It must run in the family....

In 1922 Bill's Grandpa John lived in Kansas...  that's where Bill's mother and aunt were born.  Not long after that, John moved to Rattlesnake, New Mexico to work in the oil/gas field.  Bill has traced his family history quite a way back and the most interesting things are the "stories" that go along with the facts.

Rattlesnake is quite a name for a town, isn't it?  It's located not far from Four Corners, where NM, CO, UT and AZ come together.

Bill's Dad and maternal grandfather both worked for Conoco for a while....  more in the production end than the drilling part.  Bill's dad went on to work for Mountain Bell...  and for a time Bill also worked at Mountain Bell, installing phones.

When Bill started college in Las Cruces, he knew he wanted to work outside.  He majored in geology and after graduation went to work for Ohio University, in the geology department.  He worked the hydrology workshops and when a big drilling manufacturer donated a drilling rig to OU he was the driver/driller/etc.  He drilled gas wells on campus and monitored their output.

Our daughter, Celeste, moved to Texas after graduating OU a few years ago...  she started out at a communications company that went belly-up....  She then went to work for a company that was in the oil and gas business...  supplying parts and supplies to the oil field.

The other day, Celeste took us on a tour of the plant where she works...

That's Bill and Celeste...  standing outside one of the huge buildings that builds equipment for the oil field.

Celeste takes orders from companies that want specific components on their rigs...

This is her office...  that diagram is the beginning of..

This....

This particular piece of equipment is for fracking...  

Fracking wells is very controversial in many parts of the USA now, but it is a common practice in the business so the equipment is being manufactured.

The production line is amazing!  I think it takes around a month to 6 weeks from start (bare trailer) to finish (ready to roll).

There are around 120 employees at this plant working on various stages of the jobs.

This is the layout of a wiring board...  I can't remember how much wire goes on this but....

This board is only half the size of what is usually installed.

This rig is almost done....

The company that ordered this even specifies the paint job...  they have a particular color of paint that identifies their rigs.

The cost of this rig (not including the truck) is $1,000,000.

A lot of work...  a lot of technology...  a lot of equipment go into it.

Celeste orders all the parts and components to build the rigs with "3 axles" at the rear.  There are also rigs with 4 axles.

These are all finished rigs, waiting to be picked up.

It's funny to listen to your kid talk about filters, pumps, cables and stuff like that...  especially such a "girly" girl as Celeste is.

But she and Bill talk the same language ...  wouldn't her Great-Grandpa John be amazed at the oil/gas industry these days!

That's All for Today!