Detail of the core we drilled (for the geologists: sandstone on the left, shale on the right)

While drilling a rod became bent and had to be extracted from up in the mast

We even got out of the mess after an hour and only busted a taillight while doing so (I wasn't driving...)

Muddy business

Tuesday morning the pump battery appeared flat so we took the car down to jumpstart it... and became really stuck. Three of the four chains we lost while trying to get out, meaning we had to get 'em back on in the mud

The first part of the hole for the casing is drilled with a "tricone rock bit". We set casing with this down to 70 foot or about 34 m and started coring from there.

Finally: water in the pit!

Everything ready to start setting the casing (large diameter rods that prevents the first part of the hole through unconsolidated soil to cave in while drilling the rest of the hole).

After making it back up for the 3rd time my hartbeat was up to about 280 bpm...

Saying that Greg, the driller, really disliked the climb up would be a severe understatement

Still smiling while going downhill

The water hose we had layed down to the pump at the creek the day before appeared to be frozen as no water come up to the rig. This ment going down again while undoing all hose connections to let the ice out, turn the pump throttle down, go up again to reconnect the hose sections, go down to speed the pump back up, and go up again.... enough workout for one day

Raising the mast of the rig and then making sure its exactly vertical

The stroll 300m down the hill to the water pump at the creek goes through this mess the loggers left behind

Preparing the new site involved transporting all the gear

Even the graveyard in the forest of War is a mess.... graves sagging into the creek...

Joey stayed in Chattanooga on the barge and I drove the 7 hours back to War where we'd start a new hole on Monday. On the road this inventive way to transport tractor trucks.... the front one better has good brakes....

"Brutus", the 25 kg pipe wrench for the real big rods and I

Brian and Joey playing with rods

A piece of core drilled from big boulders that protect the dam surface.

During the drilling process rods have to be added as the hole gets deeper. Making and especially braking the thread joints of the drilling rods involves a good workout

Joey at 7 in the morning... wondering what he was doing out of bed again

Ancient crane on the pontoon

More dam

The drilling rig (a Boart Longyear LM 75 for the die-hards) is placed on a pontoon that is moved from site to site to drill 9 holes in total.

The dam

On sunday we drove the five hours to Chattanooga in Tennessee, where a drilling job is carried out to research the foundation requirements for a new lock that is to be built in a dam. Joey will be working here for two weeks while I'll return to War... On Monday we were just in time to catch the sunrise.

Drive-in snack joints, banks, telephones?!

Finally! Back to civilisation, where hotels have phone connections and thus internet! Amazing what a big city Wytheville is all of a sudden after spending some days in the mud. Never mind the sexy outfit