The summer of 1978 (almost killed this "cool weather candy ass! (San Antonio: motel, home)

[Montana Griz]

I lived at 6950 feet elevation in the mountains west of Boulder Colorado............My boss in the home office of the company I worked for in Denver made me the project manager for a portion of the Solvent Extraction Uranium processing facility that was known an the PANNA MARIE MILL, about 5 to 7 miles outside of the Karnes City/Kennedy, Texas area.......I was on that job site (surrounded by thousands of tons of steel and concrete) for 5 months in 1978.
It got so hot during the day, that I started the work crew at day-break and they worked until about 11 a.m..........then came back on site about 3 hours before dark and worked until total darkness.
I have photos of thermometers I hung, suspended approx four feet off the concrete floor (the entire area of our portion of the processing area was all outside...no roof...no shade....just all steel and concrete surfaces.......... almost every day the high temp would be between 130 & 133 degrees F.
I was in my late forties and the crew was in their twenties........,.and I had never been on a project that had temps that high...............Quite an experience for a guy who was used to daytime highs in the seventies.
The local folks that I got to know during that 5 month period were great. One local gave me permission to ride his saddle horse any time I wanted. ......The motel where I stayed in KarnesCity, was great...........the pool was a wonderful place to cool off every day.
One morning just before day-break , driving into the job site I ran over a Western Diamond back that was as big a round as my arm and 63 inches long.
Spent a lot of time down on the River Walk (San Antonio) on the week ends that my wife would fly down from Denver.
Really a great experience for me.

[SATX56]

Sounds pretty rough. I always liked running through Karnes city and Kenedy on the way to the coast before !-37 guided us all around them. Remember Barth's Restaurant? That was a pretty big rattler but we do have them in large numbers down here. I'd heard they had uranium mining out that way.

[TexasRedneck]

I have a feeling we've met - I used to service the RO system down at that facility - supplied the DuPont B9 membranes they used as part of the process..........yeah, it DID get warm!

[huckster]

Surely, I remember Barth's Restaurant alirght S.A.
People that relocate here from cooler climes need to watch their step, so to speak, concerning spending time outdoors. Temperatures during the daytime here can make for heatstroke and sunstroke. Dangerous stuff.
As was enertered by this relocatee from Colorado- San Antonio is a unique and great experience for people from everywhere in the country.

Originally Posted by SATX56

Sounds pretty rough. I always liked running through Karnes city and Kenedy on the way to the coast before !-37 guided us all around them. Remember Barth's Restaurant? That was a pretty big rattler but we do have them in large numbers down here. I'd heard they had uranium mining out that way.

[Montana Griz]

Originally Posted by TexasRedneck

I have a feeling we've met - I used to service the RO system down at that facility - supplied the DuPont B9 membranes they used as part of the process..........yeah, it DID get warm!

Yes, it's quite possible that we may have met when I was down there for that project.
I stayed at the Safari Motel from approx May 15th to mid October of 1978, and ate many an evening meal at an old established great restaurant IIRC, was about 15 miles away from KarnesCity on a local highway......and it had an enormous tree in the parking lot about 25 feet from the entrance.......But what I always remember (about 15 feet inside the dining room). was a large refrigerated glass display case that housed about 20 or more beautiful Steaks.......you picked the one you wanted for dinner.
Several very beneficial learning experiences resulted from my spending those 5 months in Texas:
#1:... We found out what a great city S. A. was (is), and spent several week ends in a motel on the River Walk.
#2....We discovered Port Arkansas on Mustang Island, and ended up spending 3 winter months--(each winter) there during the first 5 winters of my retirement starting in 1994.
#3...We explored the area over in East Texas between Tyler and the state line and became aware how different that area is.
#4...Got to know a couple of local fellas who invited me to do some Quail hunting......(I've been a bird hunter all my life and to this day I keep a "bird-dog" (a Brittany for the last 13 years).

The company I worked for was a sub-contractor to Kaiser engineering and construction -------the prime contractor......Our company fabricated and installed all the Fiberglass piping and Tanks required for the processing of the Uranium Ore.

Yeah, it was a great experienced.

Edit:. Maybe we met at that Uranium mill outside of George west, TX.........but I don't remember if it had a Reverse Osmosis system.

[Montana Griz]

There was a local fiberglass fabrication company owned by a very fine gentleman, name of Red Ewald. He catered to the local regional "ag" market more than the industrial market. Mid summer I needed a couple more experienced "field fiberglass fabrication technicians", and Red was kind enough to let me hire two of his employees ----- very considerate and honest business man.

A couple of humorous things re the Safari Motel:
When all the rooms were rented out,. The owner (iirc named Harry), would turn on the large RED Neon Sign (about 30" x 20") that hung in the office window that read:..."PLUM FULL"

Another time on a very hot evening after work about 9:30, I decided to take a quick dip in the pool which was just 50 feet or so from my room and I left the room door open about 18 inches.......well, about 20 minutes later when I went back into the room I found a rattle snake (about 30 inches long) coiled up in the far corner )......the owner and his brother got the snake out of the room-- while I "took shelter back in the poo!"!!!

Yeah,. I had some "good times" that summer.

[SATX56]

In the early 70's I met a girl at Randy's Rodeo (an old bowling alley turned into a western dance hall) (though the Sex Pistol's performed there later and started a riot). She wanted me to go to Karnes City and take her to the movies on a date. Told her that wasn't likely and it never happened. Couple years later I was driving back and forth between SA and Victoria regularly. There was a big restaurant called Shirley's as I recall between Karnes and Sinton early 80's. Used a covered wagon for a salad bar. Open kitchen ...you could watch them cooking your steak.