Half Century!

Well here I am on my 50th Birthday. Quite the landmark for most. I though am embracing it. Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah…. Keep telling yourself that!

Honestly though, I am not letting it encompass me in a negative way. Now is definitely not the time to have a  negative outlook. So forward I go! My sister Charlene gave me a card that defines exactly the way I feel.

Not “over the hill”

but “on top of the mountain”-

That kind of youth

doesn’t come from a fountain,

But flows from a heart

that is caring and giving,

Dreams that are dared,

a passion for living-

From tears and laughter

with no room for regrets…

And a smile that says,

“You ain’t seen nothing yet!’

Today me and Vicki are headed to Chicago to celebrate. A nice dinner tonight 95 floors up in the John Hancock building. Tomorrow night we are going to see Buddy Guy play at his blues bar “Legends” in Chicago. He being a spry 78 years of age. Here’s a clip from fours years ago. Give it a listen all the way through as it is a wonderful song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlakiX3UeEc

Next week I am having friends over to celebrate. My friends Jimmy,Sean and I all turn Fifty within 10 days of each other. Jimmy I have known since Kindergarten, and Sean since the Second Grade. They and several other of our friends are going to get together and have a Kegger!!

“You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”

Theres that word again.    Change……

Well I have got more Change coming. My time in the Arctic Cicle has come to an end, today, Friday December 20, 2013. The experience and people has been very enriching. I will definetely miss the people, scope of work and the Arctic environment. As this week has progressed, I have become melancoly at the idea of this adventure coming to aclose.  As each day has passed, I was trying to find how to make it work? In the end it was not feasable. When all was said and done I was actually making less money and working more. Hard to believe but true.

I was exploring many job opportunities when I took the job. Reason being, the division I worked for at MMC, was leaderless and the commitment to go on was not apparent. After accepting the position in Alaska, they did finanlly hire someone to run and grow the Controls Division. Having already accepted the Alaska offer, and excited about a new adventure, I moved on.  Change….   Move forward to today and MMC’s Controls Division is busier then they have been in years with the new leadership. The environment and culture has changed for the better and I have the opportunity to go back and be part of something I love doing and hopefully grow.

My last Hitch in Alaska brought me out to some facilities located on islands in the Arctic

From Endicott Platform looking East at 1pm.

This was taken from Endicott Facility on Endeavor Island with Liberty Island out in the distance. Endicott is the name of the bay the islands are in. We access these by natural and man made causeways. Endicott is where most all Polar Bears are seen. Summer it is surrounded by all blue Arctic and which is now frozen over. Bears have left the area for the winter in search of seal. They will return next Spring, when the ice goes out. Heres the view looking North towards the vast frozen Arctic.

Looking out at Arctic

This is a closer view of Endicott Facility from outside at 10am

Insides look a lot like this and more. Not as many stairs and lots more ship ladders. And Noisy.

Me in the truck from where I took above picture while parked next to the facility

Heres a shot I took on back on November 24th from the Camp parking lot as Sun was setting for last time in 2013

Heres another shot of the mid-afternoon I took back in early November

Well I would elaborate some more but I am catching bus for Deadhorse Airport in an hour and have to reluctantly say my goodbyes.

Hello Home!! One Sleep to go!!

A friend of mine Wayne and his wife Kristy recently opened “Jammin Wings”. It’s a Sports Bar and Jamaican influenced restaurant  in Brooklyn Center. Wayne is from Jamaica and has some recipes he is using to give the Jamaican influence. Me and Vicki stopped by for dinner a couple of nights back. Wayne recognizing me as we entered came over immediately and greeted us at the door. I introduced him to Vicki and he in return introduced us to his wife Kristy, who is lovely and just as outgoing as Wayne.

As you know me and Vicki travel to Jamaica quite often and enjoy the kindness and gratitude of the people. Wayne is from a small village on the North Coast. The type of people we enjoy meeting and spending time with when we go. Not the Hustlers in the tourist areas. Well instantly Vicki was glad I dragged her out on a cold night as Wayne and Kristy immediately made us feel welcome. Hearing his accent brings back warm memories. Ask him about his brother and the chicken inspections and watch him light up. We chatted with Wayne for awhile as he explained his plans for their new endeavor. Place has had an up and down history and most recently was more of a Hip Hop nightclub. They are aiming for a different crowd and plan to have some Reggae artists performing when they get more settled and work out some logistics. They have a lot of hard work ahead and enthusiasm, I wish them the best.

We ordered some Jerk and Jerk Mango wings which were quite tasty and tender. Next time we are going to try the Jamaican Jerk pizza with sun dried mango and pineapple, and ordering wings for take home.

Congratulations to Wayne and Kristy. If in the mood for some good tasting wings and can’t make the trip to Jamaica, stop in and tell Wayne hi from me and Vicki. They are at 2950 Freeway Blvd in Brooklyn Center attached to the Country Inn. The location used to be the former Oak City Bar, and before that TGI Fridays. It is North of 694 off the Shingle Creek exit.

Very Irie and Soon Go!!

Next Sunrise @ 12:51pm January 18, 2014.

Have A Good Night!!

Blows and Blizzards are two types of weather events we have. The last month or so highs have been 0-10 degrees above zero and lows from -15 to -25 below zero. Worst windchill so far -60.

Middle of last week temp did spike up to 29 degrees. This temp increase can create what they call a Blow. A Blow is strong sustained winds over 30 mph. A couple of days ago we got a Blow with sustained winds of 32-35 mph with spikes up to 50 to 60 mph. There is no snow falling from the sky during a Blow, but visibility is greatly reduced by blowing snow. These sustained winds are not swirling and come from the same direction for duration of Blow. When temps rise its like a Dam being opened and the winds come flying out straight across the Tundra. Overnight you could hear the building eerily creeking like you hear in the quiet moments during a submarine movie.  Heres a picture I took while out driving during the recent Blow…..

Ice Road Trucking

Note the straight lines running parallel across the surface of the road. This is surface snow blowing by at 30+ mph. Temp was about 29 degrees that day, but blowing wind was brutal on any exposed skin. Blowing snow pelting face felt like being sandblasted. Luckily my only exposure is leaving building/facility to and from truck. Unfortunately Truck needs to be started and cleared of Ice and Snow to begin the day. Once started in the morning we leave them run. During a Blow, some vehicles door seals can not hold back force of blowing snow, and can fill quickly with snow drifts. Trucks have required shoveling out of interiors. Some do not start and when they pop the hood to take a look, the entire Engine compartment has been packed tightly with snow, leaving imprint of hood and its crossmembers on top of snow pack with no engine visible. Luckily we have new Suburbans bought a week before I arrived in August and the seals are good. Heres what the Buildings look like after a blow…..

After Blow

Yesterday we had a blizzard. Major difference being there is snowfall with high swirling winds. Visibility minimal. First picture above you can see six road markers (delineator) on each side of the road. During the Blizzard we could see no more than 3 delineators ahead. Temp was -14 with a windchill about -45. Nasty and cold!! Heres a picture I took about an hour before the snow started to fall….

Blizzard

When I took this picture you could at times look straight up and make out the blue sky above. At surface level the winds were swirling and causing whiteout condition. This was taken at 3:08 pm as my partner was turning in our Control of Work (COW) permit and checking us out while I sat comfortably in the truck. With weather like this our crew travels in a  convoy using two trucks. Me getting an old 2004 Diesel pickup to follow behind my partner. Took us 35 minutes to do 15 mile trip. By 4:30pm snow started to fall and declared Phase 2, all unnecessary travel prohibited unless in a convoy. Hence we take two trucks to prevent being stranded out in the Field. If conditions worsen they declare Phase 3, “No Travel”. If this happens we are not allowed to leave and  have to spend the night. It is not set up for sleeping. Hunker down and hope you brought some food.

Heres a picture of an Oil Rig, taken on another day, that is tipped on its side and readying for transport.

Oil Rig

All rigs are jacked up and down as needed and have wheels. They continually are moving the 4-6 rigs they have back and forth. Drill their hole and leave. Pump house is then built around well head. Most people in the lower 48 have seen the see-saw pumps littered across the landscape. Alaska oilfields are under up to 6000 psi pressure and just need a manifold and pipe leading to process facilities with no actual pump per-say. Rig moves alter everyone’s work as they tie up and close down roads.

Heres a picture of nicer times I took looking towards Airport from Fitness Room my very first week.

Fall Afternoon

All white, gray, black and blue (if skies clear) now. Sure miss the colors. Hope to venture out after work some night to check out the Aurora Borealis when the skies clear.

Blows and Blizzards aside, hope to headed home in seven sleeps.

When taking oil from the Earth you also get many other substances and minerals with the oil. Natural Gas, Methane, Propane and Seawater are some that are  familiar to most. Many other things also. All of these byproducts need to be seperated out. That actually is what most of the work up here involes. Not drilling. Once seperated they, for the most part are injected back into the ground. The Seawater Injection plant is quite a facility with extremely large turbines for task. The gases and such are also removed and injected back in wherest it came. Most all of the larger facilities I work in do this. This means all of the stuff is flying in and out of different contraptions so to say to accomplish this. Lots of piping, vessels, pumps, seperators, regulating valves and so on. Well as you can imagine any mistake or worn device could create an issue. So on top of all this are Halon and other neutralizing systems in facilities to minimize chances of a catastrophic incident.

Another way is to divert things somewhere fast with a means of eliminating it as a probem. One problem at any facility can cause backups of stuff coming out of the ground that suddenly has no place to go. Unfortunately most of this was learned through disasters long ago. Fortunately we have learned to harness this. Anyway when suddenly your path for a product is stopped and you have no way to stop it, you divert it……..

From Six Miles Away

Natural gas on the Slope is a huge byproduct of the oil removal process here. You may look it up, but I know it is plenty and could heat a majority of the US each year. No way to get it to where it is needed though so it for the most part injected back into the ground.

When unable to process it fast enough for the trip back to mother Terra, it is burned off in a Flare. The two flames at the far left are what we see everywhere. They are pilot lites for, you guessed it, exceess volumes of gas. You cant just vent it to the atmosphere. Those buildings you see to the right of the fireball are3-5 stories high and cover a good couple of blocks. The fireball is HUGE!!

From Six Miles Away

Keep in mind this is all planned and not considered too alarming. Except that it is, and everyone within that facility reacts accordingly until bad pump, valve, divertor or whatever gets repaired. Lets just say a well oiled machine. Soon as an incident like this happens the entire Slope knows within 15 minutes and adjust their plans, schedule and work as needed. Make adjustments in their facilities 1mile, 3miles or twenty miles away as all things are connected. What happens at another facility does affect yours and you will soon have same issue if actions are not taken.

These pictures were taken by Billy from about 6 miles away with a 20X zoom I believe. Believe it or not I was on the other side working on an oil pad about a mile away. We had no camera with us. We  could definetley feel the heat though.

Things happen. We are trained to act accordingly, and all incidents, while exciting, are treated professionally and like a routine. My job up here essentially is to ensure dangerous gases that can not be controlled this way are evacuated and or provide safe havens for people from danger.

This Flare Up actually happened a few weeks back while I was on my last hitch. Have not wrote much lately and will try and post some more stories and pictures that I have archived and not yet had a chance to post. Days are long and I am trying to excercise everyday, and believe it or not, this is time consuming. Uploading pictures is somewhat cumbersome. Sun is currently rising at 10:30am and setting at 2:30pm. Cloudy since I got here and no colorful skies. Had what they call a “Blow” today though that I will elaborate on with next post.

Be Irie everyone!! One Love!!

Days here in Alaska keeping me busy. After 11 straight twelve hour days with 3 to go crew here begins to drag a bit. I stayed late last night to get some pictures together from our 2013 Road Runner rally. Posted them under  Road Runner MC heading at top right. Will fill in other Rally reports eventually. But now sleep and back to field for another twelve hour day.

Sorry folks. Haven’t blogged much lately. Spent most my time with my wife Vicki and granddaughter Nicole. Busy weekends. First weekend got out and and ventured through Elmcreek Park Reserve with Nicole and Vicki to look at the fall leaves. Good experience getting an 11-year-old out in the woods. She and we enjoyed it tremendously. Following weekend me and Vicki took a three day motorcycle ride in the southern part of the state and into the Mississippi River Valley. Leaves have not really turned yet South and weather was rather windy. Got cold our last day with temp about 60° when we left and dropped to 51° by the time we got home. Put on 520 miles though and had a good time.

Also spent some time looking for a new vehicle for me. We need another one since I gave up my work trucK.  Was able to find a used Ranger 4×4 and purchased it last week. It was delivered Monday the day I left, so I have not had a chance to drive it. It is a used 2011 with 21,000 miles.

Did spend a little time checking with this Blog figuring out how to manage it. Hoping to add some more MC and trip pictures and organize them better (send me some pics Road runners). Will post anything interesting that happens while on this hitch. Pretty boring stuff for the most part, so unless it’s unique you probably won’t hear much. Will post though to give a more detailed description of my actual job duties and day-to-day workings.

Posted this on my iPhone, not easy for me, while killing time in Anchorage. Depart later today for Deadhorse. Miss you already Vic!!

Well nothing of real interest. Been working four straight fourteen hour days in the field. Three hours of that time each day driving to and from camp to the Milne Point site

Soon to Be Ice Road

Above is part of the drive. We pass all sorts of Oil sites on the drive. Have seen several Caribou with giant racks. The closest about a hundred yards away. Will post some pictures when I have better shots. Seen several foxes. Eight Musk Ox way out in the field. Nothing too striking yet. Did get my first glimpse of the Arctic Ocean on Tuesday. It was the same day I took the above photo. While working up high within one of the rigs, I stepped out side to take a peak. With the clear visibility and flat tundra I could see for hundreds of miles. I have always been within 5 to 15 miles of the Arctic, but never seen it till today when I got some elevation. Where I was working was only 1 1/2 miles from Arctic and I was up about 5 stories. The Arctic was very bright blue and past that you could see the Ice Cap, which will very soon close up the blue. The contrast of the pure white snow against the bright blue Sea was awesome. On all sites cameras are not allowed. For security, but mostly for safety. Due to the nature of the process, under an undesired condition, the operation of the camera could become an ignition point that could instantly level and eliminate the entire facility. Ooops!!  Another thing they take very seriously. Hence I have no pictures. It is a tremendous site to behold though. Looking South I was also able to see the Brooks Range 150 miles away. This is a Range that compares to the Rockies. Alaska’s Huge.

On the drive back to camp on Sunday it took us 3 hours one way to get home due to bad road conditions. Even at 5 mph it was a back killer. This is a clip from that ride. Go full screen to get actual feel for the ride. I was riding in back and took this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4MIG4MkSrQ . That I am not kidding was not even the worst of it. Three hours of bouncing like that is a back killer. Still hurts today. The roads they tell me are horrible every Spring and Autumn. They said this though was some of the worst they have seen. Once it ices over it is smooth as glass. For eight months!!

Another interesting thing are the Sunsets. From my tropical experiences I am used to watching the Sun dip into the Ocean and disappear in about a minute and a half. The other day though I was working out. Our gym faces Southwest and the sun when I started was slightly above the horizon and about to set. Or so I thought. Fiftteen minutes go by and it finally begins to breach the horizon. Ten minutes later its about quarterway. By now I am going blind, because something I thought would only take 2 minutes has been going on for the entire 30 minutes I was on an eliptical machine. Finish my workout and casually go down to my room to get camera and take this picture.

If you have not already, you can click on the thumbnails of the pictures and actually see a much better one than the thumbnails on posts. Stayed around another 10 minutes and it was still hanging on the horizon. Wanted to wait around to see some orange and purple hazes but dont think I could have stayed awake that long. Had to get some rest. I will get my chances soon. Also will get the chance to see the Aurora Borealis show the Arctic puts on in the winter afternoons.

See you in seven sleeps sweetheart!!