Dateline: West Yellowstone, Montana. The DrsC are on the open road again. Today found us driving north through Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone and the Tetons are a great big outdoor zoo without fences or moats. Without making any special effort we saw a bear, several elk, a herd of bison, and a bald eagle. All of this from the front seat of our F-350 RV puller.
At the high altitudes (7000-8000 ft.) in Yellowstone, there are only about 3 months a year when the roads can be repaired - you guessed it, the same 3 months when all the tourists are here. So, no surprise that the roads were torn up and we went through several cone zones.
We saw a fascinating (to both of us) set of equipment that was doing the following in an integrated fashion. First it was tearing up the existing tarmac to a depth of maybe 6-8" and a whole lane wide. It then was grinding up what they tore up. Then this aggregate was being mixed with hot oil/tar and deposited back on the roadbed. A following machine then picked up the windrow of hot asphalt and gravel and spread it in smooth fashion to fill the space where the old stuff was torn up and compacted it. All of this took maybe 7 or 8 pieces of equipment including several tank trucks full of asphalt. This entire assemblage was moving along, linked together, at perhaps 2-3 feet per minute.
To me this is a technological marvel, and more to the point, one I can understand and appreciate. Unlike the marvels that happen on silicon chips, which I cannot see in action, this I can see and comprehend. What I wonder is why we weren't doing this, or something quite like it, all along?
My rough calculations say this equipment could renew a mile every two days, if kept running 24/7 minus time for servicing. Crew scheduling would be tricky, covering breaks, and handling no-shows. Cross-training would help. Oops, there I go sounding like the Management prof I used to be, and still am part-time.
Tomorrow we drive up the valley of the Gallatin River, one of the nation's premier trout streams. Later in the day we will drive along the headwaters of the Missouri River, in yet another picturesque canyon north of Helena.
