Thursday, January 29, 2009

Marbert on the mesa...

OK....so I'm building this fantastic off the grid experiment with incredible organization and artistic designer appeal - helping my friends on the side when they need it....and what happens?!?....Some woman hits on Ronald in the comments section. Oh well...Ronald seems to be a chick magnet so how will I ever be able to compete. I reckon there is something to be said about being the nicest guy in Texas.

Got up this morning at 5AM...seemed like it took forever for the sun to finally rise. Cold and breezy in the pre dawn hours with a low of 24 degrees. Was a bit worried about the exposed piping of my SHWH system and was really pushing the limit with that low a temp overnight. Luckily, nothing burst although the hose connections were frozen solid. Only took about an hour of sunshine on the system to thaw it all out and get the thermosyphon flowing again. Drilled an eighth inch hole in the high side of the tank to relieve the pressure. Now everything flows beautifully. Still need to build the folding insulated door that with cover the glass around the tank at night.

Met up with Chuck ( the second nicest guy in Texas? ) and took a drive north to our friend Marbert's place on Taurus Mesa. He is the guy that offloaded and positioned my shipping containers for me with his crane. The purpose of the trip was to visit of course (Chuck has never been up there) and to check out a travel trailer Marbert had for sale and to see the greenhouse structures he built. The interior of the trailer was just too God-awful 70's ugly to even consider now that I think about it...but the greenhouse structures were incredibly perfect and simple....

Back to the Lab at 2:30 with the usual dilemma of what to do with most of the day already gone. Decided a water run to Terlingua was just the ticket. My 550 gallon tank was down to 225 gallons so it was time to add another 125 gallons ($10.25)to the reserve. Cooked a chunk of london broil in the solar oven while I made the trip. At 5PM the shower water was hot enough but the wind suddenly picked up. Was torn between the thought of a good shower but freezing with the wind or just staying warm and stinky.....I hate being cold and I'm kind of used to being stinky - so just one more day....a shower tomorrow for sure! The sun baked beef was GOOD...

6 comments:

Dan Louche said...

John,

I've been reading your blog for a few weeks now and I'm wondering, What made you choose Terlingua Ranch, Texas?

Dan

Anonymous said...

I'd like to know too. Your mother called and said you'd better take that shower....its getting bad.

Anonymous said...

I look forward to your reports everyday. Have been following your adventure for six months or so. We've been think about buying some land in the area. Big Bend is one of my most favorite places in the U.S. there is just something about the desert.

MsBelinda said...

Chuck is truly a GOOD FRIEND, dont know if I would have ridden with you after a couple of days of not taking a shower.

Could this be why they are hitting on Ronald and not you? Lol, just a thought.

rferrell1 said...

Hello John. I'm a new follower. what is the greenhouse cover material please?

rferrell1 said...

Hello John. I'm a new follower. what is the greenhouse cover material please?