New Year's Eve

I have been thinking back over the events of the past year as I sit here in Elk City. The first big event was my brother getting married, which had me going to Nashville. In the months I was in Nashville I:

- watched the Grammys from the house of a winner of a Grammy

- was an extra in a movie

- was in an American Lung Association commercial

- was a guinea pig for Vanderbilt University

- got a job where I quickly became a supervisor

I traveled with the job to Gastonia, NC and back to Tennessee, this time to Sparta. After that location I traveled to work in Johnson City. In September I retired. (-:

I spent time with friends and family up up until Thanksgiving and then I started my adventure heading west.

Now I am about to start finding work in Oklahoma . I look forward to what 2011 holds in store for me.

Right now, I have the TV on...a rare luxury. The news channels are covering the ball drop in Times Square in NYC. It reminds me of the time I was in Times Square for the New Year's Eve event after 9/11. Security was tight, it was cold, we were corralled into sections to view the ball drop, and we had the time of our lives. We flew down for the one night and stayed in the Waldorf Astoria. It still ranks as one of my best spontaneous trips destination. It continues to pays off dividends in memories every year at this time as I watch the televised annual celebration.

Happy New Year to Everybody!!

Proper Campground Living

I have moved into the campground I mentioned in an earlier post. It is the perfect place for me right now...Hot showers, WiFi, Laundry, even cable TV. It is a commercial campground and it is the first time I have stayed with so many other RV'ers. They are all in close proximity. I am really glad to be here, especially with the cold front moving in today. Yesterday had a high of 71 and tonight will have a low of 17. Crazy weather.

I am overhauling my blog over the next few days. I have some down time until I start working and I want to organize it for search simplicity. I have some people who come to look at my blog because they are doing there own bus conversion and my latest posts don't have much for building the bus up.

Route 66 museum

Route 66 is symbolic of the American road trip. So how could I resist visiting the National Route 66 museum here in Elk City. It is a beautiful day with temperatures hovering around 60. Although it doesn't have the interactive electronic information centers that you would find at the Smithsonian, it does have small town charm and authenticity. Most of the centerpieces of the exhibits were donated or loaned by local citizen's in the area. With the purchase of admission you receive access to 4 musuems- National Route 66 museum, Transportation museum, Old Town museum (dedicated to the history of Elk City and Native Americans) and the Farm & Ranch museum.

A super, early period camper. The back compartment was for storage and contained a four burner stove. Designed so cars of the day could easily tow them.

Not the primary facilities at the museum

Video-Flashback Propane Instant Hot water shower

My sister in law, Bethany made a post on facebook that reminded me of a video I had done on a future improvement I want to make to the bus when plumbing tanks are installed. While visiting Mom and Rick I used their pool house shower when I needed to get myself cleaned up.

A couple of things I noticed...39 degrees is not that cold...and when I turn on the water at night you can see the blue flames through a small vent on the front of the water heater.

I have a bunch of these type videos to better illustrate the little things I experience.

Waiting is the Hardest Part

I have left my previous camping spot. I checked into a hotel with reward points I accrued while working in Johnson City. It's been all too long since I had a proper shower. I only have the room for the night so I am maximizing it. Nala has now been properly showered also. I am doing laundry at the onsite guest laundromat. I will be refilling water jugs and taking care of other maintenance type chores.

I have been able to take care of these things due to a surprise Christmas gift. I was able to pay the $10 pet fee at the hotel (prevented me from taking advantage of this before). Being able to do laundry, keep my phone going for another month and get some necessary supplies are other loads lifted off my back.It has been difficult to secure a place to park the bus while I wait to begin working. A combination of being the holiday season, not being able to mingle with the locals and a general lack of knowledge of the area make finding a spot more difficult. The local Walmart (my usual fall back spot) doesn't seem to be super RV friendly. I love my unique bus but it makes it harder to hide in plain site. A guy I met even mentioned he saw my bus when I parked at Walmart for the night. Way to noticeable! Elk City is basically a small town, not alot of big parking lots to get lost in. No Lowe's, Home Depot, Cracker Barrel or other RV friendly spots.

There is a campground that seems perfect...less than a mile from prospective employers, highly rated Bath House (Private stalls, each with its own sink and toilet), Wi-Fi, Cable TV and 7 food places within walking distance. The downside is that it is $400/mth. Perfect place to call home once I start working...definitely save on diesel and be able to leave pets with heat when I go to far off locations. I will have to find a reliable person to let Nala out for bathroom breaks a couple of

times a day when I am gone but RV folks are good people by nature so I am not worried about that part.

I am sure if I were able to get out more I would meet someone that had a place to park the bus until the job kicked in. If anyone knows anybody in this area feel to let them know about me. :-)

My brother, Keith, reminded me of the power of Google Earth. Actually, I have used it often to scope out a location before I go there...to see if there is adequate bus parking, what is nearby and to generally get a lay of the land. I have decided to include a couple of shots of my previous campground to give you a different perspective of where I was camping.

My exact spot is where the red stick pin is. (As with all my photo's you click on them to enlarge them). You see the lake and across the street is a golf course. I couldn't see the golf course from my site due to hills and distance.

Here is a close up of my site. I used this tool to scope out the camping situation before I went there. I wanted to know exactly where the camping spots were located at the park. I knew those small strips of asphalt were the spots.

I really would like to upgrade my blog to include a more website look, where specific information is easier to find. Also have a section dedicated to just videos so I can post videos that are easily found instead of checking every post. Once I get my parking situation settled I will focus on that. I gotta switch the laundry over. Catch you later.

Christmas Week

Wednesday started by getting the anticipated knock on my door by an officer of the Elk City police department. He said he noticed me here for the past week and that there was a 3 day limit per visit. I briefly mentioned that I had left for a day every three days and returned. I also mentioned that the locals I have spoken with have encouraged me to 'not worry' about that restriction since there were no other campers jockeying for any of the spots. I still felt I should respect the letter of the law. I invited the officer onboard to get him out of the cold, good relations are important at a time like this, and gave him my driver's license so he could verify that I was not on the FBI's most wanted list. Afterwards he, more out of duty than personal choice, said I could stay 3 more days but then I had to leave. I think I will fudge the 3 day limitation one more day due to it falling on Christmas day (plus it will be in the low 20's here meaning single digits with wind chill).
Ten minutes after the officer left, a local gentleman who I had spoken with previously named (I believe Clinton Barhum), stopped by and asked if I wanted to go with him to feed his cows. He thought since I liked to try new experiences that I would enjoy this. He was right. I bundled up and we headed off in his pickup. As a sidenote, you aren't anybody in Oklahoma if you don't drive a pickup truck. Everybody drives one, little old ladies included.
Here is Clinton unloading a bale of hay we picked up down the road.




This is the Blondie cows we fed first.


The tag in their ear represented Their age in years/how many months pregnant they were.


Next we went to another pasture a couple of miles down the road and fed the Black Angus cow. In the middle of the bunch was a Hereford steer. Cross breeding produces the best results I found out.
The big ol' Bull kept a close eye on me. Very 'I am protecting my harem' look.

Likewise, the cows protected the skittish calf.

This, ironically, is what is called a Christmas tree in oilfield parlance. It is a valve covered cap that allows for releasing whatever precious fluids or gases or underneath. It is put in place after drilling a hole. This particular Christmas tree was no longer used and Clinton told me that the oil company had yet to clean up the area. It was right in his cow pasture. Pasture owners are typically given a deal that provides them with a small percentage rights of whatever is recovered from drilling. These can be quite lucrative.

Wind powered water well pumps like this are common sights in the area. This one is no longer functioning and fixing it isn't an option since the water underneath is all but gone.

So that brings me up to date. I am here at Lake Elk City planning my next step until I am working. I have my internet and phone paid up until Jan 1 but then time for renewal. Life is about to get real interesting real quick. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Everybody loves a good sunset.

Look for me

The movie I worked as an extra comes out Jan 7.  It is called Country Strong starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw.  The working title of the movie was Love Don't Let Me Down.   I have no idea if you will see me at all (I would be in the second row during a concert scene with Gwyneth or in the center halfway back for the local guy singing) but the trailer makes it look like a good movie.  You can check it out at www.countrystrong-movie.com.   It was a fun experience and I will always make a little 'extra' time to be in a movie.  Check out my blog in February of last year while we were filming.  Then see finished product of the film.

The upload picture function of this blog hasn't been working so I have been holding off writing about things going on this week until I could include pictures.

 I had Elk City's finest stop by this morning to say hi, real nice guy...but my free camping oasis will be over in 3 days.   I will be spending the next 3 days scouring the internet for a place to park.  I've got myself some interesting challenges. 
I'll catch up more later.

Another glimpse

Ground hogs are a huge problem in the area. You don't have to be Oklahoma CSI to figure it out.


Sitting by the bus.
It was short sleeve weather on December 15. 65 degrees. Snow is forecast for tomorrow.
The area off the road is covered by cockleburrs causing Nala an uncomfortable walk. I remove these, not only to ease her pain but because more than once she has brought those back onto the bus. Let me tell you eating crackers in bed is nothing compared to finding cockleburrs in it.
Now she runs like a greyhound.

Sunset came again at its usual time. Below is a chronological view of the eye candy I am treated to every night.


Looking away from the sunset is just as spectacular.

Link to Roughneck work

Here is a link of what a roughneck does. Casing work is similar except larger pipes are used. I chose the Dirty Jobs segment to use as an example because I am a fan of the show.

Life in Elk City

It has been a cold and windy weekend. I understand why they chose here to place the wind mill farm. I am sure the wind has something to do with the wide open flat plains absent of trees that allows wind to flow so quickly. There was a cold front that came through also. Weather.com said it was a low of 24 but felt like 14, must have been the wind chill that dropped the temperature the extra 10 degrees. The winds churned up the pond behind me so it was white capping. Seriously, it is the windiest situation I have ever seen without storm clouds in the sky.
Last Friday my buddy, Ron McKenzie, came by to take me to refill water supplies and pick up applications in the area. I met his boss and he seemed enthusiastic to hire me on. I am feeling optimistic. McKenzie also took me to a few operating oil rigs and gave me the low down on the different parts. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera with me.
The type of work I am looking for is in the oil fields, specifically being a caser or a roughneck. Casing, as I understand it, is when a well is being dug it needs to have pipe installed where it has already dug to prevent the sides from falling in and allow mud to circulate. A Roughneck on the other hand works on the actually drilling itself. So my job essentially would be to come in after a well is drilled to a certain depth and help place the pipes into the well. Average length of each section of pipe is 40ft that screws into other 40ft sections. It is a dirty job for sure. I look forward to doing learning about the oil business. I did not realize how deep wells were dug, miles down sometimes, and not always in a straight line. I have alot more to learn.
Sometimes when I stop to think about my bus adventure I am struck by the absurdness of the situations I put myself in. Take for example, being here. I spent every bit of money I had to get here, I have maybe 5 gallons of diesel in my tanks and ten dollars to my name. I have been living this whole project by the seat of my pants. Yet somehow it always works out. Not without more than a few glitches, but somehow I always make it through. I fully believe that old adage that if you put your mind to something you can make it happen. I like to throw the spice of 'do or die' in the mix as well to liven things up. Perhaps one day I will have enough interesting life experiences that I will have something to really write about. For now, it is blogging that will have to suffice. The drama might not unfold as fast as a novel but it is reality and reality paced. My motivation isn't a fortune at the end but a fantastic life right up until the end.
Much of my free time, until I am employed, is used finding resourceful ways to survive. That is why finding the camping site with free electricity is such big deal. And it is in the city where many of the companies supporting the oil wells are located. I am online trying to find out more information all the time...about camping places, oil wells, tornadoes, and bus insulation. I can catch television shows every once in a while. I like to listen to morning news shows while I fix breakfast and work on the bus. The trick is not to move to much because the signal is sensitive and my antennae is a weak indoor rabbit ear kind. Walking on the bus causes the bus to move and sway which cause the antennae to move. Then my TV cuts in and out. I walk softly. It is really amazing how clear the picture is on my new TV though. I never had antennae reception like this as a kid. Of course I realize that I didn't have digital signals and a HD TV as a kid either. It is a nice extra, but it will be sold if need be.
It is sunset again right now and I am fighting the urge to jump off the bus and start snapping shots. It still has that effect on me, but I don't want to bore you with more sunset pics. It is the best time of the day here so far.
I haven't had an official shower since I left Nashville almost 2 weeks ago. I have had a couple sponge baths to wipe of the stank. I doubt that in my entire life I have gone so long without a real shower or bath. The cinder block porti potti here is by far the most 'scented' one I have ever used, and not a good 'scent' either. I took some cleaning stuff up there to clean it today so I wouldn't die early from flesh eating bacteria.
It really isn't too bad, I have warmth and hope. That's all I need for tonight.

Cowboy Country

I have arrived at my destination in Elk City, Oklahoma. Hopefully a job is just around the corner.
It is amazing time seems to have flown by. It seems only a few days ago that I left Nashville when in reality it was 8 days ago. Everything has gone smoothly, better than expected.

Here is the little instrument that keeps me on track. Notice my speed is 60mph in a 70mph zone. That is typical. I cruise along at an even 62mph (I must have slowed down to snap this pic). No worries about getting a speeding ticket.


As I drove across Oklahoma I noticed many signs of Indian run casinos. The biggest evidence that this use to be a major Indian territory.



I am not sure what this is, presumably burn off from a natural gas well.


Off in the distance you can see the Oil Derrick. I saw more Pumps than Derricks. I have been reading up on the oil history and industry online since I am looking for a job in that sector.
In Weatherford, OK I camped at the local Walmart. If you look closely you can see the giant windmills in the background. The biggest wind farm in the state is in this town. It was surreal. I am definitely not in the Southeast any longer.

I captured this shot as I was leaving Weatherford to go to Elk City. These things are huge. It makes me want to get started on my own wind generator project.
I chose Elk City, Oklahoma because that is where the company I hope to work for is located. It is 45 minutes further west than Weatherford. After researching the net for camping options I stumbled across a sweet little camping spot. It is Lake Elk City Park and you are allowed to camp in one of the 5 RV sites with Electricity for FREE for 3 days per visit. What a wonderful find. Nobody else is camping here although a couple of people come and go as they visit the park. The only down side is there is no water. Times like this make me think long and hard about my lack of proper plumbing. Luckily I have come semi prepared with 10 Gallons of fresh water. Not too much of a problem since my visit will only be three days. It would have been nice to have given the bus a bath after driving halfway across the country.
Here is my bus enjoying peace and solitude.

Since there is no running water there are no normal bath houses. For restroom facilities they have what is called a Vault toilet. Basically it is a cinder block porti-potti.
Oh how thoughtful, someone even personalized the toilet paper for my arrival. (Note to self... lock the bus)

The park has an amphitheater. I haven't seen any Christmas rehearsal yet. This the back side.
Today's project has been to install the Pexiglass window covering. Rick gave me some pexiglass he had, it was enough for two upper side windows. I am using the pexiglass to create a pocket of air like double paned glass in my never ending quest to super insulate the bus. This should also prevent these particular windows from misting up from warm, wet air on the bus (a byproduct of heating the bus, cooking and breathing). First I cleaned the aluminum frame around the windows because they had never been cleaned properly...ie with steel wool.
The window on the left has been cleaned, the one on the right has not been. Me likey the shiny.
Although it is difficult to capture the difference on film (but that is kinda of the point isn't it, right) you can see that the top window has a more reflective property.

I have been enjoying the most spectacular sunsets that I have seen since I began my bus life.
This picture captures the bus, sunset and moon. Makes me wish I had a professional camera.
All I have to do is sit tight and wait for tornado season.

Ozark camping and Oklahoma

I have been enjoying my trip west. This isn't about getting to my destination, it is about enjoying the areas in between. It is not a popular season to go camping which suits me just fine. I chose the Ozark National Forest that lay just north of I-40 in Arkansas as my first real test into wilderness camping.

The bus driver was alerted to a temporary end of boring interstate driving.
I camped at Shore Lake, a campground maintained by the United States Forest Service. I was attracted to the electric hookups and promise of a hot shower. I was only half lied to. I got the electricity, necessary to recharge batteries and to live in comfort, but the bath house was closed for the season. They even had turned off the water to the campground. Fortunately, I brought an extra 5 gallons that I carry with me 'just in case'. I was able to heat up some water on the stove to wash my hair and essentials. The campground was totally empty. The price was right $8/night. I was going to boondock or dry camp where I live self sustained with generator and such, but it was cheaper in the long run to camp this way. And I don't know how long it will be until I start drawing a paycheck.
The next day Nala and I went out exploring the Ozark Highlands Trail (or OHT). It is designated by blue marks on trees every few hundred feet.
We hiked for hours. Saw a pair of hikers, but other than that I was alone in the woods with my faithful dog.
A small waterfall along the way.
The water was similar in color to glacier run off I had seen in Alaska. A milky blue green.
The funny thing about hiking is that if you hike in a direction for 2 hours, you have to walk 2 hours back. Me and dog found we were slightly out of shape. More of these hikes are needed.

I found out that I did not have internet reception on my mobile wi-fi card or my cell phone. And to make it even more dire, I could not even pick up a TV signal. I had a football game to watch. I finally found out today that maybe my ignorance was bliss. The Auburn Tigers spanked my South Carolina Gamecocks. Still, it was the first time I have been so far off the grid that all three technology gadgets were useless. The only (and probably most important) device to work was my GPS.

I decided to hit the road this morning. I drove into Oklahoma and stock up on information at the visitors center. Since I will be staying in their state for a little while I want to be well educated on the different opportunities available.
Interesting picnic areas at the Visitor's center.
Oklahoma is light on National Forests. I will be spending some time finding alternative home bases while in Oklahoma.