Take 2.... Crazy?

How many followed our story, read my ramblings, laughed with us while we were living in the camper, and bet that Rod and I would never move again?  Thinking we had the perfect spot, built an amazing house, put all this work into the land here to stay here until we were really old..  Well if you placed that bed, you just might have lost.

Take 2 - Today is the official start of us being under contract to purchase land in Pleasant View (but with a mailing address of Ashland City) and would start the process of selling this house/land and building a new house!

What will this mean?  Will we live in campers again?  Will we rent some place?  Will we be able to build before selling this house?  Will we build ICF again?  Will we do passive solar?  All of these are questions that will remain to be seen.  But for those that enjoyed the ramblings before, this might just be the start of volume 2.

There are still some contingencies that will have to be met before we close on the property.  We are targeting a date in mid December for the closing.  I will keep everyone updated here!

Here is a very rough outline of part of the property. It is 55 acres including a creek!

Timber... at Steven and Keela's

This past summer we were up at our neighbor's house talking about the trees in their yard.  They had two trees that were starting to die.  One of them was leaning toward the house.  One was a monster oak tree that was approximately 90 feet high.  Of course when you have a friend with a backhoe and a willingness to help a neighbor out, you end up with a plan of "hey when it is cooler we can do that without you calling a professional".

Fast forward to a 65 degree day in January... Rod had cabin fever and was feeling the need to play on his toys.  So he called Steven and said "hey, lets do it this weekend".  So we have one system admin and one high school math teacher ready to work.  Never fear, all is ok, because we have at least 1 that is in flannel... In typical fashion, we had plans on Sunday and Rod said to me... we can do this in 2 hours.

Tree one went almost according to plan A.  The only problem was it got hung on another tree.  Rod was able to hook a chain up and twist and it came right on down.

Tree two took a little more planning.  After plan A, B, and C were deemed unsafe, the drop went according to plan D.  (this was after E, F, and I am not sure how many others were discussed and they went back to the original D).  This tree was huge!  I did already mention it was leaning toward the house..

Steven and tree two giving some perspective on how big around it is.

Plan A had them trying to put a cable as high as possible.. which is why the ladder is in the bucket of the backhoe.

To give another idea of the height... this is a 12 foot 2X4 and you can't see the top of the tree!

So the playing turned into work.  Breaking 2 steel cables and 6 hours of work later.. 2 trees were down, no one was hurt, the house was untouched, and Steven and Keela saved a few $'s.... success!

Click this link to see the video of it coming down! As Keela is doing the commentary..."Timber" is not the word you will hear when it falls...

Sebastian

So my birthday was a few days ago and tonight I was asked to dinner by my mother-in-law, Annette.  While I was having a peaceful dinner talking about everything going on in our life.... Rod and Tina were plotting against my sanity.  While I was calmly shopping with Annette... they were carrying out their plan.... And when I got home at 8:45 at night... there was dog # 6!!!!!  Who needs 6 dogs???  Who has any sanity left after 6 dogs???  I guess we will see if I make it or not! :)

Really we got a new dog a few months ago named Marley.  Marley was supposed to be another outside dog to help keep predators such as foxes, raccoons, and coyotes away from the chickens.  Marley was just not cut out for the job.. she doesn't bark!  So although she is sweet and certainly has her place here, she is not a guard dog (now herding the goats - she has that down 100% and even herds them when I don't want her herding them)

So while I was eating my peaceful dinner and shopping, Sebastian found a new home here at the Cagle Compound!  Rod found him on craigslist.  The people seemed to have cared for him even though he was living on the end of a chain.  They were not willing to give him to anyone until they saw the home... little did they know that Sebastian hit the lottery tonight.   He is 8 months old and has not been neutered yet (we will take care of that immediately).  He seems to be full of energy, very friendly, and social.  Marley and him have not quit playing for the last several hours.  So far he has gotten along with everyone with the exception of Sadie -who doesn't get along with anyone.  Bear has his nose out of joint a little and will not quit rubbing his face all over me!  He wants to make sure he is still Momma's # 1 boy.  I'm sure Sebastian is going to make a great dog for us.

So hopefully we now have our 2nd guard dog so that Rod can stop browsing craigslist!

Jackson Hole - Day 8

Well today we packed up and we are on a long trek home.  I have talked about all our activities, but there is a big part of the trip that I have not talked about - our hotel.  We stayed at the Hilton Homewood Suites in the downtown Jackson area.  The people there were AMAZINGLY NICE!  The front desk people that I learned by name and they learned our names were Kelsey, Cindy, and Levin.  There were others that were nice and greeted us with a smile and any help, but these 3 were the ones that I interacted with the most.

The daily breakfast helped to save us some $ for sure.  We never ate breakfast out.  Monday - Thursday they had some small meal in the evening that we ate once.  But Tina's favorite part was in the late evening.  There was a man named Levin and one of his many jobs in the evening was to bake and set out cookies and milk at 8:00 pm every night.  Tina and Peter got cookies every single night we were there!  One night we were going to the gun barrel restaurant and were going to miss "cookie time".... Tina talked to Levin and he saved her a stack of cookies.  We came back in and he had them saved and went to the kitchen to get her some milk!  Rod and I spent several nights talking to him.  Learned he was a retired teacher from Texas.  We talked about Tori and the fact that she was a new teacher, talked about Tina and Peter and how they are both hard workers, talked about Tina and her scholarship to Austin Peay, etc.  We learned some about his kids and the fact he found out this week his daughter is pregnant with his 3rd grandchild!

This morning we needed to ride the shuttle to the airport at 10:45. Last night Tina was not able to get the last souvenir that she wanted.  We called the store and at 10:00 they were still not open.  One last call at 10:30 and they were open.  I went down and talked to the front desk and explained our problem.   He told me "we are here to help"... and so our shuttle driver made the 3 block detour to the store, parked on the curb, let Tina run in... and get her shorts she wanted!  Then we headed on to the airport. I would absolutely recommend this place!

Here is Levin and Tina on our last night with her last cookies!!!!  Thank you so much for your hospitality!

Jackson Hole - Day 7

New Year's Eve!  Today is our last full day in Jackson Hole.  We have bought ski lift tickets and headed to the slopes at Teton Village.  Since I only handled the cold so-so on Tuesday, I decided to hang back and be the photographer.  Tina started out with her boots having problems.  She struggled with her feet and calves hurting.  We were able to switch up her clothes some and get different books and that made it somewhat better.   Peter did much better this time didn't fall nearly as much.  They even braved a ski lift that you get on and off of while on skis (as compared to the gondola where you walk on and walk off).  Rod and Peter each fell the first time using the lift... Tina was fall free on the ski slopes for the entire trip!

After skiing we headed back for some down time at the hotel before walking back to the square.  One of the lodges did a nighttime torch parade down the slopes and we could view that from the square.  We had a little more shopping to do and were surprised to find that many of the shops closed at 7:00!  Seemed crazy to me that it was so crowded downtown, a Saturday night, and New Year's Eve and they were closed....

Since we had so much extra time before our dinner reservation, we took some more pictures and then tried to get into eat before our reservation time.  We ate at a small Italian place that Rod like and the rest of us thought was just fair...  Walking back was COLD, but we made it back to the hotel. Not sure any of us made to stay awake till midnight in the mountain time zone.  We just joked that we rang in the New Year in the Central Time Zone.

Jackson Hole - Day 6

Today's activity was snowmobiling in Grand Teton National Park and it has been Rod and Peter's favorite part of the trip so far!  We were picked up from our hotel at 7:45 am.  The weather was a balmy 0 when they picked us up and according to our guide it was great that we had a "warm" day for the trip.

Our guide's name was Zane.  So right off this morning I couldn't help but think of Tori and Matt's best friend, Zane, who passed away a few weeks ago.  This guy was young and full of life and it certainly made my heart a little sad to think of Zane being taken too soon.  To say that I thought of him several times today would be an understatement.  (This is all of the sappy stuff I am writing in the post)

The drive to the park took about an hour and was stunningly beautiful.  We pulled over to take pictures of Grand Teton and also a bison that was rooting around looking for food.  Once we got there, we did a pre-check of our machines to check for damage, signed away all liability to the company, and got ready to go.  It was crazy.. for $25 we did buy optional collision coverage to cover the snowmobile but it still had a $1,000 deductible!  These machines were pretty cool.  By far the greatest feature was heated grips.  The worked so good, I couldn't even leave mine on high the entire time!

Our guide was a native Jacksonian.  His family has been here for five generations.  He knew his way around this park.  We went about 50 miles and had a top speed of 45 mph.  We had rented 3 snowmobiles.  Tina rode with Peter for the majority of the time (although she did drive for a little bit so she could see what it was like).  All of the trip had amazing views.

We started off on the groomed well traveled off road trails.  Since there seemed to be a lot of people out, we detoured to some less traveled trails.  These were single lane snowmobile trails that were challenging.  They included lots of turn, twists, bumps and hills - both down and up.  At one point we reached a field of about 3 feet of snow that he pulled over and let us just play and have fun on the snowmobiles.  After the field, as we were headed back, he took us on fresh power that did not have any tracks.  He even had to have a talk with us before taking off about counter balance and to "always lean up hill."  After the last stop, we took off across the valley heading back and we were let loose to make our own way.  This trip up and back down the mountain was totally untraveled and the guide was literally making his own trail.   It was crazy fast (about 45 mph), bumpy, and lots of fun.  We totally got our money's worth and it wasn't just a "canned" tour!

Jackson Hole - Day 5

Today was a much needed rest day!  Most of us got to sleep late - I am the exception that can't sleep.   I got up a little before 6 and sat in the hotel lobby reading my book and talking to people until everyone else got up between 8:30 and 9:00.  The outside temperature was -2 at 9:30.  Since it was so cold, we went ahead and just stayed in the room for a little bit.  Around lunch we went back to our favorite lunch place - The Liberty Burger.  This little place is great!  This is the 3rd time Peter and Tina have eaten there and the 2nd for Rod and I.

Next was lots of walking around town shopping.  We went in many shops that have really unique items with high price tags... we are leaving all of those things behind for any of you reading this with more disposable income than us :)  Tina and Peter have been wanting to go ice skating and today was the day for that.  The town square has a ice rink that has been being worked on and built while we have been here.  It is a small rink, but still plenty of room to slide along the wall.

After skating and shopping we headed back to chill, swim, and rest.  Dinner was at The Gun Barrel. This has been the best meal of the night.  Rod and Peter decided to order the venison bratwurst for an appetizer.  Then for dinner Rod got the elk chops and Peter got the mixed game grill.  The plan was for them to both share the elk chops, elk steak medallions, buffalo prime rib, and buffalo ribs.  Lets just say by the time that they shared.. neither touched much of their sides!  Both left with a full belly.  Tina and I stuck with beef!  Although Tina was adventurous and tried the elk and buffalo.

After waiting for the bus, we finally got back to the hotel around 9:45. Our hotel has warm cookies every night at 8:00 pm.  Tina and Peter have gone down every night to get them... well since we were going to be gone the man at the front desk saved us 7 cookies!  Made Tina's night to not miss the warm, gooey, chocolate chip cookies!  He even walked off before he gave her the cookies to get a cold glass of milk from her from the kitchen that was already closed :)

Okay, as I am sitting her typing this post... and I just heard "That is the boyfriend tax".... and that came from Peter when he told Tina that he drank some of her milk!

Now it is morning... I have decided that I hate my new ipad.  I am having picture problems and when I have moved the pictures from Tina's phone, Peter's phone, and the camera - I now have duplicate filenames.  I guess it is just the learning curve of me having an apple product.... but boy the frustration!  Anyways, here are the pictures I wanted to share last night.

Jackson Hole - Day 4

Dog Sledding... is today's activity!  Past experience had taught me that dog sledding was very popular during this time of the year.  So back in July, I called and tried to book our trip.  5 months prior to our trip they were already almost booked up and I had a choice of only 2 days that there were open spots!  We got booked and are excited.  This is the exact trip that Tori and Rod took 10 years ago.  It is a company owned by Frank Teasley who has actually completed the Alaskan Iditarod. He uses this company as a retirement for dogs that other sled teams retire.  When his dogs are no longer able to pull, he has a "retirement" pen that the dogs live out the rest of their lives.

The guides are all given approximately 22 dogs to care for.  They are responsible for 100% of their care, digging them out of their homes when there has been too much snow, fluffing their hay, putting new hay in the houses, fresh water and fresh food.  The dogs are fed 100% raw diet. The guides even can take dogs home at night.  Our guide talked about some of the dogs he was working with and would take them how to help build a bond with them.  Frank said that all he expected from his guides was for them to care for the dogs and to know what the dog is going to do before they did it!

We were picked up from the hotel at 8;15 and got to the kennels at about 9:00.  After signing waivers and getting on boots, we met our guide - David- and headed out.  Tina and Peter started out with Peter on the runners with the guide and Tina in the basket.  Rod and I were on our own sled with him on the back and me in the basket.

Heading to Granite Hot Springs was eventful.  The weather was cold - about 20. The forecast had been blowing wind of 40 mph and 18" of snow.  LUCKILY... the weatherman was WRONG.  It was not nearly that windy and the snowfall was no where near 18".  I started out being fairly warm and was pleasantly surprised at how well I did with my Raynaud's.  The sight seeing was beautiful!

About 1/2 way there, we were getting passed by some snowmobilers.  These are inexperienced people that have probably never been on a snowmobile before (which will be us on Friday..)  They passed Rod and I just fine, but when they got to Tina and Peter's sled, they tried to pass on the side where the snow was about 3 feet high.  The next thing Rod and I are watching them slowly start to roll right down on Tina and Peter's dogs.  The snowmobile missed the sled but grazed one of the dogs.  The guide said this had never happened and he was furious!  Luckily the dog was not injured.  Peter and David helped to lift the snowmobile back up and everyone was OK.  Tina said that the guide told them after it happened that if the dog would have been hurt, he would have punched the guy!

Once we arrived at the hot spring, it was NOT what I was expecting.  At this point I had gotten very cold and my hands and feet were in real pain.  I thought there was going to be a heated changing area where I could warm up... WRONG.  There was a changing room but there was no heat.  I had to sit in there for a long time trying to get my hands and feet to have blood flow again.  Rod, Tina, and Peter all changed and got into the hot spring but since my hands were so cold, I didn't get good pictures except for Rod because he stayed in there the longest.

After the hot spring, lunch was served and they had a small fire that became my life-savior.  I was able to finally get warm and blood flow back to all my fingers and toes. Lunch was some chili that Rod and Peter especially liked.  Warm drinks were provided that helped warm us up from the inside out.

The ride home was quicker because the dogs were headed home and knew dinner was going to be served.  However, the temperature dropped to about 10, the wind picked up some, and it was much colder.  We swapped sleds, so now Rod and I were with the guide.  Peter drove his and Tina's sled and I rode on the back with our guide.  Everyone got pretty cold, but especially the two in the baskets (Rod and Tina) because they were the wind breakers.  Our guide was nice enough to give me his gloves because they were warmer than mine and I did ok until the last hour.

All and all it was an amazing experience.  As a dog lover, I saw nothing that worried me about the care of these dogs.  They were happy, ready to go, wagging their tails, jumping to take off, etc.

Jackson Hole - day 3

 Today was our first day skiing at Teton Village. The morning was a crazy madhouse! But we managed to get on the slopes by about 10. Tina picked right up where she left off. Peter learned by trial and error 😀.  Rod took a few minutes to get his ski legs.  I took the bunny route and headed to ski school. The girls are the only ones that never fell today!

The weather did not cooperate for us today. It snowed all day and by the afternoon there was a winter storm advisory. We all got tired and cold on the slopes by mid afternoon. We don't have many good pics....but here is what we have: