Updates on our New Adventure

I went to North Dakota for a few days last week to visit Ron and go house hunting.  The house hunting part was very unsuccessful and discouraging.  We are going to have to sit back and really decide what we want out of this experience and what we need to do to make it work.  There is NOTHING for rent in Stanley.  I thought, since a lot of the guys travel from Minot (1 hour each way) we would be able to make the commute work.  We came to a consensus that Minot won't work for either one of us.  There are a few houses for sale in Stanley, but we didn't want to be there long enough to buy. However, a mortgage payment is actually cheaper per month than renting! (whats up with THAT??)  If I could just see into the future and KNOW we would be able to sell the house AS SOON as we are ready to come back, I would buy it in a heart beat. We looked at one and I loved it!  Its definitely more than we need, but I'd have plenty of room for company and all of our storage! 

Ron's job is INSANE...but he says he's really enjoying it.  I drove around with him for the first little bit I was there.  He had just got pulled of production water, and switched to doing fresh water. 

Here's how the fresh water works (correct me in the comments if I'm wrong Ronald!)

You find a little hut like this one:

Hook up your hoses...

Go inside the shed and turn on the water....then sit and wait until your full 

 then drive to the fracking location...

Back up the truck to fill up some tanks...

Then start all over again...

This is the frackng site where they shoot the water down into the ground. I haven't got a clue what all the equipment does or how it works...but I think the tanks on the far right (in the sun) are the one that hold the water until its ready to be used.  I wasn't aloud to get out here because I didn't have any safety equipment...

 He liked doing production water better, but he didn't do any of that while I was there.  Production water comes up with the oil when it is pumped, then separated into a tank. He fills up right there at the oil well, then dumps it at a disposal site where its pumped back into the ground.

There are trucks EVERYWHERE, especially at the Cen-ex (the truck stop)!  Its ALWAYS a zoo in there!  I thought spud harvest was crazy, this is just a MAD HOUSE!!  And drivers are DUMB and inconsiderate!  Like..driving with their brights on ALL the time...but the people are really nice.  Most of them are willing to do anything to help you out!