Back to the Wilderness.....

 8:10 am - Tuesday - February 3rd - TWW - 30° F, humidity 24%, cloud cover 0%, wind 5 mph out of the east.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 65° F.  The view this morning.....

....and on this date in 2013 TLE and I were watching our 38th and final sunset....

....at Cedar Key, FL......time to move on to more adventures!  Over the next few weeks we headed out to the Florida Keys, and ultimately, Key West, then up the east coast to Washington D.C.

We slept in until after 7 am Monday morning, but within two hours we were in the VW Beetle heading back north to TWW.  The traffic was light on I-17 as we drove north to pickup Arizona route 69, which would take us to 89A, and ultimately Able Saw (Stihl dealer in Prescott) where I wanted to drop off our 16" Stihl chainsaw to have a new pull rope installed as the original one snapped the other day when we were cutting up the pinyon pine.  Since we were going there anyway I brought three chains to be sharpened.  From there we headed over to Fry's (Kroger) to do a BIG shopping, which took about an hour.  By the time we were back in the Beetle it was after 11:30 am, meaning we would be arriving at TWW around 1:30 pm.....in fact we arrived around 1:20 pm without incident.

Everything was as we left it, and our Bluetti battery bank, without the aid of the Predator 5000, was back to 86%.  Within 90 minutes it was back 100%.  The house batteries had been at 100% for a few hours.  This caused me to rethink our use of the Predator every morning for 1-2 hours (depends on cloud cover).  After thinking about that for a while I told TLE we would be running an experiment Tuesday by not running the Predator 5000 at all, so we could see how long it took the Bluetti batteries to recharge.  The only thing different between being gone for two days and being home is the early morning usage of the electric hot water kettle for our coffee, and running my laptop and external hard drives for an hour, or so.  It may take longer each day to get the Bluetti battery bank back to 100% without the Predator, but if we can then that would reduce our usage of propane significantly, which is our only major expense outside of groceries (propane costs us about $225/month in the winter).  Added to that is the sun is getting higher in the sky with each passing day, and the EcoWorthy dual axis solar tracker is tilting earlier and earlier, and stowing later and later each day, so we are getting more charging time each clear day.  Naturally, when there is significant cloud cover we get less maximum charging time.  I will report back to you tomorrow with the results.  Right now as I write the Bluetti battery bank is at 52%, and the solar tracker tilted about 30 minutes ago (8:03 am).

Charles and Phyllis will be arriving for a three day stay Tuesday, midday, and we will begin installing the rain gutters on the house to capture rain fall into 3 new IBC water totes, thus doubling our water catchment ability.  We will also, in the near future, begin refurbishing the chicken coop which came with the property, plus resealing the barn roof, which leaks when it rains, or snows, and finally moving the eight 400 watt solar panels which are now on the ground up to the barn roof. Additionally we will be moving, in the very near future, Phyllis' Newell to its new site next to ours.  However, the first thing I need to do is reinstall the fuel shutoff valve, and fuel line on the tractor so we can get it moved out of the driveway before Charles and Phyllis arrive around noon time.

Thanks for stopping by!

The wedding day.....

 7:48 am - Monday - February 2nd - Phoenix, AZ - 52° F, humidity 23%, cloud cover 47%, wind 3 mph out of the east.....partly cloudy skies today with a forecast high of 80° F.  On this date in 2025 TLE and I were enjoying a beautiful sunset.....

at The Wilson Wilderness.

At last, the day of the wedding!  Charles and Phyllis' oldest daughter, Christina, was up in Sedona taking a class to be able to perform weddings, while TLE and Phyllis put the finishing touches on desserts and the meal to follow the wedding.  The plan was that after Christina completed her training she would join us via ZOOM.  TLE and I took a walk mid morning of about 1 mile, something we haven't done for a while.  

By 4 pm Christina had joined via ZOOM, along with a dozen, or so family and friends who could not be in Phoenix.  The rest of us gathered in the living room for the ceremony.....

Christina

The bride and groom (center) flanked by Richard, son, and Heather (youngest daughter)

After the wedding...Charles, Phyllis and Becky (Charles' younger sister)

.....this is the second 'ZOOM' wedding we've attended in recent weeks, and I've lost track of all the weddings we've attended over the years, but this one was like out of a fairy tale.  You have a couple that had been divorced for 40 years, and somehow found their way back to each other four or five years ago, falling in love for the second time.  Christina read from 1st Corinthians 13 about what love is, and how without it you are nothing.  I don't think there was a dry eye in the audience.

The post wedding dinner was held on their patio, and was delicious.  After dinner the wedding the amazing carrot cake was cut, and champagne was poured followed by many words of congratulation.  By 5:30 pm it was down to Charles, Phyllis, TLE and I, so we headed out to the fire pit for a celebratory sunset fire.....

....it was a day 45 years in the making, and well worth the wait.  Congratulations to Charles and Phyllis!

Thanks for stopping by!

The second time around.....

 8:23 am - Sunday - February 1st - Phoenix, AZ - 53° F, humidity 19%, cloud cover 0%, wind 2 mph out of the northeast....clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 83° F.  On this date in 2024 TLE and I were putting the final touches on our permanent RV site at TWW.....

.....one of our first winter milestones....you can still see snow on the ground from a recent snowstorm.

Saturday was another clear, blue skies kind of day at TWW with a forecast high of 64° F, but we would not see that high as we would be on the road driving south to Phoenix for Charles and Phyllis' wedding a little after 9 am.  The last time we drove the main north/south arterial the road was till pretty smooth (comparatively), but after another two weeks have passed it is quite rough again.  In spite of that we were still able to reach US-66 in 20 minutes.  About 2 hours into our drive we took a break in Prescott, then continued on to Phoenix where we arrived, without incident, just before 1 pm.

Around 4:40 pm we got in their car (the Ford Expedition we used last winter) to head over to Bobby-Q's  BBQ & Steakhouse for dinner (a local BBQ/steakhouse place), which is enormous.  We ordered their 'Full Hog' platter with enough BBQ to feed more than four people.......the menu says 3-4 people, but we still brought some home.

The 'Rehearsal' dinner

.....for our appetizer we ordered a plate of their Texas Twinkies (four bacon wrapped, cream cheese and brisket stuffed jalapenos), which were out of this world.  The main course included sides of potato salad, string fries and mac & cheese.  I ordered a 21 ounce Grand Canyon Amber Ale....a perfect paring for the BBQ!  We managed to snag a table in their alfresco dining area.  This place is enormous, and has a parking lot commensurate with its size.  TLE and I would give them a solid 4 out of 5 stars.....Yelp gives them 4.5 stars on 5,309 reviews.  We were home by 6:30 pm with full tummies, and a need for a nap....lol.  Beer is like a sedative for me in my 77th time around the sun.

Thanks for stopping by!

99% finished.....

 7:52 am - Saturday - January 31st - TWW - 28° F, humidity 31%, cloud cover 2%, wind 5 mph out of the east....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 64° F.  The view this morning.....

....and on this date in 2013 TLE and I were watching our 35th Cedar Key sunset.....

.....this time from Dock Street.

Our goal Friday was to finish attaching those old fiberglass, corrugated roof panels to the north and west sides of the greenhouse.  The south and east sides have two layers of welded wire fencing making it difficult, if not impossible for rabbits to squeeze through, so we have focused on the north and west sides where we only a single layer of welded wire fencing.  We began around 11 am, and finished around 1:30 pm.....well, 99% finished.....

.....what is left may take another 15 minutes to finish, but we were tired of getting on our knees then standing up to move to the next section over and over.  The only thing we have growing in the outdoor growing beds are onions, and the rabbits have no interest in them, so we'll finish what is left to be done when we return from Phoenix on Monday.  Why are we going to Phoenix?  Well, Sunday Charles and Phyllis are going to retie the nuptial knot, and we want to be there for that.  I will be posting while we're gone, so you'll be right there for all of the action.

We're in the middle of a very nice weather stretch right now, and we're almost to the point where we may get out the anti gravity chairs and sit on the 'lido deck' in the near future, and resume our sunset fires on the 'viewing deck'.  Today, Saturday the high will be 64° F, and Sunday 66° F....that's a major heatwave for us, and we're going to enjoy it.  In Phoenix the temps will be in the low to mid 80's while we're there.  We'll be leaving shortly to make the 3 hour drive south.

Thanks for stopping by!

The land provides.....

 7:54 am - Friday - January 30th - TWW - 26° F, humidity 27%, cloud cover 1%, wind 7 mph out of the east by northeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 58° F.  The view this morning.....

.....the EcoWorthy dual axis solar panels tilted today at 8:05 am....the earliest in a long, long time.  And on this date in 2019 TLE and I were visiting Meteor Crater located between Flagstaff and Winslow, AZ just off I-40....

.....we were staying at the Winslow, AZ Elks Lodge for a few days.

Our first task of Thursday morning was to get the Ford 420 diesel tractor restarted, so we could move it to the CONEX area where I was planning to take apart the entire fuel system to find out why fuel is not moving through the system as it should.  The other day when we were finishing the RV site for Phyllis' Newell it stopped running again right in the middle of the entry road.  As we worked on trying to get it started it became clear that no fuel was leaving the fuel filter assembly.  Since we couldn't get it started (fuel starvation) we decided to start taking apart the fuel lines from the fuel tank to the fuel filter.  I had to cut the fuel line coming out of the fuel turnoff valve as I could not get it removed from the valve.  Before we could remove the valve we had to empty the tank, so TLE brought out two 5 gallon diesel cans, and using our fuel syphon removed about 7 gallons.  Once that was done we removed the valve and discovered the problem....the valve was clogged with debris from the tank.  I used a flashlight to inspect the tank interior, and it looks pretty clean on the bottom, but I found some sort of pneumatic air compressor fitting laying on the bottom of the tank.....    

.....how on earth did that get in there?  I was able to remove it, and then headed back the trailer with the fuel line and valve.  Since I had to cut off the end of the fuel line that entered the valve I'll need a new compression fitting to make it whole again....I could not save the old one.....

What the other end is supposed to look llike

The compression fitting I had to remove to 

unscrew the valve from the fuel tank

.....I ordered a box of various sizes of brass compression fittings off Amazon, so the tractor will be sitting out on the entry road for a few more days.  Below is the fuel shutoff valve....

....this is where I found the debris which was clogging the valve.  Before I reinstall the valve I will flush out the tank to be sure there is no more debris hiding in a corner that will reclog the valve.

Next TLE and I raked up all the debris left over from the fallen pinyon pine, and restacked the rock pile.....

....last winter when we removed the old fiberglass corrugated roofing from the greenhouse we saved the best pieces in anticipation of installing them around the foot of the fence which surrounds the greenhouse growing area to keep out animals, mainly rabbits, which are able to squeeze through the welded fencing.  Once again, the land provides.  Thursday we finally began to install them....

....we managed to install just two panels, but we now have a plan on how to affix them to the welded fencing.  We used a hoe to dig out the dirt along the fence so we can bury part of  the panels a few inches below the surface.  We'll work on installing the rest of the panels Friday morning.

We began our work day around 11 am, and the time just flew by Thursday.  Before we knew it the tiny hand was on the 3, and it was time to call it a day.  I think that's the longest work day for us since back in November when it was still warm.

Thanks for stopping by!

Out of the wilderness.....

8:04 am - Thursday - January 29th - TWW - 26° F, humidity 27%, cloud cover 0%, wind 8 mph out of the east by northeast....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 55° F.  The view this morning.....

  .....and on this date in 2013 TLE and I were enjoying our 31st sunset at the Tiki Bar....

The world famous Tiki Bar at Low Key Hideaway in Cedar Key, FL

.....and for once a view of the Tiki Bar taken just after sunset.

We haven't been away from TWW since we returned from Prescott on January 16th.  We were pretty sure there was no mail in our PO Box, but TLE needed a few grocery items so we headed into town in the Explorer around 10:30 am, arriving without incident in Seligman around 11 am.  Our first stop was at the Route 66 General Store to fill up three of our 5 gallon propane tanks, plus two 5 gallon gas cans, plus I needed some screws for a small project, and a couple bottles of Stabil (fuel conditioner).  We needed some ether starting spray, but they only had half bottles at the General Store so we headed across the street to check out the automotive section at the Chevron where we found the full size ones.

Next we headed to the Seligman Market to buy some of their amazing sour dough bread, then back to have lunch at Highway Hot Dog, where we've been several times before.  I had their Sonoran Hot Dog and TLE their daily special called 'The Phoenix' (turkey sandwich with all the trimmings).....

The Phoenix with wedge fries

The Sonoran with wedge fries (they also offer onion rings)

....I was hoping to have a beer with my hot dog, but they just got their liquor license and are not yet serving alcohol.....maybe next time.  I settled for a Dr. Pepper (my favorite soft drink).   Our last stop in town was Family Dollar where TLE went in to do her shopping, while I walked next door to check for mail, and as we suspected, there was none.

By the time we finished shopping, and headed for home it was 1:30 pm.  Our return trip took 30 minutes. As soon as I turned off the Explorer we exited the car to total silence.  We love that about TWW.  It is so quiet here.  What's the old idiom...."the silence is deafening"?  It is so quiet it is immediately noticeable.

By the time we finished putting things away it was almost  3 pm, and what little warmth had been in the air was quickly dissipating, so we called it a day, and settled in to read the rest of the afternoon away.  In the evening we began watching the final 4 episodes of Landman to finish out Season 2.  As we understand Season 3 is in the works, so it will be a while before it is released.  To say the least, we are hooked!  What a well written series.  Sam Elliott just steals the second season (he plays the father to Billy Bob Thornton's character 'Tommy Norris').  What a great actor.  If you have seen Season 2 you know exactly what I'm saying.

Thanks for stopping by!

The last of the pinyon pine.....

 7:47 am - Wednesday - January 28th - TWW - 30° F, humidity 22%, cloud cover 57%, wind 5 mph out of the east by southeast.....mostly cloudy today with a forecast high of 56° F.  The view this morning....

....and on this date in 2016 TLE and I were at Prison Hill Brewing.....

Deep fried avocados...OMG!

.....in Yuma, AZ.  The next day I had a dental appointment in Los Algodones for a root canal, and a dental post installation....kind of like 'The Last Supper' for me....lol!

When we first arrived at TWW back in late October one of the first things we did was to trim back the fallen pinyon pine tree away from the driveway, and water tower....here is what it looked like then just after we had cut it back just enough to get it out of the driveway....

Then (October 2025)

....when I asked TLE what she thought we should do Tuesday she suggested finishing the job of cutting up, and removing what was left of the dead pinyon pine, so that's what we did when we headed outside around 11:30 am.....

About half way done

Done!

Now (January 2026)

....as you will recall, pinyon pines used to dominate the landscape, but over the last 100 years the incursion of the juniper, which suck up a lot of water, has gradually killed all the pinyon pines on TWW.  There are places in this area where they still flourish, but as time progresses their population will continue to yield to the juniper. Over the course of two hours, using the 20" bar Stihl chainsaw, we cut up the dead tree, and hauled it away.  Frankly, I thought it would take much longer, and if it had been just me doing everything it would easily have taken 4-5 hours, but with TLE's help things go so much faster.  We really work well together cutting wood.

We also trimmed some branches back on the juniper tree which borders the new site for Phyllis' Newell so when we do move the Newell the branches will not be close to it.  The site is 10' x 40', and the Newell is 8' x 38' so the pad is the perfect size....

.....plus some branches from one of the junipers in the middle of the circular driveway....

.....which were hanging over said driveway.  We finished it all close to 2 pm, and called it a workday.

Our overnight low Tuesday evening was just 27° F, and while still quite cold, a far cry from 17° F.  Daytime temps will continue to warm into the 60's as the week progresses.  So far, at least to us, this winter seems a little milder than last winter as far as snow goes.  As far as rain goes, we've had a lot more than last winter, however, right now the roads are quite dry, which is a good thing.

Thanks for stopping by!