July 20, 2013

View of the day-Lined up ready for servicing as the clouds roll in.

We were out at the field in good time to get serviced and ready for action.  The truckers, Al and Craig, were kept busy hauling grain, especially once we got on the irrigated wheat. It averages well over 60 bu/ac.

While Al was in line at the elevator, a gentleman came up and asked if he was Al Kuntz.  Apparently "Steve" discovered this blog one day a few years ago and spent one Sunday afternoon reading every entry right from the beginning and has followed it ever since.  It is so nice to meet some of the regular followers and it is always a surprise where we run into you.  Steve knew Al would be in the Prevost Harvesting truck from the blog...very clever.

We finished the pivot and moved over to do some of the "corners". For those who don't know, the crop is seeded in a circle, so that as the pivot sprinkler goes around, it reaches right to the edges of the quarter section...or larger/smaller as the field size determines. Round peg in a square hole does not work to well, so there are "corners" that get seeded separately.

The clouds threatened all day and somebody was getting some nasty weather, for sure, but it wasn't us.  We did get a few sprinkles...enough to mess up the windows, but it never stopped us from combining.

We quit just before dark so Marilyn and Lynn could get into the WalMart, 20 miles to the west at Chadron.  Gerry was good enough to drive them over and they didn't make him suffer too much...the truck pulled back into the campground just after 11:30pm.

It will be a short night of sleep...

July 19, 2013

View of the day-After scaring up a family of pheasants, this little fella decided to take a ride on Marilyn's header.  He would not let go until the combine was stopped and Marilyn went out to take a picture. Ham.

Today was moving day.  We had a new experience with loading up...we knew nothing of what was going on...at least in the procedure department.  We know the rigs have to get loaded on trailers and strapped down, but every harvester has their own way of doing things.  We were about to learn the Prevost way.

Gerry has a fold up, double header trailer, so it was interesting to watch him and Craig get things lined up and loaded. 

They got the trailer parked in the centre of the yard, hooked up the hydraulics to the combine, then lowered into loading position. 

Each header got loaded on the trailer and tied down, then the hydraulics lifted the headers into transport position. 

It is amazing to think those headers will ride in that position hooked to a couple of brackets. But they do.

Marilyn went back to the campground and got the camper hooked up and waited for the circus to get to town, so she could bring up the rear of the parade.  

Craig was leading the way with a semi and one of the combines, then Gerry followed with a combine and the headers, then Al pulled a couple of grain trailers with the tandem, then Marilyn with the camper and Lynn brought up the rear with the motor home and shop trailer.

It was a long haul...185 miles...with lots of traffic, but thankfully most of the roads were relatively smooth...most.  We missed most of the rain showers that threatened and by the time we got to the road to the field, the clouds were pretty much gone...at least where we were. 

We could see where the rain had come through when we took a pit stop in one of the towns we passed through.

While the guys went out to the field to get unloaded, Marilyn and Lynn drove 35 miles further north to Hay Springs, NE to get the camper and motor home set up at the campground.  Once that was done, it was back out to the field to start combining.  It was a far cry from the last field we had done...this one was running as high as 50 bu/ac...Lynn was kept hopping in the tractor and cart.

They guys had quite a time at the elevator.  Al had ridden in with Craig to see where the elevator was...it was busy, they didn't know where they were going, what pit they were supposed to go to and where the heck the pit was, then they actually had a wrong moisture test.  The combines were showing anywhere from 10.5% to 12.8% moisture, yet the probe at the elevator said 15.2%!  Gerry ended up taking a load in to try and get it straightened out...and he did.

Marilyn and Lynn waited for results, but it was already getting dark, so they went back in to town for the night, and the guys followed after they got back out to the field.  Craig still had to set up the crew trailer that had been left out at the farm from the trip in yesterday.

And now we are in a new time zone...

July 18, 2013

View of the day-Gerry checks the wheat to see how close it is to dry, before moving the combine out to do a test.

The story starts with Lynn, Gerry and their four man crew going back to Canada for a week to kill some time until the wheat was ready in Nebraska.  One of their guys had just come down to help out for a couple weeks, so he was staying in Canada when they went back. The other three, however...decided they were homesick and jumped ship, back to Ontario.

This is a problem for all harvesters...and other businesses as well.  If they aren't complaining that "all we do is combine" then they are complaining "we have been sitting for days" or "I have to go home for grad/wedding/birthday". No one wants to work.

Since we were going to be sitting idle for at least three weeks, Gerry called over to see if we could help them out for a couple of those weeks.  What else did we have to do? The rigs were moved close to our next job, so off we went.

We got out to the machines and did a bit of work on the reels of the combines, then Gerry took one out to do a test.  We took it to the elevator and it was 14.9% moisture, so we had to wait a while.

Another recruit, Craig, was coming down from Alberta to put in a week of service with the crew.  Craig used to be on the USA harvest run, but now only works in Alberta and Saskatchewan.  Since we only had 150 acres to do, he would be sent up the road with the tractor and cart, while Lynn pulled the crew camper to the next stop, somewhere up the road.

That left Gerry and Marilyn to combine and Al to haul grain.  Gerry gave Marilyn a crash course on driving a John Deere 9770 STS combine...WITH AUTOSTEER!!!!  After making a couple rounds with her, he took off to drive his own combine...and Al waited for a load.

Unfortunately, the wheat was barely making 15 bu/ac with test weight of 57lbs, so he wasn't run off his feet.  Although Marilyn did have to wait when there was a short line up at the elevator. 

We got the field done just after dark, so now we load up tomorrow and move north.

And the wind is going to be out of the north...

July 17, 2013

View of the day-Crews are moving north through Nebraska to South Dakota.

We folded up camp and started south, down the US83 highway...against a strong south wind.  Even though we normally pass through Nebraska a mere 70 miles to the east on US183, there seemed to be a big difference in the height of the hills.  They were a lot steeper...and where was that nice run of flat highway that we had on the 183?

We only had 170 miles to go and all day to get there.  We stopped for fuel in Thedford, and rolled on to North Platte, then over to Paxton, where we found a campsite right along the interstate.  After getting the camper set up, we waited for Lynn and Gerry Prevost to make it to the campground.

When they got set up, Gerry took his semi out to the farm and Al drove his truck out to pick him up.  They did a bit of work on one of the combines, while Marilyn went over to get caught up Lynn.  We all went to town for supper, then called it a night.

Tomorrow, we might see some dust...

July 16, 2013

View of the day-The Niobrara River south of Valentine , Nebraska...Al is not thinking of jumping.

Today was a pack up the camper day, as we decided to move on.  There wouldn't be any combining here for a couple of weeks and we didn't have any work lined up anyway, so it was time for a different view.

We got the camper closed up and took off south...that's right, south.  We stopped in Winner for fuel, then headed west to Mission, SD.  It was a slow go, with the one lane traffic due to road construction, but at least we got to drive on the newly poured cement part of the highway.

At Mission, we turned south on the US83 highway and headed for our destination...Valentine, Nebraska.  It had been a few years since we had travelled this stretch of highway.  When we worked for Johnson Harvesting out of Arcola...not the Minnesota crew...this was the regular route down to Cherokee, OK.

We found a campground close to town, then went to see some of the sights.  We went south of town to take a look at the scenic overlook of the Niobrara River.  They have taken out the rail line and have made a walking trail that will eventually be 300 miles long from Norfolk to Chadron, NE.  

We could see the walkway went around a corner and thought that was the way to the overlook, but once we got around the corner, Al said "we've been duped".  The trail went on and on, but Al was having none of that, so he went back to the truck and Marilyn carried on...it looked like a train trestle in the distance and she wanted to inspect it.

We had just had a late lunch or as Al likes to put it, "supper at old people's time", so a walk was just what was needed to work it off.  On the top of the ridge where the walkway was, the breeze was blowing at a good clip and it was just the right temperature to make the walk enjoyable.

After getting down the road, she could see the trestle had been made into a wooden walking bridge.  Marilyn had to see what the view was like by crossing it.  It was well worthwhile...a gorgeous view.

The walk back was a bit longer and apparently, the last mile was uphill...thongs were not a good choice. New thongs, at least.

After the stroll, we went back through town and home to the camper so Al could watch his MLB All Star game. He concedes bragging rights for the automatic aiming dish to Marilyn...it works like a dream and he was up and running in 5 minutes.

Someone with the initials Marilyn gets to say "I told you so"...

July 15, 2013

View of the day-The Hamill gang, or at least a couple of them.  Two wild turkeys looking for grub outside our camper window.

It was a SUPER do-nothing day.  Marilyn didn't leave the camper and Al only went out to go to the dumpster with the garbage.

Marilyn did watch Sharknado and hasn't laughed at a movie like that since Starship Troopers.  Sharks in a tornado...ridiculous entertainment.  Al took over to watch the MLB Home Run Derby.  Aren't we busy?

And we wait...

July 14, 2013

View of the day-Everything but the camper...and the Freightliner, of course...parked north of Gettysburg.

Another early day of driving and this time it really was uneventful...no breakdowns.  With the rain during the night and early morning, it was overcast for most all of the day, sprinkling a bit on the road, and then going in to Highmore, we even had to go through some thick fog.

We stopped to grab a quick snack and fuel the Dodge, before heading to Gettysburg.  Even though the temperature was only in the 70's, the humidity was making it seem a lot hotter than it was...and we never saw the sun.

We got to the farm and pulled in to park, making a bit of a mess of the road going to the parking spot.  Apparently, it had rained an inch last night...much needed for the crop.

We stopped to chat with Danny before we left to come back to Hamill, getting caught up on how the crop was coming along...a lot better now that it rained.  We had a late lunch at the Medicine Rock in Gettysburg, then struck out again, this time we got to travel back in the same vehicle.

We dropped off a couple of cold Canadian beer for Drew, our hero from yesterday.  He was cleaning out a big truck when we pulled into the yard and looked like he could really use a cold drink.  We thanked him again, then started driving again.

Back at Hamill, the skies were pretty dark to the west and it wasn't long before it started raining.  We have a stationary front that is just hanging around and it has been raining for several hours and doesn't show any signs of letting up.

They need the rain here, too...