10/11/08

Leaving Providence Farm

I packed up and hit the road at around 9:30AM. I had the GPS loaded with a route for the next 1,000 miles, checked engine oil level (the FJR was broken in hard on the dyno using the Moto Man method to which I attribute the motor not using a drop of oil), checked tire pressure and then I was on my way after saying goodbye to Troy and Trudy.

Read the rest of this entry »

10/10/08

Tillie preparing lunch. She did all the cooking and preparations

Thank you for taking such good care of us, Tillie!

Read the rest of this entry »

This is what it is all about Fresh clean water for communities that need it.

Monday AM:

After breakfast the two teams went through their checklists to ensure they had everything they needed for the task ahead. When in the field you don’t want to find out three hours away from the nearest town that you’re missing a certain tool or part. Between drilling rig to shovels and PVC pipe, all had to be loaded up and available at the site.

At the drilling location we started with picking a location for the well.  The rig was put together and gearboxes and engine crank cases filled with oil (they’re stored dry) the mud pump was placed and we dug two so-called “mud-pits”.  We mixed up the mud, and filled the pits.  Mixing the water with Bentonite making 200 gallons of drilling mud.

Read the rest of this entry »

View

After Church this morning I went to lunch which was literally around the corner from the Octoberfest in Old Fort. So I decided to see how Nellie would do in the duck race.

Read the rest of this entry »

Friday night we decided to hit the road and check out the mountain music performers in Old Fort, a town 15 miles away.. I absolutely love the rolling green hills with farms, cattle and houses in this area. Wonderful.

The band at the Octoberfest in Old Fort, NC

We filled the filter with the washed course gravel, then the fine gravel and then the washed sand. The standing water level above the bio-sand is critical and we adjusted the quantity of sand accordingly.

Here you can see the surface of the sand

Monday I started class in Marion, NC at an organization called Equip International. They train people for mission work in various parts of the world. The various courses teach students how to drill water wells, locally make bio-sand filters for cleaning polluted water, they get a two week hands on medical training, learn about implementing community sanitary programs, etc. It is very thorough.

Our classroom

Read the rest of this entry »

 I was told that I should ride “The Dragon”. This is a road on the west side of the Smokey’s considered to be the best ride in the area. So after saying goodbye to my neighbors I headed out of the campground and I had to backtrack quite a ways to get on the Foothills Parkway. 

Foothills Parkway view

Tennessee roads

After an uneventful morning ride I stopped in a little town at an outdoor/adventure store. I had been cold at night in my 20 degree sleeping bag, and I had promised myself that if I were to run unto a place where they had good sleeping bags I’d buy a warmer one. So they mailed my old bag back to Oceanside, together with the Airhawk seat cushion that I did not end up needing and I bought a new 10 degree mummy bag…. Much better!

Read the rest of this entry »

I had been camping out in the “Land between the Lakes”, and within a few miles after taking to the road this morning I was having a really good time curving through the landscape.

Riding pic

I saw a sign pointing to a bison/elk field, and was keen on checking it out; unfortunately no motorcycles were allowed in… Ah well!

Read the rest of this entry »