Day 3 — Burns Dirt
As I opened the RV door around 5 AM to run, I hit a wall of thick Mississippi humidity. My run felt more like a swim.
Nic Parish, one of the young leaders behind Columbus, MS-based Burns Dirt, met us at our campground (their laydown yard) around 6:30, and we were off to visit their projects.
First up was an apartment complex to serve Mississippi State, the center of gravity for Starkville. Burns was finishing the last site work as other contractors scrambled to complete the complex before students arrived in weeks. It was as if someone stepped on an ant pile.
That reminds me… We had visitors for our third night in our new home. And by visitors, I mean about 688,398 ants that crawled into the cool air using our power cable as a ladder. Just RV things!
As we arrived at the second site east of town, we laid eyes on their extraordinary fleet of machines. The machines themselves are standard, but their appearance is anything but.
After polling their people on what they’re most passionate about, Burns Dirt began painting all their machines tan, green, and orange to represent the hunting community. Not only has this built pride amongst their team operating the equipment daily, but it’s one heck of a branding move.
They had an excavator, blade, and brand new D5 that hit the dirt that morning, all painted and branded. I took WAY too many photos of the D5. It looked too damn good!
We stopped by one more site to meet more of their folks, then hit the road before 10 AM.
Nearly 11 hours later, we rolled into Austin, Texas. I’m going to have a lot of thinking time on this trip…
We’ll see you tomorrow for day four!!
