West of the Tree Line

It’s September Already

George — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 01:10:00 +0000

Work at El Cerrito was put on the back burner this spring as we moved from the loft to a townhouse. Although the townhouse is only 5 years old, it had been neglected so we had to make numerous repairs. We finished moving near the end of June and have refocused our efforts since then at El Cerrito.
The Sun Room is essentially complete. See the picture story to date on our Picasa WebAlbum “The Sun Room”.
The next phase in constructing the shop is covering the containers and the space between with a roof.Visit the WebAlbum for the picture story of The Shop, or to pick up the story with the roofing phase.
We’ve been staying at El Cerrito for a week or 10 days at a time, using the R-Pod for sleeping, the Sun Room as the kitchen, and finding places with the better view as the breakfast nook & dining room.During our stay in mid-August, a thunderstorm gave us our first experience with heavy rain and our road.Visit the WebAlbum presenting the picture story, The Flood, Aug 2011.

We’ve been busy

George — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:32:35 +0000

Note: This posting was started back in April, but I’ve decided to publish it anyway.

With winter weather now past, we’ve gotten back to work at El Cerrito.

We’ve brought the water well on line: 180 watts of solar power pumping from a well 365 feet deep, delivering water via 700 of buried PVC pipe from the well to our shop area — hurrah.
Pat is cleaning and painting the outside of the shipping containers. They are will look -so- much better.	Cleaning the oxidation and scale with a powered wire brush.	Pat is painting the shipping containers. They will look -so- much better.
We’re nearly complete with construction of a 10′x10′ sun room to shield us from the winds (and someday rain), where we can fix and have lunch. During the cold and the windy seasons, clear polycarbonate panels will be installed all around; with nicer weather the panels will be replaced by screen doors (to keep the critters out but let the breeze flow through). See more pictures in our Picasa Web Album on Google: The Sun Room.	Laying in rebar in the ‘lintel blocks’ which will serve as the foundation . Checking the fit of the corner post in the bracket on the foundation. Bringing rocks collected from up the hill, to be used for facing on the foundation.	Mixing the concrete to fill the lintel blocks for the foundation. Positioning the plate that will be bolted to the side of the container and support the rafters. Checking the fit of the rocks to face the foundation.

We’ve started making improvements to the road and driveway. For the road, using our John Deer and blade we’ve leveled out the most treacherous section. For the driveway, we’re putting down ‘crusher fines’ to fill in the serious bumps.	This is 15 tons of 'crusher fines' from Mountainair. It will be used to smooth out the driveway and provide a base for geotextile and gravel that will form the driving surface.
Pat continues to explore various cooking methods and meals – we -do- eat very well, especially for the “unimproved” conditions.
Plans for the cabin are coming along. With the assistance of a local builder of straw bale houses, detailed designs are being prepared. After much consternation over balancing the view (to the west) with protection from the often strong winds (which come out of the west, we’ve selected the building site.	A view looking from the southwest of our preliminary design for the first cabin.	Image from Google Earth of a view of our place at El Cerrito. It shows the approximate path of the driveway, the layout of our Shop Area, and sites for the first (and someday the second) cabins. Click here to download a .kml file which can be opened with Google Earth.

Winter 2011

George — Wed, 18 May 2011 04:00:08 +0000

Come winter, snow at El Cerrito makes the road impassable. Still wishing to enjoy the open spaces and views, we rented snowshoes and made the 1.3 mile hike from the paved road.

The winter sun is low in the south, casting long shadows as we arrive at our Shop Area.

When it is finished the Sun Room, the wood frame on the south side of the green container, will be a very nice place, sheltering us from winter’s cold and and spring’s winds.

Heading home at the end of a most enjoyable afternoon.

You can see more pictures in the accompanying Google Web Album.

Activating the Well

George — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 22:09:14 +0000

This is another of the overdue updates which present activities during the year.
We had wells drilled 3 years ago, hoping to get 2-3 gallons per minute. When they came in at an estimated 1/2 gallon per minute, we decided to activate one of them by putting in the casing and a solar-powered pump, and planning on using a cistern to store water for normal use.
Raising a 20′ section of 4.5″ Schedule 80 PVC pipe; a total of 360′ were put down the hole; the 1st, 3rd, and 5th were perforated.	Lowering the Grundfos 3 SQF-3 pump.
The Grundfos pump is designed for using solar photo-voltaic panels for power. Here is our setup: 3 Kaneka 60 watt panels delivering 180 volts to the pump.	It is delivering 3 gallons per minute for at least 6 hours per day. For the first few days the water was a bit cloudy with the fine clay silt stirred up when the pump was being installed. After a week of pumping the water was coming out crystal clear.
The well is about 700′ from our home site. A day’s rent of a DitchWitch conquered the quite hard clay to create a trench 2′ deep, below the 16″ freezing level.	Then 700′ of 1″ Schedule 40 PVC pipe was laid from the well to the homesite.
These and more pictures are presented on our Picasa Web Album “The Water System“.

Site Development III – The Shop

George — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:06:24 +0000

This is a 2nd update of work we’ve done in the past few months.

Earlier we cleared the trees and dug holes for the pads for the containers. The next steps were 1) pour the concrete footers and piers, and 2) get a 2nd container delivered and move the 1st container, both to their permanent positions.

Friends from the Straw Bale Workshop, the Renfros, came to visit about the time we were ready to put in the footers and piers. Trent built the forms, cross-checked my work to get each positioned correctly and that they would all be at the same elevation, then together we poured the first ones. Pat & I poured the remainder, then had the containers delivered and put in place.

Assembling the forms. Straps were used to hold halves together; this permitted the form to be released when it was down in the hole.

And putting them in place.

Trent mixing the concrete, Mazie Jane supervising.

Pat mixed the concrete for the remaining 6 piers, then we filled the holes around the concrete and tamped it firmly to increase their stability for when the 5000 lb containers were set upon them.

Then came delivery of the 2nd container and the test of the piers – would they support the 5000 lb steel box?

Yes, the piers supported the containers. And the piers were positioned correctly; both containers set down fully in the center of each pier. A sun room will be added on the right, and a roof will cover the entire “shop area”.

These and more photos are presented at our Picasa Photo Album “The Shop“.

Overdue Update #1

George — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 05:31:47 +0000

We’ve been busy these past few months. This is the first update – more will follow shortly. Many will have accompanying Web Albums – see the links at the bottom of the posts.

For 6 or 7 weeks this summer we served our “internship” in building with straw bales. We assisted the Frosts in Flagstaff who are building a post & beam, infill straw bale house high on the slopes of Mount Humphries (8700 ft elevation), just below Flagstaff’s Snow Bowl ski slopes.

First was the construction of the post and beam structure. Here one of the many large beams in the structure of the house is being hoisted and put in place.

Seventy five percent of the framing has been completed. More large beams are yet to be installed on the 2nd floor (to the right in this picture).

The first bales are being put in place.

And here is a completed wall.

Then came the plastering. Pat & Andrew are mixing water, sifted clay, and straw to be used as a base coat.

Pat is admiring a patch of plaster she has just applied over the straw bales.

This was a wonderful experience, developing our knowledge (and some skill) in building a house, working with straw bales, and plastering. And working in a beautiful place – weather and scenery. And .. working with wonderful friends – thank you Andrew and Celia (and Rowan, Zach, and Sam too).

You can see more pictures and some videos on our Picasa Web Album “Building the Frost’s House“.

Sunset at Flagstaff

George — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 05:43:18 +0000

I’m camping north of Flagstaff, here to help Andrew with his straw bale house and to learn about building such a house. For those who are interested in looking it up, I’m just downhill from the Snowbowl ski resort on Mount Humphreys; you can see the ski runs in the background in this picture.
The site is on the west side of the mountain; the view to the west is awsome. Here’s the view from the berth in the R-Pod when I awaken each morning.
From this vantage point, the sunsets are spectacular.


The pictures above were taken on July 17th. Again on July 20th, the sunset was breathtakingly beautiful.

XX“>

El Cerrito – Site Development II

George — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:54:33 +0000

We spent the better part of the first 2 weeks of July camped out in Manzano Mountains State Park. It’s a great campsite, 5 miles from El Cerrito, and at 7250 feet elevation temperatures were always pleasant. The R-Pod permits us to be self-sufficient, containing an ample supply of water, propane, and electricity (with the help of our solar panels).
We didn’t have electrical hookup for this stay at the campground; we are able to meet our electric needs by recharging the batteries each day with a 40 watt solar pane. We set the panel out in full sun when we’re around the campsite and it replenishes the battery charge that we used the night before.
The Projects – We worked on two projects: digging Holes for pads on which the shipping containers will sit & preparing posts and the site for our first Building project – a small structure using materials we have at hand.
The Holes To provide a solid foundation for the 2 shipping containers to rest upon, a 12″ concrete pad will be put in place for each corner of the containers. Like the foundation for a house, the pad must have a footer below the frost line.
The soil is hard clay and hard to dig. I started with the pick but found an easier way to dig using just a spade.	So now there 8 holes, each 22″ deep and 16″ square, ready for the concrete footers and pads to be poured.
Each hole had to be position accurately. Strings were carefully laid out to establish the center of each pad.	A laser level was used to establish the reference for the top of each pad. In this picture, I’m aiming the level from the ‘master’ pad at a target for a pad across the site.
Then using the laser spot on the other side of the site, I set a peg in place at the same elevation as the ‘master’ pad.
The Building Pat selected a handful of salt cedar trees to be used as poles for a small shelter using materials at hand on El Cerrito.
The first step is to strip off the outer layer of bark, leaving a smooth, light brown surface.	Working carefully with a pull knife and a pocket knife, only the upper layers of bark are removed.

After a day working in the open, under the sun, we set up the canopy Valerie & Curtis had the foresight to know we would need. The three posts leaning against the shipping container have been completed.
Pat selected a site for the building – a grove of salt cedar, pinon, and other trees.
We cleared the center of the grove ..	.. thus making space for our “Welcome House”.
And this will be the view looking northwest

El Cerrito – Site Development I

George — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:04:39 +0000

We’re feeling very good, having made our first “improvements” on our land which I will call El Cerrito.	Click on the thumbnails below for an enlarged picture to see more detail.
The Driveway
The first step was to establish the path for the eventual driveway from the entrance gate to our ‘home site’. The red flags wander off through the salt cedar trees, up the hill to the building site.	Flags marking the center of the driveway.
The Roadway
Our second project was to fill in a ‘washout’ in the road from the highway to our gate; a hole 5 feet deep extended half way across the road. Three dump truck loads of rock were deposited in the hole our our roadway,
Then Pat & I rearranged the rocks to make a flat surface for driving.
Now we will wait for the next significant rain storm to see how well it holds up.	The rocks redistributed; now we can drive down the middle of the roadway.
Shipping Containers I
Our third project started out to be setup of two 2o’ shipping containers, 16′ apart with roof over them. Step one was to remove a large clump of salt cedar trees, thus producing a clearing for the containers and working space. We were left with quite a pile of trunks, limbs, and branches that we cut and moved to piles out of the way of the clearing.	Cutting down the salt cedar. And stacking the limbs. The area cleared of salt cedar trees (stumps remaining).
Then we hired “Speedy” Gonzales (yes, that is the name he goes by) with his tractor (with back hoe and front end loader) to remove the stumps and to grade the ground to level. When he finished, we had a pile of stumps and a 70′ square area of dry, fine clay “powder”.	Speedy at work. The area cleared and leveled.
Shipping Containers II
Because we plan to put a roof over the containers and the 16′ or so space between them, we decided a firm footing would be necessary to resist movement between them. Since the footings will take some time to dig and pour the concrete, we decided to get one of the containers, putting it in a temporary location. So .. a half dozen railroad ties to get the container off the ground a bit, and voila – our first “enclosed space”. Now we have secure storage space for materials, tools, generator, and other stuff we will need on site.	Container delivery. Ready for use.

Uniquely Southwest Grocery

George — Tue, 11 May 2010 04:11:57 +0000

We’ve been in New Mexico 4 months now and the time has been filled with exploring and discovering many of the things Albuquerque and New Mexico have to offer. Here’s one of them.

Pros Ranch Market

Albuquerque has many of the grocery stores familiar to us and which we favor: Trader Joe’s, Sunflower Market, Whole Foods, and the commissary. And there are some choice stores unique to Albuquerque, such as Kellers Farm Stores which offers excellent meats including a large selection of sausages among them ‘green chilli turkey’ and many “exotics” such as bison, elk, venison, pheasant, and more.

But my favorite is Pros Ranch Market, a supermarket gone Hispanic. It is a very festive place and always busy. All labels are in both languages – Spanish and English, and it helps if one speaks some Spanish. They have produce that one won’t find at Safeway such as nopales (from prickly pear cactus pads), jicama, posole, menudo, and many other uniquely Mexican foods. And ‘la cocina’ serves good eats, with a Mexican flair of course.

The Trip West (Where is the Tree Line?)

George — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 03:53:21 +0000

We are getting into a routine now and I can give some time to the blog. In the next couple of posts I will be ‘catching up’ with narrative and pictures. We drove twice across the country, from Virginia to New Mexico. On our first trip, from Dec 25-30, we drove our two pickup trucks, hauling mostly things that would go in storage. On our second trip, from Jan 17-24, we drove our Odyssey and a 26 foot Penske rental truck loaded with all our household belonging. Here is a map of our route.

Along the way, I snapped pictures of Welcome signs as we drove into each of the states on the route.In order of our itinerary, here they are:

North Carolina – On our 1st trip, we drove in the rain out of Virginia into North Carolina.

South Carolina – We enjoyed good weather on both trips when we headed west from North Carolina.

Georgia - Good weather continued. On the 2nd trip we stayed overnight in lodging at Fort McPherson, an Army post in the southern suburbs of Atlanta. The post was clearly left over from the Civil War – big trees, old buildings, and winding roads. We stayed in VIP lodging, where the rooms were named after Civil War generals.

Alabama - The highways across Alabama were great – this was clearly a good choice to avoid the mountainous terrain and heavier traffic found on I-40, plus avoiding the detour resulting from the rock slide in western North Carolina.

Mississippi -The road that cuts across northeast Mississippi isn’t an Interstate, but it should be – it is as good as any other Interstate highway.

Tennessee - We passed through only the southwest corner of Tennessee, but it gave us the chance to eat at Westy’s restaurant in downtown Memphis. Pat & Sarah discovered esty’s on their trip a year ago and we stopped there on both of our trips to enjoy their fried catfish. It was a challenge on the 2nd trip to navigate the 26 foot Penske truck around the city streets of Memphis near the waterfront of the Mississippi River.

Arkansas – One crosses over the Mississippi River going from Tennessee to Arkansas. We stayed in lodging at Little Rock AFB on both trips.

Oklahoma - We’re getting close to the Tree Line. We stayed in lodging at Altus AFB on both trips.

Texas - Now we’re in the Open Spaces, clearly we are now west of the Tree Line.

New Mexico – This is I-40, our route on the 1st trip. We drove the last 4 hours in a snowstorm(from Tucumcari and through Tijeras Canyon into Albuquerque). After that experience, on our 2nd trip and learning another winter storm was to hit Albuquerque on the day we would arrive, we detoured to Clovis, NM. We stayed in lodging at Canon AFB, and visited with my aunt and uncle who live there.

Sandia Mountains – We’re almost there, some 20 miles east of the Sandia Mountains.

Albuquerque - There it is, the first view of Albuquerque from Tijeras Canyon.

Albuquerque, Central Avenue (once was historic Route 66) – There isn’t much more to be said about the Trip(s) West.

North Carolina – On our 1st trip, we drove in the rain from Newport News to Rolesville, NC.

What is “West of the Tree Line”?

George — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:39:15 +0000

Some may ask, what does “west of the tree line” mean? The pictures below, taken on one of our trips, show “tree walls” in North Carolina, trees “in the yard or along a creek” west of Oklahoma City, and then – the open plains of western Oklahoma (or Kansas, or Texas).

North Carolina

Oklahoma

Texas Panhandle

Our First Trip West

George — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:21:12 +0000

Our drive from Newport News to Albuquerque was accomplished without any difficulties: Raleigh NC on Dec 25th (visited with Pat’s parents and brother’s family), Anniston AL, Little Rock AFB AR, Altus AFB OK, arriving in Albuquerque Dec 30. We encountered light snow for the last few miles into Altus and some heavier snow for the last 60 miles into Albuquerque. Otherwise, it was a pleasant trip.

We spent 3 nights in guest lodging at Kirtland AFB while we got our ‘feet on the ground’. We then set up ‘camp’ in the loft, having brought enough stuff in the two pickups for sleeping and simple meals. The days do seem to go by quickly; with no fixed schedule, we think every day is Saturday.

We’ve been out and about – checking up on eateries we’ve enjoyed in the past and a few new ones, arranging for storage space, getting entry codes for the loft, etc. People we met at breakfast at the Flying Star invited us to their house for New Years eve – their hospitality gave us a super warm welcome to New Mexico.

We went to Manzano yesterday. The dirt road wasn’t passable because of the snow and the very slippery spots it leaves on the ungraveled clay, so we walked the 1.5 miles from the highway to El Cerrito (our land). The 3 mile walk itself was welcome, but the best part was enjoying New Mexico Blue (the sky), the views of the Manzano mountains to the west and the plains north and east, and wandering about on a few of the 130 acres getting the ‘feel’ of the place. Each visit gives us a better sense for where to place our future ‘homestead’.

Hello world!

George — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 02:10:47 +0000

Here we go! Through this BLOG, we will share our experiences in an adventure – living in New Mexico.

To begin with, we will be learning how to BLOG, how to use WordPress and this Theme and how to tell a story. With that said, let’s begin.

West of the Tree Line

It’s September Already

We’ve been busy

Winter 2011

Activating the Well

Site Development III – The Shop

Overdue Update #1

Sunset at Flagstaff

El Cerrito – Site Development II

El Cerrito – Site Development I

The Driveway

The first step was to establish the path for the eventual driveway from the entrance gate to our ‘home site’. The red flags wander off through the salt cedar trees, up the hill to the building site.

The Roadway

Our second project was to fill in a ‘washout’ in the road from the highway to our gate; a hole 5 feet deep extended half way across the road. Three dump truck loads of rock were deposited in the hole our our roadway,

Then Pat & I rearranged the rocks to make a flat surface for driving.

Now we will wait for the next significant rain storm to see how well it holds up.

Shipping Containers I

Our third project started out to be setup of two 2o’ shipping containers, 16′ apart with roof over them. Step one was to remove a large clump of salt cedar trees, thus producing a clearing for the containers and working space.

Shipping Containers II

So .. a half dozen railroad ties to get the container off the ground a bit, and voila – our first “enclosed space”. Now we have secure storage space for materials, tools, generator, and other stuff we will need on site.

Uniquely Southwest Grocery

Pros Ranch Market

The Trip West (Where is the Tree Line?)

What is “West of the Tree Line”?

Our First Trip West

Hello world!