Snow Day

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Last night the temperature at 3:30am outside was 16 degrees. (I have a remote thermometer outside that tells me these things). Inside the trailer, with only one 1000 watt reflective dish heater going at full power, it never got below about 58 degrees, and I was comfortable in a hoodie, sweat pants, and heavy socks.


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Even though the snow was not heavy and did not stick past about 2:00 pm, it made a coating of mud that is some of the stickiest stuff I've ever seen. A mud deck and sheltered entry for the trailer is going to be a necessity if I'm going to keep the inside floor clean.
Today I've been cleaning my work boots with a long-handled stiff bristle brush that I bought at Gustins Hardware in Mountainair yesterday morning. It's better than nothing, but the entry deck will have duck boards and heavy sisal doormats, and a place to sit to remove muddy boots.

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No fence work today. We needed to pour concrete for a heavy corner brace assembly at the South end of our West line, and for gate posts in the West line of Wendy and Tim's 57 acres.
The west end gate is a requirement for the electrical CO-OP easement access. Anyway, no concrete work today either.

The forecast is for sunshine and warmer weather tomorrow.
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Some Progress Pictures

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Pulled in at dawn. And naturally I had to jump right out and take pictures.


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The trailer was easier to position than I thought it would be. I'll be able to use existing structure to add summer time shelter for the trailer. The roof system will add rain water capture capability.
This the first phase position of the trailer. After I build the small deck between the shack and the trailer and set the posts for the shelter-roof ridge beam, I'll move the trailer two feet closer to the shack.


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The Northeast fence gate is up as of today.
The North fence line looking East from the gate at the green shack.

This is the Northwest gate leading to the green shack. The North
gates are both sixteen feet.


Looking North along the West fence from the mid line field brace.


Looking south along the West fence from the Northwest corner.
I'll be adding the stays to this section of fence tomorrow.

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The Trailer power cord would not reach the 30 amp plug I had Frank Sedillo add to the shack.
Not his fault, as my location callout did not accurately consider the length of the cord. So I added a separate 30 amp breaker and another power plug on the Northwest corner.

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I plan to add more text to this posting tomorrow morning, and to severely edit yesterday's posting which is still in draft, 'cause I screwed it up trying to be clever.
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Road Trip

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The rest stop east of Barstow and all is well. The truck pulled Cajon Pass like there was nothing on tow.

The first rest stop in Arizona. By this time I was confident. "Yes, it's quiet. Maybe too quiet."


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Across the Mojave, past Kingman and half way to Seligman. More than 40 miles to town in both directions. Some debris on the road and this, at about 4:00 pm:

Trailer, front left. Well, it looked OK when I started.



I called for Roadside Repair,


and two hours and $380.00 later I was on my way back to Kingman to buy another tire. My trailer spare had gone flat, but they were able to patch it and mount it. The tread from the destroyed tire had wrapped around the axle, but didn't touch the brake wires.

Walmart's tire and lube was about to close, so I spent the night comfortably in the Walmart lot with a dozen other RVers. Not one generator running, thank you very much.

Next morning, business taken care of, and a good breakfast, I was back on the road at 10:00am.

One mile down the road the other tire on the left side destroyed itself, wrapping tread around both the axle and the spring assembly, leaving the still undamaged brake wires sticking out of the mess. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of that.

Another roadside ($97.00) repair, and back to Walmart in Kingman. This time I had to wait a while for the tire to be mounted. They were so busy I had time for lunch and shopping for odds and ends. Then, rather than wait another two or three hours, I changed the tire myself in the parking lot and was again on my way; not much less than 24 hours after the first blowout.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and, after spending the night in the Walmart parking lot in Grants, NM, I drove on down to the ranch, arriving at dawn Sunday morning.

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Hooked Up And Ready To Roll

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At Last
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A Note Of Encouragement From My Stepson

Q: Dave, Again your narratives on this blog are fantastic! I look forward to staying abreast of the details of your progress and/or setbacks with your plans on the new place (typically Mom's details leave more questions). I hope that you have a safe trip to NM, further hope that your new "toys" big ole truck and trailer measure up to your expectations you have in mind.Bryan

Asked by Bryan Griffiths

A: Thanks Bryan, and thanks again for your help in sorting out the trailer systems. I put in the new batteries yesterday and replaced two more fuses. Now everything works as good as new including the front electric jack, and the freezer is actually freezing. I also picked up a new spare wheel and tire at Walt's RV in Fontana for $60.00. They have a mountain of good stuff cheap.

I'm running more than a day behind schedule, so I now expect to leave super-early Friday morning. The weather looks good enough so I will go through Flagstaff on I-40 instead of taking the I-10 all the way out to the south end of I-25, then north to US 60. That will save almost 200 miles of drive time and a little over a half tank of fuel.

I had the Dodge completely serviced yesterday; full lube, radiator flushed, engine, transmission, transfer case, and both differentials oil drained and replaced with full synthetic. Shifting from 2nd to 3rd had been a little scratchy, but the new oil took care of that.

If I have no problems on the road I should sleep Saturday night on the ranch.

Ask David a question.

Returning To The Ranch

An exchange of notes with my friend Master Chief Bobby Mercer, USN (retired):

Hi Dave

Thatr’s one smart DAWG. How did you ever train it to shoot the model 870 and .45 auto.

If’n you was to just teach that thar dawg to shoot the bulls, then you could deny all responsibility for their demise. After all, it would be just one critter taking another, “Law of the wild!”

I heard, once upon a time, that “free range bulls” are purty good eatin, if’n you cook the meat real slow on a smoker (bout 14-16 hours for a good size roast) but then I didn’t see a lot of firewood in the pictures U sent.

Is this Hardin feller a descendant of the infamous John Wesley Hardin? If’n he is maybe you oughta git him to deal with those disreputable fence builders!

Should I ever find my way out to your ranch, I’ll make sure I telephone, write, and email you first. My rig will be lighted up like a Xmas tree. And I’ll be playing DIXIE on the horn, as soon as I leave the highway. Don’t want to get crosswise that thar dawg, or that Hardin feller!

AND HEY, remember that you are retired. I hope that you have a great summer, and that you get all your planned activities done. But, if it gets too hoar, take a deep breath, relax, the you and Brandy get away and do something fun for a couple of days.

That RV trailer is looking mighty nice!

Probably the easiest thing you could do to keep it cool is get one of these large canvas portable garages, or a car port style structure to park it under.

If you do add to the roof insulation, make sure that you provide drainage paths for the roof air conditioners, you don’t want the condensation puddling in the unit(s).

Bobby

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Hi Bobby,

Well, the .45 was easy. I had to put the first round in the chamber, and leave it in "condition one" cocked and locked, and pretty soon he was double tapping like a pro. The 870 was a little tougher, but once he learned to set the butt on the ground and rack it with both front paws it was dog-gone impressive. Only problem is they won't sell him ammo down to the gun store. Some BS about him not being of legal age!

By the time I re-read my blog and saw the syntax error it was too late to change it. But I have gotten back some good humored commentary.

Tim Hardin and I are both related to John Wesley Hardin. He is a direct descendent, and I am related through my father's mother's side, the Hardins and the Hicks. Makes us distant cousins. We discovered that fact within minutes after we met. Nothin' quite like "blood kin" to red-neck good ol' boys like us.

Every one of those Juniper, Cedar, and Pinon Pine trees you see in the pictures comes with it's own supply of firewood. As the trees grow the branches closest to the ground die and dry out to "standing dead wood". A chain saw and tractor-loader is all you need to produce a mountain of it.

I like the car-port structure the best as summer time shade for the trailer. The sun and wind deal very harshly with cloth or canvas. They become temporary at best. By the time it gets warm enough to worry about I'll have some good shade built.

After getting up high enough to see the full layout of the trailer roof I realized I couldn't add enough foam area to do any good. "Bad idea".

Finished my taxes last night so as to be free of the "Dark Cloud" during my first few weeks back out at the ranch. Me not working sure made a difference in our bottom line.

"Being retired" is just like having a different job. I gain weight and start to feel old when I sit around too much. That ranch is going to extend my useful life by twenty years at least.

My best to the boys,
Dave

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I figure to leave Fontana on or about the 18th of March, pulling the trailer, and get to High Boondocks Home around the 20th.

We have enhanced my wife's security this time by getting a new dog (not nearly as friendly as Brandy was), and by teaching her how to use my short-barreled 12 gauge Remington 870, and my tuned-up, laser sighted, .45 auto. Believe me, coupled with the new alarm system, and the dead-bolt locks she will no longer be alone and vulnerable!
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This time at the ranch it will be, "hit the ground running". I've made arrangements with my neighbor to the South, Richard (Hogan) Falk, to finish the fence line on both the North and West boundaries. He will start that even before I arrive. The new fence will enclose Wendy Andersons and Tim Hardins 57 acres with our 40 acres, so we can run horses on the whole place and they can water at a tank near the well on our place. It will also provide safe grazing for some goats and a few weaned calves (NO range bulls allowed).
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If anyone out there in Mountainair reads this, I want everyone to know that I intend to deal fairly with the men who started the fencing job, but never finished it, even though they have had since last summer to do it. They did set a lot of posts and stretch one strand of wire to define the line, but they did not finish the braces or complete setting the posts. Some posts on Wendy and Tims West boundary are out of line and will have to be pulled and reset for the fence to be properly stretched. So I will pay them the going rate for the work they have done. We will work it out. I want no hard feelings to mar the pleasure I feel in anticipation of having our new home in the country. As you all know the secure fence is needed to keep out the cattle and the range bulls that do so much property damage for which the owner, hiding behind the "Free Range" law, refuses to take responsibility. As it is now I can't stack building materials or accumulate piles of top soil (for fill) without the cattle stomping them flat! The cattle have a need to climb on top of anything more than a foot high. Then they fight for the high spot.
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I already had Frank Sedillo (Price Right Electric in Belen, NM) run a 50 amp service 310 feet over to the green shack so I can hook up my self-contained travel trailer, and have power to a shop space.

The most important priority now is to get the metal 30x60 building put up so we can have protected storage for our household goods and my power tools during the transition. Since I have not been able to find a reasonably priced contractor, I will do the grading, foundation forms and pier walls myself, then build and set the forms, and pour and finish the concrete slab myself (probably in 10x10 squares), with locally hired help. As it is to be an "Agricultural" storage building and tractor garage, the finish quality of the slab is not super critical. I am looking forward to accomplishing a great deal more this year than last.

Our goal is to have a modified Karsten model 27 house ready to live in before Thanksgiving 2009, and to complete the transition to the ranch by late spring of 2010. Four years in the making, but well worth the wait. We have made the tentative decision to rent our house (with all that entails) rather than try to sell it in this market.
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On the trailer I have installed and tested the propane bottles and rung out the electrical system. The refrigerator needs servicing as it just barely gets cold, but that's not really a big deal. Heat is important and that works fine, both gas and electric .

Yesterday I installed a new trailer brake controller in the Dodge truck and last Wednesday, just to be on the safe side, I had four new rear tires installed at Sam's Club. I wanted to wait and have them installed by my friends in Mountainair, but I decided it was prudent not to take the chance. The only thing left to do on the truck is to change the oil and coolant, and service the differentials and the transfer case. Oh yes, and put on the wide towing mirrors.

I have complete faith that this truck will pull our trailer with no strain, and serve for many years as our main "Ranch Truck". Next year sometime I'm thinking of converting it to a 10 foot "stake bed" for better materials handling. Discussion is invited if anyone has any ideas about that. Since I have no intention of ever selling it, resale value is of little concern to me.

No pictures for this posting, but expect to see a lot as the fence goes in and the metal building goes up.

See you at the ranch.
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