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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.

A quick screenshot:

If you don’t remember the rest of the words, they are HERE

No they aren’t rapey; it’s just innocent by-play between adults in a less adversary-prone era. Here’s the original scenes from “Neptune’s Daughter”, a 1949 musical romantic comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalbán, Betty Garrett, Keenan Wynn, Xavier Cugat

Over the past week we have been asymptotically approaching completion of the Conex boxes. We left off last week finishing up painting and installing fittings in the workshop container.

The next item was to install a 110VAC, 9,000 BTU Mini-Split system shown HERE. It’s both and air-conditioner and heat pump, so it should be able to provide heat so long as the exterior temperature is greater than -5 degrees (F). I made the decision to put the compressor above the container, sheltered from the weather.

The unit is designed for “professional installation” but after looking up various YouTube clips I didn’t see anything that I couldn’t handle. The installation instructions were very sketchy, intended for HVAC technicians so the YouTube clips (like THIS) were very helpful.

I’ve got the storage container set at 64 deg F. A side benefit is that the Mini-Split is very, very quiet. The vents at the bottom are turned down indicating that the system is blowing warm air out, but I literally cannot hear anything. I have to stick my hand below it to feel that air coming out. The pipe running down out of the unit is a condensation drain line that runs outside of the container.

In the workshop container I’ll be locating the inside unit opposite the door in the middle of the container to avoid the vent fan installed on the end. I can also drill the hole for the hose line just above the unit, avoiding the offset needed to avoid drilling through the reinforced end caps.

I will be installing the pegboard in 2’x4′ sections below the wall lighting that will provide hanging storage for tools & etc. Once the Mini-Splits are installed, the next major project will be installing the solar power system, but I don’t expect that to start before the new year.

This is written on Thursday, Dec 9th, in the evening; today we finished up the workshop container. We started out on Tuesday putting up the rest of the wallboard and Wednesday with taping and covering the screws.

Thursday Morning we set up for painting and spray painted the interior.

We finished up this afternoon, putting the covers on the outlets and switches, installing the ceiling lights. We are ready for final inspection for both the container & roof installation and electrical inspection. The inspection is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday (weather permitting). The forecast is for snow from 8pm this evening through 11am tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning we’ll reinstall the workbench, put up the pegboard sheets and put the shelves back in on the inboard side.

In other news, I was in Johnny J’s Diner on Monday (beef stew in bread bowl day) and noticed the following picture in the men’s room.

The first thing I noticed is that these are either right hand drives, or the negative was reversed when making the print. The next thing I noticed was that at least the woman’s pink car was a 1968 VW. The medium sized tail-lights were from 1966-1968; in 1969 they went to the larger round tail lights. The 1968 version had 4 sections of rear hood vents.

The whole reason for this post is that my first new car was a 1968 VW bug purchased in Hawaii with my first re-enlistment bonus. She was named Sweet Alice Blue and was the baby blue color of the car on the right. She was named after Alice of “Alice’s Restaurant”, which came out in 1967, by Arlo Guthrie. I drove Sweet Alice Blue cross county to Norfolk and then back across to Seattle when I was picked up for NESEP and attended University of Washington (UW).

It was the car I owned when I met Lindsay, and drove her to So Cal to meet the folks (another great story). I have a photo somewhere of Sis & others decorating the VW during our wedding reception. We kept Sweet Alice Blue until after Lindsay graduated and started working for John Fluke, waiting for me to graduate. The summer of 1976 we stopped a at VW dealer to get a replacement passenger side window crank. As we walked in there was a new 4 door VW Rabbit (now a Golf) with a rear seat you could actually sit in. Shortly after, Sweet Alice Blue was no more.

I purchased a Christmas tree recently. That, in and of itself, isn’t particularly novel but I’ve decided to start a new tradition.

When we lived in Silverdale, WA in the mid-1980’s, we went through a phase of getting live Christmas trees, in a large bucket, and planting them outside after the holidays. Over the years we had 4 or 5 reasonably sized evergreens beside the house.

One of my goals for the property is to plant and sustain a number of trees (i.e. The Bumpa Memorial Orchard) and while I was in Menard’s this morning (getting a 1&1/8″ auger bit) I stumbled across this:

It’s labelled as “My Surprise Tree” by “Santa & Friends” and contains a miniature evergreen, some tiny LED lights and decorations.

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So my plans are to every Christmas get a live evergreen tree/bush and to plant it outside after the holidays. This is year one.

Another week and we continue making progress on applying metal on the exterior. We’ve got the back pretty much complete, lacking only the corner on the left side.

We started adding metal to the front yesterday, it was cloudy but the afternoon winds started picking up.

We finished up on Thursday morning, we’ve had to order more metal from Bridger Steel. We submitted the original order before we added the rear door so we used up several pieces that we needed. It should be on the truck next week from Missoula MT.

Finally a beautiful sunset on December 2nd: Red Sky at Night – Sailor’s Delight. (the other half is Red Rash in Morning – Sailor Take Warning.)