(Wireline 12) Logging in the Pacific Northwest.

The Sacramento Schlumberger shop was in the Fruitridge area in South East Sacramento. We moved into a motel and looked for a house to rent. The kids enjoyed the swimming pool. We soon found a house and it was just minutes to the shop. But soon the office was moved across town, over the Sacramento River, into West Sacramento in Yolo County. Long one way streets across the city.

The Sacramento District had many interesting places. Miles of fruit and nut orchards and rice fields. A trip through the redwoods to Eureka and Petrolia. Almost across the State of Nevada. I always have enjoyed seeing something new and driving.

I had a job in Aberdeen, Washington. It was in pine woods. The road into the rig and the entire location was covered with logs tightly fitted together. I never saw that again.

On a trip to Long Beach, Washington I took Jackie, Nancy, and Chris with me. We over-nighted in a beach cabin. Years later when Jackie and I were RVing we stayed in Long Beach (big kite festival) and the cabin was still there. A promoter (confidence man?) was drilling a wildcat on the beach. I had orders to get a check before running the log. Several times in my 15 years with Schlumberger I ran into shady characters that were obviously conducting a scam.

I made many trips to Petrolia. Petrolia is right on the coast south of Eureka. All of the oil on the West Coast in asphalt base. Not paraffin base as in Pennsylvania. Except for Petrolia. The oil there is a pretty green paraffin base. The oil seeped out of the mountains. Around 1900 people would bring the oil out on burros and sell it for snake oil. (This what I was told. It is not true. See sign below.) Petrolia was remote. The crew would buy a box of groceries before leaving civilization. One time after a couple of days all we had left was bread and peppers. Pepper sandwich? anyone.

Road into Petrolia. Some oilfield trucks had a hard time at this right angle turn.

Isn't this interesting? 1865 is a little before my 1900. Learn something new everyday.

On one trip when I was just going to a well in the Fortuna area I again took the family. On the way home we did the usual tourist things, like driving our car through a hole cut in a growing tree trunk. One time we were exploring and Chgris stepped into water over his head.

If you ever get to Eureka, have a meal at the Somoa Cookhouse