The trip took a little over 12 days. I spent nearly all those nights at a motel room. That is to say, after working on the quonset hut at the ranch, I came back to town and stayed overnight and went back out again, day after day. This wasn't the plan, but the van was too cramped to work in, and the overnights were much needed. It looks like `10 ( gasp ) overnights at a motel room. My goodness, what an expenditure of money. I'm going to freak out when I see the bill.
Since I went into town so much ( El Paso three times ), I did a hell of a lot of driving. Much more than I planned for. Another reason to freak out.
The product of all that work and expense is this rather primitive and modest little quonset hut. I am embarrassed to put it up. It could have used a lot more work, but I decided to come home instead.
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| Back of hut looking east |
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| Side of hut, looking south |
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| Front of hut, looking west |
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| Side of hut, looking north |
Here are the posts for the trip. I made links for them in case you'd like to watch them. I didn't do this on the road because of limited internet access and my equipment was inadequate for the job.
- Left Houston, and stayed at a motel in Fabens, just outside of El Paso. Very grueling day, as I recall. I had to make two trips into El Paso for the cattle panels because two wouldn't fit in the van at the same time. If I had bothered to check, the hardware store in Van Horn had some cattle panels, but not exactly the same as I used. Those may have worked just as well, and I would have saved a lot of time and money for the driving I did.
- On the second night, I find myself back in Van Horn because I forgot some plastic spoons that I needed so that I could eat out there. This kind of extra driving was key to understanding what went wrong out there. Mistakes were costly in terms of time and money spent correcting them.
- The third night ( Wednesday ), I spent on my property for the one and only time. For the rest of the trip, I would spend my evenings at a motel room. It cost me a lot more than I planned on, but it is necessary for the success of the trip. Found out that the van was too small to live in. Surprise, surprise, surprise. Note to myself: The battery was fine. The inverter was fine. The solar panel and charge controller were not. Problems start to accumulate. Weather changes caused delays.
- The fourth night was after a rain out. I avoided the wet dirt roads like the plague because the dirt turns into mud, and then you could have a big problem. Key themes here: staying organized and informed. Both were big challenges.
- Starting to feel it. I'm pressing for results and it is starting to take a toll on me physically. Now I have to go into town just to recover from the grueling work outside.
- Some progress being made, but more work is necessary. That's the understatement of the year on this here blog. By the way, another weather delay coming up!
- Good grief, Charlie Brown. There was a cartoon of Charlie Brown trying to fly an kite. That what it felt like out there, with the tarp being flipped around endlessly, so as to get the strings all fouled up and tangled.
The wind is a tricky thing - Probably the low point of my trip. I planned a day of rest only to get bored and worked anyway. Even though I did, I didn't get much done because of the weather.
- Starting to contemplate the downside of the trip in terms of costs.
- Starting to evaluate the value of the trip in terms of its costs. Time to go home.
- Finishing the job.
- Back home, safe and sound. ( I think )
The most important achievement of all is to get back safe and sound. The rest wouldn't have mattered if this didn't happen.
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