Spring

This year.  So red.  So green.  

Words cease here...

It's still heaven...

A few emails trickled in wondering about the status of this adventure.  The adventure is alive and well.  The homestead has reached a level of sufficient comfort to my liking and is on auto pilot when it pertains to projects that might be worthy of a blog post. 

Life has taken different directions in other areas and supplied distraction from blog maintenance, but rest assured, the dream is alive and well in Montello!

Welcome Jeremy and Jennifer!

...a great weekend Southern style!

Untitled...

Flash Flooding: Montello July 16, 2012

Outside the Cowboy Bar

Standing Inside the Cowboy Bar swimming out!

The following are youtube links to a number of flooding videos from around town.  I'll soon post videos of the amazing water situation at the property!

Float tubing down Highway 233

The Park off Highway 233

The Cowboy Bar

Crossing the River, the Cowboy, and Rontello's (the original Cowboy)

Backhoe and Truck crossing the river

Complete Set of Replacement Jeep Parts

.....there's those thinking more or less, less is more (eddie vedder: society).....this felt like less when it showed up last week.  Today, it feels like more.....maybe tomorrow will feel different?

Terlingua, TX - John Wells

I've been following this guy for a while now.  I like the way he thinks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT3tPBU0DdI&feature=endscreen&NR=1



his blog: http://thefieldlab.blogspot.com/

275 gallon tank/garden hose adapter...

Last time in Montello the topic of water tanks came up at the Cowboy with JT.  We both use the 275 gallon palletized water tanks (see tank in previous post) in various ways and were sharing ideas.  One of the ideas included a screw on adapter to the tank valve that allows for a garden hose to be attached.  Below is a video showing that solution.  Hope this helps JT!

Bicycle Generator....

I think I see a new project in the near future...

BICYCLE GENERATOR....click to watch video

This idea came up early last week at the coffee shop. An old friend contacted me late last week about the same idea. This video appeared before me (without searching) on youtube a bit ago. Between solar, wind, and bicycle....power should be bountiful!!!

I don't have a lot of research time to allocate to this project right now, but I should think it will come about in the next six months. That said, if someone is interested in the idea and would like to run with it, I'll volunteer my welding skills towards the fabrication of a bike/alternator mounting system!

Actually Making Bleach from Pool Shock...

Below is a one minute video showing the basics of making bleach from a one pound bag of pool "shock". The "shock" is available at any pool supply business or Wal-mart for $3 per bag. One bag yields 75 gallons and has a shelf life of 10+ years. After the bleach is produced, it has a shelf life like unto store bought bleach at around one year.

I utilize a scale from Harbor Freight (Item 97920) to measure the granular shock into small quantities (3 grams) for producing 1/2 gallon batches at a cost of $0.02. This particular bag of shock states an "available chlorine" percentage of 45%, which I have calculated to be 6 grams of shock per gallon of water. I generated the table below for differing manufacturers that may offer varying percentages....use at your own risk!

% available chlorine - grams per gallon of water
70% - 3.5
65% - 4
60% - 4.5
55% - 5
50% - 5.5
45% - 6
40% - 6.5
35% - 7


This bleach creation technique provides long term storage of the ultimate disinfecting solution....perfect for anyone on a budget in a remote location with minimal storage area!

VIDEO - http://youtu.be/DBm42qyku0Y

.

The Hawk and Me....

...earlier this week in Montello, two sequential mornings, both upon emerging from sleep, a hawk patterned over head in the desert with ever rising circles, out of sight. hmmmmmm.....

http://divinesparks.blogspot.com/2008/04/hawk-symbolism.html

perhaps it is meaningless. but, if only for a moment, it meant something to me!

See you in Montello my friend!

New Residents...Container Leveling....high lift jack

Welcome Greg and Deb to the valley! It was good to finally meet you guys and learn a bit more about you. I'm looking forward to more conversations!

Geoff: thank you for connecting us and facilitating another container drop!

The container failed to land on a perfectly flat piece of ground, so my buddy Paul and I went about correcting the leaner. We utilized a "high lift jack" to easily raise the corners for blocking. This tool is an amazing piece of mechanical simplicity. An absolute must for any desert rat!

A quick twenty minutes later and we were off to the Cowboy for a burger and a beer. What a great few days. Thanks for your help Paul!

Making bleach from “pool shock”….disinfectant and water purification!

Why would anyone produce their own bleach using the widely available pool treatment known as “Pool Shock”?

1) liquid bleach strength degrades over a few years rendering any stored bleach less effective over time

2) storing large amounts of liquid bleach requires large amount of space

3) 5 lbs of Pool Shock (calcium hypochlorite) costs $10.97 at Wal-Mart and makes 640 gallons of liquid bleach, which will treat 128,000 gallons of water.

4) 2 cents per gallon….i need no other reason!

5) cheap and convenient cleaning solution and water purification method

Here are a few links supplying all the necessary details:

http://www.thefoodguys.com/howtoclorox.htm

http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/how-to-make-chlorine.htm

http://water.epa.gov/drink/emerprep/emergencydisinfection.cfm

After loading the above EPA link, scroll down to the section titled “chemical treatment”.

...another few days

I spent another few days in Montello this week. Four days and three nights. I rolled into town later than usual, grabbed a burger, and chatted it up with a couple friends. I made it to the property just before sundown and quickly squared everything away. This image of the sun flared Jeep caught my eye as I walked by....fortunately, it turned out pretty close to how I recall the moment.


This trip didn't include a Wendover (craps/hot tub) run, but I was certainly tempted....damn free room offers! Instead, I enjoyed going to bed early after the sun set and waking to the sun warming the container. Shortly thereafter I'd make my way to town for breakfast and conversation, then back to the desert for solitude. I continue to fall deeply in love with the desert. It truly is a magical place for my soul. I don't have the words to explain what the feeling is....and I'm only aware enough a few times a day to recognize the totality of it. Even still, its impact on me isn't fully processed until I attempt to reintegrate back into city life. The city is what I have been trained to know as normal. The elements present in the desert are what I had before I was trained into normal....

The container continues to perform wonderfully in relation to self heating. Arriving late the first night, I cranked up a fire in the wood stove and burned a five gallon bucket worth of wood to take the chill off. Before I retired to sleep, the fire was out and the container was warm. I awoke the following morning (and every morning) as the sun lit the valley but remained behind the mountains. The air in the container was cool and prime for continued sleep. An hour or so later, after the sun had risen above the mountain tops and penetrated the glass, the container warmed up wonderfully and the outside temps lingered in the teens. By noon, it was down right hot inside with outside temps in the mid 40's. Each of the next two nights I used the Mr. Heater Buddy for an hour or so to feel heat on my face before bed, but another layer of clothing would have alleviated that guilty pleasure!

After refilling a propane tank today, current pricing data to heat the container came out to $0.27 per day....

The days are short now. If you fail to wake with the sun, you fail to have many hours in the light of day. No worries of late though, the container has plenty of lighting. Lighting is supplied by two six volt golf cart batteries (pictured in earlier posts). I played music much of the day, kept the cell phone charged, and used plenty of compact fluorescent or LED lighting, and exhausted less than 10% of the battery banks capacity. I no longer pack the wind generator or solar panels for trips less than a week. I suppose when (if) I install a television for the kids I'll need more juice, but until then I am happy with the basics.

I continue the internal struggle of upgrading the living conditions to make it feel more like home (normal) and simply allowing my needs to dictate the changes. I'm planning to stick with the "allowing" mindset, but it is often trumped by "normal."

The two following pics are of Pilot Mountain Monday evening as I rolled up to the property. One of my favorite moments of these trips to Montello is the initial spotting of Pilot Mountain miles off in the distance, but from the East side of the range. This trip, Pilot mountain was smothered in clouds on the drive out and continued to play cat and mouse until Tuesday!




looking forward to....another few days

last (long) weekend....

WTF? first time seeing this guy....and we found two. any ideas?

newly created path to the outhouse....well done ladies!

post holes for outhouse foundation

captured on the drive home (amazing sunset in every direction)

sign says it all!!!

dinner at the Montego Bay (wendover)

Pilot Mountain

with a dash of clouds....

Another night in Montello....

....it's getting increasingly difficult to leave this place!

750 watt inverter - Sam's Club - $19.81 (+tax)

The first three inverters i picked up were out of perceived necessity.  I picked up this one because it was simply to good of a deal to pass up....and it works very well thus far.  For comparison sake, the last one i bought from sams club was 400 watts for $29.98.

long weekend in Montello....

the girls and I took off for a long weekend in Montello. the weather was overcast, occasionally rainy, and windy as hell! on the bright side, the wind generator ran all weekend and powered all of our electrical needs. we cut a 55 gallon drum in two parts....using the top for a new fire ring and the bottom as a watering hole to attract the local habitat. we never saw the watering hole being used, but more than a few smores and hotdogs were cooked in the fire ring. we ran into a few familiar faces and had a number of good meals at the Cowboy. it was a good trip, as it furthered my resolve to live this lifestyle as much as i can. i can't wait to get back!!!!
















the video reflects the blades and speed of the wind generator in an odd fashion. the blades are not curved and they were spinning at such a fast rate that you couldn't see them at all!!!

a few pics from last trip....

jeep on the right, pilot mountain on the left, and sagebrush!!!


i love this bar! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL7ifSxp9xU)

view from the rear after "backhoedude" cleaned things up! thanks C.