Permian Basin Oil Museum

We went to the Permian Basin Oil Museum here in Midland.  The Permian Basin is the name of the underground area where oil was first discovered in Texas.  Its a huge deposit and they are still drilling new wells as they go for even deeper oil.  There is a room of honor in the museum that has portraits of everyone that was noteworthy in the oil business all the way back to the beginning.  You could just smell the money in that room.   The museum has the whole history of oil exploration, all the drilling equipment old and new.   The picture with the blue giant fireplug looking thing actually is a piece of equipment that is put in the oil well to prevent blowouts.  The other picture is a giant drill bit they use to drill down -- sometimes 20,000 feet - to find oil.  It was impressive that one in three wells dug actually produce oil.  They obviously know a lot before they start drilling about the potential because it can cost close to a million dollars to drill a well 20,000 feet. 

The museum also had a great collection of artwork that tells the story of the American West and is very historically accurate.   It includes many paintings dealing with oil drilling back in the beginning.  They also have antique oil equipment on display inside and the really large stuff set up outside.  I never thought oil drilling could be so interesting but the museum really does a great job of making it easy to understand.

More Planes

Had to show a few more planes from the CAF Air Power Museum.  One was an experimental plane and the cute little high wing plane is a Stinson.  The one Jim owned was a four seater so it was much bigger than this cute little thing.  He used to fly it out of a private strip south of Forest Lake he even  had skis for it for the winter.  It got to be just too expensive to keep with insurance and engine overhauls so he ended up selling it.  It's too bad because now it be worth 10 times what he paid for it back in the 80's. 

We have been working hard at the RV park.  Cleaning, staining and varnishing cabinets and outside painting.  Jim has been helping put in new tree watering sprinklers.  They had lots of water leaks this winter with the cold so the system has to be redone.  They also want more trees planted although the ground is pretty much caliche which is worse than clay and rock.  The owners also are going to redo a big flower garden and put in a retaining wall.  So we have lots of projects to keep us busy for the next month.

Commerative Air Museum

We went to the Commerative Air Museum at the Midland airport.  Most people have probably heard it called the Confederate Air Force Museum.  Same thing --  now just more politically correct name.  The museum is huge with every kind of World War II memorabilia.  The museum also has the largest collection anywhere of airplane nose art from WWII.  The pilots had the noses of their planes painted  -- usually with a painting of a pretty lady.  The ones at the museum were quite racy.  You cannot take pictures of the art.  I assume its because camera flashes can fade the paint. 

The red plane is a Luscombe.  Back when Jim was flying out of a grass strip on a friends property he had the chance to fly this same kind of plane several times.   There was a Stinson in the museum but I didn't show the picture.  Jim owned a Stinson but it was bigger than the one they had at the museum.  Nothing like making you feel really old when all the planes you used to fly are in a museum.  Most of the really cool WWII planes that the museum has were actually gone to an airshow in Florida. 

Midland Oil

We were finally able to leave Port Mansfield, TX on Wednesday to head up to Midland.  We spent one night just south of San Antonio and made it through San Antonio traffic alright.  We spent the next night next to a lake in San Angelo, TX.  It was a pretty park even though nothing was green yet.  We made it to Midland, TX on Friday.  Just as we got parked and the rig unhitched the truck overheated.  We had to have it towed to the Ford dealer down the road.  We are hoping its a warranty repair but it never seems to work out that way. 

We are in the Midland RV Park which is mostly full of oil workers.  We started working already and are doing some special projects.  Mostly spring clean up kind of work.  It is very dusty here and the park does try to keep the dust down but everything still manages to have a coating of fine dust all over everything.  They are drilling for oil right next to the park.  Its interesting watching them climb up the towers to work.  Its been pretty cold in the mornings and there those guys are -- way up there working.  Brrrrr  -- but they get paid well and Midland has 0% unemployment. 

For the Birds

Well we didn't get out deep sea fishing.  The weather has been so bad down here with wind and cold that the few nice days we have the boats are booked to capacity.  So there you are fishing shoulder to shoulder if you do get on a boat.  Oh well at least we got out on a boat in the Laguna and that was fun. 

The Mockingbirds have shown up suddenly and are singing their hearts out.  It must be mating season for them.  I managed to get a picture that isn't too bad of one of them.  We have seen huge flocks of birds flying over the Laguna.  Its hard to say what they are it could be Sandhill cranes like the ones in the picture.  It could be geese or ducks or just flocks of birds.  The strange thing is they are still flying south toward Mexico.  We have seen flocks that stretch out for a couple of miles flying overhead.  It is incredible to see so many birds flying south and its March.  You would think they would want to fly north but obviously the weather isn't cooperating.