I have not been making posts the last couple weeks, so here they are in a couple blasts:


Wednesday, May 11, 2016:
The former ranch manager and I spent the day repairing the water system. We did further bailing to get the water level a couple inches deep. The outlet was not providing electricity, so we replaced the electrical outlet. I discovered that the outlet is on a 20amp breaker in the electrical shed. For some reason (stay tuned), water was not flowing from the original pump that was submerged. We put in a new pump and the water still did not flow. I suggested that the pump might be turning backward if the electricity was backward. A test showed that was the case. He had miss-wired the outlet causing the pumps to run backward. Once the outlet was rewired, the water system was up and working okay. I can now take showers and use the toilet. It snowed hard all afternoon while we were out working on the water system.
I have been able to get remote videos from the porch camera using the Lowes/Iris system. Today, I upgraded to the their next generation hub and it all came to a screeching halt. The new hub does not support a web interface, only a mobile-app interface. When I tried to load the app to my phone it said that the app does not support my device. Ugh. I have a tablet in Tucson that I will try in a couple weeks. Until then, no web cam videos.
No elk today.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016:

This morning my local cattle rancher dropped by. He is going to be grazing 30 head of yearlings, and one cow, on my property starting in June. Our deal is that he pays me for the grazing, and I pay him to take care of the fence. It will probably even out. 

One of my biggest issues is that I get no cell phone signal here at the cabin. My carrier is AT&T. The rancher suggested trying Viero. I spent the afternoon messing with a cell phone signal booster device I found in the closet (left behind by the previous owner). Magically, I found one particular location and orientation for the antenna that gives me a 4G signal strength of four bars on AT&T. Amazing! I can do texts, voice, and, very importantly, internet. I can use my phone as a wireless internet hot spot for my computer. This means that I can drop DishNet internet that is costing me $80/mo.   

The elk are out in front of the cabin every morning and evening.

Monday, May 9, 2016: 

I spent the morning with the Forest Service Fisheries guy. He brought  a UTV for us to drive up the Tio Grande valley. Mainly, he was looking for a fish barrier on the creek that had not been inspected for about ten years. We found it about twenty yards beyond my property line in the National Forest. He said that it needs work to be more effective. The purpose of the barrier is to prevent non-native species (brown and rainbow) trout from getting upstream. They are trying to keep the creek's population of Rio Grande Cutthroat trout as pure as possible. The road up to there on my property is pretty crude, and dangerously narrow with a drop off in one place. He said they woul have to do some road work to bring up their trucks. I said that would be fine. There is also a culvert at a creek crossing that is not good for creatures going up and down the creek, so they may want to improve that too. We found an elk antler and brought back a hand-held plow that I spotted yesterday. 

I realized that the reason the well pump hole was flooded was due to drainage routes and the low spot at the well hole. The top of the culvert (that contains the pump and pressure tank) has a moat around it about 16 inshes deep. The drainage from the back of the cabin and the hillside runs right down to the low spot which is that moat. I spent the afternoon improving the drainage near the well hole to help prevent it from flooding in the future. I am digging three different ditches and filling in the moat around the well hole. 

Sunday, May 8, 2016:

Drove up to the cabin after being away for a month. I discovered that the well hole with the pressure tank and booster pump was about three feet deep in water. The pump and pressure switch were completely submerged. The electrical outlet was above the water but it was evident that it too had been submerged. I spent about four hours bailing out the hole (it is about six feet deep with a concrete floor and the side is the cylinder of a steel culvert four feet in diameter). I did not dare plug in the pump, so I am going without water until Wednesday when the ranch manager of the previous owner is coming. Everything else seems to be okay. I have a couple gallons of drinking water and camping toilet bags, so I can survive for several days without the water system. 

Before dark, I drove up the Tio Grande a little way and walked around the property some just to have some fun for the day.