We’ve done a real good job of highlighting all our successes so far, but I did want to reveal a few of the not-so-joyous frustrations we’ve encountered over the past few weeks to give everyone a true picture of what’s been going on around here.
I confess…
Coming into ‘monsoon season‘ here, we wanted to make sure the yurt was trimmed out appropriately with a stylish and functional rain awning. Ben and I examined a few different places to harvest precious rainwater with this tarp and barrel rigging, but we ultimately decided to kill two birds with one stone, as they say, by creating the front door rain cover AND a catchment all in one.
Monday came and went with little fanfare. Ben and I both woke warmly to sun streaming inside the yurt. The teakettle went on quickly to start us up for our first day of telecommuting. Power was plentiful and we hungrily gobbled bandwidth on our wi-fi while still in our nightclothes. It was definitely refreshing to be in touch with old office mates and inquisitive colleagues while enjoying the New Mexican mountain splendor.
The moment we’ve all been waiting for… A REAL place to poop!! It may not look like much, but this custom-built unit provides a comfortable and sanitary perch to take care of daily business without the use of a shovel! 😉
Against our bodies’ protests, we are still pressing forward with our aggressive start-up schedule… Yesterday, we successfully brought the PV system on-line and fired up the Internet in the yurt! HOORAY!! This was a critical element in putting together our master plan, and everything worked like a charm.
We were under the gun on Friday to position and assemble the platform in time for the yurt arrival on Saturday morning. It sounded a lot simpler than it really was.
Armed with pick axe, shovel, rake, and line levels, we go to prep the chosen yurt site and come to discover there is no way we could possibly move the baked-clay soil from the high point of the slope to the lowest with only hand tools.
Yes! We made it!! It’s just incredible- everything just as we remembered, and filling us with an electric energy. So surreal knowing that we are here to stay… Just perched on the side of a mountain with nothing but ourselves to create this whole new world and way of life.
Two thousand miles in 48 hours to reach our high and heavenly grounds!!
Many, many thanks to our dear family and friends for wishing us well and hosting along the way. We have a ton of work to do to unload the truck, so we’ll check back in with pics in a few days.
Peace and love.
There will plenty more where this came from!!
Missed opportunity by not taking pics of the Conestoga wagon passing through American landmarks, but here’s a couple I snapped during my shift in the Saturn through Shreveport and Dallas. If you’ve never driven through Dallas, don’t. The most horrendous roads EVER, and that’s after driving the everlasting bone-jarring concrete in Mississippi!!
Sahalee Off Grid 