Our Gate

We are “relief” gate guards on this gate outside of Tilden, Texas, so the regular gate guards can go home to Montana for Christmas.  We are here till December 31st…but a gate is a gate…so we’ll take it.

This is a long established ranch with a crude oil facility so we get a lot of oil tankers coming in to pick up crude oil.  They are also preparing to drill another well, so we are expecting the big equipment to come in over the weekend.  That will be exciting.  Jim and I really like when it is busy.  Makes the time go by faster.

We came up with a work eight hours, off for four hours and then work four hours.  It is easier when we break up the 12 hour shift like that.  So far it is working.  Interestingly enough I have only been sleeping six hours instead of my normal eight hours.  So that gives me a little more off time.

Jim has been doing the cooking on his four hours off…which is fine with me.  This weekend I’ll put something in the slow cooker before I go to bed at 5 a.m. so we’ll have something to eat without much effort.

On this ranch there are cows, horses, deer and a family of four raccoons that come to visit our rig every night. The cows and horses also have come wandering by most nights.  I have to shooo them off the road to let the truckers out.

Right now we haven’t been busy at night, so I have been reading on my Kindle and knitting most of the night.  I just started reading The Outlander series and am really enjoying it.  I read the first book way back when it first came out, but didn’t continue with the series.  It is nice to get back to it.  I really enjoy reading long books and ones in a series, so this fits the bill.

Luckily the weather has been very mild although we are wearing our orange sweat jackets because of the wind.  We’re able to stay outside during the day, and I stay outside until most of the trucks are out then I come inside and watch TV and knit.  We have rope bells that alert us of incoming and outgoing traffic…and yes, I do stay up all night.

Jim gets up about 4 a.m. and gets ready and has his coffee while I fill him in on the night.  I go to bed at 5 a.m. and with ear plugs I sleep soundly for six hours.  Then I get ready, have my veggie smoothie and take over the iPad and start logging the traffic.

Everyone here has been very friendly and those truckers are super polite…we’ve been having fun as most of them are from Louisiana around the Jeanerette, Kaplan and Crowley areas.  Those are places we are familiar with after having spent time at Betty’s RV Park in Abbeville.  Makes for some interesting and fun conversations.  One of the guys told me the H.E.B. in Pleasanton just got in some crawfish for $2 a pound.  That sure brings back some good memories of Louisiana.

Well, it is time for me to take over the logging iPad so I will say goodnight.

Remember, you are loved.