24 Hours In Elko

A day in the drilling game. Got up at 4:30 as usual. Stopped at our office in Elko and checked on the inventory (which I'm in charge of now for some reason) Drove the 45 miles to the mine for shift change. Got the crew lined out and underground. Did reports for four hours and then went underground to check on the 6 drills and crews. Had a drill broke down and helped the mechanics get it back up. Came out of the mine and stayed for shift change, left the mine at 7:30 got back to Elko at 8:30 Went to the Red Lion and ate dinner, was going to play some Blackjack but the tables were full, so I played 3 card poker for a while. (stupid ass game for people that can't count to 21). Lost 40 bucks and left. Got back to my room and talked to the skirt for a while and got to sleep at about 10:30. Woke up with a phone call at midnight, one the helpers got hurt and needed to go the hospital. Got up and met them at the office, took the dumbass to the hospital did the paperwork and dropped him off at home. ( Hurt shoulder my ass get back to work this is drilling not banking. ) Got back to the room at 4:30 slept in until 5:30 and went back to the mine, one of our drillers didn't show. Found out he was in jail, got pulled over the night before and had a warrant, tried to run and got tasered. We thought about bailing him out but decided to hell with him. Found out one of our drills is done out here for the year, have to lay off 6 people. I'm a little tired but don't remember why.

Dead Sexy

Admit it, you'd hit it.

My Wolf Pack

Pretty great ain't it?

UnderWorld

Tonight I start my first hitch as a crew foreman in the underground mine here near Elko. This is not what I had mind. But as the industry has contracted with the investor money drying up there is very little surface drilling (exploratory) going on anywhere. So that leaves the underground core drilling we do for clients with active underground gold operations.
I have very little experience underground so this is perfect that I am in charge of six drills and a crew of 15. This should also make the drillers who have spent years underground more than a little ticked off that I am their fearless leader. Oh well, tough shit I guess.
This mine is huge and I am pretty sure I will get lost down there tonight. I know where three drills are for sure the others not so much. We drive into this mine and our first drill is about five miles in and the furthest about eight miles, with hundreds of miles of roads and drifts all over the place. It is a busy mine and you constantly have to get out of the way of mining equipment. Noisy, dirty and dark. The other mine we are drilling in is closed down right now because of a major cave-in of the portal. Yee Ha.

Cowboy Logic

I have a driller on my crew that is an old Nevada cowboy that has been drilling for 30 years. He is the orneriest most cantankerous guy I have ever met. But at the same time he cracks me up with his profane tirades that usually have some gem of logic and wit to them. Like this one.
They had broken a mounting bracket for a water pump and it needed to be welded. I told him where the welder was and he informed me that he knew where it was but that there wasn't a welding helmet there. And he couldn't weld without one, so having a welder didn't help much -that having one without the other was pretty worthless and if we were going to have just one he preferred it be the helmet as it was lighter and would be easier to haul around.
I told him I was picking up on the sarcasm.

Balloons

Have you ever got balloons for a special occasion? It's real special. I remember once as a kid having 50 cents burning a hole in my pocket while I was watching some lame ass parade in Utah. I decided I needed a balloon. A few hucksters were wandering around selling them and I approached one old guy who had a few and asked him how much. A dollar he says. I grimaced and turned away crestfallen. I might add that was when I was 7 or 8 a dollar was still a substantial sum. That would be like paying five bucks for one now I would assume. I must have made a sorry impression on the old dude because when the parade ended he found me and gave the precious helium filled orb for free. Worthless to him of course with the festivities ending, he probably thought I was an orphan or something and thought he would make my day. I took it and held it and looked at it for awhile, not that great I had to admit. The best thing was letting it go and watching it climb out of sight. This was before I learned to inhale helium and talk like a chipmunk for hilarity.
I believe the experience left a lasting impression though because I don't much care for the things now. And I have a sweet wife that likes to give them to me for some reason. I finally told her straight up I didn't like them, don' want any, do not give them to me. Period. Harsh I know but enough is enough.
This past Valentine's Day I was working in Nevada like last year. I sent the skirt a gift and told her we would celebrate when I got home. I get back to my motel room that night and my message light is flashing. I call the front desk and they tell me I have a delivery. I walk down to get it and there behind the counter is a gigantic display of balloons - shit. They hand them over and I walk down the hallway dragging the thing hoping none of the drillers would see me.
This bouquet as it were was attached to a nice bottle of vino but it also had a big ass balloon that every time it was bumped burst into an annoying version or Roses Are Red My Love - really loud. A new level of hatred was achieved. I was going to let the air out of them when I remembered one of the drillers had just been dumped by his girlfriend and was sulking around. I tied them to his motel door and let him wonder who the hell they were from. He probably thought his girlfriend sent them. Haha. He never said anything so I don't what happened.
Anyway I love you baby but please, please no more balloons.

Josie Maiz Larsen

Our new granddaughter has arrived and she is cute as they come. We had a great time seeing her and her family last week. She is really sweet and we never put her down for four days. Now she is good and spoiled so we went home.

Bodie & Jett

I had a blast with my grandsons in St. George over Christmas. The smartest, funniest, cutest kids on earth. Soon to be joined by their little sister. Can't wait to hold her too.

Let It Snow My Ass

The view from our front door. 100 inches of snow in December. It ain't funny.
I spent our first day home from Utah digging out with a backhoe. More snow coming this week.

Midway Homestead

I just spent another night in Midway at this home. I have never lived here, didn't grow up there, but it still is very special to me. It is a great old home, rich in history and full of charm. In the winter, like this picture I just took, it is the epitome of a country Christmas. In the summer the lush yards, trees and pasture are perfect for being outside.

When we arrived on New Year's Eve it was lit up with Christmas lights and inside a fire was burning in the potbellied stove in the kitchen. Everyone is always welcome here. The extra bedroom is sometimes free but more often than not it is being occupied by one of the grandkids or whomever might be needing a place to stay or a hand up at the time. But no matter, people might shuffle around but you can always find a place to sleep, mom will even try to give you her bed if you don't refuse. But you will be welcome, always.

This is the house where my children spent summers and holidays. Where they took their first piano lessons. had great times with their cousins during the infamous 'Cousin Week' , where they petted their first bunny, took a pony cart ride with Grandpa, jumped on the trampoline and threw frisbees to Molly the dog for hours.

Over the years Midway has changed, like everything does. It has grown and people have moved there. The funny thing about change is we usually don't like it and sometimes for good reasons, but the most important things if we really cherish them don't change all that much. Yea, there is a tire store across the street (which seemed like the end of the world at the time, but is trivial now) and there are houses out back where hay fields once were. But in the confines of this small property, the trees are still tall, the grass green, the flowers still bloom, children still laugh and play and the beautiful old rock home still stands, full of love. My grandchildren go there now and I hope they always can.

Polka, Polka, Polka

On the way back to Coeur d'Alene we stopped in Midway on New Year's Eve. Dad was able to get us into a party at the Zermatt and we ended up having a great time. Incredible food and a polka band variety show that was very entertaining. ( things I can cross of my bucket list - spend New Years with a polka band ) And then they had music with a demented DJ who made me and some other dudes come up and dress as one of the Village People and do the YMCA song. Many peoples laughed at my expense, even though I nailed it big time. All in all a good time.

Ipod Spunker

When I bought Boo his Imac laptop for graduation I got a free Itouch Ipod with it. It's pretty cool I guess. I had it for a few weeks before I even knew that it picked up wireless internet ( I'm a clever lad just not very bright sometimes ) I played with it a bit and used Boo for technical advice, so when I set it up on the computer it said to name the Ipod. I named it Spunker. Watch the last Dana Carvey HBO special if you want to know why. The neat thing is that now when I plug it in my laptop for updating or charging it says hilarious things like ' Ipod Spunker detected' and 'Ipod Spunker updated' Oh my what mirth, I laugh and laugh. But I have been accused of being quite juvenille so that might explain it.

Holidaze

Thanksgiving came up on me fast. I just spent 12 days in Elko Nevada working twelve and fourteen hour days doing a variety of incredibly important duties. Nights were spent at the Stockmans Casino playing an exceptional game of blackjack where I was able to spend hours at the card table and when I came home I was about even. The guy I was with lost over 2000 bucks playing Hold Em so you see my petty victory was significant.
It was great to get home, Lisa made a great T-day dinner, we had Tasha and Boo here and invited some friends over . I wanted to bring some bums in off the street but we didn't have any here in Hayden. Get ya next time boys.
I spent the long weekend doing traditional family holiday chores. Cutting a Christmas tree, fighting with the wife, chopping wood, eating myself into a turkey coma, etc.
The news out of the teevee was relentless. Horrible economy, war, scandal, Bush is a dork, Obama is the Messiah, job loss, financial collapse, terror, gloom-despair and agony on me.
But I was able to take stock of my blessings - a great wife, three kids who are my best friends, five brothers who got my back, parents that are always there for me. Lucky me.

My Day

I woke up at 5:oo a.m. in Winnemucca Nevada. I had breakfast in the hotel cafe and was on the road before six. I drove the 60 miles to the Midas mine on a clear cool beautiful morning watching the sun rise over the Ruby Mountains of Northern Nevada. The last 4o miles was dirt road but a nice smooth one with no one else on it. When I got to the mine I entered the gate with my 'badge' and drove to the Timberline Drilling lay down. No one was there. I needed to unload some drill rods and there was no fork lift. I tried getting someone of the radio but they were underground and couldn't hear me. I waited for an hour and finally left a note and was heading out when one of the guys shows up on the Sky Track fork lift and unloaded me.
I left for the Hollister Mine another 17 miles of dirt road. When I got there no one from Timberline was around. The mine site was very busy, this is a frantic operation that is chasing high grade gold ore and the people are quite pissy. I finally found our forklift and unloaded some more rods. I left and decided to take the back roads to Elko. This was a mixed blessing as the road was rough as hell but I didn't see a soul for two hours. I finally found my way out right into the middle of the huge Barrick and Gold Quarry Mines and the maze of haul roads huge pits and other bullcrap they have. I came out in Carlin Nevada and stopped at the Flying J for a quick bite to eat and a drink. I drove the 30 miles to Elko and talked to the boys at the Elko office that I hadn't seen for three weeks and hooked up a trailer and took it Les Schwab for some new tires. I loaded some empty rod racks for an early tomorrow morning run to the Leeville Mine to pick up junk rods that I will take to the recyclers in Spokane next week. Checked out the items I will load tomorrow and will head out late for Couer d'Alene. Checked into the hotel and took a shower then went to my favorite food joint the 'Monkey Sun' kinda like Panda Express except the real thing (no english here boy). Went back to my room and watched the incredible election bullshit on the news channels and called the skirt and I will be asleep by 9:30 I won't make it home tomorrow but I will be home the next day. That was my day.

Test Result - F

As part of my big whoopin physical I had recently they did some blood work. I was shocked, shocked I tell you to learn that in addition to high blood pressure I also have high cholesterol. Being the fine specimen of health that I am, this doesn't make sense. Triglycerides are 256, which would be a great bowling score but appartently aren't great for the arteries. Im not convinced of this because I saw the blood when it was being drawn and it looked really red and healthy. You have to be careful with junk science and not let it get you down. The beautiful thing about the physical was I was able to pull a good blood pressure reading just once that passed for the DOT physical so I could quit using the one I gave myself, hee hee. So the young Dr. called me in for some counseling about diet and exercise. So, I am going to loose 49 pounds or so and quit smoking dope and cut back to 2 alchoholic drinks per meal and see what happens. Im warning you though - I loose weight and get in shape and I will be too damn sexy for my shirt.

Moon River Redux

Winter Is Here

 For me at least, winter started on Tuesday.   I got a call that one of our drills that was drilling in the mountains south of Butte Montana was done.  They had over 30 inches of snow fall in 24 hours and were buried.  The pulled the plug on it for the winter and now we had to get it down the mountain and all the other equipment with it.  All kinds of fun.  By the time I got there the bulldozer had plowed the road into the drill site but everything was buried.  We started loading up and after a few hours that guy that was the foreman got on his cell phone for a minute and turned and said "I'm done take me into town I have a new job in West Virginia"  Chickenshit punk, two others quit and that left me and one hillbilly from Tenessee.  We got a load off and drove the five hours to Coeur d'Alene.  Going back tomorrow for another crack at it.  I heard it's snowing again.  

Bottom Ten Percenters

  So here we are in the last month of the presidential elections.  Once again it's a close race.  The country remains divided down the middle as it has been for the last 8 years.  Obama supporters are quite vocal and devoted,  McCain has his share of the vote.  What it comes down to is the ten percent of Americans who are undecided.  

  That is amazing to me.  The candidates are so different in their policies, philosophies and records that it is day and night in what they stand for.  If you seriously at this point don't know who you are voting for then you are dumber than a box of rocks.  I am not knocking the people who support their candidate for whatever reasons but I am condemning the incredible mental deficiency of those who haven't been able to come to a decision at this point.  The primaries dragged on for a year,  the last months have been all about the conventions and the candidates, we know all too much about both of them.

  So the fate of a nation rests with the bottom ten percent, the future belongs to the dopes, our hopes and dreams abide with the dunces.  This group of  crafty smartypantses is swayed easily by the media and pop culture so this one is probably in the bag for Obama whom they love dearly.  Power to the dumbbums.  Hallelujah pass the tylenol.

A Mine By Any Other Name

 I spend a lot of time at different mines in my job.  Mostly gold mines in Nevada but also silver mines up here in North Idaho.  I find the names of the mines to be interesting.  A good one is Midas a gold mine near Winnemuca, great name for a gold mine, the Midas touch.  Others down there are Rosebud, Jerritt Canyon, McCoy Rawhide, Barrick, Rain, Turquoise Ridge, Steer, Gold Strike, Getchell and Aurora.

 Up here the Silver mines are Lucky Friday, Crescent, Star, Bunker Hill, The Galena and The Sunshine Mine.  The Sunshine is probably the least well named of the bunch.  Seventy six miners died there in the late 70's during a mine fire.  If I ever get to name a mine I will call it the Clair Bear and let people wonder what the hell that is all about.

Fall

 It's raining here in Hayden Lake, there is a chill in the air and the leaves are falling with every breeze.  I love fall it is a beautiful time of year but this one seems a bit too soon.  We had a harsh winter last year and cold spring.  The summer was incredibly nice but just not long enough.

  When I lived in Southern Utah I couldn't wait for fall after the heat blast of summer there.  But here there is no rush for cold weather.  Also, my job depending on what I'm doing can be downright nasty in winter.  Oh well,  can't stop the seasons just for my whims. 

   I have two fires going tonight one upstairs in the big brick fireplace and one downstairs in the wood stove.  Very cozy and nice.  Unfortunately my wife isn't here to enjoy the ambiance she is in St. George helping her mother who has been in the hospital.  Lisa loves Coeur d'Alene as much as I do but would prefer to spend the winters in Southern Utah which we might do someday.  North Idaho in the summer and St. George in the winter, not bad at all.