Back in Colorado

After a lot of talking back and forth between visiting Dee in Illinois or Lisa in Green River, UT, we chose Utah for economic reasons. Not only was it less miles to drive but it’s still within close proximity to the gas fields in Wyoming and Colorado, and we wanted to be in a good position when they finally kick back off. Plus we spent April last year in Utah and absolutely fell in love with the Canyonlands so not only would we get to explore the areas we missed, but this time I get to see Lisa, too. Win, win.

So as we’re at the gas station, literally filling up to head east to Colorado, Joey got a call asking him to come to Colorado to help out with a couple drilling station moves, lasting probably a couple of weeks. yee haw…can’t ask for much better than that. A slow, easy start back to work after a whole year off with a broken arm and leg, plus no set schedule.

We pulled over at The Truck Stop and consulted with the cows

 

Of course we were going to go, we just couldn’t believe we got the call….right when we really needed it. We just had to pull over to convince ourselves it was real. But…are we really going to go back to the mountain that almost killed him?? Yep!

We took the same route down from Rawlins as we did last week, but this time we stopped and had a roadside lunch, this time stopping at Fortification Rocks instead of just cruising by.

I couldn’t believe it when I saw a FOR SALE SIGN! This gorgeous chunk of land with it’s volcanic uplift of rocks on it, that were used by several Indian tribes for fortification before battle…is for sale to the public! You’ll have to fight the rattlesnakes for it, but it could be yours.

We’ve stayed in three different RV Parks on the Western Slope of the Rockies in Colorado, so we decided to try out a fourth one. We cruised through it a couple years ago and I swore I would never stay here, but seeing as they’re the only one with a spot available we really had no choice. Luckily for us, it was under new management and had been much improved. We got an end spot, at the very back of the park, just yards from the Colorado River.

We were just in time to watch the leaves change, and our site happened to be the only one that had flowers still in bloom. The flowers were on a weed, but a flowers a flower to me. I took it as a sign we were meant to be there. Then this amazing rainbow appeared. Colorado was welcoming us back! :)

Another good sign was the on site chicken coop. The coop is nestled in the trees at the end of the rainbow, and houses eight chickens, three ducks and a huge white turkey. They belonged to another family but Jonas and Jewel visited them almost daily and Jewel caught this funny picture of the turkey!

While we were still playing in Nebraska Joey expressed his concern about staying in the bus. He was tired of the cramped corners, of dealing with water pipe issues, having to dump the sewer, lack of privacy, and so on, so we agreed when he went back to work we would get a house to rent. But by the time we got to Colorado and we were happy enough with our RV park, instead of moving out we redesigned our bedroom in order to get more space and stretching room. When we first moved in it was a small full size half way walk around bed. We then made the entire space a platform and put a queen size bed on it, where we had to crawl in and out of it. The crawling got real old so now we turned the bed 180 degrees so our feet are pointing out the back door instead, and cut out the platform. Now we have lots of walking space, even room for Joey to do sit ups and push ups, and easy access to all the cupboards. We also moved the TV to under the rear cabinets, so now I can watch TV and watch the river flow by at the same time! What a difference a little shifting can make, and I’m thinking now maybe we can stay in the bus all winter.

Then two weeks later I get a call from Joey, “I found this great house……………..!”

Caterpillar to the Rescue

The first thing Joey did after landing in the trench was tell the guys to call for help, "I've got a broken leg and a broken arm, but I'm stable". The guys...

took pictures.

The Fire and Rescue crew out of Battlement Mesa also took pictures, and gave me a CD today containing a few of them. They left out all the pictures of the actual rescue, including harnessing him to the basket and lifting him out with the trackhoe. No pictures of them putting the traction unit or the neck brace on, or even any close up pics of him or the actual accident scene. I have enough pictures though to show you where they had to go to get him, and how they had to do it. Plus they're pretty pictures.


The ambulance had to park at the bottom of the hill because the incline is way too steep for it to make it up. I don't know how they made it up there, but they came down with Joey, loaded into the back of a pickup with the Caterpillar backing it down the hill.

He said that ride was the worst!

But at least he had a beautiful view on the way down. :)

He rode down a hill, then up a hill, then they backed up, then down another hill. They talked him through the bumps and kept telling him they were almost there, and he did his best to stay calm and relaxed.




After talking with more people today we learned that he was thrown on to the metal pipe, then flipped one hundred eighty degrees before being catapulted almost seventy feet to hit the rock wall of a trench, then bounce to the other wall before dropping to it's eight foot bottom. What a ride.

We got new X-Rays at the hospital today, and the doctor is very happy with his progress and says we can go to Texas whenever he's up for the ride. We were planning on leaving in the morning but now we can't leave until workman's comp finds us a fracture specialist in Texas that will adhere to Colorado's laws. Slight bummer, but really after being in the car for a few hours today, I think it's best if he wait a little longer anyway.

Another rig call
Another day at the office


Hill's too steep
Water truck retreat


Steal a shot of my
Man hard at work


Afraid I may have been caught


Between all my questions
Illegal picture taking and
Company men
I am no longer welcome

The End

We got your stinkin' drilling rigs right here

There's so much talk these days surrounding the pros and cons of drilling. For us, it's mostly about the pros. One day last week I got to spend some time with Joey "chasing the rigs", getting called out to a drilling rig to do some welding. We started out on an early morning call to do a quick weld on a pipe "head"...on the mesa of this mountain range:


We enter right in the center and hit the first of FOUR guard shacks, and a sign loudly stating 1) No Drugs 2) No Alcohol 3) No Firearms 4) No Cameras. Driving on....and up....

The roads look great today, but I couldn't even imagine going up these roads in slick mud or slippery ice, perhaps even hauling a trailer loaded with long pipes. Yikes. That's a long way to the valley below.


We're only about half way up at this point, and then we come across this creepy tunnel.

It seemed to go on for three miles, at least, but was really only half a mile, but at only ten miles per hour, a thirty degree incline, and thick, deep mud...it seemed like we were in there for an hour.

When we popped out of the tunnel it was like we were in a different place.

It was lush and green, and felt nothing like work.
Once we arrived to the drilling pad though, Joey did get to work.

He spent about five minutes welding, and ten minutes dealing with an ass of a company man, before we drove back across the mesa and down the mountain.


You can barely see the roads. See the zig zag lines? Big rigs and heavy machinery...on zig zagging, skinny dirt roads, with a steep incline..definitely not for the weak of heart.


We were back home in two and a half hours, fed the kids, and took them swimming in the campground's lake.


Late in the afternoon Joey got another call for another quick job, so I decided to join him again. This drilling rig was at the bottom of the mountain, along the Colorado River.


All the rigs up here are drilling for natural gas, and they hit gas with every single well. The rigs also pop up and down daily, as they quickly hit gas and move on. We don't know too much about it, but originally the gas companies came here to extract oil from the shale rock, and accidentally hit natural gas, so for the last four or five years they've just been concentrating on the gas and put the shale aside. They say there's twenty years worth of work in these mountains....so I've got some time to get all the details.


From the mesa to the valley floor....all in a good day's work.

Sparking a living

Cutting the pipe.


Torching the pipe.


Grinding the pipe smooth.


Burn one by one.


Ready for delivery.

Travel to Work, Work to Travel

We finally pull into Janesville where Joey's going to be wrapping up construction on a new Ethanol plant. We pull into the RV park near Lake Elysian to find one of those RV parks that have trailers semi-permanently parked for the owners to come back to every weekend and a week or two in the summers. Those are good for the kids, because it means they may see the same kids over and over and eventually become friends. When I went into the office and told them we were here for a few weeks working at the plant, she told me they have a construction special, and have a special spot set up just for the construction workers. AND AGAIN WE'VE BEEN OUT CASTED! Everybody else is near the pool and playgrounds, and eachother....and we're led up away from the RV park into a little clearing in the woods all by ourselves. They say it's so we're not bugged by the party weekenders, but I know it's because they think construction workers are an eyesore to have in their parks. Lucky us!

No one else had near the amount of space and privacy that we did. Nor did they get to feel like Huck Finn while walking to the pool.


A rare shot of Joey without at least two kids climbing on his head.


And while I'm not really allowed to be talking about him and his bizness....it's a good thing he doesn't read this for the articles.....we only ended up staying here a couple nights. He walked on to the job site, saw all the inspectors with their clipboards and safety vests, had a glimpse into what it would be like working there with all their rules and regulations, and remembered how nice it was working back in Colorado, on his own, doing oil drilling rig maintenance, for..ohhh....almost three times the pay......turned around, accepted his old boss's offer, came back home, loaded up the lawn chairs.....and off we were again.

You didn't see that one coming, huh?

U.A.'s, D.O.T.'s & S.O.B.'s

The day after buying the second welder, the guy backed out and said he'd pay us back on payday, so Joey had no choice but to take his welder into the shop in Grand Junction.....and take a couple forced days off work. Normally we may spend the time testing how well the memory foam mattress actually remembers, but this time we decided to be a little more productive. Joey got his U.A. done so he can work at a Chevron, or is it Exxon, Plant. He also got his welder registered with the state of Colorado. We've never heard of this before, but when he got stopped by DOT the other day he asked where his welder registration sticker was, so he figured he better get it before he gets caught using it without one. It only cost $12 but when I called the courthouse she said it could be a couple hundred, makes me wonder what she was talking about now. I'm sure I did some important stuff, too......hmmmm.

I drove along to Grand Junction to pick up the welder, and enjoyed a not so common view of snow on the mountain range east of town.


Long time friends of my blog may remember the mountain range from the last campground we were in, the rural one with the private lake.

I love these ever changing views, I never know what I'll get from one day to the next.

Of course, now Mr. Flakey wants to go ahead and sell Joey the welder, but after having more time to think about it he realized taking a couple days off to fix a welder occassionally... is a nice thing. We don't need the headache of maintaining two machines and two trucks, so we're also selling his Ford F-350. Lessening our schtuff makes me ecstatic.

He went to Utah for a job his first day back, and there's not many things he likes more than a road trip, especially since I just got his Sirius radio going again after his free trial stopped weeks ago. People have been telling us for years that we should get satellite radio, but we refused to pay for radio....until we tried it. Why'd we take so long?!

THEN the snow started.

Rendering us unable to escape. (Not really, but when we can't even see our neighbors trailer, we'd be stupid to get on the roads if we didn't have to).

Hibernating Bus Passengers

We have come as close to hibernating as humans can. I can't say I don't like it, either. Since I last blogged, all five passengers became ill. Right after I bragged up how *healthy we all are, so don't worry about us catching what you've got*. Jonas came down with it first, then we all quickly followed. It was a respratory flu, or maybe just a chest cold, I don't know, but we're all better now. Of course Joey was convinced there was hidden mold in the bus and we were all slowly dying.

We took another week to fully recover, or some could call it an excuse to watch every reality show currently being aired, and took the time to consider our options. What are we doing? Where are we going? Why are we here in -10 degree temperatures when Kimberly is in shorts in Florida? Where is our next paycheck coming from?

We even came up with some answers. We're here because we really like it, and it's a bonus that there just so happens to be a major gas boom going on in these hills. There's enough work here to last fifteen years, and we've got a nice RV spot that we don't want to lose. The problem is I wanna travel, really we all do, I'm just the only one that whines about it. So we're talking about getting a fifth wheel or travel trailer, with a bedroom for the kids, so we can then park the bus and use it as our travel camper. The RV spot we have is big enough to have an actual yard, complete with deck, trampoline and portable spa(wishful thinking). I didn't enjoy traveling by car and sleeping in hotel rooms and guest rooms, so having the bus readily available to just hop in and go will make it much easier, and more likely. And, Joey will be able to stretch a little farther in something with slides. Win. Win.

For me this is kinda settling down, even though it's in an RV Park, we would be parking with the intent of it lasting a few years. Last time we tried to settle down by buying a house in small town America, with no decent work in sight. We did our traveling to, during, and from the job. What a novel concept to actually *settle down* near work. What a brilliant idea.

We're going to California end of February to watch our nephew take off for Iraq, then hopefully on to an unschooling conference in Arizona. Oh, and Joey still wants a boat by May.

He went back to work today.

Hibernating Bus Passengers

We have come as close to hibernating as humans can. I can't say I don't like it, either. Since I last blogged, all five passengers became ill. Right after I bragged up how *healthy we all are, so don't worry about us catching what you've got*. Jonas came down with it first, then we all quickly followed. It was a respratory flu, or maybe just a chest cold, I don't know, but we're all better now. Of course Joey was convinced there was hidden mold in the bus and we were all slowly dying.

We took another week to fully recover, or some could call it an excuse to watch every reality show currently being aired, and took the time to consider our options. What are we doing? Where are we going? Why are we here in -10 degree temperatures when Kimberly is in shorts in Florida? Where is our next paycheck coming from?

We even came up with some answers. We're here because we really like it, and it's a bonus that there just so happens to be a major gas boom going on in these hills. There's enough work here to last fifteen years, and we've got a nice RV spot that we don't want to lose. The problem is I wanna travel, really we all do, I'm just the only one that whines about it. So we're talking about getting a fifth wheel or travel trailer, with a bedroom for the kids, so we can then park the bus and use it as our travel camper. The RV spot we have is big enough to have an actual yard, complete with deck, trampoline and portable spa(wishful thinking). I didn't enjoy traveling by car and sleeping in hotel rooms and guest rooms, so having the bus readily available to just hop in and go will make it much easier, and more likely. And, Joey will be able to stretch a little farther in something with slides. Win. Win.

For me this is kinda settling down, even though it's in an RV Park, we would be parking with the intent of it lasting a few years. Last time we tried to settle down by buying a house in small town America, with no decent work in sight. We did our traveling to, during, and from the job. What a novel concept to actually *settle down* near work. What a brilliant idea.

We're going to California end of February to watch our nephew take off for Iraq, then hopefully on to an unschooling conference in Arizona. Oh, and Joey still wants a boat by May.

He went back to work today.

Road Trippin'

It doesn't look like we're going anywhere, anytime soon. The guys keep stopping by with job leads, and each one wants Joey to work with him. There are only a few places to work pipeline, and I doubt any others are as beautiful as where we are right now, so work is luring him back in, but he swears he needs a new truck first. We saw one at the dealer that he went ga-ga for so yesterday we went back down to Grand Junction to test drive it and see if we can work a trade. Luckily it was a gorgeous day and I brought my camera along for the ride.

While this may not be a great picture, it's our view while pumping gas.

I almost didn't mind spending $97.00 to fill up my gas tank.

Te sun was working against me in the photo, but in person this is a spectacular view of the Colorado River. Up the hill on the left is where our RV park is, we have to cross the river in order to leave our little "haven".


The Interstate is lined with views like this that follow the river downstream.


It seems each time we head out, the trees get more golden, the brush gets redder, the water is a different shade of red or green, and the canyon walls have new cracks.

I cannot get enough.

What you do when you don't know what to do

Last Week: I started noticing signs coming from Joey that this job may be over soon.

Monday: Joey comes home at 8:30 AM. "Well...I'm home. I had to let another company go."
Weeee! My little brain immediately goes into overload and I've got a whole month vacation planned out for us in less than two minutes. I'm like a John at the Bunny Ranch, can hardly control my excitement. We're going to follow along the Colorado River and explore as much of the land as we can. First we'll stop at Arches National Park, then Canyonlands and Lake Powell. Then the Vermillion Cliffs in Arizona along with a trip to the Grand Canyon. Next will be Sedona and Montezuma's Castle before landing in Mesa, AZ for a Thanksgiving Feast that will include almost every single member of Joey's family. We told the kids we're getting a generator so they won't have to miss their electronics, so now they can't wait to hit the road either. After trick or treating first, of course.

Tuesday: Joey's thinking of the new tires the bus needs, and the fact that we're leaving the truck here in storage. What if he decided he doesn't want to come back here, we should take the truck. But the truck isn't running great, and needs some work done. Joey says let's rent a car and we'll tent, and hotel it and stay with friends, and then come back to the bus next month. But that's what I have a home on wheels for, Dammit!! I also realize what's the point of going on this big trip if his truck needs work before he can even take it back to work. Truck repair, tires, tow bars, generators...oh, my. We need to focus on priorities.

So........we got me and the kids a car. Priorities. Now we're trying to figure out a short road trip, and I can't decide between Lake Powell or Yellowstone....

Why Joey likes work

The snow hasn't gotten down to us yet, but we have begun the process of preparing for winter. We've heat taped and wrapped the water hose and sewer pipe, and next I'm going to sew a skirt for the bus. Doesn't that sound pretty? It'll be a grey vinyl skirt with snap on buttons, all the latest rage, yo.

In the meantime, when Joey and the guys don't get snowed out because of the weather and go sight seeing in Aspen....without me....he's hard at work, and really enjoying it. He thinks he's found his calling with the pipeline. He gets to work in the outdoors with elk and bears, and doesn't have to climb dangerous structures and walk across beams two hundred feet high. Now the most dangerous part of the job is the long drive up and down the mountain, which is usually wet and slippery.

The snow hardened the ground, making it less dangerous, but he still has to have his truck pulled around by the tractor most days because the ground is mostly clay grabbing hold of those tires and not wanting to let go, even with chains.

He explained the process to me, so here it is severly condensed.
The road clearers are there first to grade the roads, then the cranes lay the eight inch water pipe down. The laborers build a wooden pallet to set the pipe up on. The crane picks up the pipe then the fitters grind it, clean it and stick it together. Next Joey tacks the pipe together, then lays the root. Then he fills the weld, and caps it. Voila! The whole process takes about two hours, but only takes Joey about fifteen minutes to weld up. The rest of the time they're wandering around, talking, driving, sitting in trucks or boasting as to who as the most toys.

My Rock

For the past decade to support our life on the road, Joey's been doing construction, a little millwright work, turbine work, and a lot of pipe fitting and welding. It wasn't until last winter that he bought his first welder, and then this Spring he was on his first rig welding job. He traded that welder for a big Lincoln pipe liner welder, because that's what the big boys use, not necessarily to go on a pipeline, but to have the ability to. Then last week when his friend called about this pipeline job in the Rocky Mountains, it seemed a little surreal. He wasn't fully prepared, and after getting out here to the testing site he realized how unprepared he was. He pushed the test back over the weekend so he could get all the necessary toys.

While taking his welding tests the welder started acting up during the last test. He was sure he got some screwed up welds, but the X-Ray tests all came back excellent! He passed! Even though I knew he would, it's always such a stressful time for him. Tests are never fun, and especially for him. And especially considering he's a self learned welder. No formal training, no certificates......just a desire. Not a desire to weld or work, but a desire to find a way to support our lifestyle with as little work as possible. He's making it happen, bigger and better, and I couldn't be more proud of him.

Expect the Unexpected

We left park hopping because it was time to get back to work. Joey called ol' faithful Judy and she simply asked, "Where do you want to go?" It sure makes it nice to hear that. Since we were near Omaha we took the closest, about eighty miles to the Southwest. We pulled into a great campground, more like an old mini resort, and were hoping to be able to stay there but with Labor Day coming up we had to be out by Friday, so we only got two nights. Here the kids played non stop with the toads. If the toads weren't in the bushes, they were in the pool. If they weren't in the pool, they were my kids too frightened to move, pets.

This is also where they caught the garder snake, who would lay motionless while they were holding him but as soon as they released him back to the tree he got all hissy on 'em.

On the Friday we were to leave I pulled the bus out of our campsite all by myself while Joey was working. I had hoped they'd let me stay parked until he got home at four but they weren't very cooperative. So I parked in front of their pool under the only shade tree on the property and we used their pool. The kids also played their first rounds of mini golf. They absolutely loved that.

When Joey got back we went to Geneva, NE under a friend's suggestion. Now this RV park will only let us stay the weekend and we have to leave on Tuesday! All this wouldn't be so bad if Joey' weren't dying to unload the truck. We could go back to the resort one but they're draining the pool tuesday so they're no longer worth it.

THEN we get a call for a pipeline job back in Colorado and the money is too good to pass up. He still needs about a grand worth of tools, not to mention enough gas to get two hogs all the way there, when we're not prepared for it, but we can't pass it up, we'll do whatever it takes.

So, we left Nebraska on tuesday and am now sitting in the SW corner of Wyoming where Joey has to take three different weld tests. As long as he passes, we're heading back into Glenwood Canyon. I'm very excited, there was still so much left I wanted to see and do. For today, I'm just happy to have Internet.

Jinxed

Crap, now Joey's thinking he may not want to go to the job in Iowa, and just stay here until we go to OK. I knew as soon as I told the Internets, that it wouldn't happen. Dammit. I'll know more by the middle of the week.

In the meantime Jewel and I got new haircuts:

Hers was self done with a pair of small scissors right to the center of her bangs. Not much unlike she does EVERY summer.

Mine was professionally done.

In a way that would allow my hair to grow out the best. We also ran into a Goodwill the other night and I scored with five new outfits, all a size or two bigger than my old stuff, but at least now everything fits and I don't feel fat coming out of every seam. Nice, bigger clothes make me feel skinnier. I'll just cut off the tags and destroy the truth.

************************************************************************

I'm working on a post to answer a lot of questions I've been receiving, if you've been wondering something...now's the time to ask. :)