Bama's Back

Bama finally came back today.

Monday’s tornado really spooked some of the folks around here. It was ironic that we had all been sitting around in the dining hall last week talking about how the weather can change here so quickly. I told them about last year’s hail storm that damaged my truck and the couple of funnel clouds that I had spotted in the distance but never saw touch down.

Tornados are rare in North Dakota and usually only occur during the few weeks between freezing in late March and sizzling in early June. The storms are impressive though since you can see forever from atop any hill.

There are about 30 of us in the camp outside Trenton and when the building season got underway, about 50 Mexicans showed up for the summer too. The buildings are made of steel with metal roofs and they tend to amplify the sound of a storm, it sounds a lot like sitting in the loft of a barn with a tin roof during a heavy rain. The train track is directly across the highway and there must be 25 or 30 trains a day that come by, sometimes it sounds like they come right down the hall.

Bama is a short stocky guy from the Mobile area that doesn't own an article of clothing without the Bama football logo on it; he’s seen a few hurricanes but had never been close to a tornado. Apparently they don’t get many tornados down in Mexico either because the group sitting next to us got really interested in what we were discussing, they had all seen the reports of damage in Joplin and Tuscaloosa the past couple of years. They all knew the traditional southern description of “it sounded like a freight train” and hearing Bama talk brought a few laughs from them.

 On Monday morning, just across the state line near Sidney, Montana the storm cell reached an altitude of about 60,000 feet. That’s big and as it came over us the hail started to fall in little icy balls about the size of a marble, they steadily increased to golf ball size as the sky darkened.

It got loud, really loud and just as the black monster cloud slipped over the ridge to our west, along came a train.

It was all the warning he needed!

Bama is about as wide as the hall and I’m just thankful that I peeked out the door at all the commotion before stepping into his path. The look on his face as he headed for the back door was a mix of sheer terror and determination to get out of this super sized trailer. He never touched a step when he blew through the door. The last glimpse I caught of him was about half way up the big hill, he was already gaining on two of the Mexicans ahead of him.

We’re still down to 48 Mexicans.

Warpath In The Oil Patch

Got to relate a story I was told this week by another oil hauler. 

He was at a well location out in the middle of nowhere a couple of weeks ago, Around 3 am he had gone up on the tanks to gauge or measure how much oil was in the tank. As he was reading the steel tape, he caught some movement out of the corner of his eye. He knew that he was the only person in the area and the movement startled him. 

Standing at the other end of the cat walk was a tall Indian brave in full war paint holding an ax in one hand and a spear in the other. The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up and as he turned to face the brave, he was frozen with fear. The warrior started walking toward him and all he could do was stare into his eyes. What he was seeing didn't look transparent or ghostly, it looked to be a solid, well built man ready to battle.

Unable to utter a sound, all he could do was watch as the brave approached and proceeded to walk straight through him and down the steps behind him before walking off into the night.

Turns out, the well was permitted and built on an ancient sacred Indian burial ground and this wasn't the first time someone had provoked a spirit and had an encounter. He told me where the well was located and you can bet the farm that I'll only work it during the daytime if I ever have to. I have no desire to have a warrior walk through me or step in what he would find behind me.

Hopping Chocolate

Got in this morning a few minutes after four.

I just barely beat the sunrise and thought I would have time to grab a quick shower, put some clothes on to wash and cap off a twenty one hour day with a Klondike bar. It was one of those mint flavored ones that Julie has managed to get me hooked on.

There is no way to describe how good the hot shower felt, it's about the only thing that soothes aching joints after a long day spent climbing in and out of a truck. I stood for what seemed like an eternity under the twin shower heads, but eventually the visions of the waiting Klondike bar and some wrinkled up palms finally convinced me that I'd been in there long enough.

Now I've gone through about a dozen or more packages of the bars and managed to perfect the way to fold the wrapper so none of the chocolate would end up on whatever I happened to be wearing at the moment. The fact that I'd never eaten one with a towel wrapped around me simply didn't occur to me, probably wouldn't have made any difference anyway since the craving was in total control by the time I reached the fridge.

I carefully folded back the foil and took the first bite off the left corner, just like I was suppose to.

Everything was going great until I started down the stairs and somehow a piece of the chocolate about the size of a quarter managed to fly off and land on a part of my left foot that I haven't been able to touch since 1979.

I tried picking up my foot and reaching down with my left hand but that only made the towel hit the floor. If you're over fifty, pick up your foot and then try to bend over and get something off the floor without your foot flying up behind you. It's a long way down there, the towel was going to have to wait.

I tried reaching across with my right hand but came up two inches short. It's amazing how straining with your knee just under your chin will make your eyes close, I couldn't see a thing on those two attempts but when they finally opened it was still there.

By now the stuff was beginning to melt and I really didn't want to go through the ordeal of getting chocolate out of the carpet so this idea of hopping to the bathroom somehow popped into my head. It seemed like the perfect solution until I got within range of the mirror. It's impossible to grow old gracefully when there are mirrors around, things don't always hop at the same time.

Next time I'll just rent a carpet cleaner.

Who Was That Man???

Dreams are the amazing ability the mind has to take you on an adventure, sometimes good, sometimes scary. Some are about the past while others give you a glimpse of what the future may hold. Some even involve people you know or have met along life’s journey. There are some you can’t wait to tell everyone about, some you can’t remember and some you wouldn’t dare talk about.

Now I’m sure most everyone has had an encounter where you couldn’t remember a name but carried on a conversation and then wondered who the heck was that. Julie and I were in Wal Mart the other evening and bumped into someone that we both should have known, neither could think of his name though. I tend to forget about encounters like that pretty quickly and move on, Julie will keep looking until the cell with the stored information is found, sometimes hours or days later.

We finished up the shopping list, checked out and headed home.

After several hours of surfing and posting on the internet, my eyes and fingers were worn out so we took a late night walk. Nothing came up about the Wal Mart trip during the hour we were gone or after we returned. I grabbed a quick shower and off to bed we went.

It was a quiet night, not a sound other than the air conditioner humming in the window. I had been lying there for at least half an hour thinking about what was on the calendar for the next day when all of a sudden Julie shouted out this man’s name.

In that instant, a couple of old dreams flashed through my mind and my only response was……”I hope you are awake.”

Lightning Is Fast…. But A Scared Fat Woman Is Faster

Late afternoon thunderstorms rolling into the area are like a breath of fresh air as they cool the blistering summer heat. They also spawn traffic accidents and the chatter on the scanner sitting to my left really picks up anytime the skies darken and the thunder rolls.  

Tuesday evening the sky turned a peachy color, the wind picked up and a warning was broadcast about the danger of frequent cloud to ground lightning from the approaching storm. Moments later the dispatcher notified a deputy that someone had reported an overturned car.

I grabbed the camera bag and a note pad on the way out the door. After backing halfway down the drive, I thought that my raincoat and hat would be a good idea too. This certainly wasn't the first wreck I've ever rushed to through the years and it seems that somewhere along the way, I’d figure out that flip flops are not ideally suited for running around in the rain… this was not to be the moment that I would come to that realization though.

The accident was only seven or eight minutes away and most sensible drivers had decided to stay off the road during the storm so traffic was much lighter than normal and I was able to park about forty yards from the scene. The intersection was near the crest of a long steep hill that climbed up from the creek.

I made the quick switch to a lens better suited for low light conditions and started shooting as soon as I got out of the truck.

The car was lying on it’s side in the ditch and the tire tracks were still visible showing how it had traveled across the road before taking out the road sign honoring a local politician, then overturning. The darkness wrapped around us much quicker under the threatening sky and my flash was only good for about ten feet. I was getting the best shots possible under the conditions and had taken eight or ten close-ups of the underneath side of the SUV when I decided that I needed one that showed more than mufflers, shocks and wheels.

The embankment on the other side of the ditch would provide the perfect vantage point, all I had to do was get there. Trying to negotiate a ditch with running water still flowing through it and climb up on a slippery Georgia red clay bank is tough enough, throw in a pair of flip flops and it can get down right entertaining.
Both feet were wet by the time I found a better route back to the pavement and it was impossible to get all the sticky red mud off the flops. I had all the shots that I wanted with the camera so one more with the cell phone would wrap things up.

Just as I raised the phone up to eye level, a huge bolt of lightning struck to my right.

I jumped pretty high and before I hit the ground, I heard her coming.

Now I understand the need to be politically correct in today’s world but there are times when it’s impossible to describe what happened and do it justice. This lady was huge and she was moving faster than the sound of thunder. I didn't wait to see what had caused this stampede, I headed downhill and prayed I could stay in front of her.

Within ten steps, I was looking at her backside…..she came by me like I was running in the other direction.
About this time, I heard the thunder and saw her find a gear that I’m sure only she knew she possessed. Adrenalin is a powerful substance and at this moment I was still thinking that maybe I’d  have a shot at catching up when we crossed the creek and started up the opposite hill. My rain coat was flapping in the tailwind and the camera around my neck stretched out behind me.

Halfway to the creek, I was out of air. I’ll probably never know where she turned around, or if she did.
It took several minutes for me to walk back up the hill to where I had parked the truck and as I opened the door, Julie looked up and without cracking a smile asked, “Where did you go?”

I just wasn’t man enough to tell her that the fat lady had scared the living hell out of me and that I couldn’t outrun her in flip flops.

The moment of realization had arrived.

Late For G-Day Game

Traveling to Athens for the annual spring game usually gives me a chance to soak in the fact that winter is over, the dogwoods and azaleas are blooming and I know that I’m about to get my first sunburn of the season watching the game.

This trip started out just like most others, then I caught a glimpse of something blue in a field.

I hit the brakes and backed up just as a big tom went into a full strut, then his opponent up on the hill displayed his fan. These two put on a show for over half an hour as they strutted and drummed before a handful of hens having breakfast between them. They were pretty evenly matched but the tom up on the hill had the advantage and surely appeared larger than he really was to the one down below. Having the high ground is important in any kind of battle.

I didn’t have a call with me but managed to yelp a few times and each of them answered. It was obvious that one was also trying to out gobble the other.

The hens showed no interest in what the boys were up to and seemed to be more concerned about a couple of Canadian geese flying over than the dance they have probably seen many times.

Here’s a few more shots of about the only thing that can make me late to a football game. Click on the picture to see the full size shot.

 

Saturday In The South

There is nothing better in the South than a beautiful fall sunrise, especially when it’s the first Saturday of football season. I tend to see far more sunsets since they don’t occur so early.

August had been exceptionally hot, a number of days with the temp near 100 and the heat index between 110 and 120. The first weekend of September finally offered a reprieve with lows in the upper 60’s.

That annual cooling off is what produces a steady flow of football hormones.

Pent up for the past eight months the sudden release causes insomnia, memory loss and the inability to perform normal daily functions like working, eating or thinking about anything not located “Between The Hedges.”

It’s an amazing feeling to put on your game day uniform for the first time since the bowl game or signing day if  you are really hardcore.

Everything is either red, black or has the “G” logo on it and there are no exceptions to the strict dress code rule or else you will feel the visual wrath of 92, 746 of your closest friends.

The drive to Athens with the mandatory magnetic Uga on the truck door and flags flying in the cool fall air, just prepares you for the stroll across campus with the smell of fried chicken and bar-b-que floating on the breeze.

As you get near the stadium, the sound of the Redcoat Band warming up fills the air and again this sudden rush alerts you to the fact that “It’s Saturday In Athens.”

Timing is everything and making certain that adequate time has been allowed to reach the student center restrooms is critical to enjoying the game day experience.

Porta-johns can obscure the aroma of a charcoal grill quickly. They all should be painted blue and orange, the odor would not catch you off guard then.

Boiled peanuts are next on the menu, they give you a perfect excuse to sit under a big oak tree for a while and watch the crowd come and go from the book store. Someone in the Athens area has made a fortune selling little black dresses to sorority sisters. They really go well with cowboy boots too.

Finally it’s time to enter the stadium and it doesn’t matter how many times you have stepped out of the shadows and into the brilliant sunshine, it is almost a religious experience.

The beautiful field, the band, the cheerleaders, the teams warming up, you dry your eyes and just sit there and soak it in for a few minutes.

For the next four hours, life is good.

Seafood Festival

Great concert with Grand Funk Railroad, they only played for a couple of hours but were fantastic. Would love to see them again.

Ice Road Truckers

After driving the legendary Dalton Highway all summer, I finally got to spend a little time with some of the Ice Road Truckers that I had been waving at through a bus windshield.


George is the old pro and is retiring after spending thirty years on the "Haul Road." Surviving that long on one of the most dangerous roads in the world takes a lot of skill and a little luck, he's lost some good friends along the way that had as much skill but just ran out of luck.


Jack is all business and it shows quickly, he's the one that pulls the really big, difficult and dangerous loads today.




Tim survived his first season on the Dalton without a major incident. I asked him how much the show has changed his life, "I'm amazed that people recognize me now, I'm just a truck driver but it has been all been a great experience and a lot of fun."


Lisa is trying to balance all the attention that the show has thrust upon her as well as a new husband. She gets dozens of request for pictures every day, but politely declines those wanting a kiss on the cheek, even one from a shaved head bus driver that had to settle for a hug and a bruised ego.

Lol..... it won't be the last time Tyler is told no.

The Kenai

A quick trip down to the Kenai Peninsula for the weekend was a much needed respite from the smoke that has plagued the interior for the past two months.

The Homer Spit is a great place to visit, it is a little narrow sliver of land that juts out into Kachemak Bay. The atmosphere in the Salty Dawg Saloon is great and the baked halibut at Captain Patties is without a doubt the best that I have ever had.





Other than the fifty miles or so along the coast the drive down the Kenai is not that picturesque.

The road is good but you better be watchful for moose, especially late in the evening, we saw twelve on the way back and that doesn't inclued the one that was hit by a truck just a minute or two before we met them.



The fires burning north of Healy have really increased in size and are pumping out a tremendous volume of smoke. The wind had been blowing from the north for a couple of days but shifted again and is now from the south, bringing the smoke back into town. The ash is covering everything and the air quality is so low that centers have been opened in Fairbanks to allow residents the opportunity to sit inside a sealed room and breath filtered air. It is not as bad as the summers of 2004 and 2005 were but it brings back a lot of memories.

Smoke In town

Thank goodness I'm off to Prudhoe Bay in the morning, the smoke is getting very thick in Fairbanks tonight. Lightning started a fire twenty five miles south of town yesterday and it has already spread to sixteen thousand acres. Ash is falling this evening and if the wind doesn't change direction in the next couple of days, it will continue to get worse as the fire grows.

Two more tours left this season and it's off to Fayetteville, North Carolina to spend a few days with Bryan before he deploys to Iraq for a year. It's getting here too fast.

Two Weeks On The Dalton

After two weeks and two thousand miles of the Dalton Highway, it is time for a little R&R.

The Ice Road Truckers show on the History Channel is doing thirteen episodes this season on the Dalton and several of the truckers that I have met are featured on there. The road is not the worst that I have ever driven but you had better know who and what's around you on some of the blind corners. The conditions can change quickly and there's not much room for error. Most of the traffic that you encounter is usually bigger than the bus that I'm in and at times we have to get off the road entirely for an oversized load from fifteen to twenty one feet wide and weighing up to one hundred sixty thousand pounds.

It's a four hundred fourteen mile adventure from the Elliott Highway to Deadhorse and most of it is gravel. The beauty of the north slope and the wildlife make this the trip of a lifetime though, it is almost impossible to describe it, you simply have to see and experience it to understand.

I have to make a quick run down to Skagway next week before heading back up to Prudhoe Bay the following week, it will seem strange to drive on the pavement all the time.

This summer is going by so quickly.

Days Off

Having three days off feels good, but it's time to saddle up again.

It's cloudy, cool and raining a little today, perfect day to have a bowl of ice cream. But then again I like ice cream when it's clear and hot too. Heck, I just like ice cream anytime.

Think I'll have a buffalo burger for lunch, they are the best.

Not much else happening, waiting around for Thursday to head back up north.

A Month Without Internet Access

Well I finally got access again, been away for more than a month now.

Just returned from the first tour of the season to Prudhoe Bay, the Dalton Highway was pretty rough, as it always is this time of the year. The caribou are finishing up their spring migration and there were hundreds of them along the road, all headed north. We'll see them again in late August when they head south.

Atigun pass was breathtaking, the snow is deep and this is the time of the year when it just looks like what you expect Alaska to look like.

The trip up was fun, it snowed all the way from the pass to Deadhorse and the temp was around 25. Much warmer coming back, it hit 70 in Coldfoot.

In addition to the caribou, we saw several moose, about 50 Dall sheep, a small pack of grey wolves and thousands of geese, ducks and swans. The mosquitoes are out already too, saw a few million of them.

Will be in town for a few days now and head back up the Dalton next Thursday.

In Fairbanks

Drove over 1000 miles yesterday from Muncho Lake, BC to Fairbanks, got in around 2am.

The wildlife along the way was great, couldn't count the number of moose that I saw.

I'll get some pictures up later.

Visited With Some Friends Today

Made a stop at Scullee's place this morning, picked up some beautiful canes and bowls and had a chance to sit and talk for a while with Scullee, George and Fred (George's wife, short for Fredia).

I'm just amazed at what Scullee and George can do with a piece of wood, I ordered a dozen more canes, they'll be ready by the time I come back through here in August.

Saw a huge moose and some elk this afternoon, still a lot of snow on the ground too.

I had quite an experience on the flight Sunday but just haven't had time to write about it yet, I'll catch up early next week.

Headed to bed early tonight, got about 700 miles to do tomorrow.

735 Miles Yesterday

Long day yesterday, got snowed on three times.

Headed out to Scullee's this morning and up to the Alaska Highway in the afternoon.

Later.

Northbound

Spent four days with Bo, Brandi, Bryan and the grandkids, worked a little on the house, rode the 4-wheelers and now it's time to head north.

I'll be leaving Sunday morning for Fairbanks.

Buffett Was Fantastic

Spent the day with a few thousand Parrot Heads at Lakewood, had a blast and I have the headache to prove it.

Gotta go lie down again.

Things That Bug Me

With all the rain we have had in the past two weeks, it's no surprise that we have seen a couple of "Palmetto Bugs" in the house. I have sprayed every room and all around the outside of the house but they still find a way to get in.

Saturday was a very busy day, I left home at 8 am headed to Athens and had gotten almost to I-75 near Jackson when my phone rang. It was Julie letting me know that my wallet and money was lying on the table. I would have discovered it anyway in five more minutes when I stopped for gas, there was nothing I could do except turn around and drive back home. It should have been an omen.

After walking around Sanford Stadium several times, taking over 250 pictures, attending the press conference, eating at both the Blind Pig and The Varsity, it was time to make the drive back to Thomaston.

It was late when I got in and I was still too hyped up to go to sleep so I downloaded all the pictures and worked on them until 2 am. It must have been closer to three before I finally went to sleep and everything was fine until around 6 am.

Just before daylight, I felt something run up my right leg. It woke me up in a hurry and I immediately took a swing at whatever it was.

I had no idea that I had been sleeping on my arm long enough for my right hand to go completely numb. If felt like I was swinging someone else's arm and it totally disrupted my aim, I hit myself squarely in the groin hard enough to nearly knock me completely out of the bed. As I doubled up in pain, I felt whatever it was run underneath my backside.

That was all it took, I have never jumped so high and so far out of a bed from a prone position in my life. I don't know who I scared the most, Julie or the bug. I still couldn't control my right arm and had to get back to the head of the bed to take another swat at the thing with my left one, by then Julie was headed out the back door.

I finally got the thing killed and in the dust pan. As I made my way to the back door to throw it out, I picked up the truck keys just in case I had to go up the street and bring Julie back. Luckily she had only made it to the mailbox and could still hear me.

Orkin will be here before noon.