The Most Excitement

Unfortunately, with us working everyday (well, I should stipulate mainly Marc) there hasn’t been much doing other than job-related stuff and normal household items like cleaning, laundry and cooking. I go shopping about once a week and that’s the extent of my travels. Sometimes, I sweep for hours on end; other times I just schlep trash and cardboard from the units and common rooms. It’s mind-numbingly boring but at least it gets me out of the trailer for a few hours at a time. 

Marc continues to juggle way too many tasks and personnel and is under heart-breaking amounts of stress and responsibility. Living on site, he never gets a break—he lives with it 24/7. It’s a tough way to make a living—it’s a good thing he’s a tough guy; most I know wouldn’t stand a chance of filling his shoes without breaking. 

Our excitement the other day was in the moving of the huge facility generator, which serves as the power source should the electric grid go down. It’s about 450 kw so should serve its purpose in the event it is needed. Power does occasionally go out in Yuma due to high winds at times. It was pretty interesting seeing the big crane pick it up, swing it upon a flabed trailer for the short trip across the parking area to its permanent home, and then with the electricians threading it down onto its power lines.

Yuma has finally cooled off and it has felt wonderful. Have I said I hate the heat now? My comfort zone is 60’s and 70’s; working in the 80’s & 90’s is just a killer for me now in older age. Marc alas, now has become acclimated to the desert and lately has been, like the other locals, sporting a jacket in the a.m. to be comfortable! 

I continue to field lots of inquiries and looky-loo interest in our lot but no serious takers yet. The bulk of the snowbirds arrive after Christmas and we’re really hoping for more interest. We have no Christmas plans; it will be just another day here on the job but here’s hoping yours is merry and you get to spend it with someone you love!

Working Hard to Make a Living

That’s what I look like after a hard day of slogging through dust and Yuma grit picking up trash or after the end of a long shift of sweeping sheetrock dust and dirt out of the building.

Marc and I have been going like mad dogs since arriving back in Yuma to get the facility ready for its “Sneak Peek”, occurring today. He’s making great progress but several major problems still exist needing to be solved.

I’ll continue to work part time the entire time I am here, especially as we move into the finalizing of the building and all that will need correcting from the sub-contractors, called the punch. I will oversee that—noting the flaws, communicating it to the appropriate sub, and then monitoring to make sure it gets corrected. Half of the building is now at paint stage while the other half is still in frame stage. It’s a huge building; a labyrinth running in all directions. I constantly get turned around when I step into and then back out of a unit. At any given time, there are about 50 guys working in all trades which Marc continually supervises and oversees. He doesn’t get much rest.

Our trip out from WI was uneventful excepting we were both sick. Marc caught a cold on his flight which I was able to fight off for a week before succumbing to it as well. It still hasn’t left me either. We left early on a Tuesday morning, crossing the Mississippi River into MN and then into IA before calling it a day near Des Moines. We had high winds the first three days and some low temps but didn’t quite lose our water as they dipped to 25 degrees at 7000 ft. elevation in northern New Mexico at the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge, one of our freebie camps we had all to ourselves. We spotted Autumn all along the way. Having Marc along made the travel much easier and pleasant and even the cats were as good as they could be given they hate traveling. I must say however; my heart just no longer resides along America’s highways—at least not ones I’ve traversed so many times. It’s become just one big bore to me and something I wish I didn’t have to do. As BB King sings…The thrill is gone. It’s gone away for good.

Early Fall Wisconsin 2017

I tried getting out for some photos nearby but think I caught fall a little too early as the colors seem to be peaking now. However, I am on a trajectory of loading things up for our imminent departure, so no time now. Marc will arrive Thursday night and we hope to be wrapped up to travel by Sunday or Monday. 

I headed for Wautoma where the Stoneridge Smokehouse is inside the Piggly Wiggly grocery store and loaded up on their great summer sausage and pit smoked bacon and probably ten pounds of cheese. In addition, I am on a new kick of some Wisconsin brewed dark beers. As Marc commented when I noted I may be running out of fridge space in the RV—we can get regular groceries anywhere but can only get the good WI stuff in Wisconsin, so bring all of it you can!

People around here celebrate fall and Halloween in a big and decorative way and driving through the small village of Wild Rose it seems the town businesses are having a scarecrow contest, which was fun.

Marc is more than ready for the break and is anxious for our time together driving west. He works all the time (including weekends) since he lives at the job site and hasn’t had a day off since leaving here at the beginning of September. Yuma has still been quite warm as well. 

We’re enjoying an Indian Summer of sorts so we won’t have to worry about cold storms or not having water as we travel out of here, like last year. I also just found out some good friends of ours from here are due to be volunteering at the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge (near to Yuma) so we’ll be able to spend some time with them this winter. Boondocking is available across from the visitor center on BLM. Having the small rig to take weekend trips will be handy. 

Enjoy your Fall wherever it finds you!