina last December enjoying our three daughters and their families at Christmas. In January we went to Florida the RV show in Tampa and we visited a few times with my sister and her family in Clearwater. We were able to RV park at the Elks lodge in Brandon, east of Tamps. until the middle of February