Month: January 2022

So, I received the missing trim pieces a couple of weeks ago, just in time for AT, my contractor/neighbor, and his entire family to come down with COVID/crud, followed by a stretch of freezing weather/strong winds/blowing snow.

Today we had a stretch of reasonable calm, chilly but above freezing temperatures. AT & a helper started putting up panels, only to discover that we were short of taupe inch and a half sheet metal screws. We reordered more screws, but of course they won’t be available until next week. We continued putting up sheets with half the screws and finished up with grey colored screws that will be replaced when we get the correct ones.

Earlier this week we got the gutters installed to collect rain/snow water. I’m still trying to track down the other tank that disappeared in transit.

I talked to UPS again and they said I had to wait for two weeks before they would process the refund/reorder, so I will have to wait until next Friday. I also called National Tank Outlet (NTO) to let them know the issues so they could put me in the queue for a reorder. They were very apologetic and assured me that they would also reach out to UPS to coordinate with the issue.

In other work, I got a third mini-spit system for the trailer. Over the last week I installed the indoor unit over the door.

The next day AT installed the other half of the unit on the roof. He insisted that I not climb up on the roof with him, but instead fetch tools, etc. In retrospect he was probably correct, but it is somewhat humbling to realize I am well past my prime.

Apparently, the insulation in the trailer (and windows) isn’t nearly as effective as the insulation in the Conex boxes. It’s been running for over 24 hours and the inside temperature only got up to 65 deg F. The outside temperature overnight was about 18-20 deg F; so it pulled the temperature up by 40-50 deg F. When we get outside temperatures up to 30-40’s well see if we can get the temperatures up to a little more reasonable range. But on the bright side the propane furnace seems to have packed it in a couple of days ago, so my glass is definitely half-full.

On the water front, we definitely have a good flow of water at 40 feet, but it’s still at about 5,000 ppm dissolved solids (drinkable max is about 1,500 ppm). After losing a week or so to COVID/crud that swept through Mike & Company’s family and to freezing temperatures (are you sensing a trend here? Yes, we are just about done with our Omicron bout – I haven’t caught it, yet), we flushed the well system for a couple of days. We finally pulled a clean sample to submit for testing. Next week we should get a breakdown of exactly what contaminants are and the options for treating it.

There is about 6-8 inches of snow on the ground, and we are definitely in Winter.

Amplifying info to follow.

The biggest news of the past week was the result of on-going “issues” with my transmission. Last Fall I drove down to Cheyenne because of a warning message that came up complaining of “transmission issues”, and to get an oil change. I had to leave the car there for a week so they could get parts (from warehouse in Dallas) that needed replacing (per the diagnostics). A week later I returned the rental car and picked up the Hyundai.

A week later the same warning message again came up. I called back down to Cheyenne and they expressed concern that they might need to send a flat bed truck to pick up the car. I was somewhat skeptical, but I was involved on moving out of the apartment so I stalled them somewhat. (Not the least of the fact that the car was driving just fine.) I finished up moving after Thanksgiving, so I called the mechanic back, and their next available appointment was January 5th. It seems the combination of supply chain issues, mechanic availability, and holiday backups had pushed the schedule out.

Come January 5th, it was snowing lightly, but I pushed on. About halfway to Cheyenne the snowstorm was intensifying, with near whiteout conditions behind trucks. It lessened as I got further South, and it wasn’t snowing at all in Cheyenne. While they were looking at my car a gal came in talk about what they were offering for used cars (for my 2019 Hyundai it was $33,000.00). So I asked about what used trucks they had. She turned me over to a saleslady to pursue that issue.

This was the result of our search. It is a 2018 Ford F150 4WD Crew Cab. The net price was about $11K that came out of petty cash (actually out of the building fund from sale of the condo). Note that over the afternoon the snow did move down into Cheyenne; and I-25 to Casper was closed until about noon the next day.

The next day I was able to drive back to Casper.

Since it is a used vehicle, I didn’t get a set of manuals and only got one key. Fortunately, pdf’s are available online and I’ve managed to figure out most of the issues I’ve encountered.

Along with the new truck, I’m also looking at another vehicle for the homestead. Below is a Yamaha side-by-side that would be very useful once I break ground of the house.

It also gives me access to all of the property. One of the key features it has is a built-in winch which made putting the stairs up in the background of the above picture simple.

Finally, I went back to Walmart to do grocery shopping for the first time in a couple of months. There continue to be occasional shortages, but the following picture shows the pasta aisle.

I realize the Wyoming is probably at the tail end of the supply chain, but this is soviet-style stocking at it’s best.

I dropped the cat off to be boarded and drove back to Oregon on Christmas Eve and arrived in Seaside on Christmas Day. I had one small bit of excitement. While driving downhill, over a pass in Montana, I hit an icy patch- and wound-up spinning aound and backing down the mountain briefly before nosing up gently against the cement barrier. The only damage was to the front license plate shown below.

Fortunately, there was no other traffic in the vicinity. After I unclenched myself and resumed travel, all was good. There was snow all through MT, ID, WA and OR. Some of worst snow after MT was coming through the coast range of Oregon getting into Seaside.

Seaside was a little different than when we visited in the Summer.

Jen, Patrick and Charlotte had to leave early to rescue one of their cats who was not reacting well to the boarding process. Kate I drove back a couple of days later. That afternoon we went by the storage locker and managed to load up all of the artwork into the car. It was packed to the gills; there wasn’t even room for my suitcase, so it went back to Goodwill, with the clothes cushioning the artwork.

I left early Friday (12/31) morning (this time with AWD – All Wheel Drive – set on). The was snow through the Columbia Gorge, but when I came out, the roads were generally clear and dry in a snow-covered landscape. I stopped in Butte, MT for the night. The next morning, I started back driving, again with the roads mostly clear, although with some blowing snow. I pulled in about 4:00pm to a disaster.

Although both the Conex boxes had power (and heat from the mini-split systems), there was neither AC nor DC power to the trailer. Those of you on the family Zoom call on Saturday got to see the results. After the call, I got to troubleshooting. I found an inline fuse that was melted & fused near the 12v battery. I cut the fuse out and wire-nutted the connections and got the 12v back (including the furnace). 110vac power was provided by a handy extension cord off the exterior Conex box outlets. The next day (Sunday) I got up to go to church and discovered a flat tire (left rear). After a thorough review of my inventory of invectives, I started unloading car so I could get to the jack and the crank to lower the tire.

I was initially annoyed over the inconvenience engendered by having a flat tire, but upon reflection, it was a blessing. The thought of having to empty the back of the car alongside the road, to get to the jack in the middle of the night was decidedly unpleasant. Having to unload the car into a Conex box and change the tire at 8:00AM (in sunny & windy conditions) wasn’t that bad. In retrospect having the flat tire at home was a blessing.

I made it to 10:30am Mass, and after church went back to troubleshooting the AC power. Discovered the bulkhead connector that feeds the AC into the trailer was defective. We unscrewed the connector plate and cut the connector out and hardwired the power in. Voila, we have 110v live in the trailer. Monday I can try to get a replacement connector from the RV dealer, but that is a lower priority.

On Monday I met with Mike, the well drilling guy. I did ask about water witching. He admits that he’s seen it work, but he wasn’t a fan. The biggest problem is that the Witcher can’t identify quality of the water. For instance, we do have water at 120ft or so, but it’s not potable. He thinks he can get good water, just depends on how deep you have to drill. He repositioned the drill to get ready to start again, but his crew probably won’t be back or recovered until Wed or so.

Also, on Monday we started building stairs to access the storage areas above the Conex boxes.

Monday afternoon I took the flat tire into the local Les Schwab dealership. The found the cause of the flat.

The root cause of the flat was a butterknife handle found in the tire. It was bouncing around inside the tire, as well as it being run flat for some unknown amount of time, means I need at least two tires. That being said, given that I need a more aggressive all-weather tread in Wyoming (and given I have 3 years of wear on the tires) I decided to get 4 new tires to the tune of $1,234.72.

All in all, it was an exciting arrival back in Wyoming. But given what could have happened, I appear to continue leading a charmed life. Sorry Sis, but it is what it is.