Chicago to Nevada

Holy Moly!

I've neglected the blog as any free time I've had has been spent working and making money. Having a job can really shift priorities. Not sure why I thought it was a good idea to start working again.

I'm going to split up the last month and a half into a few different posts for your sanity as well as mine.

Allow me to be brief.

I last left you in Chicago, IL. From there we headed to Badlands National Park.

My girlfriend is as beautiful as a double rainbow.

A rare selfie moment.

We really wanted to see a herd of buffalo. Didn't happen, but we saw this lonely old guy taking a break in the distance.

Fat prairie dogs!

Then we stopped at Mount Rushmore. Last time I was here I didn't want to pay the $5 entry fee, but I'm glad Camille wanted to see it up close. If anything, just to capture this majestic moment.

A random hail storm blew through. They all look so sad now!

A perspective you don't see too often, Mount Rushmore from a distance.

Then driving around Custer State Park was really nice. It's known for having lots of wildlife, especially the kinds that have gotten used to tourists.

We also visited the Needles and did some hiking in the area.

Then off to Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Have always wanted to go there to see it in person and to climb it. This was the first night on our trip that we paid for a campground (because I had a meeting the next day and needed Wifi...). It was a great first choice for a paid campground as it was super open and quiet and provided a great view of the tower.

So the next day we decided to climb a few pitches of one of the most iconic routes on the tower. It was really cool to climb on these huge phonolite columns. We only climbed about a third of the way to the top because I had a meeting at 2, but the views from there were still spectacular.

Then we drove to Ten Sleep, WY to visit Sara. She's been living there for about a month, climbing in the canyon and working at the brewery in town. For a few bucks we were able to park and sleep at the brewery which was in a lovely location next to plenty of red sandstone. And more importantly, for a few bucks more we were able to take hot showers!

And the climbing was really fun. Endless limestone cliffs!

Then we headed towards Colorado. Found some beautiful places along the way!

And some awesome camping spots along the way.

And then Rocky Mountain National Park. There's currently an infestation of bark beetles that are killing lots of the trees which is pretty sad. But we still found some nice areas in the park.

Then we spent some time in Denver, hanging out with Sebastian and helping my old burning man camp load things onto the truck. They graciously let us load all of our water (60 gallons!) and some other camping things onto the truck. Without that I don't know how we would have gotten everything to the burn.

Then Camille and I made our way towards Sacramento to pick up Greg and Christian from the airport. We stopped for one last "bath" in Lake Tahoe. 

And then Burning Man!

To be continued....

Birthdays, Canada, Bachelor Party, Camille's Arrival, Tiny Bash and Hitting the Open Road

So Kevin had a 30th birthday pool party. T'was a grand ol' time.

Then I spent a week in Canada with the Tim's. We climbed in Kamouraska, a couple hours East of Quebec City. The AirBnb was great and we played lots of Petanque.

And the climbing was great and the view of the St. Lawrence River was spectacular.

Back home Christian and I continued preparing for Burning Man. We installed a trailer hitch on Saturn Jr. so that we could carry more cargo.

There was also more preparation for the Tiny Bash. We bought a couple 275 gallon totes for rainwater collection. Then we built a stand for the tote so that we could have an outdoor shower.

Also more tiny house work. After removing the failed Ditra, I finally got around to tiling the wood stove stand.

Christian also built a nice toilet for me out of leftover cedar ceiling and douglas fir.

Then Camille arrived! And since we don't take selfies often, I have no photo to prove it...

But she came just in time to help Christian and I get the final plans together for the Tiny Bash. Since the forecast was 96 and high humidity, we scrambled to borrow a pool from Jake's parents and order 7,500 gallons of water. The water was delivered right as people started showing up. And it saved the party!

We also made a lube slip and slide. Jude loved it!

And lots of people brought cute tiny gifts.

Then more tiny house work. Finally getting around to building the couch.

And then another break for Chris' bachelor party in Lake George. We rented a pontoon boat for Saturday and had an awesome time boating around the lake, tubing and cliff jumping.

And then we went out for the dinner and drinks and ended up making a fire and staying up until sunrise.

Overall a great weekend. Unfortunately I will be missing the wedding as Camille and I will be on the west coast.

Then back to work! Camille has been working tirelessly on customizing curtains for all of the windows in the tiny house.

Then we stopped by my Dad's for a goodbye dinner. We got a personal tour of his garden.  Because the mosquitos love Camille's blood so much, here she looks like an old Middle Eastern Grandmother.

Starting to pack Saturn Jr. for our adventure. The shade structure for Burning Man takes up a lot of space!

Camille also painted an incredible chameleon camel on our shade structure. This will make it so much easier to find our camp in the chaos that is Burning Man.

And with the car packed and the tiny house cleaned up, I can show you a progress pic. It's coming together nicely!

Then we hit the road! Not much to see or do in the first couple days. Our first official stop was Chicago. More specifically to see Sue the T. Rex at the Field Museum. The museum was awesome! Almost too big. Impossible to see everything in one day.

Then we did a little thrift shopping and left the city.

Last night we met up with Jenna in Kenosha for a brief visit. We went out for dinner and caught up on life. She's working today and we're packing up now to get back on the road. A brief visit but it was really great to see her and for her to finally meet Camille. Next stop is Badlands National Park (and maybe a brewery on the way...)!

Living Big in a Tiny House

Hello? Is anybody there?? I forgot this blog existed!

Anyway, same old over here. Working the job and working on the house slowly but surely.

Gas cooktop was installed which was one of the last things keeping me from moving in. I've slowly moved my things into the house and at the time of writing this post I'd say I'm officially living in the house full time. You'd think that would speed up the construction of the house, but that didn't seem to happen.

Spent a night on Block Island with friends for Greg's birthday. We had a wonderful time of course.

But we also get restless and found some ways to keep us entertained. 

My brother stopped by the house and we wired up a power inverter. The house is now officially off grid! So far it seems like the 3 panels and 6 batteries will be sufficient. I think the winter will be another story. We'll see when we get there!

And I did my first tile job. Tiled the entryway with some tile I got for free on CraigsList. 

Thanks to a few Youtube videos, I think the tile came out nicely!

Christian and I have also been doing a lot of preparation for Burning Man. We've upgrading the Saturn bed to allow for "legal" passengers in the rear seat. This way Camille and I can pick up Greg and Christian at the airport and drive them into Burning Man, rather than them paying $160 each for the bus that goes to the event.

For my birthday weekend, a bunch of us hiked the presidential traverse in the White Mountains. It was great being with so many friends, some of whom I haven't seen in a while. We had great weather for the weekend (minus a few hail squalls) and overall had an awesome time. 

 

Christian, Alana and I installed the wood flooring as well. Another huge step towards making the house feel homey. We had just barely enough flooring to cover the entire first floor, including the bathroom. 

A fun little project was to install meters to measure the charge and discharge of the battery bank. It faces you as you're sitting on the composting toilet, a perfect time to check the battery levels. 

I started to tile the platform on which the wood stove would sit. Unfortunately the ditra underlayment didn't hold onto the mortar very well. Had to rip up the underlayment and remove the mortar. I'll end up just tiling directly to the plywood.

Found a nice bathroom faucet on CraigsList. To raise it up to the sink, we're putting it on a small Birch log. 

Some more small things to add to the homey feel.

Christian and I decided that a deck was necessary. He has a bunch of cedar boards leftover from tearing down some of his fence so we decided that would make a great decking material. A few 2x6s and 2x4s and a couple hours later we had a nice little deck! Ready in time for the Tiny Bash.

We also picked up some 275 gallon totes to collect rainwater. One for supplying my house with water and the other for an outdoor shower. Two of the many projects in the queue. 

Christian bought me a beautiful stone sink for my bathroom. Way nicer than the $2 glass salad bowl I was going to turn into a sink. The water lines have been hooked up and the bathroom is taking shape.

Then for the 4th Christian's family invited me up to Maine for the weekend. They rented a beautiful home right on the water. It was super relaxing and a perfect break from days full of programming and working on the house.

Now I'm sitting in a car driving up to Canada with the Tims. We'll be climbing near Quebec City for the week. I'll attempt to get in a half weeks worth of work in between climbing and drinking beer. We'll see how that goes.

Also, Camille arrives in 11 days!