Thread: Nevada Job pics

As some of you might know, I did a 3.5 week job down in the boonies in Nevada. I've been promising pics for a while and finally got around to posting them.
What we were doing down there was a borehole IP geophysical survey. We were running a 24hp Honda V-Twin genny, transmitting current into the ground and receiving it with electrodes that went into the boreholes. That's a good way to discover metal worth mining.

Pic#1: Our client's representative had his camper parked at a location that had this view. I don't blame him for not staying at a motel lol.


Pic#2: That's me operating the reel, lowering the electrode down the hole. To get electrical contact, we had to pump water into the hole almost continuously.


Pic#3: View from the grid. All desert with sage bushes that make your pants smell like you took a Newfie shower.


Pic#4: Under normal circumstances, our surface and ground electrodes would have been just stainless steel rods pounded into the ground. In the desert, we had to cut sheet metal, puncture it and wire it up to make electrodes. To get'em operational, we had to do a lot of heavy carrying through the bush and digging through rocks cemented with mud. Water canisters and salt were the biggest b***h.


Pic#5: We were staying in Eureka, Nevada, "The loneliest town on the loneliest highway in America." They had some real nice twisties up there, but there were also deer, cattle, rabbits (we'd kill like 2-5 of those rodents on our way back from the grid, each time) and owls (on one trip back, we killed 2, one causing a spectacular splash all over the windshield). The motel we were staying was very bike-friendly. This is actually a designated area for bikes and there'd usually be some parked in the back. Mostly cruisers since nearest other towns are hundreds of miles away.


Pic#6: Testing Tony's new strop. Used the Wapi. After 3.5 weeks it got fairly dull but still did the job.

Nice pics! How were the temps?

Greg

I'm not 100% sure.. It was hot and dry, definitely in the 30's, we were going through a lot of water, so we had to switch over to evening shifts (usually from 1-2pm to about 1-3:30am). We'd have breakfast at the steakhouse in town, do our daily shopping, hit the grid, sometime in the evening we'd bbq some ribeye (the company was payin' for the food so we went for the good black angus stuff that was available in the cattle and mine country), finish the shift, get back to town, shower up and pass out (except for a few outings to the Owl or the Keyhole to indulge in a bit of well-deserved C2-H5-OH ).

Those are some nice views there Ilija. What actually are you doing at that site?

Justin

We were doing a borehole IP survey. Running a current through the ground to find metals.

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

We were doing a borehole IP survey. Running a current through the ground to find metals.

Oops --sorry about that -- you explained that at the beginning of the thread. I'm always amazed at how I can miss things.


Justin

I grew up in very similar kind of country, except more oak. High dessert and all that.

It was beautiful out there. On those moments when we weren't busy setting up, running the survey or cleaning up, one could just relax, enjoy the view and let the mind wander.
I may go out and do a job or three in your neck of the woods sometime in January. Some of it may even be on horseback. Heading up to N.W.T. in a couple of weeks.

I was curious what the darker areas (eg, desert vegetation, MC details, etc.) looked like in some of Ilja's pics so I tweaked them with photoshop to see. He asked that I post them. Enjoy!

Thanks Joe. Nice work with the PS. Now that you mention motorcycle details