I know nothing ...

You know, I was reading another gate guard blog the other day where they mentioned that those of us in this business are like mushrooms ... kept in the dark and fed manure. Of course this can be said in a much less pleasant way, but I want to keep it clean. Anyway, they are sure correct. We hear so many conflicting things about what is, was, is going to be, or is not going to be happening on this ranch ... it just makes your head spin! One minute we hear that there are plans to drill several more wells, and the next minute practically everyone is leaving because they have shut the wells that ARE here down. I know I wrote recently about the landowner being upset with the smell of the dangerous H2S gas being vented from the wells. So far as we understand, this is still the reason everything has been shut down. However, they can't really leave it like that! One of the guys told me the tanks are just full of oil and they will have to empty them sooner or later. Another problem though is there is too much water mixed in with the oil, so the tankers can't load it. Sheesh ... someone had better figure out how to solve these problems.
Needless to say, this leaves us wondering what our status is. They are apparently building tanks or some sort of facilities back there, so we should be here for at least the next few weeks while they finish that. We are really hoping they come up with a solution that will allow them to move ahead with the plans to drill more ... we want to stay here until we need to leave at the end of March. We are quite comfortable at this gate, and we might not get one as nice if/when we have to move.
One thing we are both looking forward to is getting our 5th wheel washed as soon as possible when we get done gate guarding for the winter. It will be positively embarrassing to drive even one mile down the road with it looking the way it does. Of course, most everyone in these parts will understand why it is filthy. This isn't really the vacation capital of Texas! You have to go south and east for that, way down to the Brownsville area. Nonetheless, we want to get it cleaned right away. Wayne knows of a place fairly close by that we will use to get the job done. Then, while we are sitting at a campground for a day or two, I will either rent a carpet cleaner, or have someone come in and thoroughly clean the carpets. I can only do just so much here. The dust comes in through the screens and front door, and we track it in on our shoes. The central vacuuming system in the trailer is okay, but not as good as a more robust vacuum cleaner, but we just don't have the room for one so we just make do with what we have.

Our son Jon and his wife Cristen had some professional pictures done recently and I just have to share. Jon, Cristen, Anne and baby Madeline live in southern California, and Lord willing, we will get to see them in early April. I can't wait!!