Prudhoeman

Just Out the Front Door

2008-05-28T11:51:00.001-08:00

Today I’ll be leaving the Slope and catching a flight to Houston Texas. I’ll be spending the next six days sitting in a class room trying to learn as much as I can because on the seventh day I’ll be taking two exams that are four hours each. I could use all the prayers’ that I can get beings that I’m not one for all that fancy book learn’ in.

This is a picture from in front of the camp where I stay. This small herd of musk oxen that have been hanging out here for about five or six days, nothing too exciting.

Hiding in the shade

2008-05-27T16:37:00.004-08:00

There is still a lot of snow that needs to melt but it has been melting quickly since the temperature has been hitting the upper 40’s. Most of the places that the snow was thin have melted away but there still are big piles of it all over the place. There are some little piles that are trying to hide from the dooming sun (like these).

From Ice to Lakes

2008-05-21T17:16:00.001-08:00

Spring is finally here. It’s getting up in the mid 30’s during the day time and things are starting to melt. There is still a lot of snow around but all of the parking lots are melting fast and turning into lakes. The worst part of walking around in the water is that there is still ice underneath the water. If you were to slip and fall, not only are you going to be embarrassed but you will also be wet.
The birds and ducks have been showing up in the last few weeks. They have been sitting on top of frozen lakes and ponds just waiting for them to melt.

Ice Road Truckers

2008-04-24T16:59:00.001-08:00

For anyone that watched the ice road truckers on discovery channel, this is are version of it. This is a 6 to 8 mile ice road across the Arctic Ocean. They have been hauling truck load after truck load of big bolder sized rock out to the island (North Star Island) that you see in the second picture.

Praying for Summer

2008-04-23T06:56:00.003-08:00

The weather is slowly changing and warming up. There is still a lot of snow that needs to melt as you can see by the first picture. The temperature has been between +5 and +20 degrees depending on what time of the day it is.

I’ve had some work that is way out in the tundra off the road, so I got to drive I truck with mat tracks on it. It’s fun to drive for the first five minutes or so but after that it’s just a rough bumpy slow ride.

Broken Elevator

2008-03-09T19:13:00.000-08:00

I have been working here at S.T.P. (seawater treatment plant) all week. The elevator is being upgraded so it will be more reliable. Meantime I’m getting a good workout going up and down the stairs. The stairs you see on the outside can be used but there are stairs on the inside as well, plus it’s -32 below. There are 5 floors above ground and 2 floors below ground. I have been working on the bottom floor but you have to go to the top floor to get a permit before starting work and to eat lunch. The bottom floor is below sea level and that’s where the inlets are that suck up the sea water. The entry way has this steel bear cage when you walk out the door because were right out on the ocean. It’s just the opposite of going to the zoo. We’re the one in the cage and the polar bears aren’t.

Da Bears

2008-03-05T16:32:00.003-09:00

I didn’t take these pictures but I wish that I would have. Someone took them four or five years ago. It’s amazing what bears can and will do when their bored. The bear on top of the portable tank is about 30 feet off the ground. I would have liked to see him climb down that ladder.

Old Friends

2008-03-01T16:51:00.009-09:00

I ran into an old friend today while I was out driving around. This is OD Brown and I know I’ve posted a picture of him before but I just laugh every time I see him so I thought it was worth posting again. The close up of him shows what you would look like if any of us spend as much time outside as this poor old guy. He’s been smoking that same cigar for at least two years now. Today’s weather is -48 ambient and -68 with the wind chill.

Caribou on Ice

2008-02-27T16:56:00.004-09:00

There seems to be a lot more caribou hanging around this winter than I remember from previous years. Usually the heard comes through in the summer, stay for a month or so then leave together. I usually see a few stragglers in the winter that got left behind but there seems to be a lot left behind this year. -30 below, I bet there kicking themselves right about now. Some lucky polar bears have fresh warm meat just walking around waiting for them.

Watering Hole

2008-02-12T06:43:00.000-09:00

This is where we get our drinking water from. There is some kind of heater on this line to keep the water flowing from this lake. From here it goes though a treatment facility to clean it and make it safe to drink. It’s just odd seeing open water in a lake when it’s -30 degrees out.

Off in the distance is a small herd of musk oxen that have been hanging around for a few weeks.

Today is a good day because I go home today!

Cold and Clear

2008-02-06T15:46:00.000-09:00

I took this picture today. The wind has died down to almost nothing as you can see by how all the exhaust from the turbines goes straight up out of the facility and the ambient temperature has dropped to -38 below. The good news is that I only have six more days until I go home, the bad news is that I only have seven days off before I come back.

Sun Rise

2008-02-05T09:06:00.001-09:00

Off in the distance is a drilling rig with the sun coming up behind it. No exciting story to tell, I just thought it was a neat picture.

After the Blow

2008-01-24T18:15:00.000-09:00

Yesterday the wind was blowing over 50 MPH and everyone got the day off due to the very nasty weather. It’s called Phase 3 weather and that means, zero visibility due to blowing snow, large snow drifts (that you can’t see until you hit them) and cold wind chills and nobody is allowed to go anywhere out side of the buildings. Today the winds have died down and we got to go back to work. It’s amazing how much snow the wind can move around in 12 hours. Heavy equipment will spend the next few days trying to clean up all of the roads and parking lots. I took this picture at lunch today. The way the wind was blowing though the wheel of this truck made a pretty cool looking hub cap out of snow.

Unexpected

2008-01-20T18:10:00.000-09:00

I walk outside this morning to go to work and get hit right in the face by a heat wave. I get in my truck and drive to the office, log on my computer to verify that it was +38 degrees. I’m no math wiz but if my calculations are right, that is 111 degrees then last Sunday. It’s just a matter of time before the wind picks up and spoils our spring weather.

Also, the sun really wanted to come up today but just before it did, it fell back down behind the horizon.

Word on the Street is –

2008-01-15T17:11:00.001-09:00

Supposedly January 26th is the magic day the sun will rise again. Although it will only be up for a few minuets, I know that a lot of people are looking forward to it.

I took this picture around noon time. This is as light as it gets for now and it only stays this light for about an hour and a half to two hours.

Just Chillin’

2008-01-13T15:45:00.000-09:00

Back at work and enjoying the weather. It’s been pretty cold for a while now and it’s suppose to stay like this for at lest a few more days. This is a picture of my computer screen showing the current weather. I had some outside work today and let me tell you, it felt like it was at least -80 below but come to find out it was only -73 below.

2007-12-06T14:53:00.001-09:00

Time to Fly

2007-11-13T13:49:00.001-09:00

Today I’m being realest back into civilization after a long five week hitch. Hopefully I will be flying out on an Alaska Airlines flight tonight but if something happens I can always jump on this tricycle and start pedaling.

They have these tricycles in some of the big facilities for the operators to use to get from one end of the facility to the other. Most of these tricycles have a box on the back of them for putting tools and what ever else in that they need but this one just has a big tray on it. (Sorry it’s blurry)

The Arctic Comb Over

2007-11-11T15:38:00.002-09:00

The comb over is the first thing that I thought of when I saw this.

Always On Call

2007-11-08T17:52:00.002-09:00

One very comforting thing is that we have a real good emergency response team here on the Slope. They train every week incase a fire brakes out or someone gets hurt or has a heart attack or they have to go rescue someone for another reason. They also have a pretty good medical facility; they treat people for all kinds of things from just feeling icky to broken bones or even worse.

Normal Arctic Driving

2007-11-05T16:44:00.001-09:00

I think winter has finally hit the North Slope. Today the wind picked up and was blowing up to 45 MPH. If the videos work you can see what it looked like today. This is pretty typical for around here.

Wellhead

2007-11-04T15:57:00.001-09:00

This is where the black gold comes out of the ground; it usually has a well house over it to keep MOST of the snow out. It looks a lot different then the traditional oil pumps that you would see down it the states. That’s because these aren’t pumping the oil. There is other wells that look similar to this that are injector wells. They inject water downhole which pressurizes the ground and forces the oil up. That my little oil field lesson for the day.

Drilling Rig

2007-11-02T16:01:00.001-08:00

I took this picture this morning when I was at drill site #14. It looked neat with all the lights from the rig reflecting off of the snow it looked like a glowing dome of light. To bad it didn’t show up like that in the picture.

Flagged

2007-11-01T17:19:00.002-08:00

These flags are as big as pickup trucks. I know that it’s not that exciting of a picture but I just couldn’t believe how big they are. The crane is pretty big too but I see those all the time.

The last picture is the Arco symbol that is way out in the tundra and stands about 30 feet tall or so (I didn’t measure it). That picture isn’t that exciting either but that one is for Kiana, she has been wanting me to get I picture of it for a long time now so here it is.

Out With the Old

2007-10-29T16:38:00.001-08:00

The old pipe that leaked last year (Oil Transit Line) is out of service and is finally being removed. They are using a different line to flow the oil though now. The old line is being cut up into sections small enough to fit on a tracker trailer truck and getting hauled off. I had to go out and show crews how we mark out our inspection locations so they can cut out certain locations with known corrosion in them. D.O.T. wants these pieces for the investigation that they're doing. Some of them are damaged locations that we have found and some of these are locations that the smart pig had found.

Burning Sky

2007-10-26T17:48:00.002-08:00

This was the sunset yesterday as I was driving into the parking lot at our office. It looks nothing like this today. The wind is blowing up to 35 MPH and all that light fluffy snow is blowing all over the place.

Hoar frost

2007-10-25T16:27:00.003-08:00

Last night we got a heavy hoar frost. You can see just how thick it is on these electric cords. These are the cords used to plug in our trucks when there not running. The next picture is of a chain link fence and from a distance it just looks like a white wall.

Frozen in Time

2007-10-24T16:05:00.002-08:00

These are some of the boats that A.C.S. (Alaska Clean Seas) uses for oil spill clean up if it ever leaks into the Arctic Ocean. I took this picture about a week to ten days ago right before the ocean froze solid. The next pictures I took just days ago after they were taken out of the water for the winter.

Rig Move

2007-10-22T17:44:00.002-08:00

Once again I’m stuck waiting for a rig to go by so I (along with about twenty other people) can continue on are way down the road. If you notice it’s snowing and has been all day. We got about two to three inches of soft fluffy snow. Now all we need is a good blow and it will be a white out.

Red Fox

2007-10-21T16:49:00.002-08:00

As I was driving across one of the well pads today I saw two red foxes running around and playing together. I tried to drive up close to get some good pictures of them but they both took off running. I waited for a short time and one of them came out from behind a well house. He got fairly close to my truck and stayed there just long enough for me to get three or four pictures of him before running away for good.

Hot Rod Project!

2007-10-18T15:44:00.001-08:00

Any one want to help me build a hot rod? I just happened to know were to get a turbine motor that no one is using at the moment. I’m sure that we can get blue prints from Acme Corporation on how to put it together. I just have to figure out how to fit it in my bag to bring it home.

They use a lot of turbine motors around here and sometimes I have to work around them. I know why all of the people walking around on the tarmac at the airports wear those big dumb looking ear muffs. They can make your head ring for hours, that’s why I also wear those big dumb looking ear muffs. This turbine is about four feet in diameter and about eight feet long.

For Sale :)

2007-10-17T13:47:00.001-08:00

I’m ready to part with my Sony Cyber-Shot camera and am willing to make some lucky person a great deal on it.

It’s small and easy to carry in your pocket.
The batteries last a long time.
Battery charger included.
Carrying case included.
3 Extra memory cards.
1.5” LCD display screen.
Original owners manual. (Slightly torn up)
Guarantied to take many more pictures.
I'll even throw in an extra set of batteries. (extra batteries are dead)

One SMALL problem with it is that ALL of the pictures turn out very similar to the one below, other than that it’s a great little camera.Let me know if anyone is interested!

Old Rusty!

2007-10-15T17:52:00.002-08:00

This is just one of many things that hasn’t moved in the seven years that I’ve worked here. It sits and gets more and more rusty year by year. I really don’t think it would float if it had to but I bet it would make a good anchor.

Birds Eye View!

2007-10-14T17:08:00.001-08:00

Today the wind was gusting up to 45 MPH so doing anything outside was like what I would imagine it being like standing inside of a sand blaster. It snowed about 1.5 to 2 inches two days ago but with the wind it has blown miles away by now and all that is left is a few patches and a whole lot of sand and dirt flying around. I took these pictures out the top door of GC-1 (Gathering Center 1) which is seven floors up. The first picture is looking towards GC-2; you can see it off in the distance and all the pipes that come from there go right to where I am.

The second picture is pointing the opposite way showing the pipes that are leaving GC-1 and off in the distance is GC-3. I wish that it could have been better weather so you could have seen farther.

Bone Yard!

2007-09-17T17:10:00.002-08:00

This is where all the old dead drilling rigs go. As far as I know all of these are just used for parts to keep the other drilling rig running. I’m sure you can’t just run down to the local parts store to pick up parts for these things.

All Cracked Up!

2007-09-16T17:29:00.001-08:00

This is where a small pond was earlier this summer. All the water has dried up and this is what was left. I think it looks pretty neat how the mud cracks like this when it dries. You can’t tell in the picture but the cracks are about 6 to 8 inches deep. If you walk out on it, it feels like walking on a big stiff wet sponge, you don’t sink in but it is squishy. Not that I have ever walked on a huge wet sponge but I assume that’s what it would feel like.

Another Haul Road Victim!

2007-09-12T16:59:00.001-08:00

Another one bits the dust. I don’t know the story behind it, but as you can clearly see the wrong side of the truck was on the road.

Smokin Update

2007-09-11T12:01:00.002-08:00

Cough, cough, cough. Well it’s still smoky around here. I took this picture yesterday morning and I think this was at its worst. Later in the day the wind had changed direction slightly so it cleared up for awhile. Today the wind changed back and again it smells like a camp fire. It makes me want to get some marsh mellows and hot dogs out and set up a tent, and then I remember where I’m at.

Smokin

2007-09-09T18:06:00.001-08:00

Today started out a little foggy and then the sun cleared it all up. It got pretty nice out with just a little breeze, partly cloudy and +58 degrees. Then I started smelling smoke, like camp fire smoke. Within 30 to 45 minutes this smoky haze showed up and the camp fire smell kept getting stronger.

From what I hear there is a fire south of Prudhoe Bay somewhere by the Brooks Range. That little breeze that I was talking about is bringing all of that smoke right here. It’s hard to tell in the pictures that I took but the smoke is very thick. There really is blue sky up there through the smoke.

Safety Orange

2007-09-06T18:01:00.001-08:00

If you ever have a problem loosing the plow for your loader here is the fix. These are the brightest snow plows that I have ever seen. They started painting them florescent orange so people can see the loaders coming down the road or plowing the parking lots in a snow storm. It is a good idea and it does work it just looks a little funny with them all staged together.

Sky High!

2007-09-04T17:08:00.001-08:00

I had to go do some work on a man lift yesterday and today. I was using the small man lift and some other Veco guys were using the big one. The big one is called a “Condor 170 S” and it can go up to 170 feet in the air. The smaller blue one that I used can only reach 65 to 70 feet but that’s high enough to make my truck look pretty small with it extended to its max height.

Wile I was working yesterday the facility operator shut us down and told us we had to leave because the plant had to flare of some excess gas. They flare all the time and it’s no big thing but this time they were roaring. It sounded like I was standing right next to a jet airplane at full throttle and I was around a half of a mile away. The flames were shooting well over 300 feet in the air. It’s not only loud but it shakes the ground.

Scare Crow Police!

2007-09-01T17:46:00.001-08:00

Well I’m back at work for another three week sentence, I mean hitch.

I would like you to meet OD Brown the scare crow. As I was driving onto well pad “H” I see this scare crow holding up a 5 MPH sign. I couldn’t tell that it was a stuffed pair of coveralls until I got up close to it and then of course I had to stop and get a picture of it. If you look close you will see he even has a cigar in him mouth.

Lunar Eclipse

2007-08-30T17:56:00.001-08:00

I’ve seen a lot better pictures of the eclipse on the internet but these are mine. Kiana and I stayed up until 4:00 A.M. the other night to watch it. We walked out in our parking lot around 1:30 A.M. to see and all the tree tops were in the way so we walked out to the road where we could see it better. We stood there for about 5 minutes before walking back to the house to grab some lawn chairs. We sat the middle of our road for around an hour until the moon once again started to hide behind the tree tops. Kiana Said,” I know where there is a big open field right down the road with no trees.” We grabbed our lawn chairs, jumped in the car and headed down the road. She was right, we stopped along side the road next to a big field pulled out our lawn chairs finished enjoying all of Gods beauty.

The Time Has Come!

2007-08-14T10:13:00.001-08:00

I’m off to Kuparuk to catch a plane home. Kuparuk is one of the neighboring North Slope oil fields. I usually fly out of Dead Horse airport on a Shared Services flight but since the “plane incident” the new make up flight which is flown by Alaska Airlines, doesn’t get into Anchorage until 11:55 P.M. tonight. I managed to get an empty seat on one of the flights out of Kuparuk that will put me in Anchorage around 8:40 instead of midnight. I will have to take an hour to an hour and a half bus ride to get to that flight but after my long hitch that’s fine with me. I get off the clock at 6:00 P.M. so any time I send here after that is my time, and I don’t like to waste any of my R-n-R sitting here on the Slope.

That’s the news folks and I am outa here, I’ll be back in two weeks two days.

+ 71 Degrees !!

2007-08-12T16:13:00.001-08:00

Today the temperature hit +71 degrees. I should be sitting in my back yard with my wife, relaxing, throwing a ball for Pete. But no, I had to stay at work for a few more days. “That’ll learn me.” With just two days to go, I’m mentally already sitting on a plan on my way to Anchorage.

I took this picture yesterday of a crane lifting some new pipe into its place. If you’re wondering why it’s crooked, it’s because I had my arm out the driver’s window to take it. My windshield has so many chips and cracks in it, it’s hard to see out let alone that a picture through it.

Staying a Few Days Late.

2007-08-10T16:40:00.001-08:00

I came to work one week early and I got stuck staying in a rig camp. Well I should have gone home yesterday, but no I decided to stay until Tuesday. So again I rolled the dice on what kind of a room I would get to stay in.

I should have guessed where I would be staying. I got put up in another rig camp. I can’t wait till Tuesday.

Crash -n- Burn!

2007-08-09T14:32:00.001-08:00

You have to read the sign, it says it all.

Weathered

2007-08-03T16:53:00.001-08:00

This is an old canvas tent / building (what ever you want to call it) that hasn’t been used in years. I didn’t have anything else to take pictures of. I thing I have photographed the whole North Slope. I’m still looking for new things but I don’t think there is much left.

Always Ready

2007-08-02T15:25:00.001-08:00

We have a lot of volunteer rescue and fire fighters here. BP pays for all there training and they are on call if something happens. They train once a week for two hours after there initial training.

Over Sized Rat

2007-08-01T16:42:00.001-08:00

I’m not sure why but there isn’t as many foxes running around this year. I haven’t seen any fox pups either and there usually running all over the place this time of year. The pups are pretty entertaining to watch.

In the Fog!

2007-07-30T17:28:00.002-08:00

This is the start of the Alyeska Pipeline, mile post 0. In the summer they have what they call “Fun Runs”. You can either walk or run 5K or for those of us that live in America thats 3.1 miles. This run was put on by Alyeska Pump Station 1. We walk through the fog next to the Alyeska Pipeline for 1.5 miles to get fun run ticket, then turn around and walk back, picking up your free T-shirt as you leave. It’s nice just to have something to do after work plus I could use the exercise, a free shirt is nice too.

A Good Reminder!

2007-07-28T16:50:00.001-08:00

On a more serious note, this is a memorial for a welder’s helper that died right here in 1994. From what I've heard, when the construction of this pipe line was being done he had to go inside the 24” pipe a few feet to prep a weld. There was no air test done and no ventilation, after all it was only going to take him a minute or so to do what he needed to do. No one knew it at the time but the pipe had argon gas in it.

“Argon is colorless, odorless, tasteless and nontoxic in both its liquid and gaseous forms. Although argon is non-toxic, it does not satisfy the body's need for oxygen and is a simple asphyxiant.”

I know that I get tired of hearing “Safety/ Safety/ Safety” but I am glad that I work in such a safety orientated place so these things don’t happen like this any more. It’s not just about getting the job done; it’s about being able to go home to your family after getting the job done safely. I think this is a good reminder of that and although this memorial is way out in the middle of no where I think it’s a good thing for people to see.

Pig in a Pipe!

2007-07-27T15:46:00.002-08:00

I thought this was neat. I’m sure every one has hard of a pig in a blanket, well this is a pig in a pipe. You can see off to the right of the second picture there is a pig standing on end. They have many different types of pigs like scraper pigs which have wire all the way around it like a big wire brush to break up any sludge in the pipe. Then they send a cleaning pig down the line to push all that sludge out the other end of the pipe, that’s the kind of pig that is in the picture. The smart pig goes down the line next; it takes a measurement from start to finish and records any defects that it finds. They download all that information from the smart pig and give it to us so we can go find the corrosion and tell them how bad it is.

Little Red Wagon?

2007-07-26T17:31:00.001-08:00

This is a drilling rig that hasn’t moved in years. I’m not sure why it has “Radio Flyer” on it but I had to take a picture of it. Here is nothing little about this either. The spools of wire sitting on the ground in the second picture are 10 feet tall, just so you have something to judge the rig by.

Out for a stroll

2007-07-25T17:30:00.001-08:00

There are still a few muskoxen roaming around. As I came up on these guys I thought it was a couple of bears but it wasn’t.

Big Fire!

2007-07-23T10:42:00.001-08:00

These flare tips are a lot bigger then I thought they were. This is a picture of GC-3 (gathering center #3) as they went to flare. It’s a lot more impressive looking in real life than in this picture. You can feel it in the ground shake as they roar. Just imagine how big that flame is compared to how big the flare tip is.

This is a replacement flare tip that is going to be installed that is similar to the ones in the above picture. I had to park my truck up next to it to show just how big it is.

Top of the World!!

2007-07-21T17:03:00.001-08:00

This sign lies. I am here, not you.
I didn’t have anything else to post.

Right of Way!

2007-07-20T17:34:00.001-08:00

Pedestrians come second to the wild life around here. This was a few days ago, I just got off work and was trying to drive back to camp when a few thousand caribou decided to cross the road in front of a few of us. The rules here on the North Slope are you, just stop and wait. You can’t honk your horn, throw rocks, yell, spit or shoe them off the road in any way. Of course they don’t all just cross at the same time, they meander across a few at a time and some of the babies will lie down and take a brake in the middle of the road. I wish that I could have taken a panoramic shot so you could get an idea of just how many there really were.

Happy Horse in Deadhorse!

2007-07-19T17:43:00.001-08:00

Today it poured down rain all day so no good pictures to share. This was from two days ago when it was still summer. This is the sign for the Happy Horse inn there in Deadhorse. I like the sign but the camp is pretty ghetto.

Trap is Set!

2007-07-18T17:26:00.001-08:00

This is one of are North Slope security trucks sitting in one of there favorite spots. He is sitting just off the main road were the speed limit goes from 45 MPH to 25 MPH. As you can see, the way he is sitting you can’t see him until you come over the hill and are staring him right in the face and by that time his radar has already got you. (See picture # 2)

Summer on the North Slope!

2007-07-17T17:36:00.001-08:00

The temperature hit +69 degrees today. There was very little wind so it was hot and the mosquitoes were out.

I haven’t downloaded today’s pic’s yet so you get yesterdays leftovers.
These are some of the few kinds of flowers that actually grow up here in the summer. I can only think of two other ones but they all look the same just different colors. They probably are the same just white and yellow. As you can probably tell I don’t know much about flowers.

Pushing Power!

2007-07-16T08:43:00.001-08:00

I liked how these bulldozers are all lined up just waiting for something to do.
These are sitting in down town Deadhorse.

Prudhoe Bay Resort

2007-07-14T11:53:00.001-08:00

I came to work a week early this hitch and as always doing an extra week is a gamble on what kind of room you will get. Well I guess my lucky numbers didn’t come up because this aint no Holiday Inn.

This is an old rig camp that they’ve revived from the dead to house people in because there is no more room in the real camps. Here’s what it looks like from the outside.

Next is the room that I’m staying in, it has three beds in it (lucky for me there is only one other guy staying in it right now) and three closets. There’s also a view of the artic ocean if I cared to look.

I thought this was funny; this is the laundry room slash shower room with a little curtain to separate them for privacy.
I didn’t take a picture of the bathroom, trust me you don’t want to see it and neither did I.

I can't wait till this week is over and I can go back to my normal room.

Caribou, Caribou and more Caribou

2007-07-13T15:44:00.001-08:00

Well I’m back at work, again. There are huge herds of caribou roaming all around us. There were probably 1,000 or more in this herd. It’s pretty neat to see that many at one time, until you have to wait for them to cross the road in front of you.

Good News!

2007-06-28T15:11:00.001-08:00

I have plane ticket in my pocket and I am going home, although the planes are running late today. Late is better then never.

This is next to the road and stands about ten feet tall with a plaque in the middle of it. I’ve worked here for over seven years and couldn’t tell you what it said. So I stopped and read it, it wasn’t all that cool but here it is because I had nothing else to post.

From Snow Drifts to Sand Drifts

2007-06-27T17:30:00.001-08:00

There are only one or two places around here that have sand or silt that blow around like snow does in the winter. I thought that it looked neat how it had drifted over the pipes. Every where you look around here is flat as far as you can see. Then you get to this one place were the tundra turns all sandy and as the wind blows it makes these small mounds. This is about a mile or so from the ocean.

Born in a Barn?

2007-06-26T17:11:00.001-08:00

This is the only time of the year when you can open up all the doors on the shops and let them air out. The tempter is averaging around 40 degrees during the days and most of all the snow has melted. This is the shop that they keep all of the heavy equipment in, (loaders, road graters, snow blowers, ext…)

Sticking Together!

2007-06-23T12:28:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I walked out to look at a location on one of the pipes that I was working on and a crow came swooping down and lands on another pipe about 20 to 30 feet away from me. Just after he lands he started squawking at me. This definitely wasn’t any friendly squawking either, and then another crow lands on the other side of me and starts doing the same thing but this one was a little farther away. I thought that I must be close to there nest and they just want to scare me away. Then I notice something moving under the pipes, it’s another crow but this one couldn’t fly it can only walk. It looked pretty beat up. I think that the two healthy crows were trying to protect the other one.

+ 64 Degrees !!!

2007-06-21T17:18:00.001-08:00

Today the weather was sunny and hot. The temperature got up to 64 degrees and the mosquitoes came out of hibernation. I like the warm weather but it was almost too hot to be wearing coveralls and a hardhat.
As I was standing on a ladder, minding my own business I heard something behind me so I turned around to see a herd of caribou strolling by. I was close to my truck, so I slowly walked over to it and grabbed my camera. They were within 10 to 15 feet from me, but as long as I stood still they just looked at me and kept on walking.

Which Pipe???

2007-06-17T17:53:00.001-08:00

It’s nice to get outside and work when the weather is like this. It’s been in the mid 40’s and sunny for the last few days. It’s not warm enough for the mosquitoes to come out yet but it’s warm enough to work with out a coat on and not sweat.
These are some of the pipes that I am working on today. I have figure out what line is what and mark each one with its specific ID #, (not as tough as it looks.)

Spring has Sprung

2007-06-16T17:37:00.001-08:00

Spring is finally here and most of the snow has melted except were there were big heaps of it. The Arctic Ocean is just starting to brake up, that’s when they get the hover craft out. It sure looks like a lot of fun but it also looks like a bumpy ride.

Compact

2007-05-17T13:40:00.001-08:00

I think BP is investing in the new compact trucks for us to drive, or maybe this is how someone felt about having to drive a ford.

I really don’t know the story on why these trucks got crushed but I couldn’t drive by without taking a picture.

P.S. I GO HOME TODAY :)

Do the crime, Do the time

2007-05-16T17:47:00.001-08:00

“Were all in this together” The job slob’s slogan. If you do mess it up you have to answer to the enforcer.

Same ol' Same ol'

2007-05-15T16:15:00.001-08:00

Some things just never change or move around here. I’m sure every one has seen this before but really this is a new picture that I took today. The Muskoxen are showing up and should be having there babies soon too. These two were pretty close to the road but with me camera you couldn’t tell.

Happy Mothers Day !

2007-05-13T17:56:00.001-08:00

I want to wish all the mothers out there Happy Mothers Day. I know that I never gave my mother all the credit that she deserves which is a lot of credit. She has put up with a lot from all of us kids and she has taught us a lot of good things that I hope we can pass on.

I Love You, Happy Mothers Day Mom!

Something Deep!

2007-05-10T16:48:00.001-08:00

More snow drifts. It just won’t melt fast enough.

Stop??

2007-05-09T17:52:00.001-08:00

I think that spring has finally made it this far north. It has warmed up +20 above and the sun has been out for the last two days. The roads are melting off during the days and turning into slush. As you can see by these pictures there still is a little snow on the ground.

Chain Saw on Steroids!

2007-05-04T15:35:00.001-08:00

I’m not sure what they call this machine but to looks pretty mean. It’s used to dig ditches in the frozen ground to bury electric cables.

Camp Puzzle!

2007-05-02T09:08:00.001-08:00

There putting together a new camp because all of the other camps are full already and they need more rooms. Truck after truck showed up with this big shrink wrapped boxes on them. There striping the shrink wrap off of them and lifting them into place like a jig saw puzzle one by one with a big crane. Maybe I’ll post a picture of the camp after they get it all snapped together.

In the Rack

2007-05-01T16:14:00.001-08:00

I took this picture from up in one of the pipe racks. These are 6 inch oil lines coming from the well houses. This is raw crud oil strait out of the ground before going through any refining. The second picture is showing the pipe racks on both sides of the road.

Luggage-Kabob

2007-04-24T16:07:00.001-08:00

Ever wonder what happens to all that lost luggage? I think we found some of it. We saw this in the Seattle airport as we were leaving.
I have to admit, Kiana was the one that pointed it out to me and her camera was a lot harder to get out then mine was. So really this should be her picture, only it’s on my camera so she can’t blog it.

Seattle to the Slope

2007-04-20T17:10:00.001-08:00

Well I’m back at work for the next FOUR WEEKS! We had a good time on my time off though. The first week we were doing the Alaska state lectureship for the Church of Christ and then on the last few days we went to Seattle with friends of ours from the church. We got back Wednesday night and I got on a plane Thursday afternoon to come to work. I’m sure every one knows what the first picture is (Space needle) and the second picture is the view from the top of the Space Needle.

Spring is coming!

2007-04-05T06:33:00.001-08:00

A week and a half ago it was around -45 below zero and was cold enough to brake steel like glass. This is a loader that the bucket snapped right off.

This week it is getting up to around +10 ABOVE zero. It feels like t-shirt weather. One more positive thing, I go home today!

2007-03-24T17:27:00.001-08:00

Kiana and I have been reading this book called The Purpose Driven Life and this one line that I read just keeps running though my head.
“Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money but you can’t make more time.”
I miss my boy so much!

I'm Sorry :(

2007-03-17T08:28:00.001-08:00

I'm back at work and I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I will so I'm posting this for now. I thought it was cute and thought you might enjoy it too.

THIS IS WHAT SORRY LOOKS LIKE

SuperSucker

2007-02-22T14:58:00.001-09:00

Have you ever thought your job sucked? Just think how the guy feels that drives this truck. This is basically a big shop vac. It can suck up oil, water or anything else it needs to.

Well that’s all folks; I’ve got a plane to catch. See ya’ll next hitch!

There’s no place like home, There’s no place like home!!

2007-02-21T17:54:00.001-09:00

-43 Below AMBIENT! I’m so glad that I go home tomorrow :)

Out With the Old

2007-02-13T15:16:00.001-09:00

This is how they get an old pipe down off of the V.S.M. (vertical support member). These cats have a boom on one side and a big counter weight on the other side. They lift the pipe up and the cat in the back lets his down to the ground and unhooks his sling. Then he leap frogs up to the front and lifts up again. Then they just keep doing the leap frog method down the pipeline.

After the Blow

2007-02-10T08:05:00.001-09:00

The wind has died down, now the loaders and snow blowers are trying to get things cleaned up before it starts to blow again. This is a row of trucks that obviously haven’t moved in a while. I like how the snow drifts stuck to the sides of the trucks.

Just Another Day

2007-02-08T07:04:00.001-09:00

Another windy day, (not unusual) this is a picture of the sun coming up though the blowing snow.

Blowing Snow

2007-02-03T08:20:00.001-09:00

The weather was so nice at home; it was giving me spring fever. Now I’m back at work and it’s cold and blowing. This is a picture of how the visibility was yesterday, (see the road)? It was even worse before it got light out.

Sunrise?

2007-01-09T15:58:00.001-09:00

The sun will rise again, just not today. Another week or so and the sun will actually make it above the horizon. This is about as close to being daylight as it gets for now, witch is better then it was a month ago.

Right way/ Wrong way

2007-01-08T15:39:00.001-09:00

If anyone is wondering this is the wrong way to use a side dump trailer. I guess that the gravel that was in it froze (Hmmmm -38 degrees) and when the driver went to dump it, it dumped trailer and all on its side. I think that it ripped the hitch right off of the truck.

The pictures came out a little blurry because I was in a hurry to snap these shots because people looking at me like they weren’t very happy that some guy was taking pictures of there screw up.

Snow Tire's

2007-01-07T16:39:00.001-09:00

Foxy

2007-01-06T15:37:00.001-09:00

I hope my wife doesn’t get jealous but I had a real fox checking me out today. This fox followed me up and down line watching me like I was going to feed him, he was sadly mistaken.

Snow Cave!

2007-01-05T17:41:00.001-09:00

I was working on some 34” pipes outside as I come across this small hole in the snow with steam coming out of it. The hole in the snow in the first picture is about the size of a soccer ball. I of course took pictures of it and then grabbed a shovel and started poking the ground with it as I walked closer until the snow stared to fall in. As you can see in the last picture the snow cave was about 6 feet around and at least 5 feet deep with about a foot or so of water in the bottom of it. A very good thing to watch for when walking around in the arctic.

Brrrr!!

2007-01-01T16:05:00.001-09:00

What a way to bring in the New Year. Working outside in the extreme cold. I do get another lobster dinner tonight though. I hope every one had a good, safe and warm New Years :)

Shorty!

2006-12-31T16:31:00.001-09:00

I’m not sure what the purpose of having a full sized loader that is so short but it sure is funny looking.

Happy New Years to every one!!

Frosty!

2006-12-29T13:26:00.001-09:00

This is what a building looks like that doesn’t have any heat in it when it’s -30 below out. Also as light as it gets right now, you can see the moon in the background. I took this picture at about 1:00 P.M. and it was dark again shortly after.

North For Christmas!

2006-12-25T13:36:00.001-09:00

Marry Christmas to everyone from Prudhoe Bay. Tonight is filet mignon and Lobster for dinner. Also, I get off work early and still get paid for it. ALMOST as good as being at home, But not quit.