Which road?
18/11/14 05:15
Yesterday was a good day. We managed to deliver a significant load of firewood to the home of Mike Kills Pretty Enemy near McLaughlin. It isn’t the kind of work that many ministers get to do. I sometimes comment that lots of ministers don’t get to play with wood splitters, chainsaws, trucks and trailers. I do.
The scope of our Woodchuck project has grown steadily from that first trip when we took a horse trailer packed with split firewood and delivered the wood to a field near Sharp’s Corner to be used as part of an energy assistance program. These days we have partners who distribute the firewood from locations on the Pine Ridge, Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Reservations. At the start of this fall’s deliveries, there were 127 cords of split firewood stacked in the church back yard.
Here is part of the story of yesterday.
We had six vehicles, all pulling trailers, so there was the usual hubbub of getting connected, checking out lights and making last minute visits to the restroom before our departure. It was only about 11 degrees, so we prayed with our hats on before scrambling to the warmth of our trucks. The road report cautioned us to look for scattered slippery spots and ground blizzard conditions. We spread out to give room for those who might want to pass our little caravan and to allow for space should we encounter slippery roads. We didn’t quite meet our 7:30 departure time, but we were on the road before 8 am. The trip went well with short stops in Newell and Faith. At Dupree, we turned north to Isabel.
Before going farther, a short geography lesson for those unfamiliar with the territory. The Cheyenne River Reservation lies to the west of the Missouri River in north-central South Dakota. Just to the north of the Reservation, with a common border, is the Standing Rock Reservation, which extends into North Dakota. Both reservations are dotted with small settlements and communities and crisscrossed with roads, most of which are gravel. There are four paved roads that make a West-to-East crossing of the reservations. State Highway 34 runs along the southern border of the two reservations. US Highway 212 runs through the Cheyenne Reservation. State highway 20 crosses a bit farther north. and US 12 runs close to the state border between North and South Dakota, dipping down to cross the river at Mobridge, where it is joined by highway 20. Running North and South, State Highway 73 goes from just west of Faith up to Lemmon. SD 65 goes from Faith up to McIntosh on the North Dakota Border. SD 63 runs from Eagle Butte to McLaughlin, with a jog to the East along SD 20. If you were heading to Mobridge, you could take highways 73, 65 or 63 up to SD 20 and then head east on SD 20 into the town. Most of the time I go up to Isabel on 65 and then turn east.
When we lived in North Dakota, and Susan’s Aunt and Uncle had a farm at Isabel, we would head up SD 65 to McIntosh and then go West on US 12 to Lemmon and on to Hettinger, North Dakota.
It’s all a little confusing unless you look at the map. To confuse you a bit more, our destination yesterday was off of bullhead road, a partly gavel and partly paved road that runs between SD 65 and SD 63.
It has been our tradition for me to lead the caravan when we head out to deliver firewood. When I am not able to make the trip, others lead and the trip goes smoothly and the firewood is delivered. It isn’t as if they need me to know where to go. Yesterday, I was leading the group and followed our plan to Isabel, where we had planned to go east on SD 20 and then turn North on SD 63. Instead, without thinking about it, I turned north on SD 65 at Isabel. Perhaps it was a moment of lost focus. Perhaps I was distracted by trying to keep all of the other vehicles in my rear view mirror. Perhaps I just temporarily forgot how we had planned to go. McIntosh and Mclaughlin are only a little over 20 miles apart and the road runs almost perfectly east west about 6 miles form the ND border up there. At any rate, I took the wrong turn and the whole parade of firewood deliverers followed me.
I didn’t even notice I was on the wrong road until a phone call from the last truck in our line informed me. It took me a minute to figure out what I had done wrong and by then it made sense for us to go all the way to highway 212 and then cut back by a gravel road to our delivery point. My choice of route added about 30 miles and a half hour to the trip.
It wasn’t my finest moment of leadership.
These are extremely dedicated volunteers. If you just think about what we were doing. Truck and trailers loaded with firewood consume a large amount of gas. The drivers were each contributing over $100 for fuel for the trip. A 500 mile trip takes all day. Everyone was contributing a long day to the venture. Winter driving with temperatures below 20 degrees all day takes its toll on equipment. Things break when it gets cold. Diesel trucks need additive. Ropes and webbing to secure loads become brittle. Safety chains and light hookups have to be attached with bare hands and they can get cold. Unloading trucks and trailers in the cold with insulated coveralls and parkas is hard work and hard on clothing. The commitment of each volunteer is significant.
They did not need me to waste their time and money.
But they are a forgiving lot. No one got upset. No one complained. Everyone chipped in and the trip was completed safely. There is a huge pile of firewood in Mike’s yard. Mission accomplished.
When I joked about the fact that all of the trucks followed me when I took the wrong turn, one of the drivers said, “We’d follow you, even to the gates of hell.” I reminded him that we were nowhere near the gates of hell. We got close enough to see North Dakota, and the winters are harsh up there, but it the line separating the two states is not as bad as all that.
Next time, I’ll be more alert about where I’m going.
The scope of our Woodchuck project has grown steadily from that first trip when we took a horse trailer packed with split firewood and delivered the wood to a field near Sharp’s Corner to be used as part of an energy assistance program. These days we have partners who distribute the firewood from locations on the Pine Ridge, Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Reservations. At the start of this fall’s deliveries, there were 127 cords of split firewood stacked in the church back yard.
Here is part of the story of yesterday.
We had six vehicles, all pulling trailers, so there was the usual hubbub of getting connected, checking out lights and making last minute visits to the restroom before our departure. It was only about 11 degrees, so we prayed with our hats on before scrambling to the warmth of our trucks. The road report cautioned us to look for scattered slippery spots and ground blizzard conditions. We spread out to give room for those who might want to pass our little caravan and to allow for space should we encounter slippery roads. We didn’t quite meet our 7:30 departure time, but we were on the road before 8 am. The trip went well with short stops in Newell and Faith. At Dupree, we turned north to Isabel.
Before going farther, a short geography lesson for those unfamiliar with the territory. The Cheyenne River Reservation lies to the west of the Missouri River in north-central South Dakota. Just to the north of the Reservation, with a common border, is the Standing Rock Reservation, which extends into North Dakota. Both reservations are dotted with small settlements and communities and crisscrossed with roads, most of which are gravel. There are four paved roads that make a West-to-East crossing of the reservations. State Highway 34 runs along the southern border of the two reservations. US Highway 212 runs through the Cheyenne Reservation. State highway 20 crosses a bit farther north. and US 12 runs close to the state border between North and South Dakota, dipping down to cross the river at Mobridge, where it is joined by highway 20. Running North and South, State Highway 73 goes from just west of Faith up to Lemmon. SD 65 goes from Faith up to McIntosh on the North Dakota Border. SD 63 runs from Eagle Butte to McLaughlin, with a jog to the East along SD 20. If you were heading to Mobridge, you could take highways 73, 65 or 63 up to SD 20 and then head east on SD 20 into the town. Most of the time I go up to Isabel on 65 and then turn east.
When we lived in North Dakota, and Susan’s Aunt and Uncle had a farm at Isabel, we would head up SD 65 to McIntosh and then go West on US 12 to Lemmon and on to Hettinger, North Dakota.
It’s all a little confusing unless you look at the map. To confuse you a bit more, our destination yesterday was off of bullhead road, a partly gavel and partly paved road that runs between SD 65 and SD 63.
It has been our tradition for me to lead the caravan when we head out to deliver firewood. When I am not able to make the trip, others lead and the trip goes smoothly and the firewood is delivered. It isn’t as if they need me to know where to go. Yesterday, I was leading the group and followed our plan to Isabel, where we had planned to go east on SD 20 and then turn North on SD 63. Instead, without thinking about it, I turned north on SD 65 at Isabel. Perhaps it was a moment of lost focus. Perhaps I was distracted by trying to keep all of the other vehicles in my rear view mirror. Perhaps I just temporarily forgot how we had planned to go. McIntosh and Mclaughlin are only a little over 20 miles apart and the road runs almost perfectly east west about 6 miles form the ND border up there. At any rate, I took the wrong turn and the whole parade of firewood deliverers followed me.
I didn’t even notice I was on the wrong road until a phone call from the last truck in our line informed me. It took me a minute to figure out what I had done wrong and by then it made sense for us to go all the way to highway 212 and then cut back by a gravel road to our delivery point. My choice of route added about 30 miles and a half hour to the trip.
It wasn’t my finest moment of leadership.
These are extremely dedicated volunteers. If you just think about what we were doing. Truck and trailers loaded with firewood consume a large amount of gas. The drivers were each contributing over $100 for fuel for the trip. A 500 mile trip takes all day. Everyone was contributing a long day to the venture. Winter driving with temperatures below 20 degrees all day takes its toll on equipment. Things break when it gets cold. Diesel trucks need additive. Ropes and webbing to secure loads become brittle. Safety chains and light hookups have to be attached with bare hands and they can get cold. Unloading trucks and trailers in the cold with insulated coveralls and parkas is hard work and hard on clothing. The commitment of each volunteer is significant.
They did not need me to waste their time and money.
But they are a forgiving lot. No one got upset. No one complained. Everyone chipped in and the trip was completed safely. There is a huge pile of firewood in Mike’s yard. Mission accomplished.
When I joked about the fact that all of the trucks followed me when I took the wrong turn, one of the drivers said, “We’d follow you, even to the gates of hell.” I reminded him that we were nowhere near the gates of hell. We got close enough to see North Dakota, and the winters are harsh up there, but it the line separating the two states is not as bad as all that.
Next time, I’ll be more alert about where I’m going.