Thanks for the Montello pics "A"

"A" introduced himself the other night via the blog as a fellow Montello land owner. He followed up one of his emails with an excellent selection of photos that I am excited to post. Thanks again "A", I look forward to exchanging more emails and bumping into you in Montello.









The clump of trees/development in the middle left third of the above pic is Montello. I'm out there somewhere in the middle.




Sometimes, when you tire of castles in the air, you're left with a clear dream of hills with sage and it becomes a place you don't mind living, even till you die - Perhaps they'll understand if you tell it to them plain - Either way, out here the music doesn't play for the cocktail generation who is forced to waltz, devoid of all romance - this is my second chance. And thanks again to "A" for the visual reminder!

Geoff and Ellen

My thoughts, prayers, and heart are with you.

Backhoe Excavation with C

I ran out to Montello early this morning on a day trip to prep the ground for the shipping container. I hired C to move the dirt around with his backhoe. Between his skills on the machine and the sheer power of the machine itself, he totally prepped the site in about an hour. I am still amazed at how quickly the work moved along.

With plenty of time left in the day, C jumped on the task of back dragging a huge circular drive on the property. I genuinely needed to build a road (driveway) from the jeep trail to the home site. But, after seeing how efficiently C worked on the first part of the driveway, I figured why not do a huge circle so my kids can have a loop to ride their bikes around! All said, both projects were complete in two hours!!!

I am very impressed with C's skill and equipment and I highly recommend him for your project. He'll certainly be returning to help place the container and do the backfill work! With the excavation complete, C and I headed over to the Cowboy Bar for lunch and ordered their world famous Cowboy Burger....yes, AGAIN!!! Once again, they came through with an excellent sandwich and a few ice cold beers.

After lunch and a great conversation with C, I headed back to the property to level railroad ties for the container to rest on. In the middle of digging I realized that there is nothing like being alone...really, truly alone. I was miles from anyone, I was talking out loud to self, and I was having a great time. Occasionally I would look up in remembrance of where I was and take in the surrounding beauty of the landscape....all the while enjoying the serenity of solid quiet and hard work. Thanks again C, the Cowboy, and Montello!

All of the pics are of the completed project.


The above pic is looking North at the hole where the shipping container will sit.


This pic is looking South and shows the piles of dirt that will be backfilled around the container.



Here's an Eastward looking shot of me peering into the hole as the last scoop or two is being excavated. Part of the circular race track (driveway) can be seen in the background. Also, notice C's transit in the background which is used to ensure the project stays within tolerances.



This Northwest view is of the Jeep and trailer resting where the container will eventually sit. If I weren't so distracted with a "broken zipper" at the time, I might have appreciated the view! Thanks for the IN-ACTION photo C!!!...hahahaha



This Westward looking pic gives more of an overall perspective of the project. I'm giving C a thumbs up for a job well done while thanking God for my closest neighbor (that white spec in the background above the right most dirt pile). I've heard tall fences make for good neighbors....I think same or more applies to miles of separation.

Thanks for the photos C!

Also, please note...in an earlier blog entry I referenced making contact with an excavator. C is not the same guy. I decided to go with C because his equipment is larger and is the exact size of the backhoes I used to work around doing road construction. The price per hour is more with C's larger equipment, but I'm certain it was worth it for this project and my needs. Thus, there are at least two guys in Montello with backhoes for hire. Send me an email for C's contact information at m*ntell**ffgrid@gmail.c*m replace all the asterisks with the letter "o".