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AZ finish up
  • Uncle Woully
Jan – Feb 2024

AZ finish up

I have a fair bit of work left to do trimming the inside all of the outside siding and buttoning up. Read more
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  • Trip start
    January 10, 2024
    Uncle WoullyTravelerAZ finish up

    First few days back

    January 13, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    Arizona is getting hit with a cold wave like much of the country except that this place is not used to it. So the temperatures hit 19 overnight very much below usual. Luckily that night I was inside the shed, it is partially insulated with one inch of foam which already make a huge difference. Inside it managed to stay in the low 40s until early in the morning when it actually hit 34 inside.

    I've been sleeping with double sleeping bags and that has been working very well I was quite toasty.

    I'm doing all the work by myself and so I have very little contact with other people. But Aaron walks by everyday with his dogs and we have a nice little chat. He is an interesting fellow and he keeps bringing me things that I might need such as a mattress bedding and water containers.
    I think he is cleaning out his own place, same as I'm doing in Crested Butte.

    I am making progress every day but it's going slowly compared to the first two weeks. The problem seems to be that I don't have the right items to get the job done with so I end up driving into town every single day.

    After 3 days I now have all the insulation finished and I'm ready to trim out the upstairs.

    The night after the cold spell I slept in the car as I usually do because the inside off the shed was a construction mess.

    Tonight that mess has been cleaned up and I am completely insulated however the garage door is still out and the big open gap lets a lot of cold air into the downstairs. Even though there is a big opening from down to up it is still 57 upstairs and 34 outside so the insulation and the fact that heat rises does an incredible job.
    Can't wait to see how it performs temperature-wise once the new insulated R9 garage door is in and all the trim is in place.

    I think it'll be really fun to set up the speakers and the big screen TV and the carpet and it will become home very fast.

    I finally found a black bucket, 5 gallons and I put it against the reflective surfaces in the sun. Even in January it managed to heat the bucket to the point where I took a hot shower in the evening free of charge thanks to the sun.

    Another item that is free of charge is my electricity which also comes from solar charging it is performing really well, in the morning I was at 34% and by evening I was at 67%. Running the tea kettle cost me about 3% and I'm starting to get a feel for how much I am using and how much I can charge in a day. It's a pretty good balance.    Read more

  • Uncle WoullyTravelerAZ finish up

    Construction grind.

    January 20, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    It's a pretty standard routine . Wake up in the morning, get going ASAP and grind along the entire day to move forward forward forward.

    Have not taken time for any fun or exercise but I'm getting plenty of physical effort in. I'm eating better.

    I have been sleeping a couple of times inside on the posture pedic mattress that Aaron gave me.
    One morning my back went out and it's been painful since. I am now back to sleeping in the car which is way more comfortable and there are no mattresses in the shed which I prefer. The shed is not to be lived in and I don't want to give anybody the idea that I do, Everything is still based out of Colorado for me.

    Last night was Friday and I had been listening to TPW all day which was great put me back into that vibe of my friends and music.
    Interestingly it did not make me miss that. Playing the music made me value the great times and just enjoying the music and the vibe in its own right.

    I get visitors at my construction site. Aaron comes by every other day when he's walking his dogs and yesterday Lori came by who had not met yet. She is a captain on the 767 for United and has tons of interesting stories she has been at this airpark since the beginning and also knows a woman who flew with the 99s the female outfit from the second world war, her friend is 93 and flew into McCarran field in Phoenix when it was still dirt. That time capsule is kind of hard to imagine.

    The upstairs is almost finished minus a few trim boards and downstairs needs at least 3 days worth of work. And for siding I have to figure at least another 6 days to put up the boards painted but the caulking and finish paint will probably take another two or three so I'm looking at well over a week just for deciding it's turning out to be much more time-consuming than I initially thought. But isn't that always the case and construction?

    That puts it to the first week of February to be done here, especially if I take a few days here and there for fun. They're also is going to be some rain and I have to spend at least one day at Aaron's on his shower project. All of a sudden there isn't a whole lot of time left for La Ventana. I'm making a plan for Puerto Penasco instead which is just a 4 hour drive away.    Read more

  • Uncle WoullyTravelerAZ finish up

    Another learning day

    January 23, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Aaron would come by and be a friendly person in my new world where I know very few people, two exactly.

    It was really nice to get to know him and we get along great and he asked if I could help him with the demolition of a small shower. Being agreeable I said yes. Well it was not really that small.

    Today was the day that I got to do that demolition. It all went along okay but I did realize that I was lifting too much weight for my lower back and I was breathing too much dust despite the mask. Now at the end of the day I'm fairly well covered in concrete dust from the tile underlayment. I can spend my time in a more productive manner, and I really don't need to do this to myself.

    And it's 8:00 p.m. The job started at 9:30 in the morning so that's 9 and 1/2 hours. I billed five and a half hours, because that's how long it took to get the actual job done. But the job wasn't done because in the process of removing a faucet I damaged the insert of the valve and I needed to go buy a replacement to get the shower to stop dripping.

    So I drove down and back up which took an hour and got the part which they have which cost 60 bucks which Aaron was okay to buy, however since this whole issue was my responsibility I ended up taking it on me.

    And then the old part wouldn't come out. The new part wouldn't go in and the whole thing is still leaking and now a plumber has to come out to cap the hot and cold water supplies.

    It's been a long day and the learning lesson for this is the one I learned a couple years ago, how to say no. I had the same experience on the last job, I ended up working for half the money, double the frustration and lost a friend in the process.

    This must be my answer to a request to do some work for someone:
    Sorry but I'm not capable of doing that, I don't have the required insurance and I can't assume the liability. But of course really nothing can go wrong right? And then the stuff like today happens that shouldn't have gone wrong but it did. And then I end up working for half the money that I thought I was working for and spending way more time than I should have. So the answer is no, I cannot do work for clients.

    I learned that lesson a few years back but I wanted to integrate into this new community and be a helpful guy. And yet again, I'm quite capable of messing things up and so the answer is no.

    Maybe this time the lesson will stick.    Read more

  • Uncle WoullyTravelerAZ finish up

    An evening out

    January 31, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The daily grind goes on, every day effort is made although the mind can conceive of more items that could be completed, the fact is that time is flying by fast. Less gets done than my mind imagines could be done. Nevertheless the progress is good.

    Tonight I went to downtown Tucson to see what the local open mic night is like. Great scene with lots of musicians, friendly of course and well set up.

    I ran into a couple from Seattle who are traveling for two months. They were very kind and had me join their table. Great conversation ensued despite the musicians on stage. Most of it centered on music but also some of their background. He has produced two albums that are on the streaming services. His band is Bleu Sturgeon.

    The next morning I was sluggish. The result of two beers. I haven't drunk any in a month so it had some effect. I workef steadily and got a lot of boards on. There is anticipated precipitation, possibly snow.

    I have not made it down to La Ventana even though I might still go for a week. This month and the next are mostly for getting my new home done. I'm trying for a minimalist existence but I can already tell that it is more than the absolute minimum. However Japan is still on for right after a quick trip back to Crested Butte to see Oliver. 6 weeks in Japan will be a great start for a first trip there.    Read more

  • Uncle WoullyTravelerAZ finish up

    An inside job

    February 3, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    Some days are rainy or just plain overcast and they lend themselves very well to getting the inside work done. Yes it's an inside job alright.

    So the kitchen got done, the kitchen table is made but not hung up yet. It's going to be on hinges so I can fold it out of the way.

    Things are moving along and I am also ready to take a break and I'm going to La Ventana, Mexico where I have friends from Crested Butte that I can meet up with and we're going to give wing foiling a try. This should be rather hilarious.

    The reason I picked this week to fly down to Baja is that the forecast is for some pretty low high temps in the 50s , that may not be such a low temp but for Tucson it's not the greatest. I love it when it's in the 70s and sunny. And overnight it's still freezes look at that windshield.

    The place is coming along and I might have another week to go after my vacation to get it 99 percent there.

    Had a rooftop dinner, I love being on top of the shed    Read more

  • Uncle WoullyTravelerAZ finish up

    Kathy's 65th birthday

    Feb 15–16, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    I made it back from Mexico for Kathy's birthday and showed up midday to help Chuck with some organizing. The Sawyer Family had a fantastic dinner for Kathy and everybody was there except for Hannah and Jake.

    Great to see the gang and I slept down at the house then the next day was a big preparation for a huge party at the pool. It was a lot of work and I spent the whole day with Chuck in the car and all over the place getting things ready.

    The party was great and I got to talk to a lot of cool people Joe Herrick and Bobby Larson as well as a few other people especially Jake's dad and Steve, Courtney's dad.    Read more

  • Uncle WoullyTravelerAZ finish up

    Surprise party for Kathy

    February 16, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Chuck and I were running around Tucson all day getting everything ready for Kathy's surprise birthday party. It was quite a bit of work and we just barely made it and got it done.

    The party was a big success with over 60 people in attendance, and there were lots of great conversations with people that I had met before and some new ones like Jake's dad.Read more

  • Uncle WoullyTravelerAZ finish up

    Back to work

    February 18, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    After some clean up and a nice morning with Chuck and Kathy and Bennett's and Courtney I headed out and returned to my gear locker, which is the new term I used to describe my place.

    I'm not totally excited to get back to work after this week of play so I placed the cacti that were cuts from the island at Chuck's in the ground and I do some other cleanup items and a burn a pile of wood which was fun.

    I also laid my 350 ft cord and got water from the well and folded up the wing foil.

    I ran out of daylight and went inside to watch some videos on option trading which I'm trying to really boost for this year. But by 7:30 p.m. I am so tired that I basically fall asleep, a 10 hour night did me good I was due for one.    Read more

  • Uncle WoullyTravelerAZ finish up

    One wall per day

    February 18, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    At least that was the idea, four walls four days leaving me three for polishing up the inside.

    It didn't quite work out that way. Jeremy came by offering me a ride in his airplane, you can't turn that offer down so I got to fly over the airpark and the neighboring hills which was absolutely amazing. I also got to see how the approach for the landing works. It is quite a bit different than usual as you have to have a steep descent to clear the power lines by doing a long forward slip all the way to the runway. If you land long you may not have enough runway and if you try s go around you have to deal with upsloping terrain. The upsloping runway slows you down faster so some hard breaking might be the best option.

    Then Stuart came by and although I didn't stop painting he kept hanging out. I am wondering if he was curiously snooping about what I'm doing here and what kind of place this is. He was very complimentary though.

    So I have a little bit of the one wall left to do, but luckily the second wall will not take a full day and I should be able to catch up just fine.    Read more

  • Uncle WoullyTravelerAZ finish up

    Multi days of siding

    February 24, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Chuck and Kathy are coming and nothing will get a fire under you more than having extended family over for brunch.

    So in these few days the entire rest of the siding got done. Installed, caulked and painted. The two colors look great together. No more white caulk really makes all the difference in the fascia. It looks sharp and clean.

    I wheel barrowed the rest of the pile of dirt from next to the little wash to the front yard and filled in the hole, also contoured for walk ways and placed white rock so I can see at night where to walk without needing a head lamp.

    This is my art, my creation from scratch, my heart is in it and it lifts my soul to see it at this stage of completion.

    I have a few trim items in the loft as well to finish up. I ran all the electrical cables, set up a hutch and arranged my stuff. It is ready for the big day tomorrow. I bought some bubbly to celebrate the new place with. Home made greek yogurt dip, smoked salmon and veggie omelette

    I stand in my doorway, looking out realizing I'm done with my new place and I like it so much. It's just perfect. Yes a bit far from the city but it's quiet and that's worth a lot.    Read more

  • Uncle WoullyTravelerAZ finish up

    A crowning moment, enjoy!

    February 25, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Chuck and Kathy are on their way and I'm still nailing up the front door trim.

    Ron comes over to talk about the POA, the committee, and that they are coming after him for not having a home and him just being in his 5th wheel. I commiserate with him. We're talking about possible solutions.

    Then Chuck and Kathy show up and the fun begins. They are so complimentary and I show them around a bit in the land and explain how things work. They love the loft and we watch some photos that I cast onto the 85 inch.

    The breakfast brunch turns out great. Home made greek yogurt dip, smoked salmon and veggie omelette. We toast with mimosas for the Village South gear locker addition to the family properties. Most importantly we also celebrate Bennett and Courtney coming to Tucson as Courtney accepted the job at Banner hospital and also gets to teach at the university, which she was very keen on.

    The weather smiles on us a well, warm sunny, a gorgeous day.

    I go for a ride and hop the mongo fence to find yahoos on the other side on their four wheelers. They're cool and dealing with the step terrain.

    I ride on and find another state land entry. I thought I was on state land already, but knows where the boundaries are. More to look forward to ride in. Miles and Miles of gravel tracks. I head back, I'm out of time. Almost 3 hours and I'm pooped.

    Great day!    Read more

  • Uncle WoullyTravelerAZ finish up

    A night out in Tucson

    February 27, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Time to pack and I almost left on Monday using a route through Flagstaff and Sedona. But I don't feel it and I change the plan. I'm staying longer, no need to rush back to CB.

    The rains came, very minor on Tuesday, really just a drizzle. Great for all the new cacti I just planted. Nothing like the real thing, you can't out water that.

    Taj Mahal is playing at the Fox. I'm going. This will be a great way to start my life here. Let's see how it feels. 40 minute drive into town, ok we know that. I walk around downtown and there is a fair bit of music here.

    I stop to eat a nice slice of pizza. The downtown is vibrant enough but you can tell it is still trying to recover from a long period of neglect. This downtown has some history. The Fox opened in 1930 and almost became a parking lot after sitting empty for 30 years. A last ditch effort saved this great theatre. It's an asset to this city.

    Taj played and sang well, he's 76, hard for him to walk but he can still play his tunes after 61 years of stage appearances.

    I got a lot of nice conversations in with folks I just met. Friendly place.    Read more

  • Uncle WoullyTravelerAZ finish up

    Time to leave

    February 28, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    I've been packing, making piles, what goes back, what stays. It's tough choices based on probably not coming back until fall. If I take the river guide job, if I just stay in CB. Late May could happen, otherwise October.

    I take the BMW back, heavy to trailer but indispensable in summer if Oliver stays in CB to work so he can use a car.

    I finally get all packed up and the rain that was threatening let loose. Summer like rain from cumulus clouds. The road turns to mud, water in all the dips but lucky all are passable.

    I have to be in Gunnison for the CPR class by 5pm tomorrow. So I can't really lolligag.

    I took some last photos. I'll be back!    Read more

    Trip end
    February 28, 2024
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