Winter Roost Continues

 If you thought the first week was fun filled, lets look at week two.

This is just a reminder of what the lot looked like when I arrived. Carol and I discussed pouring a concrete pad for the RV, with a small patio area attached. Like any "housing community", there are requirements for making lot improvements, no different here. I went to work on creating the required drawing to be included in the request packet...

How simple can it be. I submitted our request on Monday. That day I also began looking online for a concrete company that could do the work, keeping in mind that it may be several months before the work could be done. The first call I got was from a company that was a four hour drive from us, and wanted $16,000 to $18,000 to do the work... that wasn't happenin'. My first call was on Tuesday to a local company in Artesia, they were quite swamped with other projects, but I was given a name of another company that does more residential market work. I got a call back that day from this company, and he asked me a few questions, and I asked when he could come out to do an estimate... he came out that afternoon to do the estimate. The bigger question was when could the job be done... remember I'm figuring a couple months out. Once we agreed on the price, about three times less than the first guy, he said they could start that week, and Thursday sounded like a good day. Keep in mind, my request hasn't been approved yet, but thankfully, I know the people that have the power to approve the request.

Before I even began calling the concrete guys, I marked off the area for the pad, per my submitted drawing of course. Now the fun really began. I wanted to ensure the gravel on our lot didn't get removed, so I spent most of Wednesday raking rocks. Refer to top photo for the before, now lets get to moving rock...

This is about a quarter of the gravel moved. Raking gravel is NOT one of my gifts, and I certainly would not want to do it for a living. I guess if I worked at it the muscles would come around, and it wouldn't be that big of a deal.

With that said, here is my pile at the end of the day...

Doesn't look like much, but it is close to a 1/2 ton of gravel re-located. This was just from one side of the trailer, I still needed to get under the trailer and the side closest to the property line. After eight hours of moving rock, I decided that I would just rake the rocks close to the property line, and the rock I couldn't reach under the trailer, could stay there.

The morning the concrete crew was due to arrive, I moved the trailer to another lot for temporary lodging.

The dark spot in the photo is the gravel I removed. The lighter area in the middle is gravel I could not reach under the trailer.

The concrete crew ran a little late, but once they arrived, they hustled. When the estimator came out he thought the area was pretty level... that theory changed when they were setting the forms, the property line side was lower than the are closer to the middle of the lot.

Time for lunch, then they will be back to do the rebar installation. It was tough seeing one of the workers throwing all the gravel I removed back into the pad area. The reason he did it was to level the pad area before adding the rebar.

Lunch time is over, and they are back to work. The rebar process is a lot faster than the old days of twisting wire around the rebar with a pair of pliers.

The wire wrap gun hooks onto the rebar and wraps the rebar together, looping and twisting the wire, then it cuts the wire. What is neat is the wire is on a spool.

The days end result...

Forms and rebar, just waiting for the concrete... tomorrow.

Weee, tomorrow is here, or at least the next day. The concrete truck was due sometime in the afternoon... but like all things, changes happen... the truck, or should I say trucks, arrived before 10 am.

This is the first truck of the morning.

Each truck carries 10 yards of concrete. 

So why did we need a second truck... the pad required 13 yards of concrete. Carol and I learned a lot watching these guys work, and there was a lot to learn. 

If you think this looks great, just wait, there is more to be done. I bet you are thinking that's a large pad, it is, about 900 sq. ft., don't forget the big trailer that is going back on it, and part of the back will be a patio.

This is the first step after the pouring and secreting, floating the surface. Even floating the surface, it still creates some lines.

The almost finished product is waiting for a bit more... but they will get to it after they finish lunch, and the concrete dries a bit more.

Lunch is over, and they're back to work.

My first thought was... how could he walk on my new concrete pad. What he is now doing is floating the surface with a mechanical float...

They start using this machine when the concrete is hard enough to walk on, in this case it took multiple passes. The more passes, the smoother the surface.

This is one of the crew putting the rounded edge on the pad. It gives a nicer edge, and helps with removal of the wooden forms.

This is the finished surface of the pad; it is a light brush for traction if the pad gets wet. The pad takes three days curing before we can move the trailer home.

Meanwhile, the concrete contractor is cutting the relief lines in the concrete, that way when it cracks, it will do it at the cuts.

New day, time for the finishing touches on the pad... actually around the pad. The first thing we did was move the trailer from our temporary site to its new home... the pad.

We moved the trailer over a little before the concrete contractor arrived with the gravel.

I helped the contractor spread the gravel, but I will need to bring more gravel in to finish the lot. We did get the gravel spread out to areas around the pad... and off he went.

We took on another project, our shed. The shed will only be 3ft x 5ft; we don't want to get in the habit of storing a bunch of "stuff".

We are building the base for the shed. I made it a sled style base so that it could be moved if desired in the future. It is required that the shed be anchored down because of the winds that come up once and awhile. Originally I was going to use plywood for the floor, but I like slats better.

With the base completed, and the anchors cured, it was time to build the shed. 

The weather began changing when Carol and I started to put the shed together... so what's new. At first the wind was just a breeze, then it grew a little stronger, then the clouds started passing over. In the clouds was thunder, so Carol watched for lightning. As raindrops started invading our space, we were calling it quits for the day.

Because it doesn't rain here much, Mother Nature gave it to us in an extremely large quantity this go round, but when morning came, the skies were clear. That was my signal to get back to work on the shed.

The goal for the day was to get the roof and door on...easy peezy... except for Mother Nature. I learned that to install a roof on a sheet metal shed, it requires wind... gusty too. Undaunted, I carried on, possibly smartly.

This is an almost finished project, the roof is on, the door hung, and the shed secured to the base. The final step of this project is securing the base to the ground.

The project is now finished... and the shed is now filled.

Here are some other projects accomplished...

FAIRIES IN THE CACTUS

UMBRELLA CLOTHES LINE

One last goal attained was the propane company coming out to hook us up to our new tank on the lot.

The tank came the same day the concrete contractor was due to arrive, so the propane guys just set the tank that day. After the curing and moving the rig on the pad, the propane guys came back out to complete the installation

With all the fun we were having, the park was preparing to have fun themselves. Every year they have a "Roundup". Roundup is a week long evolution. The purpose of the "Roundup" is to make money for C.A.R.E. C.A.R.E. is a medical facility that cares for Escapee members. We decided to participate/observe. Carol entered her chili, and I showed up for activities.

The first event of the "Roundup" was a plaque presentation.

This stone sits under a tree on one of the lots in the middle of the park. What is so important about this lot... it was the lot the founders of the Escapee RV club owned when the park was created in 1983. It also marks 40 years the park has been around.

Yesterday was pizza night, today was taco lunch, and TP Toss.

The object was to toss a roll of toilet paper through the toilet seat. I was only successful once getting it through the toilet seat, but I hit the seat several times. I thought I should get credit for the almost... women complain we men have a bad habit of missing the target too often.

The next afternoon was a couple of different events. I participated in the Frog Toss game. 

The object of this game was to launch the frogs (bean bags) from the wood, over to the lily pad.

The other event involved golf carts, an obstacle course, and humans. A couple climb in the golf cart, one is the driver, the other is the navigator... no problem. Wait a minute, I forgot to tell you that the driver is blind folded, and gets direction from the navigator. The obstacle course involved turns, weaving through cones, backing up, and backing up again attempting to get close to the final cone; all this is timed too. 

They had a Sheriff, and several Deputies. Their purpose was to write tickets, fine people, and write summons' for court appearances. I myself received a ticket, and a summons; Carol received a summons. With a summons the accused showed up in front of the judge, who determined the fine for the offense. Remember, this money goes to C.A.R.E..

A little about C.A.R.E. for those unfamiliar with the Escapee RV club. The facility is located at the home park in Livingston, Texas. The way it works is simple. A member requiring care makes arrangements to lease one of the C.A.R.E. sites for the duration of their stay, in some cases, permanently. The facility also provides housekeeping services and meals. If a member suddenly needs a higher level of medical attention, they are moved into one of the rooms in the facility so that they can receive that care. Escapee members not requiring care may volunteer to work in the facility.

The remainder of our stay will not be as exciting, so posts may be sporadic.

Winter Roost

 

Once I settled in, it was time to do some yard work. The truck is hiding one of the biggest jobs... tree overgrowth in the cactus. 

In the circle is a tree stump from the tree they cut down last year. Well, during the time we were gone, it started growing a lot of suckers from the stump, hiding most of the cactus. This is a beautiful cactus when in bloom... hopefully we'll see it this year.

Every tree needed overgrowth removed from it. After trimming all the overgrowth, it was time to load it up and take it to the yard waste pile at the back of the property; three trips made. 

In between all the yard work I stopped to pick up Carol from the airport.

I was admiring this mural at the airport, I turned my back for just a minute...

and look who showed up. I didn't realize they had teleport services there.

My next task was a bush on the slide side. The bush was attracting bees... which Carol doesn't need.

Look to the right side of the trailer in the top portion of the picture, you can see the bush. The lower portion of the picture shows the bush gone... and ANOTHER run to the yard waste pile.

The reason we bought this lot was for the view out the back of the lot, and today was one of those days proving it was a good decision.

These are the cattle that roam the working ranch around us. This was actually the second appearance of the cattle for me. The first day was the day before while making a yard waste run. The small group was grazing around the waste pile, staring at us. Our bigger concern with the group was the guy with horns... but no problems.

Back to today. I decided it was a nice day to go and wash the truck, and out the gate, along the road...

This girl didn't have a problem letting me by, she saw how dirty the truck was.

I made it to the first car wash, but I wasn't pleased. The only bay that I could use my debit card was the trucker's bay. The problem with this bay was the red mud I had to get through so I could wash the truck. I started my pre-wash, then switched over to one of the other options to soap up the truck... no go. I took my wet truck out of the bay and looked for the other car wash. By the time I got there, the rinse job from the first car wash made my truck look dirtier than when I started. The second car wash was a much better place, with all the cleaning options available. Coming back to the park with a clean truck, I was greeted with... more cows.

It appeared that it was cow day around "The Ranch".

There is lots of wildlife around here.

This guy was B-boppin' around our tree in the back, right outside the slide window; he is a "Red Breasted Nuthatch". We have a lot of Doves and Desert Quail too.

The rest of my afternoon was spent hanging Christmas lights in one of our trees in the front of the lot.

The next day Carol and I helped clean the "Ranch House", which is usually done twice a year. Then Carol and I congregated with some of the other residents to view the solar eclipse.

This was what it looked like taking the photo with my phone... impressive 'ay. I borrowed someone's smoked paper glasses and this is the result using my phone...

Not the best, but we got to see it.

I forgot to mention earlier about an issue I had while driving back from Artesia, NM, which is just up the road. I'm flying low on the highway, fighting gusty winds, when I look in my rear view mirror to see the truck bed cover flopping around like a fish out of water. A gust of wind blew the cover right out of its tracks. I had to pull over at a picnic area so that I could roll it up and secure it. There wasn't much investigation required to see that we needed to buy a new cover... which I did order after I got home.

So how's that for the first week at our new winter roost.

Runnin' Against the Wind

 Before I left South Dakota, I played with my food again.

This is what you get making cottage cheese...

When you use a gallon of milk making cottage cheese, you get about three quarts of whey, and a quart of cottage cheese. For some of us it brings back a nursery rhyme: Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey... only I didn't have to worry about any spider.

Here are some other meals I whipped up for myself while Carol was in Wisconsin.

NEW YORK STRIP STEAK WITH A 

WINE/CREAM SAUCE

CABBAGE ROLLS WITH A 

PAPRIKA CREAM SAUCE

As you can see I did not starve while Carol was gone.

Besides hitting tourist traps, I did accomplish more maintenance on the truck and trailer. The weather in South Dakota can be tricky at times. I held off washing the truck because of rain, and when it looked like I was good to go, I washed the truck... and it rained a couple of days later. The rain is sneaky in South Dakota after a vehicle is washed... it sneaks in during the night when people are sleeping peacefully, knowing a mission was accomplished... only for that person to wake the next morning to a dirty truck again. I should have known better with construction happening on two sides of the campground, and dust blowing in from everywhere. Between the dust and rain, the truck looked diseased, with spots everywhere.

In the final days of my stay at Ellsworth I prepared for travel by experimenting with several varieties of jerky. Beside the chicken jerky I made earlier in my stay, I sliced up a New York strip steak, chunk style, and marinated it in a flavored balsamic vinegar (no pictures). My next experiment was with "maple" flavored SPAMⓇ...

It had a firm outside w/a soft chewy inside, and tasted pretty good too. As I told Carol when I txt'd her... eating them was on the line from Lays... you just can't eat one.

Also during the last few days I had a flashback to living in El Cajon just before we left. Tyler had bought a used utility van and started converting it into a his own little travel van, what we call a Class "B" RV in the Rving world.

His van like I said, was a utility van, so it did not have all these windows. I thought it would have been neat to have him camping near us for a day or two.

My body experienced something it hasn't experienced for many years...

I shaved off my beard and mustache in support of Eric. Since he doesn't have his facial hair, I thought I would walk next to him in my own way. It is likely I will grow my beard back faster than he will; I can't do anything about the top spot.

SNOWBIRD ON THE RUN...

Well, here it is time to move on out of South Dakota, on another windy day... but no rain... and I thank God for that.

Since I had new tires put on the trailer, the shop instructed me to stop around 50 miles and check the lug nuts to ensure they were all tight. I did as they instructed, and this is what was near me at the stop...

Imagine yourself hauling one of these, a wind turbine blade. There were three of them at this parking lot. By the way, this is still South Dakota.

If you look real hard at the blurry sign, you can read "Welcome to Wyoming"; South Dakota was doing road work right up to the state line, and it was a one lane road for 100 yards.

Nothing exciting happened going through Wyoming. I did stop at a rest station that was just down the highway from the campground Carol and I were originally suppose to stay at. Its a good thing I cancelled that stay, and opted to continue to Colorado. No sign for entering Colorado, a semi was in the way.

Here I am at my first of two stops in Colorado.

I had hopes of leaving the trailer attached to the truck, but the site was so unlevel I had to raise the trailer almost six inches above the hitch.

The park is not too bad, just in the middle of nowhere...again. I can really pick 'm.

This is part of their playground here. There is also a climbing dome, swings, climbing fort with a slide, and tables. The playground separates the tent campers from the RVs. They also has a pool, laundry, and lousy WiFi.

I left this campground with a sour taste I my mouth; I spent about a half hour a day cleaning bird poop off the truck.

With my fine experience done, I was off to the second Colorado stop. The journey was great weather wise... the roads were a different story. All I had to do was travel down I-25, 180 miles, and I would be settling in again for a couple days. Like I said, the roads changed that storybook drive. They were so rough in several areas, I ended up with a sore back, achy muscles, and an atrocious headache.

Anyway, I made it.

I have done it again... middle of nowhere.

It is a large park, the long term ("livers") are located at the back end, and the rest of us are up by the freeway. If I didn't crop the photo, you would see much of what you see around the campground already. The nice aspect of the park... the sites are pretty level, so I kept the trailer and truck connected during my stay.

I can tell the weather is changing. While it was in the upper 40s here in Colorado, Box Elder was was already in the mid-30s. Last night there was a frost advisory for Pueblo area, and only lasted until I was ready to leave.

Out the gate, and down the road I went on I-25. If Hell had rough roads, I bet this one leads to the front gates. There were a couple areas that weren't too bad because they recently re-did them. The wind decided it was time to kick up again, but it was predominantly a cross wind, which did provide for some nice photo opts.

CLOUDS BLOWN OVER THE MOUNTAIN

It wasn't all mountains, there was open prairie too...

MY OVERNIGHT ROOST

I left this place early in the morning... about 7:00am. From here to there...

3 1/2 hours later...

I'm home, Carol is still in Wisconsin, but she is due to arrive the next day. When I say arrive, it was 11:30pm... at Roswell International Air Center.