Slow and steady progress

Hello Everyone,

As always it has been a busy few weeks.  Trying to keep up with the speed of my husband and his multitasking is sometimes like hanging on to the tails of a hummingbird for dear life.  It seems these days that I am asking him for my to do list and I usually get one or two tasks and then he lists off his multitude of accomplishments for the day... not only his full time job, but also keeping track of decisions to make on the property.  This involves learning all that is needed to make a educated guess in a short amount of time (an hour) as to setting up our infrastructure for the next 20 years... and trying to plan out our stages of development without wasting 1000 feet of trenching and irrigation or conduit because we are going to need to change locations.... solar, water, driveways that can't be undone... 

At some point Chris and I thought... this is typical Tzortzis fashion... go in like a bull in a china shop and just get'er done... Maybe we should take a moment to really try to plan this out... it is just hard when you don't know enough about solar and how far you can run the lines before you get the amperage drop and then you have to increase your wire... but wait the conduit we ran now isn't big enough to hold the cable... so, again in typical Tzortzis style when you don't know just throw in the commercial grade size piping so you don't have to worry... unless of course it was all laid in the wrong spot... UGH!

So what we decided to do of course is to get the initial roads or driveways in for the well rigger and us to get our trailer set up... done!  The mose important thing was to first get water... We don't have septic yet... hopefully in August or September but for now we have made other arrangements.  We decided to get the portable toilet... and a pop up tent... 

 and then we made our camp site and finished off the fire pit with a few yards of gravel around the base... since the water wasn't done yet we just had a baby campfire in an enclosed ring....

We were able to have a wonderful weekend on the property and hanging out.  Oma came up and stayed with us and helped us do a bunch of work.  That woman I swear.  I always forget that she will be 80 next year.  I think she alone spread half of the 20 yards of sand on the beach volleyball/badminton court we were making.  Of course it was the first thing we tackled so after a hard days work we could enjoy a family sunset game... and we got the glow in the dark birdies with LED lights... so the game can go on... and on... and on... 

Kava and Rel were able to come up for the day and visit and check out the property.  It was so fun sharing it with him and being able to show him what we had in mind and where we wanted to put our wedding venue barn, orchards, ag barns, zip lines... driving green... you know the fun stuff.  He had fun driving tractor... and had some stow aways... but not the safest so won't do that again.... 

We also had some surprise visitors .... so fun.  Since we don't get cell reception up there we didn't know that our friends Katia/Andy and Joycie decided to make the 2 hour trek to come and sit in the creek with us for an hour and then drive home... it was a wonderful surprise.  Of course they were greeted with Amaia and her new found friend that stayed on her head for a few hours... She just loves the toads and lizards out there.  Katia made this little collage for us.

Super good news on the well.  We are so fortunate.  We struck water thanks to Hunt Drilling and our magic water finder guy from Oregon.  We decided to not use the switch witch guy to find the water but ended up using Tim from Oregon that carries more sophisticated water finding equipment.  We knew there was water below us but what we needed to find were the cracks in the granite in order to not have to drill through 400 feet of solid granite.  Also they say you need to find the split in the rock because that is where the water is forced through and you get more water pressure for your well.  

We hit the jackpot.  A typical good well is between 30 and 40 gallons a minute...  He was able to find the split and went 420' for 100 gallons a minute. We are so thrilled and excited for this.  With water our opportunities are endless.  

Allan with Epperson Excavating is up at the property now installing our 2600 gallon storage tank and running conduit and pvc to connect the well, tanks and make four running faucets for our trailer, 2 campsites and for the outdoor showers we are going to install.  We will buy an instaheat for hot water and connect with a propane tank.  He is also grading for footprints for our 2 10x12 bunk sheds (blue prints bought by icreatables.com) we will build for the kids and guests.  We will put a queen and a twin on top in each to allow for a multitude of combinations... plus floor space.   We have received the materials list from the local lumber company and will have it all delivered the week prior to fourth of July.

Of course with the weather beginning to get hotter up there and the creek drying up because it is only seasonal.... I had to come up with another plan for the kids to cool off.  Sooooo I ordered the cowgirl pool.

What more could you ask for... that is until we figure out where to put our nature pool/pond.

So after the 4th week we should have a little bit better idea of a glamping site.

 I am just looking forward to having the ability to have a shower on the property.  With all those new dusty roads and tractor driving you get a little dirty op there.  Then of course to go sit in my chair and watch another amazing sunset.

Hugs and love,

Heather