Mister Fix-It

We've spent the first week and a half just trying to carve out a little chunk of habitability here in the desert.  One thing I have learned in my 16 years living in the southwest is that the sun can kill you, and rather quickly too, if you're not smart about it.  The two biggest priorities here are shade and water.  We didn't bring nearly enough of either one. 

We schedule our days around the sun -- and the heat.  Morning comes early around here.  Twilight starts around 4:30am, with our neighbor's various creatures awakening and making noise right away; Cattle, a donkey and a rooster.  Of course there are also the coyotes.  They are an interesting animal, from what I've heard.  I've only actually caught a glimpse of one as it retreated into the brush a hundred yards or so away.  It seems they all awaken to a call from one of their leaders in the evening twilight, and then receive a "go to bed" call in the early dawn hours.  From time to time throughout the night, you can hear a lone call.  One of them has made a kill, and is calling the others to join in the feast.  Responding calls can be heard from various directions and distances, but that distane closes very rapidly.  As they all gather out there somewhere in the darkness, the cacophony is raucous enough to wake the dead.  Good thing I'm so tired lately, it doesn't even wake me up anymore. 

So far we have erected and assembled several things to make things more bearable out here, at least for a while until the house is built:  We have installed a pressure tank and plumbing system so we can pump water from the well and store it under pressure.  We don't want the submersible well pump to run every time someone opens a faucet, that would wear it out quickly.  That proved to be more of a challenge than anticipated.  The PVC  cement we bought said no purple primer is required for a proper fit and seal.  WRONG.  Every single fitting we made that would handle pressurized water has failed, or is leaking, which means it's going to fail.  We cannot hold pressure in the tank for more than a few hours before it leaks out down to 0psi.  Not cool.  One fitting at a time, we redo our work.

We erected a couple of carport structures, purchased at Costco.  They are 10ft x 20 ft, and we set them end to end, so that we have a structure of 10 ft x 40 ft, with a wood floor.  We also purchased a swamp cooler and stuck it inside the tent.  It takes the edge off the afternoon heat.  We've had to adjust, tweak and fix various things on the tents to seal them up a little better.  Too many gaps and the bugs and dust get in, as well as letting the heat escape.  There is about a 4" gap at the bottom of the walls of this structure.  Our dogs, a dachshund, 2 chihuahuas, and an eskimo spitz, think this is the greatest thing ever.  Poblem is, they then track in all sorts of dirt, dust and mud.  We're trying to create a somewhat clean sanctuary from the elements here.  This simply will not do.  So, we've decided to build a 2ft tall kicker, or footer wall along the bottom edge of the tent structure.  We'll water seal the wood with Thompson's Water Seal in anticipation of the summer Monsson Season. 

I've been told that the term "RV"  stands for "ruined vacation".  I'm beginning to understand firsthand why.  The only time you will not have something broken on your camper, trailer, or mobile home is when it's on the sales lot.  We have a little pop-up camping trailer, that is used for sleeping purposes only.  It's too small and cramped to cook or clean or do anything but sleep in it.  Unfortunately, the plumbing leaks, there are holes in the screen.  My brother in law, who is here with an RV trailer of his own, is wrestling with leaks and an awning that it being ripped apart by the wind.  How people think RV-ing is fun is beyond me. 

There are so many things to build and fix around here.  I only have the strength to mention a few here.  We ARE making progress here, though.