If you want to go back to the very beginning, we marked the boundaries of our homesite on November 12th, 2021. Dirt first moved on The Mountain on December 3rd, 2021. We’ve been working with this particular contractor since January 27th, 2022.
Today — August 22nd, 2023 — we finally closed the chapter on site work. Pushing dirt, moving rocks and knocking down trees, except when we’ll trench to run power, sewer and water to the cabin, is done.
Work began at 8am. I briefed the contractor on what we wanted, and he began moving 42 tons of base with his skid-steer. I retired to the shed for a while and replaced the Ranger’s “Lock & Ride” tie-down anchors with new ones more likely to withstand the weight of a 55-gallon barrel of water.
Mostly, Deb and I sat in our camp chairs and watched.
By 10:30am the pad was complete, the ramp to the lower level (destroyed by power company trucks) was restored, and we had gravel on both access points to that area, off the driveway.
There was no drama whatsoever, We paid the man, he loaded up his equipment — along with the last of the house kit he’d bought from us — and he left.
Deb and I returned to the RV’s cool interior and breathed a sigh of relief. It’s been a long, tough road getting here. We’re glad that this phase is over.
Later, in the mood to celebrate just a little, we went into town for pizza and beer. We were a bit early, so we killed time driving around Yellville’s ‘hoods, something we hadn’t done before today. The moment Crooked Creek Pub opened, we grabbed a table, ordered beers and chatted with our hosts.
They introduced us to a couple from Wisconsin, also transplants to Ozarkansas. In the course of the conversation, we discovered that they’d moved here for exactly the same reasons we did. (Imagine that.)
That wrapped what was a very good day. In the process of building our new American Life on The Mountain, obviously it also was a significant day, a real milestone.
We move forward from here.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB