Day 4 — Texas. Yeehaw.
Despite the road show being my current focus, I still have a day job. I quickly ran down a dirt road in the dark (pure darkness makes for quick miles), tried to cool myself down by standing in front of the AC for 15 minutes, and took a 7 AM video meeting from the front seat of my truck.
With my day job sorted, it was back to roadshow programming.
Our first of three visits for the day was with my friend John Schiedeck, who’s as close to an earthwork wizard as one gets. You may also recognize his name from Cat’s global operator challenge, which I still believe he won.
John was busy cutting a v-ditch beside a Texas county road to make way for a new turn lane into a commercial development. As he cut the fat, his father picked up the windrows with a 615 scraper older than me. If only I could articulate the sound of its pre-emissions roar…
It was a treat to watch John work, and I was sure to get a photo of him and his old man. I LOVE seeing families working together in the field!
We then headed toward Round Rock to visit our friends at Lone Star Paving, one of the premier paving contractors in Texas.
Despite the Texas heat, they laid down hundreds of tons hot mix for a new subdivision. With Austin’s growth off the charts, homebuilders are scrambling to build. But as lovely as they are, they’d be nothing without smooth roads leading to their driveways.
Tens of thousands of Texan families rely on Lone Star’s work daily, whether they know it or not!
After a quick stop for Texas BBQ, we drove further north to the Central Texas Stone and Aggregate quarry.
As we drove into the quarry, I noticed the powder truck leaving. That could only mean one thing… “Are they blasting today?”
“Good thing I texted them. They were about to pull the shot. You guys want to film it?”
OUR LUCKY DAY
We signaled once our drones were in the air, and every camera pointed at the quiet rockface. Moments later… BOOOOOOOM.
We then calmed down and continued our tour of their crusher, pit, and new plant. Watching the entire aggregate process unfold before your eyes is fun—drilling, blasting, loading, crushing, and screening.
In the end, different size rocks fly off a maze of conveyor belts to form beautiful cone-shaped piles. To some, it may just look like rocks. But to the trained eye, it’s the first step of any solid foundation for surrounding roads, neighborhoods, and buildings.
Day four concluded with a stop at the local small-town steakhouse, where we all gorged on the finest Texas beef. PSA: red meat is good for you.
That’s it for day four! What’s in store for tomorrow? Sand… Lots of sand.
