Map of World - Click a place Brad's been

September 2017 - HDD Inspector to make that dollar ya'll.

In September I bit my lip and accepted a chance to go to the field and Inspect Horizontal Directional Drilling. Working nights for all of September! Got to make a few bucks this year.

The sunsetting on my time in Calgary.
Off to the field.
For September I took an opportunity to do some field inspection for Horizontal Directional Drilling which is the technical work that I have been branching in to as a Engineer designing Trenchless Pipeline crossing primarily under rivers.  Typically the night guy on the 24 hour drilling schedule is the engineer so they can do calculations and forecasting while the day inspector does more logistics and correspondence with the mother ships in Calgary. So...nights it was.

For this project we would be drilling a pilot hole of 12 inches and pulling an 8 inch product line back through for our client's field just South of Fort St. John, BC.  Total length of 1734 m which is pretty damn long and scheduled for 33 days. Let's see how it goes...

All packed up and ready to head North.  Check out those Ridgeline features.

"Crush" loaded up for the trip


Day 1 about 700 km from Calgary to Grande Prairie, Alberta.  Lots of cops and a quick stop in the Town of Fox Creek where I lived 6 months when I was 3 years old.  Still got a few scars on the face from my days with my red "harley" tricycle, wooo!

That reminds me I need some new tires.

Long straights

Speed trap 2 or 3?

Speed trap 4 or 5?

My old backyard, Fox Creek

The old house in Fox Creek

I really didn't remember this place

And limited cell service.

Day 2 - Tried to sleep until 3pm at my hotel in hopes of being ready for Night shift with a smooth shave. Of course Housekeeping did not get the 3 messages I left the Front Desk.  urghhhhh.

Holy shit, am I getting close to Alaska?

Hythe

Dawson Creek, just over the Alberta / BC border

Safe passing Ass!

Rush hour traffic on the Alaskan highway...I don't believe it.

Rush hour on the Alaska Highway



"Oh man, am I getting close?" 

I can't see shit


From Highway 97 (Alaska highway) it's a 13 km dirt/gravel stretch of "Radio Control" road to the HDD rig and Drill site.

Almost there!

Rig getting set up.

Welcome to the night

20 degree entry angle, that's pretty big, trust me



My Wellsite Shack tour.

Big as my apartments in Argentina


After a few weeks it was time to go for groceries in Fort St. John which is about 35 minutes away. A bit tricky to head to town after night shift driving into the blasting morning sun.  I've included some photos from the end of the month on my second trip to FSJ as well.

Trying to keep the trip short so I
could get home and to bed.
Walmart, Farmer's Market, No Frills

Boom! from the blasting sun.

Taylor, BC off the Peace River

Wild steel bridge

Gorgeous valley



Towards Taylor again

Fall colours, amazing

Back to site and bed and then to work 7pm to 7am.
NO DAYS OFF!
Pounding Casing 
Augering out the casing and pounding some more

Clay plug

Welding more casing, 40 m total

Tricon drill bit same as they use
in Down hole drilling of wells.

Putting the bit in to the casing.

Drilling away, 1734 m to go...

Mud fluid that helps clean and maintain the hole
Viscosity test.

Mud weight test

Mud solids taken out of the fluid
by the centrifuges
Reminds me a vietnam movies

Nice full moon

The crew washing uniforms with a pressure washer

Lovely morning coming

Nice evening sunset and colours of Fall.

Wow, wow


A little rain makes a mess.

Frac walking plan

Dry enough to go for a Frac Walk?

Yep, spending $3,000,000 to cross a 1 m stream.

Climbing up the steep bank
Other Stuff


Enlisted Chris to help with the GI Joe

Sweet facial hair

Multiples of Cobra

Lots of multiples of cobra

Who's this guy?

Oh shit, Humpty dumpty?

NBA players making too much money
Make shift plates by the HDD crew

Mud sample, but yes could be a turd



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