We went back to the land at the beginning of June. I rented a CAT D5 and 299 Skid Steer with a mulcher. We arrived just before noon on Saturday. It was good to see the RV was still there in good shape. The biggest issue was the water pump was singing it's death knell and a small bird had created a nest on top of the propane tank. I don't know what kind of bird it was. They were small mostly brown in color. I counted at least 3 nestlings.
The plan was to expand the RV area and food plot. I also wanted to create a couple ponds and a new food plot on the west side. We arrived just in time to meet the equipment delivery driver to lead him in. There was a new locked gate just off the county road. No one had cell service and turning around would be nearly impossible. Thankfully, the delivery guy was able to radio his boss and get the combination from the phone number written on the gate.
The number was for the operations manager of the gas company running the wells in the area. He said the land owners on the north end of the road suffered large losses from thieves recently. The gate was built to discourage random people from entering. This is the first time we've heard of wide spread thefts. He said the oil company regularly has parts missing. They run their equipment on solar panels because there's no electricity. He said they tried to make the batteries and panels harder to steal but the thieves would just tear up more to get what they wanted. They usually just accepted the occasional loss. He said the road is technically owned by the oil company and if I catch someone trespassing to let him know and the oil company would file charges as well.
He also said that a quarry company owns the land to our south and might provide access to the main highway. I couldn't find a company that owned any land to the south. The only one I know of is a Mike who owns the land to the north. I've already talked to him and he doesn't know of any alternative routes.
I also discovered the Texans who bought a plot of land last year is an elderly gentleman named Chuck. He was also using a lock on the gate. I had a great conversation with Chuck. He said he has been staying the winter months there September till February. He keeps an eye on things while he is there thus earned the nickname "sheriff".
The water was below the bridge which indicates it had not rained for several weeks although the roads showed there was a lot of rain since November. The erosion channels were deeper and many new deep pot holes.
Some of the pot holes were very deep and I scraped the ground with the trailer jack. The jack doesn't work anymore and will have to be replaced. I think the biggest factor was there was 200 gallons of water in the back which caused the truck to ride low. I hope the new gate will keep the four-wheelers out too. They like to joy ride through the area ripping up the roads and drinking beer. One of the worse spots on the road near a cattle guard was created this way. A year ago we noticed new tracks where someone left deep ruts which the water now uses as a path eroding it deeper. I doubt they got stuck there and the tracks were too narrow to be a truck.
We got to the well pad and unloaded the tractor. We started moving equipment down to the RV when we encountered a deep erosion channel on our road. It's the same spot that was there last year. There are two major spots in the road we've had problems with. One at the top of the road eroded a foot deep and wide. It was bad enough I couldn't get the tractor over it let alone a truck and trailer. We had to turn around and bring the dozer to correct the road again.
The trouble spots were fixed last year when we rented the dozer, but it's not a simple case of the correcting the slope. I believe when it rains hard enough to raise the water table there are two locations on the road that drain. We have located several places all over the property located mostly in creeks where water seemingly comes out of rocks. They run for weeks after a heavy rain and in the road it slowly erodes exposing the bed rock.
The first spot is just north of our property half way down a steep slope which drops elevation 20 FT through a couple benches. The second is past the RV on a steep slope where the elevation drops over a hundred feet in a short distance.
We have a few options which is to locate a new path further to the west or fill these spots with gravel. The second erosion area can be avoided if we fix the alternate path created by the previous owner. It turns before the trouble spot crossing a wet weather creek. This area is mostly stone so it doesn't erode. The problem is the creek bed is full of pits and sharp rocks. This where we lost a tire the first trip as owners. We tried to fill the holes with rocks from the area but a heavy rain had washed them away. We need to fill the deep spots with concrete to make it easier on the tires. We don't plan to bring the truck over this often, but we need at least one trip to remove the old camper and trash.
By the end of the first day, I fixed and widened the road. It's now about 10 feet wide. The gyroscope of the dozer was broken so I had to level everything manually. This was a challenge since it's only the second time I've driven a dozer. By the end of the night my son put rocks in a 5 feet circle and we settled in to enjoyed the night with beer and BBQ.
We were awaken by thunderstorms early in the morning. It rained until after noon dumping a total of 2.5 inches. The sky was clear the rest of the day which made the heat and humidity almost unbearable. The ground is mostly clay and became a soup. Thankfully, the road didn't wash out but there was a spot where run off was starting to erode again. We waited until the afternoon to start work. I was able to fix the run off area by putting a slope in the road. It was difficult due to the slimy mud. The biggest problem while it was wet is the ground cuts off like a slab of cold butter. This made it impossible to level out the land with the dozer.
We cleared some of the trees around the RV. I pushed the trees over with the dozer then tried to fill the holes which didn't compact. We had to get the chainsaw to cut up the down trees often then move the logs and brush to piles. It was interesting the trees seem to collect rocks out of the soil and pull them close to the trunk. Many of the trees had a large collection of stones of all sizes in their roots.
The hope was we would have enough sky to get a cell phone signal if we could clear a path from the RV to where the elevation begins to drop. I was hopeful because my son was starting to get notifications around the RV.
At then end of the day we moved the trucks up to the well pad. The forecast indicated rain the next day. The amount of rain is always an uncertainty. A forecast of "scattered light showers" could mean trace to heavy down pours. The road looked solid after drying all day but the fresh soil had become like peanut butter. There was a lot of slippage making four inch ruts but we managed to get to the top.
We didn't get much done due to a late start. It was so wet that we couldn't even get a fire going. Every stick of wood was soaked. We went inside the RV and just watched a movie until bed time.
The next morning the same weather pattern repeated giving another inch of rain. The forecast expected the same every day until Friday. It hadn't rained enough to get the creeks running but the constant showers would ensure the dirt would not dry out.
We were only able to work a couple hours each day. What work could get done was slowed by the mud. We decided to go home after a couple days even though we planned to stay the entire week. The weather forecast had been accurate so far and there was no way we would use the forty hours equipment rental. CAT was willing to just charge for the eight hours we used instead of the forty hours we scheduled.
I got stuck on the way out on the main road. There was a channel about a foot deep and six inches wide that one side slipped into. I always assumed the possibility of getting stuck on the quarter mile leading down to our property but not on the main road. It was almost inevitable because I was pulling the tractor grossing about 14K pounds and the oil company hasn't been maintaining the road since we bought the property. I walked down to the dozer and used it to pull the truck out.
The plan had been to improve the land with ponds and extra food plots then prepare for hunting. We didn't get anything completed due to the rain. It seems the biggest priority will be improvements to the road. Ideally, we would come out for weekend get-a-ways and hunting. A washed out road or getting stuck in mud would be difficult problem with the closest person being a forty minute drive. The thought of having to walk that distance in freezing temperatures is not pleasant. Usually, we bring the jeep with us thinking it would be able to get the truck out if there was a problem. I want at least another option. I scheduled to get a 16,000lbs winch with a new bumper installed on the truck next week which will allow the truck to pull itself out.
I think the best option to improve the road is a layer of gravel. I estimate it will take 200 tons of gravel to fill in bad spots and cover the road to our property. The road is a little over a quarter of mile (.27) from the well pad to the RV. It's about ten feet wide and a depth of three inches. This is over 3,500 cubic feet of gravel. It would take 188 tons of gravel at 19 cubic feet per ton.
The total price for the gravel will be around $7,000 including delivery. It also means we won't get the tree work done or be ready for hunting season this year. We will have to make a trip out there before winter to prepare the RV and perhaps have a load of gravel delivered to fill in the bad areas. It will be worth the delay for a little more peace of mind.
