2011 in review~

This has been quite a year. Just like last year, rather than feeling like the year has just whizzed by, it feels like it has been much longer than one year since we said "hello" to 2011.
We started the year off near Hattiesburg, Mississippi working at the Okatoma Resort & RV Park. It was such a beautiful area and we very much enjoyed our time there. Finances got a bit tight at the end, as this was a "site only" job.
We left on Thursday, April 7th, and over the course of the next week made our way north to Saco, Maine. We spent six months working at the Saco/Old Orchard Beach KOA. We loved it there and miss the people, the lobster and the lighthouses.
We left Saco on October 21st and drove south to Livingston, Texas -- our official home. We spent a few days relaxing and then it was back to work, gate guarding near Shreveport, Louisiana. After three weeks there, we were off for about 10 days before we headed to relieve another couple at a gate near Cotulla, Texas for a week. From there we drove directly to our present assignment near Big Wells, Texas. All told, the odometer on our truck clocked over 4,000 miles this year just traveling from one job to another. That's a lot of driving. One cool thing -- Sue drove a few hundred of those miles...WITH the 5th wheel hitched up! She is proud of that!
Overall, this has been a better year than 2010. We enjoyed our summer job in Maine immensely, unlike last year in Chicago. We worked and got paid for about 70% of the year as opposed to only about 45% last  year. Also, even though we had a great experience at Amazon, we are really enjoying the gate guarding instead this year. We are making relatively good money for a whole lot less work and very little physical difficulty.
We have high hopes that 2012 will prove to be even better. We plan on continuing to gate guard through March, and then take the month of April to vacation a bit while we drive to Idaho for our summer campground job at Montpelier Creek KOA. After Labor Day when that job is done, our intention is to come back to Texas and continue gate guarding for the winter season. Things can change, but that's the plan right now.
One more thing ... we can't wait to see our kids and grandkids in April.

Back row: Josh, Kaitlyn, Emily, Beth
Front row: Daunielle, Joe, Ray, Julie, Anne, Cristen, Jon and Madeline

Signing off for 2011!  HAPPY NEW YEAR from our little house to yours!

Friday is laundry day~

We have settled into a basic routine while we are gate guarding. It seems that Friday works for us as the day Sue goes to town to do laundry, grocery shopping, etc. Not sure why Friday, but it is what it is, you know?
We have two basic options in our location for taking care of these necessary tasks. We can go west to Carrizo Springs (26 miles or so) or northeast to Pearsall (about 36 miles). Obviously Carrizo Springs is closer, but the HEB store is smaller and the laundry is more expensive. However, our mail is being sent to Big Wells which is west of where we are by slightly over 8 miles, so Carrizo Springs makes more sense when we have mail.
Sue decided to forego logic today, get the mail from Big Wells, and then turn right around, go past our gate and on into Pearsall to take care of the rest. She really likes the HEB store as it is much bigger and thus the selection is better. They also have her favorite brand of yogurt, so hey, what could be better than that? (Oikos, in case you are wondering...the Key Lime flavor is to die for!) The laundry isn't as clean and the machines aren't as nice, but they do the job and are significantly cheaper. The difference in price probably pays for the additional diesel to go the extra miles!
Regardless, these errand days are long ones for both of us. Wayne gets up a bit sooner so Sue can leave sooner and hopefully get back before dark. Meanwhile, Sue drives 52-72 miles round trip on top of doing laundry, shopping, etc. It's nice to get out but it is tiring as well. When she was driving back today, she was treated to an absolutely gorgeous sunset. No pictures though ... that would be a bit risky while driving 70 miles an hour on a two-lane road in the "almost" darkness. Sorry!
Thanks to all who have sent Christmas cards and notes. We have loved reading them and appreciate each one. We hope you have all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to the new year. God bless~

The last week of 2011~

Four days after Christmas and all through the house, not a creature is stirring, except for the mouse ... or should we say, mice! We have now captured and killed four mice. One by one they keep finding our warm trailer and, unfortunately for them, coming inside. We wish they wouldn't ... we don't like killing them.
The gate has been relatively quiet lately. Most of the traffic is around 5:30 a.m. when a ton of guys come in and then around 4:30 p.m. when they all leave. Other than that, guys just dribble in here and there during the day. Wayne has been able to get a fair amount of sleep between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., which means he gets plenty of sleep since he goes to bed 8:30ish and sleeps until 2:00ish in the afternoon. Sleep is important, not only for safety but for mood! All of us do better when we get enough sleep.
We had a visit from one of our company men yesterday ... finally! Hess bought out ZaZa here at La Corona Ranch just before we arrived, and Jamie from Hess visited with both of us. Nice guy! Cody from Hess also came by yesterday and today, and is arranging to fix our gate. It drags on the end when it is opened up due to wear on the hinges. That's supposed to happen this afternoon. Another positive for us: the landowner was here at the same time as Jamie yesterday and they had an impromptu meeting right at our gate. The landowner was complaining about all the trucks (really very few) that come in late at night and early in the morning. He said they were having trouble hunting the deer as the noise was scaring them away. Apparently they are going to suspend trucks after 6 or 7 at night until 5 or 6 in the morning. We really don't mind the trucks, since we knew it was a 24/7 deal coming in, but it still will be nice. We won't complain!

Jon, Julie and Joe

We got to Skype with ALL of our kids and grandkids on Christmas evening. It was awesome to get to see them all together having a nice time, even if we weren't physically there. We got to talk with each one ... it was such a blessing. On top of that, they took pictures!! We finally have a picture of our three children with promises of more pictures to come of the whole family. Yeah!
Yesterday we made a huge commitment. Sue has been reading some blogs of a group of women who went to the Philippines at the end of May. Each of their families sponsors at least one child in the Philippines through Compassion. They were able to visit each child and their families on the trip and actually see their homes and the country. We talked about it a couple of times and decided this was something we wanted to do as well. Whether we will ever have the money to actually visit the Philippines, only God knows, but we can at least help. We may not be able to feed all the needy children in the world, but we can certainly feed one! Anyway, his name is Elmer and he just turned 5 on October 11th. We are looking forward to watching him grow up and hopefully learn to love Jesus. Sue wrote him a letter yesterday as soon as we signed up, and will be sending him a couple of pictures of our family when she can. These kids treasure the letters and pictures from their sponsors, and we want him to know we care about him and pray for him and his family. If you want to know more about Compassion and how you can help, you can access it right here at the top of our blog.

Elmer Angelo Villasenco

Christmas Eve 2011

Sue here -- I am skipping the "Wayne, Sue, he, she" today, and writing entirely from my perspective. In general, I try to keep this blog "our blog" since it's about our experiences traveling and workamping, but today I decided I needed to write one just from me. Hope that's ok~
It's been pretty quiet here today so far ... too quiet. Not the trucks, or should I say the lack of trucks. No, that is nice, because it is raining ... again! Enough said about that! No, it is too quiet because Wayne is asleep, Lucy is with him, and our kids and grandkids are a million miles away -- well it feels like it anyway. Needless to say I have had a bad case of the sniffles this morning. Fortunately, Wayne slept through them.

Julie & Ray's children: Josh, (friend Ashley), Kaitlyn, Beth & Emily

It has almost been exactly two years since we saw our children and grandchildren. (We saw Jon and his family in February 2010 at Disneyland for a few days, so it has only been 1 year and 10 months since we have seen them ... way too long!) I knew it would be hard, mostly on me. I don't mean that Wayne doesn't miss them, but he and I are two very different people. I am simply a mommy ... that is all I ever wanted to be. That doesn't diminish the fact that I am also his wife, and our relationship has to take priority. Our children are all married and have their own lives, and for that I am grateful. But until we left California on January 4th, 2010, we were within a day's drive of all of them, and only minutes to our oldest child, Julie, and her family. This isn't harder than I imagined ... I had a pretty good idea of what it would mean to be so far away from them. I know myself, so it was no surprise. I am just tired of missing them. I am tired of having to not think about them in order to avoid feeling sad. I can't seem to help it today. It's Christmas Eve, and I want my family. It wouldn't matter if I were in south Florida, basking in the sun and heading out to Walt Disney World. I would still feel the same as I do, sitting here in our trailer at a very soggy oil field gate.

Jon & Cristen's oldest, Anne

... and their youngest, Madeline

I am sorry this isn't a fun, uplifting post, but I am just keeping it real. We may be having fun traveling around and seeing the beauty of our country, but I still miss my family terribly. We will be seeing them in April, but that time is going to go so fast. I dread having to say goodbye again. Oh, by the way, I wish I could post recent pictures of my children, not just my grandchildren, but I don't have any. I could find pictures on Facebook of some of them, but not all, and I would feel bad leaving anyone off. The grandchildren are cuter anyway!
On a lighter note, this morning I was outside to open the gate for a semi that was leaving, when I saw this young buck frantically trying to figure out a way through or over the fence. He had apparently been down here by our trailer, and when the semi with its loud engine came down the road, he panicked, too afraid to run alongside the semi to head back the way he came. I didn't want to open the gate and let him out, so the driver and I just waited, which gave me time to snap a few pictures. Finally the driver turned off his engine, which proved to be the key. The buck immediately darted down the road and disappeared. This has happened before, but Wayne was unable to get the camera quick enough. This time, it was right by the door, ready to go!

One very scared deer!

We do hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, as you celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, and his gift of salvation to us. To our family, we love you SO much, and can't wait to see all of you.

A Mouse Tail (Tale)

Once upon a time, there was a couple who decided to work in south Texas as gate guards for the winter. They read lots of blogs, did plenty of research, and prepared as best they could for what they might need. The contacted a few gate guard companies, applied for their security licenses, took the test, and made their way down to Texas and waited with bated breath to be assigned to a gate. They were assigned to a gate  for three weeks in November. They were happy with their experience and couldn't wait for another gate to open up. They had heard all sorts of stories about gate guards being invaded by mice while they worked, and were happy to escape without meeting any small furry creatures inside their cozy trailer. Maybe they were going to be lucky!
Early in December, they were asked to take a gate for one week to allow the current gate guards time off to move into a new trailer. A couple of days before the week was up, the man heard some tiny feet scurrying across the kitchen floor late at night. Sure enough, it was a mouse -- he saw it running from the kitchen! The man told his wife, who promptly set not one, not two, but three mousetraps in strategic locations in an effort to catch this little stowaway. Of course, now that they were moving to yet a third gate, they hoped perhaps the mouse would just hop out of their trailer on the way, but alas, the mouse liked the trailer just fine. He had found lots of wheat berries, some sweet potato pancake mix and homemade bread to snack on. The woman was very unhappy when she discovered his little messes on her floor and counter. She wondered why the traps weren't working! She just decided to be patient ...

Finally, the man and his wife were watching TV one evening at their new gate and all of a sudden, SNAP! They both heard the sound and knew exactly what it was! The mouse had succumbed to the allure of the peanut butter in the traps, but which one had caught him? The woman got a flashlight and carefully peered under the table to look at the first trap. Nope, no mouse there. The man suggested she check the one behind the toilet, but she decided to look at the other one under the kitchen table first, and YES! There it was ... a cute, but very dead little gray mouse. The woman has a very soft heart towards animals, and believe it or not, even insects (except stinging ones). She has been known to catch moths that have flown inside and let them outside rather than kill them. However, a mouse in the house? NOT! She ever so carefully picked up the trap, careful not to touch the little gray mouse, and took it outside. She walked over to the new fence, opened up the trap, and tossed the little mouse onto the ground. Perhaps an owl will find him...
Oh yes, I forgot ... and they all lived happily ever after ... well, except for the mouse! The End!

Rain ... again!

Yesterday and today have both been slow for hours and hours at our gate. The main group comes in one after the other early in the morning and then they all leave in a parade around 6 p.m. Other than that, the traffic just trickles here and there. It's kind of nice ... we could get used to that!
We have been enjoying our time here since we arrived on Monday, right up until about an hour ago when it started raining again. We know Texas needs the rain ... really we do, but we have seen soooooooo much rain this year, first in Mississippi, then in Maine, and now in Texas, that we are just sick of it! Of course it really wouldn't be that bad if it weren't for the fact that the rain mixes with the caliche and Texas red dirt and creates the most awful mud. I have addressed that issue before!

In other news, the ranch has had some fence construction guys here for the past two days, and they are building a high fence right across from us that continues down the ranch road as far as we can see. The process has been quite interesting, and we have had a front row seat!
We are hoping this solves a problem we have been having, namely the fact that we have been adopted by the two ranch dogs, Jackie and Girly. They are very nice Lab-mix dogs and the chocolate one (Jackie) is very lovable to the point of being ridiculously needy. She obviously doesn't get much attention at all and she craves it. They have taken to camping out on our doorstep ... literally, which makes it nigh to impossible to get out of our door and down the steps quickly to let trucks in/out of the gate.
At first it was kind of cute, but now it is just annoying. We can't leave our chairs out because they climb in them to rest, mud and all. When we sit outside, Jackie absolutely insists on being petted. She puts her head in your lap and whines. If you ignore her, she puts one muddy paw on your lap. If you still ignore her, she tries to climb in your lap. Mind you, she must weigh 70 pounds or so ... definitely NOT a lap dog. We both love animals and feel sorry for both of them. They don't appear to be abused and they seem to be well fed, but they just roam the ranch and neighboring ranches and apparently are ignored. However, we have a dog and although Lucy has tolerated (sort of) their presence, she isn't excited that these interlopers are on her porch! The ranch foreman told me that when the fence gets done, they won't be able to come over here, but we aren't convinced. They are pretty good at getting around and through obstacles. It just may be something we have to live with while we are here. Ugh!

Cenizo Ranch near Big Wells, Tx

Well, we made it! What an incredibly long day ... a good day, but l.o.n.g. For starters, Sue couldn't get to sleep last night for all the tea in China. She figures she maybe got 2-3 hours ... not good. Of course the gate was busier than normal too, so Wayne only catnapped all night. That means we were both running on empty as we packed up to move out of the Schwope Ranch in the dark. We knew Luke and Inez would be pulling in around 7 a.m., so Wayne woke Sue up at 5:30 a.m. and we both hit the ground running ... sort of. Actually we did pretty well and we were on our way to our new gate just before 7:30 a.m.
I forgot to mention in a previous post that we demolished our back stairs on our way to Schwope, so Wayne was determined NOT to go out the way we came in. He was afraid they would completely fall apart and he would have to disassemble them right on the road. Yesterday when he took a trial run to the new location in the truck with Lucy, he determined the best option would be to take a somewhat longer route up Interstate 35 in order to avoid the troublesome spot. It turned out to be quite a nice ride and we had no trouble whatsoever.
When we were about 3 miles out, an older motorhome passed us going the opposite direction, and Wayne commented that it looked like the couple we were replacing! That seemed odd to us because that would logically mean no one was watching the gate. It was only 8:15 or so and Wayne had told them it would be after 8 o'clock before we arrived. When we turned onto the road leading to our gate, the gate guard couple right at the highway (we are the 2nd gate in here) told us that yes, the couple had left but our boss Roger was at the gate. We felt much better when we heard that.
We drove the final 2 miles back into the ranch to our gate. We found it weird that the first gate says "La Corona Ranch" but apparently our gate is on the Cenizo Ranch. Don't understand that yet, but we assume we will find out how that works at some point. Regardless, Roger helped us get into the proper position, and then left us on our own to set up and set up we did. Actually, we just did critical stuff to begin with as Wayne was looking quite haggard from lack of sleep. We managed to eat a simple breakfast and then Sue ushered Wayne off to bed.

Here we are at the Cenizo Ranch!

This gate is somewhat busy and the gate itself has to be shut at all times. Of course that means we have to physically open the gate every time someone wants in or out. That's a lot of traipsing up and down the trailer steps and to/from the gate, dragging the gate open and then closed again. Running on little sleep herself, Sue is exhausted and ready for bed. There are probably numerous misspelling etc., but this is the best that can be be done for now. Good night!

We got a new gate!

Yep, that's right ... bright and early tomorrow we head out to a new gate. Roger contacted us this morning and told us Luke & Inez would be coming back to the Schwope Ranch by 7:00 a.m. and that we are to go to the Corona Ranch near Big Wells. Of course Inez called us last night and gave us a head's up -- awesome -- so we weren't surprised, but we are excited. Roger seems to think we should be able to stay at this gate for a significant time period.
Wayne is actually gone right now to scope it out, since no one will be escorting us. Roger just gave Sue the directions on the phone this morning, and when Hunter came to replenish the water supply today, he gave us a more detailed map to help us find it. It is apparently just off of 85, east of Big Wells, TX. We will let you know more about it tomorrow night, presuming we can get our Internet up and running.
We have enjoyed this gate for the week we have been here, much more so now that the mud is gone and the new road is in. We are sure Luke and Inez will like the solid surface much better than the mud soup that was here when they left last Monday.

New caliche road ... yay!

Sue checked in the field representative from Chesapeake this morning and asked him about getting some help on our little corner of the world as it relates to mud. We mentioned in our update yesterday that we have dried up considerably around here, but with all the rain in the forecast, we were concerned the road would return to the mud soup we were dealing with at the beginning of the week. When the rep checked out, he said he had ordered 3 loads of caliche to be dumped and spread right in front of our rig.
We can confirm he is a man of his word because sure enough, a huge truck with the first load drove up just after 12 noon, and he brought the other two loads over the next 3-4 hours.  When the first two loads were down, a guy on a road grader spread the caliche around, and another guy rolled and pounded the stuff into a nice, firm surface. We have no experience with caliche yet, so we really have no idea what happens when it rains, but the gate guards just a mile away said their road wasn't as bad as ours because they have a caliche base. Well here's hopin'!

Grading done, now to roll

Nice new road!

On another subject, it appears we may be here a few days longer than anticipated ... or maybe not! Luke and Inez spoke to our boss Roger today, who said he might have a gate for us to move to when they return to the ranch here. However, it depends on the rain whether it will happen on Monday. The McKnights graciously decided to check with Roger on Monday, and if the gate is ready for us, they will come back here and we will move to the new spot. If not, they will take an additional day or two or three to relax and let us stay here, hoping we will be able to move from here to the new gate, rather than going back to the company yard in Carrizo Springs. Of course this will also give them an opportunity to get used to their new 5th wheel and have a little bit of vacation while they are at it. We feel blessed! Thank you Luke and Inez for your thoughtfulness. We are finding that gate guards are a good group of people.

Sometimes titles are difficult~

Writing a blog isn't always easy if not a lot is happening, you know? This gate has so far been super easy and much slower than the one we were guarding in Louisiana. Of course, that well was being fracked and that is always a circus. This one is still in the drilling stage which is a nice change. If the weather improves, this gate will get very busy, very fast as they build more pads for drilling. By then we will be gone though and the McKnights will be back with their new 5th wheel.

Looking toward the rig~

The gate is just around the corner ... see how dry it is!

Anyway, today started out nice with temperatures in the high 60s, moving into the 70s. However by mid afternoon, we had threatening skies, the temps were dropping and the wind picked up. We have a 50% chance of showers through the night (noooooooooooo!) and a 30% chance tomorrow. Our road has just now dried up to the point that we can actually let Lucy walk all the way across without losing her in the mud! She got to run around some this afternoon (leashed of course) and you could tell she was very happy about that. Up to this point she has really been stuck in the house except for doing her business outdoors. It has just been too muddy to let her outside ... we have felt bad for her, poor baby. We just hope we don't end up with mud soup for a road again!
All in all, we are enjoying ourselves working this gate. We just hope our boss Roger has one this nice for us when we finish here on Monday.

We are drying up a bit~

Today was over 80 degrees here northwest of Cotulla, and we didn't see any precipitation at all. Praise the Lord. Yes we know, Texas needs the rain, but we really would rather they not make up all 20+ inches of shortfall this month, ok??

It was so nice this afternoon, and after Wayne got up and we had lunch, Sue and Lucy decided to take a walk up the road to see the rig. We can see the top of it from our trailer, so we knew it wasn't too far. Anyway, it was a nice walk and they found many deer tracks. Just wish we could see the deer too! Anyway, here are a couple of pictures to show you what they found.

Sleepy time has hit hard, so that's about it for the update tonight. Sorry ... yaawwwnnnn!

MUD, MUD AND MORE MUD!

Most people don't like mud, but we can honestly say now that we absolutely hate mud! Oh my word! We left the company yard in Carrizo Springs this morning around 7:30 a.m. and moved to the Schwope Ranch which is northwest of Cotulla, TX on FM 469. It started out rainy/drizzly, and it has been rainy/drizzly all day. The drive wasn't bad ... right up to the point where we turned onto FM 469 off of FM 468, at which time our back set of stairs was demolished when we went up a small incline. Wayne took it s.l.o.w. but to no avail. Then to complicate matters, we turned off FM 469 onto a dirt road and drove about a mile to the gate. That mile was composed completely of deep, soft, sticky, red Texas mud and puddles. Our GGS boss, Roger, was in front of us and kept slowing down because he was sliding around in the mud. Meanwhile, Sue was almost screaming at him from inside our truck, "Don't stop! Keep going! We will get stuck!" Now of course, he couldn't hear her, but in all seriousness, we HAD to keep the momentum going! Our truck was sliding, our trailer was slipping and sliding behind us ... absolutely NOT FUN! Both the truck and 5th wheel are covered in mud! See?!

Once we got pulled into the spot, Luke and Inez (the couple we are replacing this week) took off and we were on our own. This gate actually has a physical gate, unlike where we were in Louisiana. This would be good if it weren't for the mud. As it stands now, the mud is so bad on the road out in front of our rig that you practically take your life in your hands to walk out in it to open the gate and check the trucks in and out. During the day we can leave it open so long as we are outside, but it is 8:30 p.m. now and we are both inside, trying to stay warm and dry.

In an effort to avoid ruining our carpets, Sue resorted to an idea on one of the other blogs, and spread out one of our sheets on our living room carpet and down the steps to the kitchen area. It is impossible to not track this mud in the house, and a sheet will wash much easier than the carpet. It is already dirty from Louisiana, but this is SO much worse. The sheet does NOT look attractive, but it is better than the alternative.
Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, although still rainy. Wednesday is supposed to be 80 degrees or more and sunny ... ahhhhhh ... we are looking forward to that. But then the storms are supposed to come back on Thursday and Friday. Who knows about the weekend. Yuck! This gate is actually in a nice location and we would really enjoy it, EXCEPT FOR THIS AWFUL MUD! Gate guarding isn't really hard, but the rain and mud make it miserable.
Okay, okay ... must stop complaining ... breathe ... whew ... breathe ....

Work for a week!

Great news for us ... we will be working at "Schwope Ranch Northwest of Cotulla Texas on Ranch Road 469" beginning tomorrow for one week. Luke and Inez McKnight work as gate guards at this site, but they need to leave for a week, so we are their replacements. (Their blog is http://memorymaker11.com/blog/ if you want to check it out.)Looks like they are getting a new truck and 5th wheel while they are gone.
Nothing more to report at this point so we will try to update again tomorrow after we move over and get to work. That is, if we have internet and cell phone reception. Hopefully we can make it work.

Still unemployed ;(

We are still parked in the company yard at Carrizo Springs unfortunately. We were offered a gate only a few miles from the border at Faith Ranch (about 21 miles from the yard), but we have decided to turn it down. We went out to see it yesterday and at first, we were willing to take it. However, after sleeping on it and talking to some gate guard friends (Kit & Jerry Bertelson) we realized the negatives way out-paced the positives. The positives included higher pay and only being responsible for the gate for 16 hours per day as there is another person working the gate as well. That would leave us time to go shopping, do laundry, etc. together instead of one of us being stuck at the gate. However, the negatives include the fact that this extra person would be working right in front of our door, leaving us with little privacy. The higher pay is a result of the fact that this gate has 400-500 trucks passing by each and every day, meaning that the gate constantly, and I do mean constantly, has a line of trucks both coming and going. It just looked completely overwhelming. Last but not least, there is apparently a real issue with illegals on the ranch. Of course there is always somewhat of a risk with that in south Texas, but we would rather not push that risk to the extreme.

Wayne, Lucy and Kit

Jerry

Anyway, we had a great time today visiting with our new friends, Kit and Jerry. We have been reading their blog for several months now, long before we ever came to Texas to become gate guards. Their experience has provided a wealth of information to us. It was nice spending time with them face to face though. The internet is great, but it certainly is a poor substitute for the personal touch! We went out to Subway for some yummy sandwiches and then they took us on a tour of Fort Clark Springs. We were delighted with several deer sightings as well as trees full of buzzards! After the tour, we came back to their motorhome to continue chatting.

White-tail deer

 We finally decided we needed to leave around 3:30 to avoid driving home in the dark which poses a major threat of hitting a deer on the road. Been there, done that years ago driving home from Yosemite National Park in California. We would rather skip that, thanks! We took a different route home, driving southwest to Eagle Pass which is right on the Mexican border, and then east back to Carrizo Springs, We saw several more deer on the way, plus a couple of wild pigs (hogs??). Nice drive though as we made it home safely. Hopefully we won't be here at the yard for many more days. We need to work~

Gate Guard Srvcs company yard in Carrizo Springs, TX

Yep, that's where we are now. Roger from GGS called us yesterday afternoon to ask if we wanted a gate in Laredo, TX. Yikes, that is seriously right on the border and obviously less than ideal. (You can see Nuevo Laredo on the map above ... that is the Mexico half of the city.) We didn't turn it down, but at the time, we were on our way to Conroe to watch the movie, "Hugo". It was mid-afternoon, and even if we had turned right around, it wouldn't have made much sense to drive part of the way last night. We told him we would leave this morning and head that direction, and if he had someone else at that gate, we would just go to the company yard in Carrizo Springs. He felt that he would have another gate for us within the next day or two, so we are banking on his experience. It was a long 381 mile, 6 1/2 hour drive from Livingston, and now that we have committed that many miles, hours and the fuel required, we aren't planning on driving back east any time soon. We will just wait it out for something within an hour or two from here. It just costs too much money to drive back and forth across Texas ... it is an awfully big state! By the way, we really enjoyed the movie!

Home again in Livingston, Texas

Our final morning at the oil field gate south of Shreveport, LA passed quickly with several trucks in and out all morning. Neither of us slept a lot last night, Wayne due to traffic at the gate through about three in the morning and picking up again around six. Sue had a hard time getting to sleep but she finally managed to get some shut-eye from 2ish to 7 a.m.
Nonetheless, we both showered and started the process of packing up to go. Wayne took off with Lucy in the truck to get diesel and Starbucks coffee (decaf for Sue of course!), while Sue swept and washed the linoleum floors and packed the inside of the trailer. When Wayne returned, he continued working on the outside stuff, both of us checking in and out trucks as needed.
By the time Brandon and Don from GGS arrived at 12:30, we were all done and basically just waiting for the final disconnect of the utilities GGS provided for us. (We sure appreciated the good equipment we had for running the necessary electricity, water and sewer for our trailer.) We handed over the many log sheets we had accumulated during our exactly three weeks here, exchanged hugs and handshakes, and pulled out. Thanks to the 4x8 sheets of 3/4" plywood Brandon had brought just a couple of days ago to help us park without getting stuck, we were also able to tow our trailer out without any trouble. Yeah!
We had a very pleasant drive to Livingston with sun all the way and the temperature in the high 60s. It was so nice to be in the car at the same time ... quite a novelty in the gate guard business! We drove into Rainbow's End (Escapees RV park in Livingston) just before 5:00 p.m. and we were greeted with hugs as usual. We were able to get a spot on the end of our favorite row and set up quickly. We were eager to go out for dinner, as we were both quite hungry. We had homemade mac and cheese available, but felt we deserved a treat. We tried out Joe's Italian Grill for the first time, sharing an awesome lasagna. We will dine there again for sure!
After filling our bellies with warm food, and enjoying some nice time together, we drove across the street to Walmart for a few necessities. When we came out, we were greeted with an incredible sight - a beautiful halo around the moon! Wayne has seen this before, but this was a first for Sue. She didn't even want to get back in the car, but by then, it was quite chilly so she finally succumbed to the cold. Wayne commented that he knew the halo meant something but wasn't sure what it was, so of course Sue had to look it up on the internet as soon as we got back home. Here is the link to what she found: http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/a-ring-around-the-moon/, as well as the picture from the website. We are supposed to have thunderstorms starting tomorrow and going through Sunday and even into Monday, so it makes sense.
We'll let you know when we have news to report about a new gate ... here's hoping!

Shreveport, LA 71115 (Gate 3-1) Last evening :(

Well, we got a call from our GGS guy, Brandon, today and our gate is being closed out tomorrow at noon! On one hand we are sad as we like it here for the most part. On the other hand, the rain is coming this weekend which means we would be trampling around in our own personal muddy lake again. Yuck!
We will be traveling back to Livingston, TX tomorrow and then on to the Gonzales yard to wait for a gate. We sure hope it doesn't take too long to get assigned to another location.
In the meantime, we will just trust the Lord to provide.