My contractor suggested I should have rented a 10'x20' storage unit instead of the 10'x10'. I agreed and upgraded this morning. It is not only more space than if I had kept the 10'x10' and also rented a 5'x10', it is less expensive than those two together. This will give me room for an aisle way to make access to everything in there much easier. And I might not have to stack everything quite so high.

Also, I was told the 20' U-Haul truck would not be available right when they opened on Monday. The one they had in mind for me was not scheduled to be turned in until 11am. It could be earlier, but most likely a bit later. So there's half a day shot. Oh well, I'm not a get-up-at-dawn kind of guy anyway, so this may work out just fine. They said they could let me have a 26 footer at no additional cost due to the situation, but I passed only because it just seems a bit too big for me to drive, not having any experience with that big of a truck. They also said they wouldn't have a dolly trailer for my car but would have a full trailer for it - also at no additional cost. I did take them up on that though, because that is what I wanted in the first place but wanted to save a few bucks and went with the dolly.

I asked my contractor if he had anyone who could help me unload the truck at the property, but he said due to kids being in school, it might not happen, but he said he would ask around anyway.

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Lots of last minute packing. Two more trips for more moving boxes.

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Packed the U-Haul truck. Got ready to leave tomorrow. The owner and two of his employees helped me load the truck. As it turned out I helped them. We were done in two hours! It would have taken me at least a couple of days. The 20 footer took everything that was left in the apartment, but no more. I was hoping to get a big bite out of what is in storage, but no go. I hope it won't take two more trips. I'm hoping I can do it in one more.

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Did some last second packing (the last minute packing happened last night). I wanted to leave by 9 am but didn't make it out until 10 am. Drove to the U-Haul place to have my car put on the trailer and got on the freeway by 10:45. Turned in the trailer near my property and left there by 2:30 pm after leaving my car there. Spent the rest of the day unloading the truck. Only got about a third of the stuff unloaded.

Had to think about setting up my bed and getting the propane Mr. Buddy heater running. And boy does it run. Even on low it quickly heats up my 200 sq ft living area to 74°F or so. Nice for hanging out, but way hotter than I like for sleeping. Either I have to let it run and sleep with just a sheet, or keep getting up to turn it to "Pilot" and then later getting up to turn it back to "Low". I can't wait to get my diesel heater set up and running. It has a thermostat built in and should keep it at the temperature I set.

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Boy, it's windy! It was windy yesterday when I was unloading. I thought it would die down after sunset, but nooooo! I think it was a little worse this morning. Fortunately it didn't last long. It's much easier doing what I need to do without having to deal with all that.

I brought into the shed/cabin all the things I need for everyday life. The rest will go into storage. I'll do that tomorrow and then return an empty and swept out U-Haul truck and pick up my car.

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Since I can't yet do much of anything on the Internet, I got to bed fairly early and got up fairly early. I got to the mini-storage a little before 9 and finished by about 12:30. Boy! That was a lot of work, but at least that part is over.

I turned in the truck and then got new tires for my car. They were way, way, way past needing to be replaced. I knew they were due, but one of the guys at the U-Haul place showed me a long crack in a groove between two treads and I realized today was the day. While I waited for the tires, I had a late lunch at KFC. It was the first time I've had fast food in 6 or 8 years. Very tasty and only 2 or 3 times more expensive than I remember.

All on all, a very productive day.

I still haven't set up the stove or solar yet. First things first. The last "hurry up job" I need to do is to get my truck to the property from my old place before my old landlord gets upset. Maybe I'll do that on Saturday or Sunday. And I still have to find out what to do about trash. I may have to haul it to the dump myself once or twice a month. If I don't have much, and I'm going into town for some other reason, I'll toss it in a can in Walmart's (or some other store's) parking lot.

Tonight I haven't been having much luck using my cell phone as a hotspot to send emails. A good reason to hit the sack early.

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First thing I did today was to go to the local post office and see about setting up mail delivery. Once I get some paperwork out of the way, I will have a mailbox on a rail along with a number of other peoples' as you may have seen in rural areas. It will be about 1/10 of mile from the entrance to my "community" and then another half mile to my property. So a nice 1.2 mile walk round trip. Not bad at all.

Right now I'm sitting in the Carl's Jr. in Walmart since I don't have any electricity at home (and I didn't even have to buy anything). I'm using my phone's hotspot for Internet.

I hope to get my solar panels up and running either today or tomorrow. That'll be great. I have a very modest system that will be enough to recharge my electronics (it's the one I've already used on short trips to the property, so I'm confident it'll work). Before too long, I'm going to work on one that will be triple the size of what I'm using now. And even that will be an interim system. Eventually I'll double or even triple this second interim system.

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Tomorrow my contractor volunteered to drive me to my old apartment so I can get my truck and drive it to the property (I'm paying him for gas), so I thought I would make good use of today and set up my solar power system.

It's the same system I previously had working on my earlier short trips to the property. With everything being so rushed moving out of the apartment, I wasn't sure I would have everything here I needed to make it work. That and I had to drill a pass-through hole in my brand new shed to get the wires from the solar panels inside. I said a quick prayer and got started.

The hole was the scariest part. 1, I used a spade bit (which I had to buy yesterday since I didn't want to take the time to try to find the ones I already have) and was worried that I would wind all the fiberglass batting into a ball, so as soon as I got through the plywood I stopped and used a pair of scissors to cut as much of the fiberglass as I could. Then I proceeded to cut a hole in the exterior wall. Phew! Done. The fiberglass was fine.

Then 2, and here's the God part - the spade bit I bought has a short spindle. It was too short to cut completely through the exterior wall. I don't know why it didn't occur to me when I bought it, bit it didn't. I had pretty much resigned myself to measuring where this hole was and then going outside and hoping I could drill that hole and have it line up with the interior one. Then I started pulling out the tools I would be using and found an extension! Problem solved. Sort of. As I was tightening the extension in the drill, I noticed the spade bit wobbling around in the extension. I was afraid I would lose the spade bit inside the wall. That would be a major headache and complication. So I took a piece of duct tape and taped the bit to the extension. Another problem solved.

I connected all the components and am charging one of my devices right now. The green lights on the solar charge controller indicate the 100Ah AGM (sealed lead acid) battery is charging normally. I have three 100Ah LiFePO4 (Lithium) batteries which I'll be hooking up eventually, but I needed power today and now I have it. The only thing I need to get those running are some additional solar panels dedicated just to them.

With all the wind lately, I'm going to weight the panels so they don't blow away.

I'm going to make sure to get the 55 quart ice chest size refrigerator/freezer I bought a couple of months ago. No more continually buying ice.

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My contractor drove me to Flagstaff (I paid him for gas) so I could pick up my truck and drive it to my new place. Before I left town, I ran a few errands. Fortunately, the trip was uneventful and I made it home with no trouble.

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I went to the local post office and started my change of address. I did what I could do there, but had to finish the process online. There was one small hiccup, but I was able to complete the process. I should be receiving mail at my new address in a week or so.

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Didn't do much today. Didn't go anywhere. Got caught up on some computer stuff.

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Took a walk to the mailbox. It's about 0.6 miles, 12 minutes one way, so not bad. A good way to get a little exercise and to break up the day. Got the manufacturer's name and mailbox's model number. With those I should be able to find the right replacement lock.

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Woke up to find a bit of frost on my car, but it melted as soon as the sun came up. Went into town to do some shopping. Light rain started falling late tonight. I might wake up to snow on the ground tomorrow.

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No frost on the car this morning and no snow, but it has been trying to rain all day. Good day to stay inside and organize everything I sort of just dumped into the shed from the moving truck.

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This is what I woke up to. Not much. Maybe an inch or two, but enough to keep me in my shed for a couple of days. Even with brand new tires, I'm not sure I want to venture out onto the roads unless it's close to an emergency.

Today's Photos

The first of two 30 lb propane tanks I have ran out last night, so I hooked up the second one. Once the roads clear, I'll get that one filled.

That tank lasted at most 1/2 a month. I had used it a couple of times on previous trips, but not much. It will be interesting to see how long this one will last. I'm sure the rest of this month.

A 30 lb tank holds roughly 6 gallons and at $4 to $4.15 a gallon (I'm guessing), that's roughly $50 per month. But I'm hoping it will be only for the coldest months.

By the time the sun was setting, in all but the shadiest spots, the snow was pretty much gone.

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