With the oilfield slowdown and the fact that I hadn’t been home much in the last few years, I decided to be a little closer to Lottie until my next adventure.
Over the past few years, since I’ve been working out of the Northern Rockies in the oilfield, running fishing tools, a lot of my friends have asked me what, exactly, do I do.
Another winter has pretty much passed in the Williston basin, and I am glad of it. We didn’t have much snow this winter, which made for better road conditions, but the temperature and wind chills set records.
Fall was deceptive this year in the Bakken. Last year, the first frost was Sept. 15. This year, it was in the first week of October. But now, it is in full swing. Twenty degrees is a pleasant day, and it gets as cold as an ex-wife occasionally. I spent one memorable night on a rig floor recently at minus 17 degrees.
I finally got back to work, after spending most of the summer at home with my bride, Lottie. She had some health issues and I was worried, so I spooled up and went to Georgia for the summer. Funny thing is, the weather was perfect up here, but way too hot there. Now, I’m back, and fall is here. It seems a little later this year. Last year, the first freeze was Sept. 15; this year, it’s October already and still fly-season. But it’s coming. I went today and got a bunch of gear to winterize my new trailer: heated water lines and sewer lines, skirting, etc. I figure if I don’t do it now, I’ll be on a job when the weather turns and come back to a frozen shack. I’d like to avoid that, ‘cause I spent last winter in a dry camp with no water or sewer, and I can tell ya that a porta-john is not fun at 20 below. Froze my nether regions to the seat once. Not the kind of place to take a book, but that’s another story.
Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell praised safe and responsible oil and gas development during a recent tour of Bakken Formation areas of North Dakota.
