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AZ & Flying Diamond

November 2023
It was supposed to be the time to build a shed. It will be a social visit to Chuck and Kathy and a week of playing music with my friends, Ethan, Bob, Sandy from CB at Wocnis' house, pick up tools in Texas and the long drive back to Colorado. Read more
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  • TravelerAZ & Flying Diamond
    Day 11

    Flying Diamond to Sawyers

    November 13, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    I spent a lot of time on the lot looking at the different locations for the shed once I figured out that the hanger was not going to happen until much later.

    The best location for the shed is on top in front, it's high visibility which I feel is a bit of a drawback but it is high better for water better for cell service and better for the views that I like and the solar gain. Maybe I'm talking myself into that location.

    With that in mind I cut some bushes back located the shed exactly where I want it and I went off to get my trailer hitch package installed and then the trailer at Lowe's.

    I meet up with Chuck and Kathy and we have a nice Mexican dinner on their rear patio outside in perfect Tucson weather. We get to catch up after a week of events. It's great to have old friends.    Read more

  • TravelerAZ & Flying Diamond
    Day 12

    Sawyers to Silver City

    November 14, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    I have one week before I need to be back in Crested Butte for Thanksgiving because Oliver is coming into town and I want to be there for that.

    I really want to start on the shed and get things going now that Pima county verbally gave the ok on it being non permitted on vacant land. I'm clear on what I want to do for the design.

    But I have tools at Ethan's and I need to go get them so I drove to Silver City and along the way rode a small piece of the Continental Divide trail. That was a nice steep uphill for about a thousand vertical feet and gave me a good sweat for about an hour. Quite the view from up there, it goes on for hundreds of miles.

    I spent the night in Silver City and will all day tomorrow, riding the trails here.    Read more

  • TravelerAZ & Flying Diamond
    Day 13

    Silver City Trails and the drive

    November 15, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    I woke up from a deep slumber parked in a neighborhood. This always works in the Honda and I'm snug as a bug in a rug, what a great place to sleep.

    I park at Walmart because their lot of under video surveillance, it feels relatively safe for my stuff. I go ride through town and then Boston Hill. It's old mining land pock marked by pits. It has been reclaimed for recreation with many zig zag mountain biking trails. It's really well done with fun sections of swoopy trail. It has been a while since I got a good workout of more than an hour. 3 hours and a good sweat, needed! The fall colors abound and I am happy to get some fall feeling, I missed it completely in CB, while I was in Europe.

    I speak with a guy in a bike shop to get Intel for my next ride. He lived in Crested Butte for 5 years while I was there, but I had never met him. Weird conversation that should have gone to taking about when he lived there and what we might have in common but instead veered to "why he left Colorado and why he likes it in New Mexico". He was looking at the downside of things. I've been there too, but I didn't have the energy nor was it really the place at his work for me to bring him up.

    I buy food at the Walmart and set off to ride a bit more in Fort Bayard. Nice flowy trails, home of the Tommy Knocker 100 endurance bike race. My gears skip and I realize that I have chain stretch and worn teeth on my cassette. After ten years of riding, is time to update the components. I still early and it's ok, I'm actually a bit tired from the morning ride.

    Good time to set off towards Alpine in mid afternoon. Almost to El Paso, I stop to stretch and buy a $1.79 truck burger, it's actually edible. I send a picture of it to Oliver, he has all my burger pictures. I drive again and notice the poor folks going the other way, hopelessly stuck on the I10 freeway due to a major, what looks like, fatal truck accident. Not shortly thereafter I get stuck in a similar situation and I drive across an unauthorized piece of dirt with tire tracks in it to hop across a curb and free myself from eternal waiting. I take a nap in the parking lot of the outlet stores and wait out the wait while sleeping.

    Night fell, I get back on the road, I take the 375 loop to circumvent El Paso. The negative energy from this city is palpable and leaves me stunned, why?

    I'm generally stumped by all of it. I no longer connect in the old way to what they call civilization or luxuries, none of it makes sense anymore. I have a long way to go to learn how to become connected with the Power in challenged energy fields. It's easier in nature. Maybe it's simply not meant to happen in 'civilization' is a clear sign that's not where it's at. How many millions of people are trapped in these city lives!

    I camp in a picnic stop along Texas hway 181, quiet, dark and not even cold. Snug as a bug again. Happy with little.    Read more

  • TravelerAZ & Flying Diamond
    Day 14

    At Ethan's - Alpine, TX

    November 16, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Beautiful sunrise over the mountains north of Fort Davis. I visit the impressive MacDonald observatory from the outside on the way and enjoy the changing colors. On the way up the hill I catch another sighting of a Bobcat. He stood still in the tall grass, and I instantly made out the characteristic ears and the dark spotted coat. I stopped and he knew he was made and took off in a long jump. Never seen one and now twice in a week.

    I meet up with Ethan, lots to talk about, it's show and tell time, how he built his house and all about Alpine. I'm amazed how roomy the house is at 2000sq ft. I also get to realize again that he has a load of things to take care of and how he gets sucked into all the 'house projects'. Which is exactly what I don't want.

    Ethan has some tumbleweeds to burn so we set to the task. Of course we didn't ask for permission from the town so in no time a helicopter flies over and the cops are right on us to extinguish it. Border patrol last night and cops this morning, I probably have a record for unauthorized burning in the town of Alpine Texas.

    I pick up some peppermint from the town park and plant it in the corner of Ethan's back yard. Should be a good spot for it. I also get to see my first ever Pecan tree, my favorite nut.

    Ethan and I played music for an hour and covered some of the great songs in our book. The accoustics are superb in his high ceiling house. Fun to hang here. Alpine is a lot like Gunnison, I can see how he feels comfortable here. We're playing lots of loud music during dinner, TYA one of my faves.    Read more

  • TravelerAZ & Flying Diamond
    Day 15

    At Ethan's

    November 17, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    I'm not sleeping all that well with the lights that come on at night and the upcoming visit with Oliver in CB. Ethan's telling stories of old CB again. He has so many of his fly fishing days and he goes into detail. I listen.

    We have one tiny project to work on, it's a beautiful warm day and we get out for a bike ride which is going very well all the way up a road that goes deep into a canyon. It's a good 2 hours of exercise which I needed. After a shower we head into town for the arts fair which I remembered and I'm glad I'm getting Ethan out of the house he would have just stayed home. We wander around the activities in town. And we return home thinking we'd play some music but Ethan gets tired and he still has his cold. He sits down with his iPad in his chair this must be what he does every evening.    Read more

  • TravelerAZ & Flying Diamond
    Day 16

    Drive back to my airpark

    November 18, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Ethan made pancakes. So we still have Valero burritos and the new coffee shop to discover. It will be next time. I Loaded up the tools and took off again on the freeway. I got home in the dark. I walk around a bit to shake off the drive and decide that the back spot is going to work well. This leaves the front by the runway for a hangar and a house when I'm ready for it. I have no idea what it will look like.Read more

  • TravelerAZ & Flying Diamond
    Day 17

    Cabin - Site excavation

    November 19, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    I had a great night sleep on my lot again. It is incredibly peaceful here the cicadas are chirping away the stars are overhead, Tucson is way in the distance and occasionally he hear a dog bark far in the distance.

    I picked the site which is in the middle of the lot closer to the road which leaves space for a house and hanger to be determined later on.

    I went to harbor freight for a small tool to start picking away at the dirt. After a few hours and closer to sunset I managed to have a fairly flat surface, that I shot with the leveler, and lo and behold I'm within 4 inches from lowest to highest corner.

    That's a great start for my new cabin build.

    On a whim I decide to start driving to CB instead of staying overnight and working some more. I'll have a bit more time in CB and I hope that I can sit down with Jill too figure out the split.i need to get that behind me.    Read more

  • TravelerAZ & Flying Diamond
    Day 18

    Long drive back to CB

    November 20, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 -4 °C

    Ethan thought the best road to take from CB is over Saguache, those are the lowest passes and the least amount of climbing.

    So I decided to drive it in the other direction to scope it out from Tucson to CB.

    Well there are a few really decent hills in the southern end of New Mexico and the road is kind of long straight and boring so I don't think it's ideal and I'd rather drive over Kayenta but that has a big downhill after Flagstaff.

    No matter what, the little Honda will have its work cut out to pull that small trailer with a construction tool load down to Tucson.

    I make it back to Crested Butte, after a few detours of not paying attention where to turn. I must have been pretty out of it and definitely wasn't listening to Google's Betty to give me directions. But I got to see the Rio grande again by Taos, lots of memories in that location of adventure races and the car rally in the Morgan plus 8.    Read more

  • TravelerAZ & Flying Diamond
    Day 21

    Thanksgiving weekend

    November 23, 2023 in the United States

    I'm in Crested Butte over Thanksgiving with Oliver and Jill, many days all in one post.

    Jill is picking up Oliver in Denver and I'm in the garage cleaning up my car sorting through my tools getting everything set up so I can dash out of here ASAP.

    That night I notice big gunk in my lungs. I'm down with something. I wasn't thinking of Ethan's cold and so I thought it was the fumes from all the chemicals to clean the windows.

    On the first day Jill was being the general again pushing everybody around as she likes to do, which is such a pain intrusive as hell and just unpleasant. There is a little derogatory talk as well but less than usual.

    We have a lot of our friends over for Thanksgiving dinner which is thankfully later in the day and it's a wonderful time to reconnect, however, I am totally under the weather and in my own space quietly listening to all the rambunctious talking.

    Jill must be trying to be nicer and what was really working is us playing Yahtzee and watching NCIS during which I usually fall asleep. Oliver was very happy to be home and starts to value having a place to come back to. You have to leave something in order to realize what you left behind. He did a great radio show that I got to listen to. He's one of the best DJs you can imagine. It made me feel really good and a little proud to hear him and it pulled back to the old times. What a pity that Jill is who she is because how beautiful life can be.

    I drive Oliver to Denver and he flies back to college for 3 weeks to wrap up his semester. I drive back and overall it's not a difficult drive.

    I'm trying to finish up the takeoff for my shed that was redrawn yet again but now this is the final version. Unfortunately Lowes has a very poor website and it takes me seven tries, the whole day, no results, and I got really enervated. I am now so incredibly far away from my inner peace. I'm right back in civilization chasing things and trying to get things done that aren't working and this is absolutely a confirmation of just how bad it is in our daily lives. It is really important to cut out time for yourself and your inner peace when you're stuck in the 'city'.

    And of course all this enervation brings back the cold except at this time it's pneumonia and I suffer from the coldest chills, I've never been this cold inside. I take hot baths and I have to hang out here much longer than intended which feels very strange. Amazingly, Jill is not being nasty. I guess I should have talked to her a long time ago to let her know how things feel on my end. We have never done many constructive things together but this time we are working together, it's on the divorce papers. Go figure. But it's a good thing, we're moving forward.

    I engineered a way to have the entire roof of the shed flip up a few feet and if I did that construction then Eric's vision of Wouter's house would come true. For the little use I will get from the shed it's probably more work than worth it, but just for Eric I would do it.

    Tonight I think I might have gotten the sweat that breaks the cold and hopefully in a day or two I'm on the road with a full trailer. Off to the next adventure!    Read more

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