July 31, 2010

View of the day-Trying to beat the weather that is approaching.

We woke up to the sun, wind and the hope that we would finally get combining. We knew it wouldn't be until later in the day because, once again, the humidity was a killer.

Al got the new brackets put on the trailer and after looking it over, we figured we might be able to add the old brackets with the bar to help support the front of the header.

We went for lunch at the Rock, then decided that 2pm would be the time we would do a test on the winter wheat, so we went back to the camper to kill some time. We tested right on schedule and took it into the elevator...14.5% moisture, and they insist on 13.5%...so we went back to the camper to wait. Al went out an hour later and took another test and this time it was 12.3% so he went out to cut a truck load and Marilyn stayed back at the camper and started to clean up the shop trailer.

The clouds were rolling in and it was starting to drizzle in town so Marilyn went out to the field to let Al bring the truck into the elevator to unload. By the time she got to the field it was starting to sprinkle and we were trying to decide if Marilyn should keep going and risk getting dumped on when it started raining hard or just quit while we were ahead. There was a lot of lightning and thunder and the field we were on was surrounded by a lot of towers...it was the highest spot around, after all...and Marilyn isn't that keen on electricity when it's under control, never mind when it shoots around randomly. After tossing a coin, she decided to continue combining until Al came back with the truck...or she got soaked, which ever came first.

We only had about 25 acres to do and it was very rocky...we've had a header or two with bent rollers over the years because of them...so the going was slow. Marilyn kept going and when Al got back she didn't even stop to dump, just kept on going...the lightning was getting awfully close, just a feeling you get when you can hear the thunder in the cab with everything running. We finally got the field finished and Al was able to get to the elevator before they closed. We are pretty happy we got to combine and it was the last of the winter wheat this year.

We did get rain later on in the evening, but the worst of it went to the south...and it did look nasty. Al had decided to record the Saskatchewan Roughriders game to watch later on but we got back before the end of the game so he started at the beginning and got to fast forward through all the crap to just see all the plays back to back. By the time he got to the end of the recording, it coincided with the end of the game and they won...what a great way to watch a game.

Tomorrow we see if our brackets solved the header trailer issue...

July 30, 2010

View of the day-Marilyn works on getting another coat of paint on the header trailer parts.

We woke up to thick fog which, sometimes, is worse than rain. We knew we wouldn't be combining, so Al went out to get the Green Sheet for some reading material and Marilyn found some laundry to do.

We had lunch in the camper, then Marilyn went out to buy some primer and paint to jazz up the brackets and bar that we had gotten for the header trailer. Al got the wire wheel out and took off the rust then Marilyn got busy priming.

The campers were leaving the RV park hot and heavy today, we must have lost 8 or 9 units. We have empty lots on either side of us now, so that is where we set up the paint shop. It was a good day to wait for paint to dry.

We figured we might as well see what kind of a catastrophe we could have trying to unload the header from the trailer. Al had quite a time with a combine and a couple of fork lifts when they loaded it at the dealership before we left, so we knew there would be issues...hence, the new brackets we had fabricated. We took the trailer up near the combine on a flat piece of the pasture, then unhooked the straight header from combine at the rye field and moved it down to the trailer.

Marilyn lined the combine up to the header and had the feederhouse in the opening on the header...so far, so good. Al told her to slowly take the weight off the trailer, then he would undo one of the two ratchet straps that were holding it onto the trailer. The first one went fine, then he loosened the second one and told Marilyn to raise the header...catastrophe as expected. The header was front heavy and it jumped off the feederhouse and was trying to flip right off the trailer, fortunately Al had not removed the last ratchet strap and it was keeping the header in place...sort of.

We surveyed the situation and figured if we could loop a ratchet strap through the opening on the header and tie it back to the feederhouse, maybe we could hold it long enought to get it off the trailer and onto the ground. We were half right. We were able to get the bottom latches hooked, but of course the top cradle was outside the opening instead of nicely tucked inside where it belonged. We ran the straps back to the axles of the big tires and it held like a dream while we backed away from the trailer....the trouble came when we tried to set it on the ground...the straps had no give when the feederhouse lowered and moved farther away from the axle. It didn't seem safe to snap them open with all that pressure on them.

We ended up putting one ratchet strap through the center of the header and out to either end of the feederhouse and that held long enough for us to loosen the other straps and get the header on the ground...then latched properly. We will have to rethink our loading procedure.

We ran the header to check that everything worked...it did, like a dream...then brought the header trailer into town and parked it in the camping spot next to the camper so we can get an early start on it tomorrow. It was buck a burger night at the VFW, so we went down to a packed house and got caught up on some of the town gossip, then came back to the camper so Al could watch his Canadian Football League game.

Hopefully we get the winter wheat done tomorrow...

July 29, 2010

View of the day-Al checks the cargo over at Carlyle, SK first thing in the morning before we leave and the weather hits.

We were up early to get coffee in with Kim, Marg and Gordie, who was mentally preparing himself for the braces he was getting on his teeth this morning. After we got all packed and loaded, we started back for Gettysburg, SD...but first we had to cross the border.

Marilyn called ahead to find out if we would fit through the scanner posts that they had set up and they assured us our 12ft wide headers should fit through..."but go slow just in case and can it be backed up?". We stopped in Alameda to pick up a couple of bolts to put the licence plate on the header trailer...the plate usually ends up getting broken off so we just keep it in the door of the pickup, but we figured we better have it on when they checked things over at the border. They were waiting for us and we fit through without any issues so they had us park to the side and come in to get our paperwork accepted.

Marilyn has been filling these forms out the same way for a LOT of years and they never change, so when the officer said she had the wrong amount in one of the blanks, she was surprised...but never said a word. Yes, you read that right. He did a search of the office for some white-out and entered in the new amount, gave us our copy and sent us on our way. After reading the form over carefully and checking on the other ones we have filled in, it did indeed say 110% of the applicable "duty" amount, not 110% of the total value as he had insisted...oh well, shut up and drive.

We stopped in Minot at the Happy Panda for Chinese buffet, then continued on fighting the wind pretty much all the way...no rain though. We got into South Dakota and had to slow down quite a bit because of the rough roads...REALLY rough roads...almost as bad as Saskatchewan roads. We finally pulled into Gettysburg around 6pm and noticed a lot of puddles everywhere...they had rain today, but no word on how much.

It was good to visit with everyone at home, but it felt great to be back in our camper at Gettysburg, even if we weren't going to be able to combine. Marilyn has a huge "rainy day" list that needs to get tackled...and speaking of tackling, Al gets to watch his CFL game tonight.

And maybe tomorrow if it rains tonight...

July 28, 2010

View of the day-A field of flax near the Qu'Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan...to bad we couldn't have 'smellovision' so you could enjoy the fragrance.

We were up early and on our way north with a list of things to do. First on the list was a stop at Esterhazy to drop off a sample of the bracket we needed fabricated so the pickup head would balance a bit better on the header trailer.

After explaining what we wanted, he said he would try and have it done for today but they close at 3:30pm. We figured if he was able to get it done we would just pick it up on the way back to Carlyle and stay there for the night...if it wasn't going to be ready, we would stay in Yorkton for the night.

We took the scenic route up to Yorkton, travelling the back roads so we could check out the 'disastrous' crops that we had been hearing about on the radio and in the paper. While some of the fields had not been planted or had lots of wet spots, most of it looked pretty good...far from what we would describe as disastrous...not that our opinion really matters. It was somewhat of a relief, but the maturity of the fields were all over the map...it will be a long drawn out harvest...we will agree to that.

We took the back way out to our farm and got the farm toys unloaded and into the house. We live on a hill, so we were untouched by the flooding that had happened in the city a few weeks back...the grass had even been cut, so it looked pretty good. Al did not want to leave, but Marilyn had a lunch date with her friends, so after a quick visit with the neighbor, we had to get into town. Al had made a lunch day with the neighbor and since both dates were at the same restaurant we travelled together...but didn't sit together.

After lunch we took a tour out to check on some land that was for sale...and still will be after we looked at it, then Marilyn had to pick up a few things at Staples for Marg, so she got a bit of a visit in with her co-workers, while Al fueled up the truck.

We got the call from Esterhazy that our parts were ready, so we started back south. We stopped at the junction to Grayson and met Al's step-dad, who collects our mail, and had a visit with him on the side of the road. We picked up our parts and figured out how to tie down the 16ft long 2x2 pipe that we needed for header support and got the rest of the pieces loaded into the truck. We stopped at our campground for a visit with Eugene and his nephew Tomas and after fighting off the mosquitoes, left for Carlyle.

Back at Carlyle, we tried to figure out a way to lift the header off the trailer so we could put the new brackets on. Problem #1-no combine, but we did have a tractor with a front end loader with a bucket and grapple. Problem #2-how to attack the header with the bucket so we didn't end up with a catastrophe. Problem #3-it was dark...that problem settled everything...we quit. We will just drive slower and if it looks like we will have a problem, we will find a CaseIH dealer with a combine and do what we originally had planned to do.

Tomorrow we will play the border lottery...

July 27, 2010

View of the day-A semi lays down for a little nap north of Selby, SD dumping it's load of sunflowers. We don't know how it happened, just the result.

We were up early and on the road north by 9am. The sun was shining but we could see the clouds to the north and figured we would probably be driving through some rain before we arrived at out destination.

We were just into North Dakota when the first sprinkles hit and we had rain off and on until we got close to Minot. The crops along the way covered every stage imaginable, from ready to harvest all the way down to, not even headed out yet.

We stopped in Minot for lunch and to pick up some "beverage" to take home with us, then continued on our way. We had someone new at the Canadian Border and this time she was a bit more thorough...considering we had the backseat jammed to the roof with farm toys, she was pretty understanding. After about 10 minutes we were on our way, back in Canada.

We stopped to chat with Marilyn's sister at Precision Ag, then went out to the farm to see about getting the pickup head ready for transport back to Gettysburg. It was in the barn parked behind a few other implements that had to get moved before we could even get close to it. Kim got the sprayer and the Seed Hawk moved out, then Al got the header hooked up and out into the daylight...and surprise, surprise...no flat tires.

After Kim got everything parked back into it's spot in the barn, we got the bird "business" cleaned off, aired up the tires and it was ready for action. Of course, it took a bit of manual reading to get the shield off to check the chain...plenty o' swearing loosened it up.

We had supper and just relaxed for the rest of the evening so we could be rejuvenated for the trip to Yorkton and back tomorrow. The toys have to get unloaded, Marilyn has to get caught up with her peeps and the mail has to get picked up.

Something to read on the way back to Gettysburg...

July 26, 2010

View of the day-Al cuts a sample of the rye north of Gettysburg...15.5% moisture and it has to be 13% before the elevator will take it.

Al was up early to dump the 'load' of wheat that was on the General...all 43 bushels of samples we had taken on the winter wheat. After that he went over to the welding shop to see if they would be able to fix the crack that was on the cart trailer. It is on the welder man's to do list, and since we will likely be here for a while, there is no rush.

We went for lunch at the Rock and Dan from MacDon support had come in for lunch so he joined us and we filled him in on some of the issues we had with the header. He told us to call in to the support van and they would pencil him in, that way he would try to stop in on his way back from the job he was on his way to.

After lunch we went back to the camper and Al checked out the toys that had been delivered this morning...he had ordered ? and one of them was a randomly inserted model with 'White' on the grill instead of 'MM'...quite a bonus. Marilyn did some laundry in the campground and we killed some time online while we waited to go out to the field to do a test.

It was in the 90's today but the humidity never got under 52%, so it was not a good drying day and we were pretty sure the rye wouldn't be dry enough...but we could hope. We went out to the field and while Al put a new bungee cord on the General rollover tarp, Marilyn gave the combine windows a RainX treatment...more time killing hoping that the rye would be dry. Finally we did a test and just as we were leaving the field with it we got a call from 'Stan', the MacDon support guy. He was in town waiting for us to show him the way back out to the combine and header...which we did.

He checked a few things over and made notes to take back to the van with him, gave a few more pointers, then he was on his way back to Pierre. It was VFW time by this time so we went for supper then went back to the camper for the night.

Tomorrow is road trip day, we are going to Carlyle to get the pickup head so it will be an early start.

That should be a shock to the system...

July 25, 2010

View of the day-The grain cart patiently waits by the rye with it's new cameras ready for action.

We slept in, missing the Harvester's Appreciation Breakfast the the town puts on annually. It was over at 10:30 and since Marilyn likes to see the yolk in her eggs and isn't that keen on sausages, it wasn't really missed...especially since the Rock has an excellent buffet on Sundays. Which is where we ended up going and once again we beat the church crowd.

We were just coming home from lunch when we met the farmer coming into town and after stopping for a gab, we went back to the camper. The farmer needed Al's help with a belt on the swather, so he went out to give him a hand, then when he got back from the field we decided what we would do for the rest of the day.

Al needed to get some welding done on the cart trailer so we took the grain cart over to the lot where the trailers were parked. We used the hydraulics on the tractor to lift the trailer so we could hook it up to the Freightliner and move it over near the welding shop. After Al got it parked, Marilyn took him back to get the tractor and cart then followed him out to the field.

The farmer had finished swathing the winter wheat and was getting ready to go back home, so we stopped for yet another gab session before checking out the swaths and heading home ourselves.

Supper in the camper and an evening of Ice Road Truckers and Skyping home to friends finished off the day.

And now it's official...we need the pickup head...

July 24, 2010

View of the day-We have contact! Marilyn checks the continuity on the new hookup on the tractor/grain cart trailer before adding another outlet on the back for the header trailer.

Another "what to do" day. Marilyn decided it was time to put the new cable that we had purchased on the cart trailer, so after we had lunch in the camper we got the shop trailer and got started.

We had ordered 40 ft of 7 wire cable and when we rolled it out at the trailer...there was only 35 ft. We went back to the hardware store and explained our situation...apparently the elderly gent that waited on us had a memory issue, or it could have been the punk on the other end that only took it out to 35 ft...anyway, he was good enough to return the 35ft piece. We upped the limit and went for 50ft and since there was only 6ft left on the spool, we took that too...measure twice, cut once.

We had brought the Freightliner over to make sure the wires were hooked up correctly...on all ends of the trailer, since we were planning on adding a hookup on the back of the trailer in case we have to haul an extra header behind it. We got the old, 6 spliced, cord pulled out through the holders, then put the new one through...leaving extra at both ends, just in case.

The wires coming from each of the signal/brake lights were pretty much shot, so Marilyn decided to run new wires to them. After that was accomplished, we had to add the wire for the new trailer plug on the back...which meant splicing three or four wires together and hoping they would hold. Marilyn opted for screw on connectors and once the wires were all connected and tested, we cleaned up our mess and took the shop trailer back to the camper.

We went to the VFW for supper then rushed back to the camper so Al could watch his Canadian Football League games. Fortunately they play some of the CFL games on the NFL HD channel on our local cable and they have two Saskatchewan Roughrider games on the slate for July 31 and August 7.

And you know we will still be here then...

July 23, 2010

View of the day-More rigs waiting in the parking lot of the truck stop on the way to Pierre, SD...there was even a Gleaner behind the bunch.

Today was going to be road trip day...it was Walmart fix time for Marilyn and Al wanted to check out the dealerships in Pierre. Al was very clever, deciding not to leave until after lunch, then informing Marilyn that we had to be back in Gettysburg by 6:30pm to watch the Canadian Football League game. Now, an hour there, an hour back, an hour for supper...that certainly didn't leave much time for shopping.

There were forecasts of rain and it was overcast, but it didn't really look like it was going to be a thunderstorm kind of day...but that always changes in Pierre. When we got to town Al dropped Marilyn off at the mall for a short shift while he went through the Green Sheet, checking out the classified section for...stuff.

After Marilyn had finished at the mall, Al dropped her off at WalMart, then started on his tour of the dealerships. He found a 1/16 scale Cat Challenger on tracks...something he has been on the lookout for since he sold the one in his collection at the last toy show he was at. After that purchase from the Cat dealer, he went over to the CaseIH dealer to have a chat with Ray, from ProHarvest, who was there with the support van.

After we were both done shopping, we went over to the Pizza Ranch for supper. The clouds were really building and the weather warnings were out for heavy rain, hail and possible tornadoes, but it looked like it was going to be worse to the south. Just as we came out of the restaurant it started raining, so we dropped the hammer to get out of the line of fire and get home to Gettysburg...we didn't know if there was any bad weather happening up there.

We got back to the corner of highways 83 and 14 to fuel up at the truck stop. It was only sprinkling, but it sure looked bad to the south. Al said the sun would be shining by the time we got back to Gettysburg...and it was.

Mark that down...Al was right...

July 22, 2010

View of the day-A new 300,000 bushel bin lined up with several 100,000 bushel bins at Gettysburg, SD...hopefully the fall harvest will fill them to capacity.

Another pretty slack day...late morning and no urgent list of things to do. We went down to pick up the new ice maker and get it hooked up and running...the ice had returned.

We had discussed taking a road trip to Aberdeen via Redfield to check out some of the antique shops for possible toy finds but it was already well after lunch so we passed on that. A shopping trip requires an early start...so we will go to Pierre tomorrow.

We took a drive out to see how much was in the rain gauge on the combine, 3/4 of an inch...but that was over a couple of days. The weeds were really starting to come in the field so the farmer has decided to swath it, which means we need our pickup head which is in Carlyle, SK.

There could be another road trip in our future...

July 21, 2010

View of the day-All colors are waiting out at the Sale Barn near Gettysburg, SD...and the clouds will make the wait a little longer.

No need to get up early today, the clouds made sure we wouldn't be combining...time to find something else to do. We went to the Rock for breakfast then decided we couldn't put the inevitable any longer...it was time to do the books.

After getting everything organized...hole punch, folders, date stamp, we commenced the long put off task. It went rather smoothly since we keep a small filer in the pickup and the receipts are all put into categories as we receive them and when the elastic latch won't reach the button anymore, it's bookwork time. While we were working on the books we listened to our home town radion station GX94 online and since it was request time, we emailed one in and the blog got a great plug from Danny Ismond, who is a regular follower.

We got the books finished then went out for a drive to see what was happening around town...the campground was full of harvesters that had nothing to do...the beer clouds were out, so it could be a wild night. We checked out the VFW and it was closed so we stopped at the store to grab something for supper...Marilyn actually remembered how to use the stove. We were just leaving the grocery store when the skies opened up and let loose with a heavy down pour. We got back to the camper, checked out the radar on the weather channel and although we were getting dumped on, it was way worse to the SE of us.

After dishes and digestion, Al read his Tractor House and watched some TV while Marilyn decided since it had stopped raining and the sun had actually come out it was time to wash the windows on the camper. After getting the ladder from the shop trailer she started on the camper, washing, then doing a RainX treatment on the windows...and things went so well that the Dodge windows got the same treatment. Now when it rains, the view will be crystal clear...until the birds do their business again.

And we have more rain on the way tonight...

July 20, 2010

View of the day-The trucks are lined up outside the elevator in Onida, SD. They had another line running next to the one you can see and there were a couple of women with Sheriff vests on directing traffic...and it was early in the day, no telling how long it got as the day went on.

We didn't start the day early, but we did get lots done. We went to Onida to the Case dealer to pick up a couple of air filters for the combine. We figured we had better get a new one since the air filter alarm kept going off on the last field we were on and we had to stop to blow it out a few times. We took a tour around the campgrounds to see if there was anyone we knew...there was, but they were all out in the field or doing some type of 'make work' project.

On the way back to Gettysburg, we decided to take the back roads so we could look at the rye and spring wheat we have to do south of town. We were also able to miss all the stop signs they had on the highway where they were fixing little patches of the road. The rye is still a little way off...but who can tell with the 'bite' test on rye...might have to get the portable combine out yet.

There were combines in the field and a lot of fields were already done...looks like this is another popular area for stripper heads.

Back in Gettysburg we went over to the tractor to see about getting the cameras mounted on the cart...a job that we had started in Davidson, OK. We had gotten back the new multiplexer and monitor under warranty and now had all the pieces needed to get everything mounted and wired. Al watched as Marilyn climbed the ladder to find the best spot for the cameras...the one on the back was a no brainer, but the auger was a different kettle of fish.

We tried it on the top of the auger, but the auger boot wouldn't allow a view directly down. Then we tried it under the auger right up near the boot and that seemed to be the best one for viewing, but since we had it on a 3 inch diameter magnet it didn't stick too well on the round auger. We finally mounted it beside the light on the top side of the auger, we could see down and ahead...and part of the auger boot...but at least Al will be able to see into the box when he is dumping the cart.

After we found where they would get mounted, Al went back to the camper and Marilyn looked after getting the 50ft of cables secured on the cart, into the tractor and the multiplexer mounted and wired in...mission accomplished.

Now all we have to do is start combining to try it out...

July 19, 2010

View of the day-The pile gets bigger as the trucks try to stay ahead of the weather...the auger has been moved six times already.

No sleeping in today as we waited for Ed, the phone man, to show up. We weren't sure what time he would get here, but just to be safe we were up early for coffee and to plan out the day.

We didn't get any more rain to speak of during the night, but it was overcast and the forecast is for rain the next few days, so we wait. Al wanted to cut a test on the 60 acres of winter wheat we have left, but we figured it was best to wait until the sun had been out for a little while at least.

We found out Ed wasn't going to be at the camper until the afternoon, so the first thing on the list was to try and get the General's ignition operational. Once again another dash had to get dismantled to see where the wires were going and if they were broken anywhere causing it not to shut off. Marilyn had it shutting off consistently by jumping the ignition and accessory wires, so she figured she would just run a short piece of wire across the two posts. Once everything was screwed back into place we tested it out again and...it didn't shut off.

This time Marilyn only had to take the switch out to see what the problem was...shorting out the two posts would work but not if they were connected constantly. Since the button for the washer fluid had never worked...or been hooked up, for that matter...she took it out, hooked up a couple of wires to the ignition switch posts and there you go...a shut off button. Works like a dream.

Al took the Dodge in to get the fuel cartridge changed and ran into a bit of trouble. After the mechanic finally got the canister off, they discovered the new cartridge was way too big for it. Apparently Dodge expects you to purchase both a new canister and cartridge the first time you replace it, then you just have to get the bigger cartridge...nice of them to note that somewhere. No one in town had a canister so they had to put the old cartridge back in.

While Al was away and Marilyn was working on the General, the tire guy came over to put a new tube in the grain cart tire that was forever needing air. Both Marilyn and the tire guy had tried calling Al on his cell, but it went right to message manager. When he got back with the Dodge Marilyn checked out his phone and he couldn't make any calls at all...and it wasn't due to lack of signal. Marilyn tried to call Sasktel on her phone but none of the toll free numbers worked...very irritating...then went back to the camper to try from a land line. She got through, but they said their roaming system was down and all we could do was wait...thanks for nothing.

Back at the camper Ed had finally shown up and we got everything wired up for the internet and TV...he offered Marilyn a job...she passed...too many basements with spiders. Now we're cooking with all the TV, phone and internet we can handle.

But Photobucket has crashed for some reason...

July 18, 2010

View of the day-This is spring wheat that we have to combine...any guesses on how long we will be here?

Al was up early to do some checking around and maybe see what the problem was with the General. After all the issues we have had with vehicles that refuse to start, now we have one that won't shut off unless you stall it out.

Marilyn spent the day trying to get the satellite aimed...and actually had signal for a brief time. After tightening down all the nuts, the signal just evaporated...why, oh why is it so hard to get signal here in Gettysburg? Not to worry, the phone man is coming tomorrow and we will be getting phone, internet and cable from him...take THAT Starchoice. Rant on. It never ceased to amaze us how the rural telephone companies can get you service in the middle of nowhere for next to nothing and yet at home we are 6 miles from the city and if we want an extra line we have to cough up $700...all this from a company that brags about how technologically advanced they are...they wired the Chunnel, after all. Rant off.

We went for breakfast to the Rock and beat the church crowd, then we went out to move the combine over to the next field north of town. Just as we got to the field it started to sprinkle a bit but we got the header into transport then headed out before the road got too wet. We moved the 8 or so miles then loaded the header back on the combine and went out to get the grain cart. We were on our way back to town with it when the skies opened up and the field where the combine was sitting had disappeared from the rain...there would be no combining today, that was for sure.

We focused on getting the ignition problem on the General fixed and after doing some testing figured out it must be the switch, because when we jumped across two of the posts on the back it shut off every time. Marilyn got everything switched over to the new switch and...the same thing happened. Good thing we didn't throw it away. We left it for tomorrow.

We went out to Bob's Resort on the Missouri River west of Gettysburg for steak supper...actually it was more like a small roast. The view from the restaurant is amazing...and the steak was excellent, even without a potato.

After we got back to the camper Marilyn decided it was time to get the XM radio up and running. We are surrounded by three huge trees which means we don't get any signal from the south, so Marilyn ran the antenna cables through the slide and out onto the roof of the camper so we could get the signal. Then it was time to set up the two way radio for the camper...a job that has been on the list since we left home. Marilyn had to do the same thing...run the cable through the slide...she was spending a lot of time on the camper roof.

The over the air antenna wasn't picking up the locals very good, so she tried to tweak it so we would have at least some TV to watch. There were a couple of harvesters sitting in their camping chairs watching the performance and Al was doing the "good...no, that's worse...no, put it back where you had it" through the roof vent. Eventually we got it so-so and left it as it was. It will take longer to pack up to move having to get all the cables back where they belong.

The rain put the kibosh on any harvesting today...it was so isolated that there were still the odd combine making dust right next to a downpour and there must have been a lot of guys still going because the grain trucks were running up and down the main drag all day.

The pile is getting bigger...

July 17, 2010

View of the day-The pile gets bigger at Gettysburg and the trucks are lined up down the street...it's going full tilt now.

Al was up early to get the cart unloaded from the field into the General to bring it in to the elevator to dump. Marilyn went uptown to see if they had another ice maker, or at the very least, directions to getting this one fixed...no luck.

Marilyn went out and serviced and fueled the combine and was making dust by 11:30am. The clouds had been building all day but we were lucky enough that they stayed in the east and south.

Al was able to keep up most of the day...he hauled 10 loads so he was kept hopping. There were a lot more trucks coming in as more harvesters got started combining thanks to the heat and wind that was bringing everything around an the campground is almost half full with another 6 rigs moving in today.

We kept going and towards the end Marilyn had to wait, but it gave her time to fuel and service...that means an extra 15 minutes of snooze time tomorrow. We figured out the loads just right...sort of...Al took an extra large one in just so he wouldn't have to come back out for only a few bushels. Marilyn finished the field around 9:30pm then came into town to fill the slip tank at the fuel station...that's a 20 minute wait...oh, for the days in Davidson when it might have taken 5 minutes, tops.

Al was able to get into line before the 10pm cut off at the elevator...they were going to be there pretty late getting the rest of the lined up trucks unloaded, although the conveyor pumps it out pretty fast. Marilyn had neglected to tarp the cart, thinking that Al was going out to get the last load from the cart...he was saving that for the morning... or was hoping to. Back out to the field he went to bring it in...that will give him some extra snooze time too.

Marilyn figured it was time to sneak a couple loads of laundry in at the shower house in the campground before the rest of the crews got in. Both machines are in working order except that the dryer takes .75 and doesn't do a very good job of drying. Good thing there are clothes lines for our use and Marilyn always has a big bag of clothes pins. Hopefully the clothes won't stay out there for three days...

Now if only we could find that dang satellite...

July 16, 2010

View of the day-Al unloads the cart as the combine waits to dump...the loads must be precise here in South Dakota.

Well, catastrophe struck last night...our portable ice maker lost a shaft and we now have to purchase ice until we can get it fixed...or buy a new one, depending on how long the repair will take.

Marilyn was up early because the phone man was supposed to be stopping by to hook up the DSL…he never did, but the phone was hooked up anyway, so at least we had that. The farmer stopped by for a chat and told us we were good to go as soon as we got unloaded, which was at the top of our list anyway.

We went to the Rock for breakfast then went out back of the restaurant to get things unloaded. There was no wind to speak of and it was already hot and humid…at 9am, no less…so we got unloaded in a hurry to get out of the heat. We unloaded the header from the Horst trailer and got it into transport mode, then moved the Freightliner to the lot behind the farmer’s house in town.

We went to the Cenex to put fuel in the combine before moving it out to the field and couldn’t figure out why the card we had used on the way down would not work in the cardlock. A tiny sign on the machine said after July 1 they would not work anymore, so Al went in to see what the problem was and they told us we have to apply for the company card…it’s not local anymore. Al was somewhat irritated and after paying the bill from last month, got the combine filled then left with an application form…which he intends to use as toilet paper once he softens it up a bit.

We were on our way out to the field and noticed a tractor parked in the ditch that had been raking some hay. Al knew it was our other farmer so he stopped to see what the problem was…one of the front wheels was 90º to the other one…the spindle had broken. He offered him a ride but told him it would be the scenic route after we had gotten to the field and cut a sample and patch to park on. After we dropped him off we went back to town to get the tractor and cart, which Al drove out to the field, while Marilyn got to take the General out.

We were finally organized and on the run by 3pm. Al was kept busy hauling since he could only haul 500 bushels…and you don’t dare go over in this fine state. He would just get back to the field and Marilyn would have a truckload on the cart which he would promptly dump and be on his way. He was unloading on the pile and they had a separate auger for the tandem trucks that were hauling…all two of them…so he got priority service. Marilyn got a ride in with him on one of the loads to bring the Dodge out so she would have fuel for the end of the night.

After his sixth load he stayed in town so he could get supper ordered at the VFW…it was $1 a burger night…and these weren’t those little baby burgers, no siree. Marilyn finished the cart load off then fuelled the combine before going into town to pick Al up at the camper before going for supper.

We had a 70 acre day and the crop was running around 50bu/ac, but the protein is only 10.7, so the farmer will get screwed on that…what a shame. There has been a lot of grain truck traffic and the campground has been getting a few more campers every day. Our spring wheat is grass green so it looks like we will be here for a while, but the weather is supposed to be hot and windy…what’s new…so it could turn around fast.

More bad news…the Laundromat in town is closed down…

July 15, 2010

View of the day-It would appear you can go a long way on a rim.

We were up at the usual time and got the combine loaded after several tries…we just can’t seem to find the sweet spot the first time…or even the second or third time. After we got it flanged in and had everything road ready we went into Winner to pay the fuel bill and return the phone company’s modem.

We stopped for lunch at McDonalds…a safer bet than Pizza Hut, then went out to Runnings so Marilyn could pick up another 4 solar flowers that she had found there the other day. We paid off our fuel bill then went looking for the phone guys, hoping they were back from lunch.

We got to the phone service office to drop off the modem and Marilyn talked to the guy who had installed the DSL last year. He asked if she remembered him telling her last year to keep the modem until next year, then she wouldn’t have to wait for them to come out to hook it up. Marilyn did remember, but thought the modem she had kept was for Gettysburg…old age is creeping up.

We went back to Hamill and finished getting the camper sealed up for the trip and after hooking up the shop trailer behind the camper, we were on our way. We had a slow crawl under the interstate while we made sure the new combine was low enough on the trailer to make it underneath the bridge…it was. After crossing the dam at Fort Thompson and getting out of the valley, we decided to drive extra slow on the rough road so the contents of the camper didn’t end up everywhere. A lot of people were passing us…none of them good Samaritans apparently.

We had just pulled into Highmore when Al was a few blocks behind Marilyn and said “either the road is really slanted or the shop trailer has a flat.” Marilyn can only occasionally see the tires behind the camper and didn’t notice anything…and Al never noticed any “shrapnel” from a blown tire…and not one person who passed us tried to wave us down. Luckily we were only a few blocks from the CaseIH dealership right at 5pm and there was a tire shop in the building, so Marilyn limped the trailer in to see if we could get it fixed.

As you can see by the picture, by this time we also needed a new rim…fortunately they had everything we needed. We ended up using the contents of the shop to jack up, remove and install the new tire by ourselves…but at least we were able to carry on our way.

We got to Gettysburg in better time than yesterday, probably due to the change in direction of the wind to the SW …or lack of wind altogether. After getting the General parked by the Freightliner and the shop unhooked, we proceeded over to the campground to get settled in. Marilyn tried to get the dish aimed but for some reason Gettysburg has always been a nightmare to get signal. After about 45 minutes, we bailed…partly due to the hungry flies that were removing flesh in great amounts.

The Firehouse restaurant has closed…can’t find employees, a strange thing in this economy…and the Rock is only open until 2:30pm for the same reason. At least the VFW is open every night so we don’t have to live on pizza…and they make great burgers and steaks…so that is where we dined and had a good chat with the wife of one of our farmers, who works there.

Al talked to her husband before we left for supper and he is in the thick of combining so we will be unloading and getting right to work tomorrow. Gettysburg is supposed to be the carrot that dangles in front of us throughout Oklahoma and Kansas as the place where we end up sitting for days on end waiting for crops to ripen and getting a well needed rest. Oh well…shut up and drive.

Down to the library for internet…

July 14, 2010

View of the day-Chaos at the school ground in Hamill...more crews in town.

We were up at the crack of dawn...not by choice. The wind had changed and was coming out of the NW and the awning, which had been out for the past week, was taking a hit from the wind. Marilyn got started trying to roll it in, then Al came out to help when we discovered that the handle that releases the holding pin had broken and we had to manually tap the pin back in on every hole to put it down...all 20 of them. Fortunately we did get to go back to sleep for a short while, at least.

We got the tractor and cart loaded in record time then went into Winner to get the new tires on the pickup and header trailer and do the laundry. We stopped at Pizza Hut for their lunch buffet...big mistake. They do this Monday to Friday and any other time we have been in there we have seen a crowd, so why wouldn't they be prepared for the rush? We got there just before noon...all the pans were empty, but "there will be more coming out shortly". About twenty minutes "shortly". The idea behind the buffet is to get in-eat-get out...when they finally did bring another pizza out it was one medium and the vultures swarmed as soon as it hit the hot table, so we sat and waited again. That's the last one for a while.

Al dropped Marilyn off at the laundromat to get the washing started and then went to the tire shop. Marilyn had forgotten to take her phone out of the truck and since there were no magazines or TV to occupy the next hour and a half, she walked the four blocks to the tire shop to pick it up. Since they were still on lunch al gave Marilyn a ride back to wait for the laundry then went back to the tire shop.

After the laundry was done and we hooked up the newly aligned header trailer, we went back to Hamill. We went out to the field and loaded the header on the trailer then brought the combine into town to the school yard. Another crew had moved in to town and were hogging up the yard which meant Marilyn had to park the combine on the front lawn by the camper...a common occurance.

We got out of town an fought the wind all the way to Gettysburg, seeing only a couple of fields being combined, and when we got there we were disappointed to find our parking spot for the rigs was now mapped out to be the place where the elevator was going to start a grain pile. Fortunately the owner of the restaurant that we were stopped at told us we could park behind his building if we needed. He owned the restaurant that had a fire a couple years back and he said he was open 6am-2:30pm and was hoping to maybe open evenings by the time harvest got going big time.

We checked our camping spot to see if there were any interlopers this year and found only two campers in the park. We immediately grabbed a picnic table and parked it in our spot so it would be reserved for tomorrow when we get there...and just to make sure there was no mistake, we wrote our name and lot number on it. Unfortunately with the wind blowing, we knew a post-it or paper would blow away so we improvised...Marilyn made the letters with black electrical tape...rough but effective.

We cruised around town to see who was around then grabbed a snack for the road. Calling it in ahead of time did us no good...we got there and when we went to pay for it, two workers were arguing about who thought who was supposed to have made it...so we sat for 20 minutes while they cooked us our order. At least we got free ice cream while we waited. We drove back to Hamill and made it back by 11pm.

Tomorrow we do it again...

July 13, 2010

View of the day-What was left of the feeder house drive belt this morning.

We were up extra early to see if we could find a new belt somewhere within 100 miles. Al did a lot of calling before finding the elusive belt at Platte...a 60 mile drive SE of Hamill. Once Marilyn had her go cup filled with coffee, we hit the road.

The humidity was high and it was pretty wet with dew, although, to repeat what we were once told by someone we combined for..."you're not cutting the f-in grass". We had a scenic drive through some rolling hills and across the Missouri before we got to Platte...thankfully we don't have to haul the big stuff up some of those grades.

We had called ahead, they had our belt sitting on the counter waiting for us. We asked about getting the new one on warranty...we had all the numbers we needed...but they told us we could only get it from our home dealership. Marilyn went out to call ProHarvest to see if they could do anything, leaving Al to work his magic with the bookkeeper inside. Marilyn wasn't successful, but Al was...Marilyn didn't ask for the gory details.

We went back to Hamill, packed some lunch, then proceeded out to the field to start repairs. Al had left the oil to drain last night so he could change it and the filter this morning, so we got that done first...with no issues...then came the belt. Kudos to the engineers for making it a lot easier to get the sheilds off that side of the combine...not counting the one that hasn't been on since it fell off and was driven over...Al kept saying "this is way too easy, we must have missed something". We actually had the old one off, the new one on and were combining by 1pm...without any...ahem..."discussions".

We only had one semi running today so we did a lot of waiting after the cart and combine were full. We got the first field finished then moved across the road to the last 50 acre piece and with the wheat running around 54bu/ac we knew it would't take long...providing the elevator at Chamberlain didn't close and leave us in the lurch. The weather forecast was for rain later on tonight and the farmer wanted to get done, so he found an elevator that was open later and got an extra load in.

We were working about 5 miles from town so while we were waiting for the truck to come back, we went to the camper until we saw the semi go through town past our house. After getting him filled again, we were able to finish the field and hold everything in the cart and combine. Marilyn went back to the camper and Al waited out at the field to dump both rigs when the semi showed up, then he brought the cart into town.

So now we are done in Hamill, tomorrow we will get the new tires put on the back of the pickup, get the header trailer...and do some laundry before loading the tractor and cart.

We might even get one load to Gettysburg...

July 12, 2010

View of the day-Making the first cut at Hamill, SD...and the rain stayed away.

We had decided to take a test at 1pm just to see how close it would be and since the day was overcast and there was rain to the south, we didn't hold out much hope.

Once Marilyn had the windows done, the header was hooked up to the pickup...even though it was only two miles out to the field, there were a couple of narrow spots, so we decided not to take any chances with the header on the combine. Just as we were moving out there was another harvest crew moving into town...it looked like the action would be starting in this area, real soon.

We did a test and the farmer took it into Winner to get it tested at the elevator...12.9%, we were good to go. We got the tractor and cart out to the field and it was cutting time. the farmer had hired a couple of semis to haul the wheat to Chamberlain, so Al was full time in the cart.

Marilyn had done about 35 acres when she heard a clicking noise coming from under the cab, upon inspection we discovered that one of the ribs on the 3 v belt that drives the feeder house had partially separated from the rest of the belt and had jumped over on the pulley so it was rubbing on the shield. Since the split was only about 24 inches, we got the belt back on track, wrote the part number down and continued cutting...it seemed to work just fine. Al had brought the shop trailer out to work on the batteries on the tractor which seemed to be giving him no end of troubles...starting it was beginning to be a crap shoot.

We finished the field and were going to call it a day since the elevator had closed and we didn't have another truck. Just as we were taking the shop trailer back into town, another semi showed up, so we left the shop and headed back to move to the next field. We got moved over and started to make the first round and Marilyn had gotten almost all the way around when she heard the clicking start again, but thought she would be able to get to the end of the field to check it out...wrong. This time the ripped part of the belt had sheared off and got under the cleaning fan belt which caused it to jump off.

We got the bad piece of belt out and put the cleaning fan belt back on, then figured we might as well try to run with only two ribs left on the belt...at least long enough to get the semi filled and on his way. The semi driver came out and gave us a hand getting everything put right...considering we didn't have the right metric tools and had to fake it. A curse goes out to either the tool guys who don't put a 15mm socket in their sets, or the machinery guys who use those 15mm bolts...yes, we know you can cheat with some of the regular sockets...but sometimes it works and sometimes your knuckles get skinned.

We filled the semi then Marilyn got a hopper in the cart and started on the next one...then the clicking started again. Taking no chances, she shut the feeder off and went back to the pickup...it was 9pm, time to quit anyway. Al drained the oil on the combine, which turned out to be a bit of a task in the dusk and since the combine is higher, or somebody wanted to save money on the plastic drain hose, we ended up with a bit of a mess since the hose wouldn't reach the bucket and there was too much wind for it to flow nicely into the hole.

Now we need to find a belt tomorrow...

July 11, 2010

View of the day-Al and Jeff outside the camper at Hamill, SD before Jeff leaves to go back home to Canada.

Another day of sleeping in...a late night will do that to a person. We decided to go in to Winner so Jeff could see the 'sites' and pick up a few things. We stopped at a local restaurant which was pretty busy with the church crowd and had lunch, then took a tour around the machinery lots...found a nice semi.

Marilyn picked up a few more groceries, since she missed that section in Walmart yesterday, then we headed back for Hamill. Jeff left on his bike early in the afternoon, hoping to make Bismarck, ND for the night and we tried to decide what to do with the rest of the day.

We watched the final of the World Cup...we are not soccer fans...but it killed the better part of the afternoon. Marilyn decided it was time to do a bit of cleaning under the front of the camper to make room for the new toy purchases. She has been shifting a box of toys around inside of the camper since Al made his big purchase in Frederick, OK...a 1/16 Case 1470 and a 1/16 International 4366...and with the extra toys in the back of the pickup...it was time.

After spraying down to keep the biting flies away and putting on the OFF personal fan...an item that works like a damn at keeping the mosquitoes away...she started hauling everything out to vacuum and make room. It had been a while since it had been cleaned out but fortunately there hadn't been a lot of stuff packed when we left home...Al must have been anticipating some toy purchases.

It had been clouding up all day and Marilyn was listening to the thunder while she cleaned and even had a few sprinkles, but no big rain. It looked just like yesterday when the weather seemed to split just before getting to Hamill and the worst missed us completely...there is still rain in the forecast for the next couple of days. Hopefully we will be lucky and it will miss us every day.

More cleaning on tap for tomorrow...

July 10, 2010

View of the day-Here we go again, heading into the storm on Interstate 90.

We got to sleep in a bit since we had a late night visiting with Jeff, then after a quick breakfast in the camper, the guys went over to change the fuel filters on the combine. We were trying to decide which way to go for the day...Winner or Mitchell...and the latter won out because it had more to see, even though it was farther.

We stopped in Oacoma, had lunch at Arby's, then went to check out the antique shop that we had looked through last year when Marilyn's sister's family was down visiting for the boat races. Al found a toy tractor and Jeff found a couple little things for souvenirs to take home...there was a LOT of stuff in that place....Marilyn was holding out for Walmart.

We thought we would check out the 'International' dealer in Chamberlain before going to Mitchell...we had looked through the windows last year when Kim and Marg were down. They had been closed then, but Al remembered seeing a few faded looking toy boxes and wanted to see if they were open. Al checked the door and it opened, so we went in...it was really quiet, a radio was playing kind of low and no one appeared to be in the building, it was like seeing a dealership inside-out...the parts were all out in shelves on the main floor...quite bizarre.

None of the toys had any prices on them, so Marilyn went to see if she could find someone to help and found an elderly gentleman sitting in an office chair reading a brochure, so she said 'excuse me' and got no answer...tried again, and nothing...he was definitely asleep...she was sure of that because he was breathing. She went back out to the front door and opened it thinking a bell would ring and wake him up...he must have hear something, because when she got back to the office he was just closing the brochure. He came out with his price list and the boys were in business.

The store was packed pretty good and the guys found a stack of boxes in the corner filled with all kinds of toys...the mother lode. They found several they were looking for and after getting all the prices haggled out, prepared to pay for them...no credit cards...well, they would take CaseCredit...but the gentleman had no idea how to run the machine, "he has a bookkeeper that looks after that".

He decided to try and make out an invoice on the computer, but was having no luck at all, then he looked at Marilyn and asked her if she knew how to run one of these things...she did. Even though she wasn't familiar with the program, she was able to put Jeff in as a customer and create an invoice that got printed out...and she hopes she did it well enough that the bookkeeper doesn't have a fit. They guys paid for their goods, then after Marilyn got the toys packed into the back seat with her, we carried on our way to Mitchell.

We got to Mitchell and found the Corn Palace...the main reason we decided on that destination. What an amazing site. They were working on a new design and you could see how the new pictures were taking shape. Take some time to visit the link to get 'the rest of the story'.

We had gone to see it last year with Kim and Marg, but it was more like a drive by...no place to park and lots of people. This year was even worse...it was a Saturday and the place was packed. We did a quick tour around the inside, read a few things, then left for more important destinations...Tractor Supply and Walmart...and you can guess who went where.

After an hour of shopping, Jeff took us out for prime rib supper at Chef Louie's...highly recommended...it was fabulous. We had been hearing weather warnings all day and could see the clouds rolling in, so when we left the restaurant we weren't surprised to see it had gotten really dark out...and it was only 7pm.

We started back for Hamill and didn't get to far before the rain started...then the wind hit...then the hail. We pulled over near an overpass and tried to wait out the hail...it was pea size and fell for at least 10 minutes. They had gotten 2 inches of rain to the north of us and there were reports of ping pong ball size hail...none of it near us, but still it was a hairy trip home.

By the time we got back to Hamill we were out of the bad weather and home in time to watch the Saskatchewan Roughrider football game. Jeff went over to visit with the landlord and his family, right across the street from us, then got back to the camper just as the rain started. It didn't last very long, which was good for us.

More rain in the forecast...could be a wet ride home on the Harley for Jeff...

July 9, 2010

View of the day-A couple of fields outside Hamill, SD...winter wheat and spring wheat...you can probably guess which is which.

Al was up early to work on a few things on the trucks. The Freightliner needed a new filter for the air compressor and in order to get to it, the cab and box had to be lifted...the easy part...the hard part is putting the cab back down without an extra set of hands...or at the very least an arm span of 8 feet. He also needed a chunk of flexpipe to replace the one that was leaking. The General was in need of a new ground cable so that had to come off as well.

Our farmer had been calling around to the various elevators to see about prices and penalties for protein and found out they would be closed on the weekend, so we wouldn't be able to do any combining...we didn't even try a test. They told him if the protein was under 12% they would deduct $0.50/bu per percentage point under...and if it was over, they would pay him $0.05/bu per percentage point over...doesn't seem fair.

Once Al had his list of needed items, we went into Winner to hopefully find all the parts. We brought the header trailer in to the tire shop to see if he would be able to set the toe in on the front set of wheels so we wouldn't need to be purchasing new tires every 600 miles. They couldn't get to it today, but since we wouldn't be going anywhere until next week, he said he would get it done Monday, so we left it there.

We went for lunch, then Al dropped Marilyn off at Pamida to get a few things while he went in search of his parts. Marilyn was finished and sitting out on the lawn chairs outside the store waiting for Al to pick her up...not often the shopping trips end like that...but once he got back and explained the delay, she understood completely.

He had gone into the CaseIH truck shop to get a length of flex pipe to repair the exhaust on the Freightliner and was waiting on one of the guys...who was on a personal bluetooth call...to get the price so he could pay for it and get out of there. After waiting 15 minutes, he finally got fed up and said he would pay for it over at the main office, which didn't go over very well with 'Mr. Bluetooth". He started in on Al...not a good idea, especially since he had been waiting for so long already...and Al gave it to him with both barrels. The guy even admitted it was a personal call and after Al went back to the main office, they tried to call to the truck shop to get a price and they couldn't get an answer...many an 'f' word was flying by the boss. He got his pipe, paid what they thought it was worth and left.

It might not have been so bad if he hadn't just come from the John Deere dealership where he was looking to get the ground cable made and he was left waiting while the guy there was on a phone call. This guy actually told Al he had to return a couple of other calls before he could help him...what ever happened to giving service to the guy who got off his ass and came down to the store? What's going to happen when the harvest rush hits?

After we FINALLY got all the parts we needed, Marilyn picked up a few groceries...it's cooking in the camper time...then rushed back to Hamill to meet the fuel truck that was coming to fill the combine and trucks. He was supposed to be there at 5:30pm, but didn't show until 8pm, which cut into the Canadian Football League game that Al was watching...but it wasn't the Saskatchewan Roughriders, so he pulled himself away to get the rigs filled.

There's a long list of "things to do" for tomorrow and Al's brother Jeff from Gerald, SK, just pulled up to the camper on his motor bike to visit for a couple of days.

Looks like Al has someone to help him...

July 8, 2010

View of the day-Sunset at Hamill, SD

We were up early to get on the road so we could get the whole gang back together here in Hamill. We stopped in Bassett, NE for a quick sub before continuing on to Ansley...the traffic was a lot slower, which was nice. It was sale day in Bassett and the cattle trucks were lined up and down the streets like grain trucks in Oklahoma...it looked like they would be a while getting loaded, at least we hoped they would.

We got to Ansley, got the pickup fueled while the General aired up, then hooked up the header and started back to Hamill. Once again, there were no combines in the fields at all...of course, the road we take through Nebraska doesn't have a lot of wheat fields, so that doesn't count. Another plus was the lack of wind...yes, it was a straight shot and it seemed like we got to Hamill in no time at all.

We got the trailer backed in beside the cart trailer and unloaded the combine before going across the street to the camper. Al went back to work changing the oil on the pickup and blowing out the air filters on the combine, then came back to the camper and called it a day. So now we have everything ready to start whenever the wheat is ready and with no rain in the forecast, we could be doing a test before you know it.

Tomorrow we hit Winner to get permits and perhaps a wheel alignment on the header trailer...

July 7, 2010

View of the day-Everything together at Ansley, NE waiting to be split up again for a day.

We were up early for the 'continental breakfast' at the motel, then we drove from Broken Bow to Ansley to get the Freightliner ready to go. Al had decided because the weather was overcast and cool, that the Freightliner would be the rig to go first so after fueling up the pickup and getting the shop trailer back behind the camper we started on our way to Hamill, SD.

The trip was uneventful and after stopping in Springview, NE for a quick snack, we made Hamill around 2:30pm. Just as we got the Freightliner parked, the man from the phone company showed up to get the internet hooked up at the camper. He waited until we had everything almost set up, then got us up and running with the high speed service.

After the camper was cooling, we went over to get the tractor and cart unloaded and ready for action. Once that was done we took a run out to see how the wheat was looking and it would have been pretty close to ready if it hadn't rained last night. This is the area where the winter and spring wheat are both planted and you can see the difference in the fields with the winter wheat almost ripe and the spring wheat still really green. We still have a few days before we will be able to get started, which is going to be a nice change from the past six weeks.

Back at the camper we got to see the local 'gang'...of wild turkeys. They ramble around town, squawking and sitting in the trees...an amazing feat considering their size.

Marilyn got the satellite hooked up and we called it a night...not necessarily an early one.

Tomorrow we travel back to Ansley to get the combine and header...

July 6, 2010

View of the day-Checking the rigs over outside Norton, KS just before we turn north to take the detour.

We got to sleep in again because we didn't have a lot to do until 3pm when we would be leaving town for good.

Marilyn decided to do laundry before we left, just in case we wouldn't have time to get any done right away at Winner. The laundromat had 6 washers and two dryers...perfect...there were 6 loads of washing to do. Marilyn started getting the first three washers loaded, then two harvesters came in and swiped the other three, so that was the end of doing all the laundry.

We went for lunch while the clothes washed, then came back to put them in the dryer...the harvesters had taken both dryers...missed getting them by 'that much'. We through the other three loads in and took the wet clothes back to the camper and constructed a makeshift clothes line out of the awning and some rope and hung them out to dry...without a wind.

Al got dropped off at the General to do a bit of fixing and cleaning while Marilyn went to rescue the washed clothes from the laundromat and discovered the dryers were free. She filled them with the clothes, then went back to the camper to get the ones on the line and throw them in the dryers. Once they were dry, she went back to the camper to get it packed up and ready to go...slides in, jacks up...ready for the truck to hook up and go.

After picking Al up from the fairgrounds, we got the camper hooked up and Al went to pay the tab. The lady with the bad memory who gave away our original camp site, told Marilyn it would be $15/night, then charged Al $20/night because "power rates had gone up"...in six days?

We went up to the fairgrounds to get the shop trailer hooked up behind the camper then set off for points north. The detour was pretty busy and there doesn't seem to be a shoulder past the white lines on the side of the road making for some surprises on the top of some of the hills...and there are a lot of those along the way.

We got to Ansley around 7pm and parked the General next to the Freightliner and discussed where we would stay for the night. There doesn't seem to be a lot of campgrounds and when we went through last year we had to drive to the next town to find someplace to park the camper. Al figured we might as well drive the extra miles in the other direction to Broken Bow and park at a motel for the night...no driving for internet. We got to the Americas Best Value in and ended up getting a suite with a whirlpool at a greatly discounted rate...bonus.

We walked over to Pizza Hut for supper and now Al is looking for the number on the back of the receipt to rate how the service was...needless to say they won't be getting a lot of "5's" on the 1-5 scale...he was not happy. First we were ignored, then when she brought the pasta, she set Marilyn's down and just has Marilyn had put a thick layer of chili peppers on top of it, the waitress told her she got them mixed up and that was "I don't like anything spicy"-Al's meal. Still, it was tasty...but they are going to hear about it.

We watched all day as the high storm clouds were forming to the north of us and are hearing about the severe weather that is happening around our destination of Hamill, SD.

Tomorrow could be interesting...

July 5, 2010

View of the day-The church and POW watchtower at the museum outside Holdredge, Nebraska.

Well, we had lots of rain last night…not sure how much but there were a lot of big puddles lying around the campground. We did sleep in a bit, but had a lot of things on our agenda for the day so it wasn’t as late as some of us would have hoped.

Al went down to Colby to settle up with our farmer and Marilyn decided it was high time to clean the camper…the vacuum cleaner even got used. By the time Al got back to Atwood, it was around 1pm, so we figured we had missed the noon rush at the restaurant…no such luck. We discovered a deli at the back of the grocery store so we had our lunch there before going out to get some work done on the rigs.

Al worked on getting the tires all aired up and Marilyn was trying to get the smell of a well dead mouse out of the Freightliner. She thought it was behind the panel on the dash…that was where the last one she found had been. She didn’t have the time to dismantle it so there had been a purchase of a can of NutraAir to at least make it drivable. She also had to fix the seat cover on the drivers seat that was covering one of those air flow seat and back pads. Just as she took the top cover off and tilted the back of the airflow pad ahead, she hit the motherload…a very flat decomposed mouse that had been squished between the pad and the back of the seat. Bonus…no dash removal needed and once the pad got chucked and the seat cleaned…fresh as a daisy…well, fresher at least.

We took the Freightliner, tractor and cart and header in the first load and started out at 3:30pm to drive 200 miles to Ansley, Nebraska. Just as we had gotten 60 miles down the road we saw lighted signs on the side of the road that highway 183 at the Nebraska border was going to be closed to travel July 6. That didn’t bother us for today’s load, but tomorrow everything else makes the move so we can’t use the tried and true path due to road construction.

We got everything to Ansley and parked by 7:30pm then started back for Atwood, but this time we had to drive the route that we would be taking tomorrow to avoid the construction. The road is a lot narrower for about 30 miles, but it will get us where we need to go.

The rain last night must have been wide spread because there wasn’t one combine running anywhere along our trip and there were still lots of fields still standing…and a lot of harvesters doing plenty of ‘make work’ projects.

Home by 11:45pm and tomorrow we bid farewell to Kansas…

July 4, 2010-Happy Independence Day!

View of the day-Al makes the first corner out of the yard without a problem.

We woke up to the sound of rain on the roof during the night…not very much but enough to put a hold on the harvest in the area.

We slept in again then tried to get to the restaurant for eggs…they only serve breakfast until 11am and we did beat the clock by a half hour, but they were just having a buffet…nothing else. It was $8 for one pass through and $11 for two passes…different. We went for the one pass because we are professional buffet patrons and know how to strategically stack a plate…it wasn’t worth the one pass price.

We had decided that we would take the day off and just relax…take in the festivities, watch the fireworks, that sort of thing. We had heard the forecasts for the next few days and it sounded like the scattered thunderstorms that were expected were going to dump heavy amounts of rain and we didn’t relish the thoughts of hauling the big loads down that 7 miles of rolling dirt roads. No day off for us, we figured we had better get loaded up and at least move the rigs to the fairgrounds in Atwood.

We went out to the farm, in the misting rain, got everything loaded…first try successful loading the combine…and brought the header, General and combine into town, then went back out for the Freightliner, tractor, grain cart and shop trailer and brought them to the fairgrounds. We passed some green ones parked on the side of the road...have to keep the green lovers interested...

We got cleaned up then went to Colby to meet Jerry and Lynn Prevost for supper, we stopped at their camper first and visited there for a while…WOW…there are a lot of harvesters parked there. Since there had been rain, everyone was sitting at the campground and the semis with grain trailers that were lined up at the end of the lot were staggering. We also got to visit with a few other harvesters that were in the campground before going to for supper.

After catching up on their season so far, we said our goodbyes then went to get a bit of shopping done before heading back to Atwood to catch the 10:30 fireworks display, which the locals had been bragging up. We were cutting it close time wise and could see Colby’s show going on in the rear view mirror…we could also see fireworks all along the horizon along the way. We got to the top of the hill just heading into Atwood only to meet a string of vehicles on their way out…and it was 10:35…apparently we had missed the show. The guys in the campground are picking up some of the slack with their purchases.

News from Hamill, SD is that it should be ready to cut by Wednesday of this coming week.

Looks like we start the long 365 mile move north tomorrow…

July 3, 2010

View of the day-Al dumping into the pit at Colby, Kansas…the last load for Kansas.

We got to sleep in…past 9am…even though it didn’t rain here last night. We decided we would go out for breakfast…it had been a while since we had ‘real’ eggs for breakfast. The little coffee shop was packed, so we went to the bowling alley again..didn’t get eggs.

Al dumped the Freight at the elevator across the road then we went out to the field to get everything moved back to the yard. It was only a mile, so the moves didn’t take long and once we had the cart emptied into the General, we took it into Colby.

Marilyn went along for the ride to see what Al had been going through the past couple of days. The seven miles of road to the highway was really hilly and narrow, and the 17 miles of highway had it’s ups and downs as well. There were a lot of combines running in the fields and the trucks were everywhere…as would be expected.

After we got the General unloaded in Colby we went back to the farm, parked the truck, then went back into Colby with the pickup to get some parts at the CaseIH dealer and Orchelins before grabbing supper at the China Buffet. We drove around town checking out all the harvesters parked around town…one gent that we had seen at lunch in Atwood said he heard there were 80 harvest crews parked in Colby. That would certainly give Gettysburg, SD a run for it’s money as harvest central.

We picked up a few groceries at Dillons, then came back home to the campground in Atwood. The fireworks stands have been doing a booming business getting ready for tomorrows ‘really big show’. We are debating whether or not to purchase anything…probably not this year…but you never know, we still might get the bug.

Tomorrow we will be visiting some harvester friends from Canada that are in Colby and find out how their run has been so far.

Marilyn might get a Walmart fix in…