Hike to the Mine

This abandoned mine is visible for miles around. Of course, I had to go see it for myself. If you wish to see the film I made, please visit my youtube channel:
www.youtube.com/user/brawny03

Upon bushwhacking past various motor homes and campsites, I found a jeep road and climbed through the dust and sand. The water bottles came in handy. Even though its November, its hot in them thar hills!

A close up shows plenty of graffiti on the various rusting installments. Once on the hill, you can see how close Quartzsite really is.

On a nearby hill was a flag waving. I climbed that hill as well and saw one could be at the Pilot Truck Stop within half an hour.

So far, no snakes. The town is getting busier by the day. Cops are quite visible. Last night, blue lights shown bright beneath a full moon. Caught somebody, doing something.

They tell me to keep everything locked and chained with serious heavy duty stuff. None of these whimpy locker padlocks. Especially, if you have a Honda Generator, by god. Reportedly, 30 were stolen by a bold pair of guys. The treasures weigh but 47 pounds. Even I could walk off with one of them.
And, they're like gold. Everyone wants one.

So, I'm told, if someone is selling one, and has no papers or owner's manuals, beware. It might just belong to my neighbor!

Grid Down, Internet Anyways

Way back in these boonies a person is pretty cut off when the power goes out and you don't have a generator. Yet.

Used to be when the power was out, so was our Internet. Now we have wifi backed up with a battery which should last us as long as these batteries on our laptops do. The Wifi comes over the phone cabels (underground) and is the result of the router opperation.

 A propane, auto switch generator is in the works. We both hate pull cords. I never had much luck with a pull cord. Seems like I'd be pulling while it wanted to be recoiling. My worst fights with pull cords involved lawn mowers way up north when the family yard was so large we devided it into 6 sections, and each kid plus mom mowed a section. Taking turns. Sometimes a kid with money would hire an energetic sibling to mow their section. Lessons in capitalism.

If it got rainy, and the grass too long, too wet, too obstinate, the mowers would choke off. As soon as the mow-ee heard this choking and sputtering, they'd lift the front of the rig off the ground, allowing nasty green grass sludge to eject and the motor would revive.

I Know!
Get a Rider! Well, a rider is like $1,000 bucks, and the kids loved using it, racing around the ditch, nearly tipping the thing over side ways, spilling a second rider off the back until, for safety and gods sake we went back to the push.

So, pull cords be dammed, I want a switch, like on the wall for lights. Or like an ignition with a key, like a car. I know they are out there, and my guy is working on details even now.

We've got an excellent rain water collection system in place. Currently 30 gallons have been caught. I'd have way more if I had more buckets. List for Walmart: pick up some of those 5 gallon buckets now on sale for $2.57. I like a five gallon bucket cause most of the water is used in the garden, and I can just carry one over as needed.

Soon as I get some sunshine, I'm doing a Hobo Series Installment on how I get potable water from this stuff I collected off my studio roof.

Let me post this before the batteries die.