What is Montello.....to me?

The mental image of my life in Montello, surely conjured up on difficult days, is highly reflected in this poem by Ryokan, perhaps the best loved buddhist poet of Japan.

Too Lazy to be ambitious

Too lazy to be ambitious,
I let the world take care of itself.
Ten days' worth of rice in my bag;
a bundle of twigs by the fireplace.
Why chatter about delusion and enlightenment?
Listening to the night rain on my roof,
I sit comfortably, with both legs stretched out.

Short Term Shelter – Long Term Portability

In a previous post I discussed plans for using a shipping container for quick and easy shelter. That plan has not changed. However, I am becoming hesitant to leave anything of value in the shipping container unattended for weeks on end. And, I need a more livable and immediate solution while preparing the site to receive the container.

SOLUTION: modified teardrop trailer. I make my living by doing whatever I want to do on most days. I make money to finance my living by producing teardrop trailer RV's. After my current teardrop trailer build is off the production line, I will be starting a new build for me. I'll be building a 5x8 Teardrop RV to specifications that will allow this trailer to function as a tool for building the dream in Montello.

In addition to the teardrop features currently offered, this teardrop trailer will have higher ground clearance, independent wheel travel, aluminum side walls, large front storage rack, 110 gallons of water hauling capability, solar panels, and a 12 volt battery system. Prior to the shipping containers arrival, this small RV will provide many of the luxuries my family needs during extended visits. After the shipping containers arrival, the teardrop will function as a cargo trailer by hauling the high priced infrastructure back to Utah where I can keep an eye on it. I'm looking forward to this project and I hope you'll follow along as I update its progress in future posts.

Montello Backhoe for Hire

I've made contact with a back hoe owner / operator who lives in Montello, Nevada and is willing to take on work at the rate of $75 an hour. I plan to use his services in the coming months for excavation work on the property. I can not yet give a referral regarding the quality of work he does, but I will do so in a subsequent blog post after working with him. I neglected to get his permission to post his contact information for all to see. So, let me know if you need his info and I'll email it to you. My email address is as follows:

m*ntell**ffgrid@gmail.com

For every asterisk above, please insert the letter "o". I don't want my email address being harvested by the spambots!!!

Also, if you ever need anything in Montello, the Cowboy Bar or Saddle Sore Bar are the best places to start asking. I started at the Cowboy and found a fellow who was more than willing to help with information. Thanks Montello!

Off Grid, not off the rocker!

If you are or would like to be self employed, this book is a must read. Thanking my buddy Kristian for the referral, I read this book in less than 24 hours (292 pages). I'm not bragging. In fact, I'm not even much of a reader. I haven't finished a book in the last, well it has been a long time. I loved this book! If for no other reason, pick it up to understand his business model. Timothy has put a lot of thought and effort into getting his life exactly the way he wants it. I thought working 8.5 hours per week was somewhat of a benchmark. Compared to this guy, I have some serious catching up to do! The race is on Tim!

My favorite is the warning on the back cover that reads - WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU WANT TO QUIT YOUR JOB

Living off grid in the high desert and working four hours per week to maintain the lifestyle! Get the book....http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/

Quote

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. -Mark Twain

Corner Post - unofficial survey - MONTELLO SMILES

This is the northwest corner post on our property. My brother and I camped overnight back in May and placed the post markers using GPS. I suppose I talked a good bit about how big the property is, so the girls wanted to walk the perimeter and feel it for themselves. Those poor kids look abused. Get them back to the city!!!!

The unofficial survey was completed using two hand held GPS units and two trips with boots on the ground. I don't have plans to perimeter the property with fence, so this less precise survey method will suffice for my needs. I figure I'm within 15 to 20 feet of being spot on, thus, I will hold all development 50 feet inside the property lines and call it good. It took some time to calculate the coordinates, but with already owning the GPS units, the survey price was right!

Finding land for sale in Montello is easy enough on the internet. However, actually locating the land for sale and attempting to put your feet on the soil is another story. The BLM came through and surveyed the valley back in the 80's (I think) and did a good job of placing corner markers on every square mile of land. However, these corners markers are cryptic at best if you are new to surveying. Additionally, your land won't have a traditional address to plug into Mapquest. You will receive a property description that reads something like this...

Section 21 Township 39N Range 69E, M.D.B.&M.; SE4 SE4 SW4

The above description is the only way to uniquely identify your property. Cryptic as it may appear, it actually is quite efficient and tells a surveyor everything they need to know to start work. At $1500 to $2500, they will be able to precisely locate your properties corners.

Let me know if you find yourself in Montello and can't find your land. I'm not a certified surveyor, but I can help you with rough GPS coordinates. More precise coordinates can be supplied after visiting your section of ground and establishing the section corners.

Cowboy Bar and Cafe - Montello, NV

I love this bar! Admittedly, I loved it more for the cafe. Both times I've eaten there I came in with an appetite and they cured my hunger. The first go round I ordered their famous Cowboy Burger. I'm always skeptical of signs on buildings that read "famous this" or "famous that", especially on hole in the wall joints in the middle of nowhere. Famous or not, their Cowboy Burger was one of the top two burgers I've had...lifetime! They are HUGE, they come with all the fixin's and a healthy portion of fries. I'm the kind of guy that sticks with a good thing, so my second go round a couple months later called for another famous Cowboy Burger. Two times in a row...they nailed it!

I'm not much of a bar scene kind of guy, but I really did enjoy this bar. The service was outstanding, the waitress/bar tender proved super friendly (she loved her job and it showed), and the beer was ice cold, like it should be! I can't wait to see what it's like on a Saturday night. The crystal ball on the ceiling suggests there's some fun to be had.

While you're waiting for your food, you have to check out the wall of pictures in the back. My favorite is of the enormous elk with a Geo Metro strapped underneath him! Rather, enormous dead elk strapped to the top of a tiny Geo Metro. Desert folks get shit done!

Well done Cowboy Bar and Cafe! I look forward to many more burgers in my future.

I horked the above pic from another website. Let me know if you're pissed and I'll take it down and replace it with another the next time I'm in town with my camera.

The Park - Another Visit!

I'm feeling another visit to Montello coming on in a strong way. I feel so connected out there and free to be me. Browsing through some pictures from the last trip, I found this one of the park in town. Honestly, I was very surprised to see Montello has a park. My first two trips through town I missed it and I didn't get the feeling the town was kid friendly. My kids and dog ran all over the place out there and had a great time. We enjoyed grilling hot dogs, fresh berries, and root beer afterwards. Thank you Montello! We all loved it.