Thursday, October 25, 2012

Freedom, Indeed


I never go to rivers to kill hecatombs of trout or, actually, any trout; I go to unkill parts of myself that otherwise might die. ~Nick Lyons

Here's a video from a certain kindred spirit...


of fly rods and freedom. from WY Fly media on Vimeo.

I sat at my desk today and thought about fishing.  I shan't make that same mistake again tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Pipe Down Over There

As a general rule, this blog is devoted to leisure pursuits out of doors:  Riding horses, fishing, hunting, sailing, and other fun adventures.

Work is an adventure too, though, if the work is out there off the beaten path.  And sometimes I have projects that are extraordinary or unusual in some way.  Case in point is this drive into an area where some work needed my inspection.  Eventually, these miles of 20" gas line will be buried under the swamp and beyond.  But, how impressive is it to see so much laid out in preparation?

Consider all the work just to lay out those timber mats, for equipment and vehicle access along the route.  Then, think about connecting all those pipe sections, one at a time.  Each pipe must be welded, one to the next.  After that, each weld gets x-rayed to certify the quality of the welds.  If it doesn't pass, the weld is improved or redone, until it does pass x-ray tests.  Once it passes, the weld is coated with a special epoxy that protects the joint and (along with the painted coating elsewhere) insulates the pipe.  Then, the coating is tested for its cathodic protection.

After it's all installed, deer will again be harvested from that hunting hotel at about the 4:24 mark, and the temporary impact to these wetlands will be long since healed.

The video was shot on my Kodak Playsport, hung out the window and propped over the side mirror...and aside from the addition of the two songs as soundtrack, remains unenhanced.  You should get the feel of driving over a road made out of 16' wide mats of 12" x 8" timbers.  Toward the end, take a sip of your coffee and try to NOT think about spilling it.

I drove a little faster than necessary, because I didn't want to meet anyone coming the other way with precious little room to pass.  Not that it was particularly dicey...just that I figured it'd detract from the continuity of the video.

Installation of the tan-colored stretch of pipe toward the end was what required my presence.




pipeline from liv erm'ush on Vimeo.

Songs are from John Hiatt, Ridin' With The King and Chris Whitley, Long Way Around.  Hope you like the video.