Thursday. 

The 5 year old decided to cut a lock of his hair out several days ago, leaving a huge gap on the front of his hair.  In an attempt to correct it - they are not only going on vacation tomorrow, they are also having family pictures taken while they're there apparently - I took him to the hair salon to fix it. 

Amazingly, the stylist was able to fix his hair without having to buzz it all off.  Disaster averted.  Of course there was a trip to the property yesterday - well take that back, there were two trips to the property.  

The first one was because I woke up early, grabbed the dog and went for a hike out there.  Just nice to have a quiet walk in nature.  After I got home from that, the 7 year old - who had stayed the night at a friend of the family's - was asking mama over the phone if he could spend another night there. 

I was on the porch as well and offered my hello to the boy while thinking about what I was going to do next.  Mostly, my thoughts on the property and when, exactly, is this contractor going to pick up the ball and get his @$$ over there and get moving with this? I do everything I have to and then some on my end to make sure that I am not the one holding him up.  

Anyway, the 7 year old heard my voice and after the phone call was ended, there was another one after I had left with the 5 year old to fix his hair.  The 7 year old wanted to come home.  He thought I was still out on the road and I guess spending the night somewhere else is more entertaining than being home -with his sick brother.  The 5 year old has had a nasty cough for several days, everyone hopeful he will be over that by the time they leave.  

Long story short, the 7 year old ended up coming home after getting rude with the people he was staying with because he wanted to come home and then, of course, got himself into trouble with mama for being a little jerk and acting like an @$$ to those people.  This is the way of things when you have kids, they are probably in trouble more often than not. 

Regardless, while I was running around town with the 5 year old, the contractor finally texted me back.  Are you available tomorrow? Uh, no, I'm going out of town.  Well, can you meet me at the property now? I'm not one to drop what I'm doing at the beckon whims of another man to fulfil the needs of their fancies, but in this case, I instantly thought: he's ready to move to my property with his personnel and equipment and therefore, he needs to meet out there to discuss what's next.

So, I said yes, give me 30 minutes.  Went home, dropped the 5 year old, picked up the 7 year old, grabbed the dog and left. The 5 year old too sick to go hiking, he didn't like it much but every time he does any physical exertion he starts gagging and coughing like crazy.  Got over there and waited - for a while - for this dude to show up.  

 We discussed his plans - he knows what he's doing with these RV parks, this is why I have stuck with him over other contractors that have a general idea of what to do but not specifics when it comes to building RV pads and such.  We then looked at my layout.  He was all good with that but wanted to change a few things.  Instead of 10 feet space next to the driver's side, why not 5? That way you give them more room on the passenger side for outdoor enjoyment. 

I was all good with that and had actually thought about it before, but I didn't know the specifics of having enough room for utilities over there. He said naw, 5 feet is plenty of room.  Ok. The trees, most of what I had left up, are going to have to come down.  I knew this, I just didn't want it to be true.  Most of them anyway, a few can stay up. The biggest heartbreaker for me is the two pine trees. They are simply in the way, but they are about 30 feet tall.  To me, that's a huge loss. Perhaps to anyone else, it's nothing.  

I got quoted yet another price on building the pads - a bit of sticker shock - and I said okay. He said, well, you don't have to build up these pads, but then he showed me the amount of grade and also the fact that when you build them up, the rainwater won't be running up against the gravel. It will have a place to run off. If you don't do it, you'll be replacing gravel in a few years and that gravel already down will be all over the place.

What I lose in extra things I didn't know needed to be done I gain in a man's experience building parks and not having to pay an engineer to design everything.  He's all on board with my way of doing it - no real plans - he tries to find ways to keep costs down for me.  He's a totally down to earth type of guy and is basically your typical redneck (and that's not an insult by any means).  A person that is a real redneck - which is basically just a plain ole' country guy with a few "things" about them that might be a bit odd to city folks - will wear that label with a badge of honor. Just saying, many people think it's an insult but if you don't live out in the sticks, you really don't know what you're talking about.  I know I didn't before moving out here.

Anyway, it's almost 8:00 am, I suspect they are out there now. The reason he was getting so antsy about wanting to meet up is because he wants to finish phase II and do phase III at the same time.  It makes no sense, he said, to just finish the mountain project and not have the dirt being hauled over, building the pads while the mountain is being dealt with. Building the pads afterwards would only be adding extra man hours and cost to the project.  So I paid him in advance of finishing Phase II to keep this in good faith and motivation running good and he should be out there now. 

He said he would have 3 dump trucks and his earth moving equipment. I shall find out shortly as I'm about to head out to work - well early of my appointment time - and stop by and see what's going on.  I would probably sit out there for several hours watching them if I could.  But, I can't and Oklahoma is calling.  And I can expect a lengthy wait at the plant. For whatever reason, they are having problems getting the paperwork out after getting loaded and drivers are sitting around for hours. What fun.

Offa here and off to the races.

G'day

 Slowly changing my entire diet from Keto to a low carb version that incorporates foods I haven't been eating in a long time.

Those foods are mostly berries and fruit.  Lots of salad, turkey and chicken.  This is the quest to lower cholesterol levels.  The exercise part? Yea, that's gonna take a minute.  It's just really hard to think about getting out of a truck after driving all day long and go for a walk or do some pushups or whatever.  It's bedtime, not workout time.  Yes, I get plenty of walking at the property - but that's only when I'm at home.

I'm in Brownsville yet again, no empties down here last night, allegedly empties are on their way over. "Right now" I was told well over an hour ago, lol.  If they can get one here soon, I won't have to be driving until the wee hours of the morning attempting to get one back to the yard for them to use tomorrow.

Tho, no one has asked me to do any such thing.  I don't actually mind this run dragging into tomorrow since I will have 14 hours of detention pay, which is the same or actually a bit more than a day's worth of driving.  But, if they get here before 1 or 2 pm, I'll drive it out.  After that?  Yeah, they're gonna have to ask me and I won't make any guarantees.  They sent a truck down here yesterday without a trailer to pick up an empty to try and get a handle on the lack of empties coming back up.  

I called the contractor yet again this morning.  I just call him now, if he doesn't answer, then I send a text.  He answered today, said that he had had a fitting built for his track hoe, it worked for 30 minutes and then the o-ring popped, spewing hydraulic fluid all over the place.  But, he said, John Deere ordered him one and it is supposed to be here today by 2:00 pm.  He said call me back today after 4 to see if it's a go.

Nahh, I replied, I won't bother you again today, I'll just call tomorrow and see where we're at.  Bugging contractors about situations they have no control over is just making yourself a nuisance.  I'm hoping his desire to get the thing going "for you" means that the first thing he's doing when they have it fixed is heading over to my property and finishing phase II.  I mean, it would only make sense, he can't get paid for it until it's done.  I guess I"ll have to press him for Phase III - lot formation and utilityi nstallation.  

I'm trying to keep on top of it and communication with him as much as possible without making myself and annoyance at the same time. He has already gone off about other contractors using his services going off on him about the time frame for everything.  The squeaky wheel may or may not get the grease in this case, I can only say that he's trying to keep my costs down as much as possible, he knows I"m on a budget here.  

I'll find out tomorrow if it's fixed and if they went to my property. 

Meanwhile, I am going to be low on hours by the time I get back - but not so low I couldn't get an Oklahoma run. No, I don't want another run before getting a day off, but if I do Oklahoma, I can have almost a full day plus a full day off.  If I  get the reset after this run, it's going to be tomorrow only and probably an afternoon appointment the next day to load again.  I have no control over what I get, I just know that the Oklahoma run gets me some good home time. A day off isn't enough, I've been busting @$$ and I need a break.  

Unfortunately, some of my better loan options have expired. They make offers and give a time limit on when you can accept the offer.  I just have no desire to take out a loan before I know how much I will need and also, making those extra payments without the extra income coming in to be able to make the monthly payments.  I'm actually hoping to get this first part done without any loans and do that soft opening and see what happens.  

Then I can save up the 20% for an SBA loan and see about starting a whole new thing - at a different property. I've missed the tax sale - it's going on right now. There were some large parcels of land up for auction.  Oh well, you can't do anything with those properties right away anyway, but it'd be nice to get one and have it sitting, ripening with the age - time - required to be able to say it's actually mine and the originals owners have abandoned it.  But, those auctions have had so many rich people showing up and having bidding wars, the prices go well outside of my reach.  

Why start something somewhere else? Because an SBA loan will pay for property, construction and start up expenses plus cash for cash flow.  I'm already committed to what I'm doing now, but I could see just having a small operation on this property and starting a much larger one somewhere else. I just need to get the experience running a business and the ins and outs of the paperwork, dealing with employees and dealing with state and federal taxes, if there are any (which I assume there are).  

I would actually love to keep this current property a limited operation and have most of it - for myself.  It's close to home, it's beautiful and it's really a "dream" property.  At least for this area, there are no mountain ranges around there. But, I get the woods and a small stream and the sounds of nature within 4 miles of home.  Imagine a small operation that would pay for a custom house to be built on the rear of the property, separated from any and everyone on the front.  In that scenario, long term residents would be acceptable. Not near as much money but not near as much hassle, either.  

Long term simply means people are living in their RV's, on the property.  Pretty big demand for that right now.  Not just oil field workers or construction workers, either. Those are people that come to an area to work but they don't live there. They bring an RV, park it somewhere and live in it semi-long termm.  Others, however, are finding housing unaffordable and even unavailable and are resorting to whatever they can find.  I'm not supplying an RV, tho, that's on them.  I could see renting out mobile homes I might buy and fix up, but not RV's. They have to be treated with care and if you rent to people that don't care, well, you end up with a destroyed RV.

Am I changing my mind again? Let's call it evolving.  Learning as well.  There are plenty of other properties for sale in the area. High priced, yes, but they are there.  The only setback is coming up with 20% down. SBA loans require you to have some stake in the game, for obvious reasons.  If I need a half million dollar loan, I have to come up with 100k.  That's pretty much what it would cost to build a decent sized park with some amenities and including the price of the land.  

These are just thoughts floating around in my mead.  

Well, there it is, an empty trailer.

Cutting this one short.

G'day. 

 The rain never came last night. Instead, it's supposed to come in a few hours.  Just looking at what may happen in terms of heavy rains and ground saturation.  They aren't going to be trying to dig a giant hole in the mud - but - their trackhoe is still broken down according to the contractor and are waiting on a part to arrive.  

He appears as ready to get the dirt work portion over with as I am - I'm sure he wants to get paid and that isn't happening until that phase of the job is completed.  A pay-as-you-go thing, it works for me.  

I haven't received a quote from him to upgrade the size of the septic system to 1,000 gallons instead of 750.  It's something that should be seriously contemplated in order to be able to add some extra lots once the initial 14 are in place.  How much that adds to the cost is entirely unknown to me.  

He did find a driver for his roll-off truck, a person that allegedly has driven for 15 years but has been stuck in an automatic for the last 4.  Yup, that's where trucking is going, they are forcing autos on you whether you want one or not.  The contractor said this dude couldn't get the hang of shifting the manual even tho he claimed he had driven one previously before getting dumped into an auto.

I let the contractor know that he is probably a bit consternated having you sitting there watching everything he is doing and that adds to the stress and nerve level.  Give him a chance to simply figure it out on his own and he will probably get it back pretty quickly.  The age-old "ride a bike" saying.  I actually got on a bike the other day after having not had been on one in many, many years.  That old saying is true.

Oh, and I was right about the order of utility installation.  Apparently they do some kind of dirt buildup on the pads - I really don't know what he does with the extra dirt, everything is perfect at the moment. He knows what he is doing, I do hope I can be there when they do the next phase because I want to see what, exactly, he is doing with the extra dirt?  

Anyway, after the extra dirt, then comes the utility installation.  The only thing I can see that might take a bit of time is the power.  You have to install the pedestals on a concrete pad, so that's a couple of days right there and then digging the trenches and laying out the underground line, routing it to main boxes and then running smaller lines out of the main boxes.  I could see them having to come out a week for that.  Perhaps why it costs so much. After the utilities, then comes the gravel and after that? You are done with their participation in the project.  Time to move on.

I have found the building I want, but I first need to find where to put it.  It makes no sense to put it at the front of the property since I will be housing wifi equipment in there.  So, it will be somewhere at the edge of the lots and right next to the existing driveway.  But I want the contractor to see what I have done with marking out the lots. After I spent all those hours out there, he said he would be doing the marking, lol.  That's fine by me but I want it pretty close to what I have marked out.  I'll see what he thinks, I just want a decent angle - about 50 degrees.  This gives more room for a third row in the future on the other side. 

Anyway, I'm off to Brownsville again after having an unwanted day off. Not to say I didn't enjoy the day off, but I really just need to work right now and keep the money flowing in to pay for the various things I am doing over there at the property.  Of course, saying anything to the dispatchers about it, even just light-hearted mention, will get you their wrath so unless it goes on into several trips of garbage runs in a row, I'm keeping my mouth shut and hope for the best.  At least it was another Brownsville run versus getting dumped with an Oklahoma.  

Well, off to the races.  

G'day.  

 The event last night at midnight that occurred at the Love's travel stop in Lufkin, Texas, had its origins many moons ago.  

You see, when I am headed back to the yard, I always - and I do mean always - plan on stopping at the nearest Love's travel stop to get fuel.  That way, I'm not starting another trip out on empty or half tanks.  I want as close to full fuel tanks as possible so I don't have to worry about that at the beginning of ant trip, regardless of where it's going or how long it's going to take. 

There is method to madness here.  You want to drive at least a half day's worth of miles before you stop anywhere at the beginning of any trip, which means you need to fill up as close to the yard as possible on the previous trip. 

Anyway, I have been stopping at this particular Love's since they built it and opened it up.  Previously, I was using the old Love's in Lufkin - it's much smaller and the entrance to the fuel pumps is funky.  

But, there's been a problem at this Love's I was at last night since shortly after it's inception. 

The fountain soda machine? Is more often broken down than it is working. It's a strange phenomenon that I rarely ever encounter at any other Love's and never as often or as long-stretched-out as this particular location.  

They have a way of mitigating it by sending everyone to the Arby's to get ice and/or drinks.  If the Love's fountain is down - which includes ice - you go into the Arby's which is connected to this Love's and operated by Love's - and you get your drinks there.  Again, I don't get why this machine breaks down and stays broken down for weeks or even months at a time.  

You read that right. It isn't an overnight thing or a couple of days, it goes on for at- minimum weeks. This particular breakdown has been going on for well over a month now.  

Well, I have been informed by Love's employees so many times to go next door and get my ice that I no longer ask them. It's modus-operandi, their machine breaks, you get your ice/drinks form Arby's. Emphasis on ice, I rarely drink soda anymore, I just drink ice water or coffee.  Or both.  

So last night, at midnight - driving until 2:30 am - I stopped to refuel, get some refills and finish the trip out.  Fueled the truck, grabbed my refill cups, went into the store, saw the machine was broken down again - several signs on it indicating as such - headed straight to the Arby's door. Arby's was closed, but that doesn't and shouldn't stop anyone from simply going in to get their fountain drinks.  It never has before, to emphasize.  

I was in there about 15 seconds before this young lady comes to the door and hollers across the empty room: SIR< YOU CANNOT BE IN HERE!!  I looked up at her while finishing the first cup and putting the second one under the ice dispenser.  I said nothing back to her, so she raised her voice even louder, SIRRRR, YOU NEED TO LEAVE NOW!!!

Further ignoring her verbally but acknowledging her with a nod of the head, I continued on with finishing up the second cup of ice.  This was rapid fire, I was only doing the ice fill-up for maybe 30 seconds maximum.  She had yelled at me 4 times before a "manager" came - but I was on my way out the door by the time he showed up.

I finally told her that I was almost done, but she had gotten on her radio to summons the manager, who came very quickly.  As I said, by the time he showed up, I was literally walking through the doorway. He said "you can't be in here". I simply replied okay, in a calm voice not looking for an encounter.  

He repeated himself so I just said ok.  He then said: "And if you do it again, I will have to trespass you from the property".  Wait, what?!! That definitely took me by surprise.  I did not reply in kind, I just smiled and said, ok.  Of course, the thought going through my mind was: if they don't want people coming in here, why don't they lock the door? And what the h*** is this dude talking about having me trespassed from their store?  Because I wanted a blipping cup of ice after spending $500 that day?

Love's doesn't do business that way, I can attest to that. Again, I said nothing in return to him, I just acknowledged him.  I went to get my iced coffee - I was tired and I needed something to temporarily wake me up to get the rest of the 82 miles back to the yard AND to drive home after that.  I went up to the counter - this dude was now running the register - again, not getting an attitude with him at all, but he's standing there glaring at me.  

I smiled - I've had a long day, I thought, much longer than him or anything he's gone through dealing with Memorial Day traffic coming back from the Gulf of Mexico in droves and driving like idiots - I was cut off at least 100 times and that is a very conservative estimate.  It was more like hundreds of times, but who cares?  I am mostly used to it besides the ones that cut me off AND brake check me for no apparent reason. Trust me, I stay in the right lane and I do my thing, I stay out of the way.  

He rung my stuff up, I said "thank you!" and he just stood there, staring at me. 

Now, before this one particular person that reads this journal and constantly judges me and finds fault with me says anything, this situation with this Loves and their broken down machine and being told to go to Arby's has been going on at least 2 years.   I don't have to ask anymore, it's the same response, every single time.  So if you have a problem with that, I don't want to hear about it, I really don't. The constant negativity gets quite old.  I was not in a bad mood last night and that dude did not accomplish that in me, either.  The ice coffee woke me up, I drove out the route, drove home and went to bed at 4:00 am. 

But yes, I did contact Love's via their app through a written communication system.  I told them the entire story and then got a reply back a few minutes ago.  A very long email that basically said we are sorry that they operated in such an unprofessional manner and are taking steps to rectify the situation.  Note that I don't want anyone to be fired. They should be trained to deal with customers in a way that isn't egregious, in-your-face and confrontational.  

There isn't in any way, shape or form a situation where the behavior exhibited by these employees and especially a manager is acceptable in any type of business that engages in customer service.  I have no intentions of doing that with my RV park. People can blow up and have a literal cow and I will keep my cool, address them professionally and courteously and at the end of the day, know that I did my best to make it a good outcome.  

Anyway, I had actually put that entirely out of my mind until I saw that email.  I am focused on the property and getting the contractor to get out there and get the job done.  I did not hear from him this afternoon and I got busy with other stuff to the point that I forgot to contact him between the 4 and 5 pm time frame that he said to call him back if I hadn't heard from him by then.  Rest assured I will be calling him tomorrow morning early to see what's going on.  I will probably go out there early anyway to get a good walk in - doctor's orders to get more exercise and I don't mind that, really, just need to get my mindset a bit more adjusted to it.  

If they don't get out there tomorrow and finish it? It's going to rain on Thursday and then we have another indefinite setback.  

The dispatcher is on vacation. Or something, I don't know what, her manager has taken over and sent a group email to all drivers saying that she is taking over for her and that she has 150 drivers so don't call her unless absolutely necessary and no, I did not get a run for tomorrow.  I have no idea why, I actually wanted a run regardless of my view of trucking, I need the money.  I'm not broke, I just have spent a lot on the property for this venture and facing spending a lot more in things that are beyond the construction process.  

Anyway, time to get off of here.  

 So.  The empty trailer didn't show up until 4:00 pm.  The customer in Mexico attempted to state that the trailer had already shown up an hour earlier.  Yeah - no. I took a pic of the tractor still under the trailer and about to pull out from under it.  Put that in your pipe and smoke it : )  Actually, it wasn't the dude in Mexico, it was the people at the yard I was at making up these lies.  

Does it matter? To me? No.  To my dispatcher? She's on a warpath with these people. She needs to calm her @$$ down. They are our best customer and starting s*** with them is not how you keep a customer happy.  The people at the yard need to be a bit more forthcoming, yes.  I didn't know we had rented out the front line - of which there was absolutely no room, whatsoever, for any of our trailers.  So, they need to rectify that. If they are going to charge for its use, it damn well better be available.  

The front line is exactly what it sounds like it means. It's a row with a concrete landing for loaded trailers near the front of the property.  It's the easiest to get trailers in and out.  The back portion is much more difficult and these local drivers make it look easy. Yes, because they are backing in much shorter trailers and they are driving daycabs, much shorter trucks that make it far easier to back into tight spaces.  

Anyway, I drove until 2:30 am.  I had to stop for almost 45 minutes, take a nap which turned into deep sleep - good thing I set the alarm or I would have been there for the night lol.  But, I just couldn't keep awake, the nap was necessary.  Of course, there was some noise at 8 am this morning - after getting to bed just before 4:00 am - I know.  I know....I should just stay in the truck at the yard when I get back that late or I should go get a hotel. Either or, I get a decent night's/day's worth of sleep.  

I don't feel bad right now tho.  I'm about to leave to go get the 4 wheeler and get it back to the shop. I need that thing fully functional.  This is a need, not just a desire.  I've been looking for used 4 wheelers, but the prices are ridiculous.  I'm not spending 3 grand on a 22 year old machine, thanks but no thanks.  

Lots of things whirling around in my head, but I'm in no hurry atm to get into contracts excepting, possibly, a portable building.  I'd really like to get one out there and get that thing built. It's just a shell with a roof, windows and a door. The interior has to be completely finished and that might take a minute.  It's now that I wish I would have kept that electrical panel with all the accoutrements. That bugger is going to cost a fortune now.  Anyway, I may stop by one of the lots today after dropping off the 4 wheeler if I feel like it.

Which I probably won't, lol, but who knows.  

Well, the day isn't getting any younger and it's just getting hotter out there.

G'day.  

 Brownsville, Texas. 

Got down here yesterday evening, pretty much knew there wouldn't be an empty. It was Sunday and the day before a major holiday.  Having said that, it surprised me that a full contingent of office personnel showed up this morning and then a little later, the local drivers.  Apparently this isn't one of their holidays where everyone disappears and comes back the next day - if you're lucky.

Regardless, the operator in Mexico is demanding that the driver who is waiting in the yard for an empty - which would be me - get the trailer back in time for loading tomorrow morning.  That's all nice fine and dandy, until you get to the part about the trailer not showing up until 2-3 this afternoon.  And likely, if he says that is the time it will arrive, it will be a couple hours later than that.  So, for me to make it back tonight, I will have to drive until anywhere between midnight and 5 am depending on when the trailer arrives.

My dispatcher was, at least, on my side on this one.  If I can make it, great, if I can't, too bad, so sad for them.  Not a concession you typically get out of a dispatcher. It's usually more like, we need that trailer back by such and such time in the morning, can you get that done?  They make it clear that they want you to drive all night long regardless of whether you are tired, falling asleep, fighting to stay awake - you know how it is when it gets late, you're normally in bed sleeping and you're attempting to, in this case, make your employer happy.  

If I can stay awake, I will do it is all I can say and all I did say back to her. Definitely made no promises.  Sometimes I can do it, sometimes I have to stop for an hour or longer and get some shuteye and then continue on, but many times?  I just can't do it and I don't feel bad about it, at all. 

So, it's Memorial Day, Monday and I can only hope and pray that the contractor will get to my property this week, get the hole dug, push the "bad" dirt in and get ready to start phase 3.  He said he would give me a quote on this next part. Well, the lot is level and cleared where the lots are going to go, the only real thing that would need to be done is dump the gravel and create the driveway and the pads.  I continue  to forget to ask him what is done first - install utilities and then the lots or put the gravel down and then install utilities?  I dunno, I just don't think it such a great idea to put down expensive gravel and then end up tearing some of it back up to dig trenches. 

The drone video dude wants $350 to take pics and video, process it and send it to me. That seems pretty steep to me for maybe 20 minutes of videoing and then editing.  I'm not pulling the trigger on that one just yet. 

Tomorrow, if I make it back tonight and I actually can get motivated to do anything beyond just resting after driving late, I will take the 4 wheeler back to the shop.  Beyond that, I doubt I will do much of anything, late drives take it out of me and it's usually all I can do to just get home and go to bed. But, I really want that 4 wheeler running.  Well it runs, but the brakes are stuck on. 

Definitely bracing myself for a gravel quote.  Just depends on how much the gravel costs per ton and how deep they say it should be. If it's 4 inches I'm good, if it's 6 that's going to get expensive.  And, if I have to do the existing driveway - they aren't even responding to me about that one, I'm going to start getting pushy here pretty quick about it - That will add another 3 grand worth of materials plus installation.  I figure 2 inches would be needed to redo the existing driveway, it doesn't need 4 inches worth since it's already established.  

Add that up and I have 60k to finish all of the gravel, site building and utility installation.  Lol.

That doesn't include the 6 to 9k for the dirt work they have almost completed.  I don't know how much they are going to charge me for that, yet.  I suspect half a day to dig out the giant hole and push the bad dirt back into it.  They have skilled earth-moving equipment operators, it might not even take that long.

A tractor with a backhoe is around $275 per month for 80 months at zero percent interest.  John Deere brand.  I dunno if I qualify for it, was just looking.  Don't need that yet and I found someone to do bush hogging for $55 per hour, the cheapest I have found yet.  Take probably a couple of hours at most to run through the trails and keep the front maintained.  Just doesn't seem prudent to be buying all kinds of equipment right now.  

Build the bridge, finish the trails, get a doggy park built after they get the sites built, get a small portable building, install the wifi, do the legal paperwork, insurance and whatever else I'm forgetting - taxes - and get this thing rolling and then, after a while, see what I've got.  The doggy park will be as big as I can get it in the "affordability range".  Prefer at least medium sized.  

It would be really nice if they could get an empty here soon versus many hours from now.  I'm not looking forward to all night driving garbage.   

 One of the refrigerators at the Phoenix property has failed and of course, it comes out of my pocket to replace it.  Just not something I wanted to hear today.  But, Mark found a replacement from an appliance store that sells used appliances and has a 6 month warranty for $350 delivered with old refrigerator removed.  I guess that's a pretty good deal for a used refrigerator, certainly in this current market and inflation hitting literally everything that is for sale new or used.

We've used this appliance store in the past with good results, so I am trusting and hoping this one lasts a while. The other refrigerator I bought a decade or so ago - it broke right off the bat, but an old gentleman came, took it apart, fixed it and said this is good to go for a long time.  And it is still running.

The creek - I went over there with dog in tow and measured it.  6 feet long will cover half the span lmao.  Good thing I went to measure it.  In reality, about 14 feet will nicely cover the span.  I had no idea it was that far apart, it was hard to see with the trees in the way.  So, yeah, they want thousands of dollars for a premade version.  I'm going to have to build on myself I guess, looks like I can buy the materials for around $500.  But I'm not hand carrying all of that to the intended build site, no way.  That ATV will have to be fixed and a trailer to haul all the wood, tools and probably a generator out there to build the thing.  

I'm going to go up and get some grass seed at Lowe's in a bit and get some pricing, I already have the list, I found plans online for a basic walking bridge -- tho I might make it wider and make it heavy duty enough to handle a 4 wheeler as well.  3, 16 foot long, 4x4 beams should do it.  Planks can be thicker wood using large wood screws to hold them in place.  Install some railing and really, I hope anyway, it shouldn't be a terrible night mare of a project. It will take some time, yes, but hopefully not too difficult.  

That's all I've gotten done today.  I was sitting here starving, eating nothing today and past noon, just got up and went up to the store and bought food that has low cholesterol counts and stuff with fiber in it.  Made enough for not only today but also the trip to Brownsville and back up.  I guess I'm just going to have to watch calories so I don't turn into a 350 pound - person.  

Eating a heart-healthy diet

A heart-healthy diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, poultry, fish, nuts and nontropical vegetable oils, while limiting red and processed meats, sodium and sugar-sweetened foods and beverages.

Becoming more physically active

A sedentary lifestyle lowers HDL cholesterol. Less HDL means there’s less good cholesterol to remove bad cholesterol from your arteries.

Physical activity is important. At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise a week is enough to lower both cholesterol and high blood pressure. And you have lots of options: brisk walking, swimming, bicycling or even yard work can fit the bill.

Losing weight

Being overweight or obese tends to raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol. But a weight loss of as little as 5% to 10% can help improve cholesterol numbers.

These are the things occupying my mind in the last two days.  If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it right. Eating heart healthy, that is.  

And so it is, will be occupying my mind for weeks or months to come.  It takes a while to learn all the things you have to learn about any particular diet. Keto was a long learning curve.  Cholesterol maybe not so much because it's just cutting cholesterol, not all the other stuff that keto has involved with it.  

As for now, I'm going to get ready to go to bed and spend Sunday and Memorial Day - driving.

 So...

The lawnmower worked at least.  Did the front yard yesterday evening.

Getting the ATV over to the property, it was sluggish.  I figured out quickly that the brakes are locked up on it.  I'm not going to fool with the thing - or maybe I will I dunno yet - but likely just take it back to the shop. It isn't uncommon for brakes to lock up after a vehicle has been sitting for a while.  It was rather disappointing tho, the short, few rides we did take were fun at least.  

I'll give that dude one more chance to fix the thing correctly - brakes are something he should have checked knowing how long it's been sitting.  If he screws up again, I will move on. Just have to go two towns over I guess to find someone competent enough to fix the thing.

Now that I have to refocus my entire diet on cholesterol - well - that's a challenge.  There are a lot of foods I have been eating that I will no longer to be able to eat.  Red meats - pork and beef - will be the biggest challenge.  Foods high in soluble fiber apparently are good and a list of them didn't look too bad. I'm still going to keep sugar out of my diet.  No more off day beers and apparently coffee isn't too great for you either, at least if you are drinking too much.

No problem there, I started cutting back on coffee many months ago.  I don't smoke cigars anymore, either. Quit those last year and have had very little temptation to start back up.  They were making me feel "funny" and I didn't like that feeling. Like poison was being injected into my system. 

Exercise will also be a challenge.  I know I need more of it, but as I said yesterday, after 14 hours of work, I don't feel like exercising.  I get my exercise when I'm home, such as today I will be out at the property again, hiking around.  I've been looking for a walking bridge to put over the creek and have found several online. They aren't terrible expensive, I could have an 8 footer delivered to the house and just haul it over there on the trailer once I get the ATV (hopefully) working and pull it on the trailer to the creek in the back. I think the trailer will fit on those trails if being pulled by the ATV.  

It stands to reason that I will need a small trailer to haul things back there anyway, I may just go to harbor freight and get one of those kit trailers.  Put the trailer together, add plywood or planks and go.  I did leave the ATV over at the property - it's hiding in the woods and it is forest green, you'd number 1 have to be searching IN the woods IN that area to find it and then you'd have to really be looking hard, it's in a tuft of foliage that makes it hide quite nicely.  

I've been looking at used 4 wheelers, as with everything else, even old ones are starting out at 3 grand if they are running and 2 grand if they aren't.  Yea, I already have one that needs some work, I don't want to buy something that has issues. Just amazing that even old stuff - we're talking over 20 years old - is going that high.  So yes, it's worth fixing that thing and yes, it's 20 years old. But the motor runs great and no oil smoke coming out of it. 

And a very long conversation with the contractor. I literally blew up his phone with texts yesterday.  I don't know how many I sent, but I wasn't going to just let this thing ride.  Tell me if you can do this project or tell me no, I can't, but tell me! He finally called back.  Said he was driving, didn't even look at the texts because of it and went into a long discussion about how he is having a hard time finding people to work and that right now? "I am driving a rolloff truck because I can't find anyone to drive it for me".  He's offering $25 per hour.  Now that's starting to get closer to my minimum amount.  

I have never driven a rolloff truck - it's one of those trucks you use to haul containers to jobsites and such with, they dump trash into it, you come back with an empty whenever they call and you haul the loaded one to the landfill.  I am confident I could easily learn how to use one of those things. It's nothing more than a cable winch that pulls it up onto the truck, sliding on rails that hold it into place.  

Am I considering it right now? No, not really, the money I get from current job, even when the dispatcher screws me and gives me low paying runs, is more than that job would pay on 40 hours a week.  For example. I am going to Brownsville tomorrow - yup I'm working on another holiday - but that run with detention pay on 2 days worth of driving adds up to more than 5 days worth of 8 hour days.  

Most local jobs just don't pay anything. Now, at $25 per hour, I'd think he could find some help?  If he's giving OT, then I'd consider it. I didn't really ask him about the job, but he brings it up every time we talk and a couple of times it was obvious he was trying to get me to consider it.  The man has been in business 27 years, I think he said, he has an excellent reputation, it's not like his business is failing.  But I suspect if he doesn't find help soon enough, certain portions of his business will go under.  

Anyway, he said that the reason he hadn't come back to my property yet was because there had been forecast of rain and he thought there was 4 to 5 inches coming, hence he moved to another job that was in "sandy soil" that doesn't matter if it's wet or dry.  I really don't think he was making up stories, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy that offers petty excuses for things.  It's likely worth the wait to just let him and his crew do it on their time - but I just have to have dates, even ball park, where he's coming. He said he'd be coming next week to finish the mountain of dirt and then he'd give me a quote on the pads and gravel.  

Yeah we haven't even gotten that far. The quotes I have is for the utility installation. The other quotes came after he said he could do the entire job.  I know how much I'm going to be paying for the current dirt work, I have no idea how much the pads and gravel will cost, but I suspect it's going to be in the 15k range.  Maybe higher if the gas operator doesn't put anything down on the road.  I have not, of course, heard back from him and I will be calling him on Monday.  

And I'm tired of these jackals playing games with the gate.  The next step is going to be sending an email, one email to all 3 companies.  They are going to be informed that when I catch the person/people doing their thing, they will be trespassed from the property, replete with a visit from the county Sheriff and I'm done with asking politely, thanks.  I gave them a chance, that's all I can say.  

So what's next? Well get the quote. He said he doesn't need me to measure out the pads, he will do all of that.  Okay.  I guess I did what I need to do then, measuring out the perimeters of the lots.  I want to go to a building place and see what pricing they have on any of it. It's local and they have what I want.  As with all of them, they have no prices listed on anything. I liken it to a used car lot where they're trying pressure techniques to get you to buy.  Places that engage in that foolery? I just walk out.  There are many of those businesses in the region.  

I think today I will order the bridge. They don't have them at Lowe's, this is all custom stuff you have to have shipped to you.  I suppose I could build my own, but no thanks.  And anyway, the cost of lumber right now, the prices of these bridges I'm looking at are pretty good considering.  

In the future I may buy some heavy lumber and build a bridge separately where I can ride a 4 wheeler over it.  Lay down 3 8X8 or similar sized lumber, attach heavy planks on the top and walaah.  Yes I was looking for a bridge that could also handle a 4 wheeler but they are expensive and that's not really a priority right now.  Wish list type of thing.  Walking bridge is necessary to complete the trail that goes around the back and I can get one that is very nice looking in the $200 range.

Also, the man that is going to do the pics from above with the drone. I'm going to wait until the other trails are done so I can have a pic of all of it and then make a map out of it.  This will be available to anyone that wants one.  

I'm considering starting going back to a gym.  I'm getting serious about this cholesterol stuff, it's nothing you want to fool with.  At least I went to the trouble of finding it out.  I was at the hair stylist yesterday and she asked if they had offered an "Alzheimer's test".  Apparently if you have a history of it in your family lines - which I do, 3 of them I know of - they can give you some kind of test that will somewhat determine if you are going to also get it.  The lady said  it runs in her family and she declined, she said she'd rather not know, lol.  I would have taken it if offered, I didn't know there was such a test or what kind of testing it is.

I can't really think what else I can do at this phase of construction, much of it would be jumping the gun, getting too early a start.  Turning on the water and power would only have me paying a service fee every month for something I am not using. Internet the same, tho that is going to entail having to run a line to my property< I have no idea how far out that is to get an installation so I guess I best call the company and find out.  If it's months, then I'll order it.  If it's weeks, it can wait. 

Do I think this property is going to be done in a few months? NO.  But I am hoping they will have all of this dirt work, pad forming and utility installation done including running the power lines and installing the septic system replete with the sewer lines to each pad.  After they get that done, much of it will be on me to find the appropriate experts in appropriate fields to help me finish everything else. An accountant to set up any taxes I have to pay.  Wifi installation.  The man I already have to finish the website and do the promotion of the park.  Get the building, tho I'm thinking of doing that soon.  I'm going to need it and it's going to cost whatever it's going to cost regardless of when I acquire it - and - it will need to be finished.  Insulation, flooring, electrical, water, sewer line, drywall.  

I could do all of that myself, but my time is limited and I doubt it.  So, getting one sooner than later probably is a better idea and most of these companies will sell them for a small down payment and monthly installments.  Not interested in spending a lot of money, I need to get the dirt and utility stuff done and see what I have left - if anything.  

Anyway.  I'm just not real happy to have to start a completely new type of diet. I really don't think I can incorporate Keto with low cholesterol. I have to learn all the foods that are high in cholesterol and avoid them.  It's an amazingly long list, I am finding out.  Lots of stuff I already don't eat, but also lots of stuff I have been eating on the Keto regimen.  

I literally have no idea what to eat for breakfast today, just starting to learn this stuff, it's only been a day since I found out about the high cholesterol.  Oats, I guess. We don't have any but they say eating a bowl of oatmeal with soluble fiber is a good start to the day.  Not even close to being on a Keto diet, I will succumb to this nonsense and just try to eat small portions and keep track of my calories.

With that, I bid you a good day.

 So a few new things today.

First, I can get the guy that does the drone videoing and taking pics to come out tomorrow if I can get back early enough.  He said he is quite flexible so if tomorrow doesn't work then I'll just do it whenever I can, it's not a top priority, at all.

A place that sells those "sheds" that look like small buildings has a 10X16 for only $250 down and low monthly payments. I haven't decided on it yet, it's kind of small and I am not sure what I want to do yet.  I'd really like to have at least one bathroom with a shower in it to start with.  And at least one washer and dryer?  I dunno, that's really just up in the air right now. It's a decent looking building at least.  

My labs came back - the lady called me earlier today.  She said who she was and I blurted right out: Is there any bad news?  I want to get that over with.  She said, well yes, (instantly bracing myself for whatever was about to come out of her mouth): You have high cholesterol. Wait, is that it? Nothing else wrong?  

She went off on a long list - no HIV - which took me aback.  I didn't ask for any sexually transmitted disease checks and the only needle in me in the last couple of years was them taking blood out of my body.  I guess it's good to know I don't have some life-ending, nasty disease tho!  No Hep C - I DID want to know that tho I didn't ask the doc to do it, just slipped my mind.  In fact, the only test I asked for was cholesterol since the family genetics has a predisposal to having high version of it.

No diabetes, other things she said that I couldn't understand - too noisy in the truck - but all of it was no and I was very happy to hear all of that.  Still kind of baffled me they did an HIV test. Is this normal for them now to do that?  All I asked for beyond cholesterol was any "age appropriate checks/tests".  

I'm going to revisit high cholesterol diet, I've been through this before but it was a long, long time ago. I remembered that red meats and pork is basically out the window.  I also remember eating a lot of salads, every day, for a long time.  I also remember having to eat low-fat everything.  My keto diet is probably going to go away for a while, I will likely switch it to a low carb diet, just not as low as keto demands.  People still lose weight on low-carb, you just don't have the added benefit of being in ketosis.  

But it's going to be a serious change for me as I have adapted to the keto diet to the point I don't even think about it anymore, just do it.  I have the next doc appointment in November, they will run another cholesterol test then to determine whether they want me to go on the meds for it.  Right now, I was informed to adjust my diet and get more exercise.  Adjusting the diet, yes, more exercise?  

I just got done with a very full day's work, I am tired and I don't have any desire to go walking around a truck stop parking lot. I really just want to go to sleep, but this cholesterol news got me to wanting to start searching out diet plans and lists of foods you can and cannot have.  I am going to do some serious research and get this right and not waste a lot of time eating the wrong foods or doing something that will have either no benefit or have ill effect without even knowing it.

The other thing that happened was the ATV repair shop called and said they were done with it - tho they said it needs a new battery. Yup, I knew that, it's been sitting for a couple of years and batteries don't last that long if the vehicle isn't being used - unless you are doing maintenance charging on it, which I wasn't.  I'm going to get it tomorrow afternoon and haul it over to the property.  I will leave it at the property, albeit in the back 15 acres hidden in the woods.  I'm going to ride it around back there and make sure it's running right.  And then I'll have to get off the thing and get some exercise lmao.

After that, Taylor says the 7 year old needs a bike.  There are a bunch of families living on our street now and kids riding bikes up and down the street, the 7 year old doesn't have one and was running up and down the street with them.  I can't imagine a child hood without a bicycle, I instantly said I would buy him one (she wasn't asking me to, I just volunteered to get him one) My childhood existence was spent on bicycles, I don't know about you, but I rode mine all over the city of Pittsburgh.  At a very young age - you know, back in the days when parents weren't afraid to let their kids roam the streets?  A lot of things have changed since those days.  

I have no idea what my work schedule over the weekend is going to be, but with my luck, it will probably be all weekend long including Memorial Day.  The only thing that will really work is if I get a run for Saturday and Sunday and get back in time for Memorial Day off.  I won't lose my mind and have meltdowns if I have to work all of it, it will be nothing new.  

If we get the bikes (the 5 year old is going to want one too) I am going to get a haircut and after that, over to Lowe's and get some things for the property and after that? Well the day well be over and I will be out of desire to do anything but go home and watch reruns of old western shows lol.  

Oh, well I will also want to print out whatever type of diet plan I can find for reducing cholesterol.  Foregone conclusion the family isn't going to want to be any part of that much of a restrictive diet, I'm going to be on my own on this one.  But I'd rather try to change my diet and get whatever exercise I can get in than start taking drugs.  I'm not a pill person, not at all.  I can envision eating out at Applebee's or Chili's on days I have no energy to cook. Both establishments have a nice salmon dish.  

I've texted the contractor several times today - with no reply .He hasn't even read them.  I don't know what the deal is with this guy, but tomorrow I'm going to blow up his phone with text after text until it shows he has read it and also replies.  

Okay fatigue really hit me just now.  It's midnight and it's past my bedtime.  I just can't leave here until 9 am, hence getting out the laptop.

G'nite. 

 Lol, my last post I apparently forgot to post. 

Oh well.

I've been sleeping nicely for the last several days, which is nothing short of miraculous for me, I must have got 9 hours of sleep last night.  

Back from Brownsville yesterday, off to Oklahoma today.  2 good runs in a row plus an Oklahoma on a pay period will mean a "normal" paycheck versus the crap I'm getting this week because of the games my dispatcher has been playing.  It wasn't exactly shocking to me to hear my manager telling me last week that she was caught playing favorites with certain drivers and shafting others.

Why did she do this? I have no idea, but if she tries giving me 3 oklahomas in a row, I'm just going to say something to my manager about it.  Now, there are times when I need those short runs, don't get me wrong, but I don't tell them that.  If I get one or two when I need them, great, if I don't, I don't say anything about it.  It's just hoping for a short run when I need one.

You know, if I start asking for short runs on any given day, that lady is going to just start dumping me with them and I do not want her to get that idea, period. 

Anyway, 2 days ago I went out with the 5 year old and I measured out all the lots.  I didn't mark the pads - yet - and I need to buy a lot more string, I want them plainly, clearly marked that they have no difficulty understand where I want what.  

It was actually much worse work than I thought. Namely because I had to keep trudging back and forth the entire 300 feet, many, many times over.  Plus the lots, back and forth on them.  I'd like to get him out there soon before the weeds start growing, I want to get grass down. 

On that note, I am having another person come out and clean up the front portion of the thing so I can get all of those weeds out there and plant grass seed.  I need grass, not a field full of weeds and junk trees, please.  When I get back tomorrow, I'm highly likely going to go to Lowe's buy several 50 pound bags of grass seed and go to the property and throw it all over where the trails are.

Same thing, I don't want weeds growing back there, either.  Either way about it -weeds or grass - I was going to have to maintain it.  No word on my 4 wheeler yet, today is Thursday, I'm going to give him until Monday - again - and call back - again - that will be 2 weeks in the shop.  We need our lawnmower back if nothing else - he hadn't even looked at that.  I won't start pestering him with calls until Monday. If he has nothing done on either of them by Monday, I will start calling him several times a week.  

I really don't understand what it is with people out here, but they are definitely on their own schedule.  I've run into others that have experienced that same thing, it's not just me.  But I really, reeeeeaaaaallllly, reeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyy need my 4 wheeler running and on the property, I have several chores I need it to do. In fact, if he says he can't get it running, I'm likely to buy another used one. If I can find someone that doesn't want a mint for one, tho. Everything is going up with inflation, including used vehicles of all sorts.  

I'm still scratching my head why I set the alarm so early. 8 am? for a 10:30 load?  Oh well, lol.  

The dude that's coming to do the front portion isn't going to be cheap - $750 - but he's using a rake on the entire portion of it and then he's bush hogging it.  He claims He'll get enough up to plant grass.  He comes very highly recommended from a lot of different people in the community.  I was quoted $350 just to bush hog it from another guy so I don't really think that's too far out of line.  I just don't want to waste it and have weeds growing up again.

The good part is whether there is weeds or grass, it will all be smoothed out - which it isn't now - and then I can just have it bush hogged if need be instead of all of this rake work.  We call them rippers, they are metal spines that stick down off a rack all in a row and they lower it into the dirt and drag it through all of the dirt and pull up the weeds, roots, tree remains, whatever is out there.  He said he would dump all of that junk into an already existent burn pile out there, left over from the tree removal operation.  

Basically, once this operation started, it needed to get going quickly.  I'm going to have to start texting the contractor again and get a date of when he's coming out. The rain is done and over with until into next week, let's get this thing going. Whatever he needs me to do, I'll get it done quickly and I really expect him to get out there quickly before all that dirt work they did turns into a jungle again.  This concerns me because obviously, all of this work isn't exactly cheap by any stretch of the imagination.  

My newest thoughts are a group campground and extra large lots in the front where it's sloped. Maybe 4 "premium" or "diamond" lots that have wired internet and 60 feet wide and add amenities that most people wouldn't get on a lot.  A dog run, a mini playground, the wired internet, whatever I can think of to make those lots worth more to justify the expense of leveling them out.  The group campground thing only came into play when the guy that did the mulching etched out a huge, 3 space lot all connected together along the trails.  I dunno, maybe a group of people or some sort of organization will want to use it? In the fall probably, lol, I'm not thinking the hot summer.  

I'm definitely going to get water back there somehow.  I prefer using that well water if it's going to be available, but that means running electricity to that well.  I dunno how they will feel about me running a wire underground over the top of their natural gas line.  It is likely I will just buy some long 4x4's, plant them vertically in the ground on either side of the easement and run the wire over it.  Just seems the only way to get around their pipeline and not have them getting all upset about it. The water line won't have to run across the pipeline, it's on the back side of the easement.  Having water back there would be a big plus, I think, for campers,. You may not need electricity or sewer lines for camping, but everyone brings water with them.  This would save people from having to lug it all the way back in there.  

Well, I'm leaving early for work. I want to drive by the property, take a look and let the dream continue, even if only in my mind, lol.

G'day

 My HP desktop just now fires up, gets me on the net in a minute.  My laptop? Yeah, the one I have been complaining about a long time - takes 5 to 15 minutes on average.  Yup, I was going to replace it long ago, other things took precedence.  I was just amazed, walking into my bedroom and turning this thing on, how fast it got going compared to that pile of junk I was using this morning on previous entry before I hit the road. 

The amount of lunacy and stupidity on the road seems to increase at exponential rates.  I am so tired of putting up with other motorists driving like animals in a lab experiment.  

Anyway, I made it home well in time to get a good night's sleep and get out there tomorrow and get the marking done.  It dawned on me that marking the corners is not enough.  I also need to mark the pads - I don't want the pads square in the middle of the lots, I want them offset.  People don't use the driver side of the rig for anything but hookups. All of their outdoor activities are on the passenger side.  20 feet on the passenger side, 10 feet wide pad and 10 feet on the driver's side.  I wouldn't even do 10 feet on the driver's side but - think about it this way.  

The people on the lot next to them on the driver's side will have their 20 feet plus 10 more feet on the next pad over before any involvement with the next door neighbor.  People complain about small lots so much and so often and in such great quantities that that is not something I will be changing my  mind on. Well, I take that back, I was originally at 30 foot wide lots, then 35, then 40.  I'm stopped at 40.  Much more and I won't be getting 60 lots after I eventually get it all done on that land.  

The point is the utilities are on the driver's side and also I want hedges there as well.  Just need enough space for that.  My pads will be 10 feet wide and probably all 70 feet long.  Gravel costs are going to be high on this project, I don't really want to think about that right now, lol.  

I'll try to get the lots marked tomorrow and then find out what the contractor's timeline is.  I'm going to push him to get this done is what I will say right now.  I also want to find someone to come out and just flatten out the front of the property so I can have a bush hog go through and clean it up. Or - get the weeds off completely while they're flattening it and plant grass seed.  Which is a better idea, but I have to be conscious of the amount of cash I am spending  and how much I have in the bank to pay for everything and how much I want in the bank after it's all said and done.  

Tomorrow's list:

Go to property, dog and 5 year old in tow (Taylor is going for a job interview and can't be dragging a child with her) and mark out the lots.

Call the shop with my ATV and lawn mower and find out where we're at.

Haircut - yes, the important things in life.

Call the county and ask why they haven't done anything about the rotten, 75 foot tall tree

Call the gas company and find out when (not if) they are hauling gravel over there to redo the driveway-if they say they aren't going to do it, I may offer to pay half - if they still say no, I'm likely going to take them to court since they've already set the precedent that they would have a driveway made with gravel. I'm not talking about court with them until I have exhausted every other effort to get them to do it. 

Bank run - savings thing I posted about in a previous post

Write a letter to the owner of the properties next door that are along the driveway - he owns all 4 of them plus more behind them - and see if he is interested in selling any of it. In particular, 2 smaller lots, one of which is .75 acres and the other 1 acre.  

..and other more minor things but the day will be filled up and will be gone before I knew it started.  

I have been searching out deals on a small "shed" building, but I'm not pulling the trigger on that just yet. Soon, but not yet.  I haven't decided whether that thing should be at the front of the property or next to the lots.  I'm thinking the front since it's closer to electricity and internet setup.  Just a lot to think about right now, yet, there is no reason to start any of that until I see that they are starting the utility installation.  

Once I see a crew out there digging out a hole for the septic vaults and trenches for water, sewer and power lines, then it's time to start working on a host of other things.  Life will get far more busy than it already is.  

Yeah my mind has been wandering all over the place. There is a lot to consider.

 Another late night drive last night - with heavy rain thrown in.  The last 10 miles of the drive were in a construction zone with a concrete divider which was causing the water to pool up on the roadway, forcing everyone to slow down.

Everyone, that is, except an idiot truck driver who came zooming past me, got about 100 feet past and then started losing control of his truck.  Yes, it's called hydroplaning you dumb - well anyway, I watched this circus on wheels as he's slamming on his brakes and trying to regain control of his truck.

I was thankful my day was over and I was only a few miles from the exit to get to the truck stop that I normally try to make it to on the second day of this particular trip.  It leaves me with around 600 miles to go, which is nice because if I run into problems, I have extra minutes versus stopping at another place 50 miles north of here.  These are the only 2 truck stops in this entire corridor that you will find some place to park at the time of night I'm trying to find a spot.  

Parking is still and issue and I suspect with Elogs, it is a permanent problem that will likely see no relief anytime soon. Supposedly the federal government is looking into building parking lots all over the place - it was an idea that I have had and still would like to follow through with if I could find a couple of acres to use.  I don't even have to own the property, just rent it and see what happens.  If I could find a place big enough for say, 500 trucks - parking only, nothing else - and charge $6 or so per night, I am betting I could make a nice profit even with an attendant on sight.  I'm not really sure how I would handle the payments and enforcement of such without having a human sitting out there in a guard shack taking those payments.  

It's not that I would mind paying someone to do the job, it's finding someone to do the job that is at issue. Right now, in our town and surrounding area, employers are begging for people to come work for them and are raising their hourly rates to try and get people to even come apply, much more work.  

I did have to laugh - inwardly anyway - at the contractor thinking that paying $20 per hour for a driver was a "lot of money".  $160 per day X 5 is only $800 per week and that's before taxes.  I get that he has to be able to make a profit, but in the world of trucking, you are going to have to start thinking differently. People want to make enough money to not only live off of, but also to have a life beyond trucking.  This is why I think to myself, even if all I got was Oklahoma runs, I would be far better off than many of these local drivers that work all day long, yes they get to go home at night, but they are really not much better off than me.  

In reality, that contractor would have to bare minimum pay $25 per hour to attract any talent and more like $30.  Even then, it's only $1,200 per week, but that's a bit more palatable than $800 for working 5 days a week, all day long, sweating and working your butt off - he isn't just going to have that person drive a truck, no construction contractor ever does that.  You are going to be in ditches or operating equipment or whatever.

I had given thought to that job is the only reason I am going this far into it.  At least he IS - right there - in my town.  He goes out of town into surrounding communities, of course, but nothing more than probably 40 or 50 miles.  

The weather today? Well, it may play into whether I make it back to the yard tonight or not.  It looks like the worst of the red cells will disappear (radar) but it's still going to be raining. The upside is that it's Sunday and that usually means much easier traveling.  I'm going to try to make it back today, yes I am and hope that I don't get a run tomorrow so I can get out there and mark off the lots.  At least get the corners of each lot marked off and then contact the contractor and see what he does for the actual pads for the RV's to park on.  I want them offset and I may just go ahead and mark off at least one of the pads to ensure he understands how I want it done.  

I wish I were there right now so I could see if there is any standing water on the cleared off section. I really don't believe there will be because there is a slight grade and all the areas where water could pool before are now flattened out.  I'd also like to see how the water is running over the trails or if there are any spots where I need to install a drainage pipe under the ground. I don't want standing water on anything where I intend on having people staying or walking, including the tent campgrounds.  

Not too concerned about tent campgrounds right now - it's too hot for people to want to camp outdoors like that, at least in my mind.  There is no electricity back there - yet - though some day I would definitely like to get a line run back there.  

I slept great last night - for almost 6 hours than woke up this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, ugh.  It makes for a long day. Oh, my mom is hitching a ride up to the mountain property with my brother who also has a place up there.  They are staying up there 2 weeks. So, mom doesn't have to stay in the valley for the rest of her life, at least.  She is very grateful for my brother doing that for her, she can no longer legitimately drive with her vision problem and that's got to be a very hard psychological blow.  The ability to get ones' self around, mobility, is a freedom that probably most of us take for granted.  She has been driving all the way up until now, I suspect even her short trips to the grocery store are going to go by the wayside, she will either have to Uber or get someone to take her.  

This will motivate me to get my eyes checked as frequently as the eye doctor tells me to for the rest of my life.  Glaucoma can be treated successfully, from everything I have read, if caught early enough.  I still think she should sue the pants off the "eye doctor" that somehow missed the fact that she had glaucoma developing and could have prevented this situation altogether.  But, I understand at her age she doesn't want to fool with it.  

Anyway, departure time almost here, need to get ready to drive.

G'day. 

 The older I get, the less I am liking these late night drives where you're up until the wee hours of the morning attempting to get the trip over with, get the product to the customer and get home.  It was a very long day yesterday and I don't find any enjoyment fighting to stay awake, listening to music, blasting cold air, etc, in the attempts to stay awake.  

I can't even start driving until around 11:30 am today, which means another late day, at least until around 11:00 - 12 midnight.  

My manager was telling me the dispatch manager is as cold as ice after I asked him if that's the way she normally is?  Yup, there is no chit chat and she is all about business and literally nothing else.  I didn't really get that she was that way from the texts and phone calls I've had with her.  Those interactions are short and obviously don't give a real feel of how a person actually is socially.

Whatever the case, he was asking what kind of business I'm starting, of which I told him.  Starting out small, that's what I have the money for. He went right off into SBA loans.  Yes, I replied, I have the mountain of paperwork at home. I just got through - or it feels like I just got through with anyway - doing 2 separate loans and looking at all the info they want for the SBA loan, I decided to take a break from that.  I do believe I will eventually try to get an SBA loan, but I want to get the business going first and see what happens.  I'd also like to see if the property next door - just filled with trees, nothing on it - might be possible to buy. The owner has had it a long time and is doing nothing with it.  

Anyway, it's supposed to rain today and tomorrow - I have my doubts about making this a 3 day trip, but I'm sure going to try.  

Small plots of land next to my property, one is an acre the other is .75 acres and the third is 3.5 acres, all owned by the same person, all undeveloped.

I'm going to write this person - found his address on the tax rolls - and see if he's interested in selling any of them.

Meanwhile? It's time to get ready to drive.

G'day. 

 Every time something is completed, a new set of problems arises that have to be dealt with.  

In this case, maintaining the pathways that cost me short of 2k to complete. I'm not complaining about the amount of money spent, it was actually a bargain deal compared to other quotes and others advertising as high as $3,700 per day. At that rate, it would have cost me $7,400 to complete that job, which in my view, would have been outrageous.  

I'm going to have him out again.  Next time, it will be to try and have a road built to 2 of the campgrounds and a parking area near them for the other 2 campgrounds.  I will probably provide some sort of wagon at the parking area for people to transport their equipment from car/truck to destination.  

Considering at least throwing some grass seed along the trails. It may very well be that the resulting grass will only be able to survive on the sides of the trails, but that would cut down on the amount of vegetation trying to grow back.  Of course, another thought is to put down fabric they sell to restrict vegetation and cover the trails with rock - but that would be very expensive and not in the offing right now.  

Even grass seed is expensive.  Just going to do some research and see what the best cost-benefit solution is.  Interestingly, the Forest service recommends using some sort of gravel - yet I have been on many forest service trails in my youth and adulthood and have seen little in the way of gravel.  Maybe small amounts on some of them but mostly it's dirt with grass or some sort of vegetation on the side of the trail.  

No point in bugging the shop about the ATV, I'm leaving in 3 hours to go to the plant, load and drive clear over to West Virginia and likely won't be back until sometime on Monday.  Just because of the late load time, this really isn't a load they should be setting an appointment time at noon, it means I leave the plant no earlier than 2, meaning I have to drive until 1 am to get anywhere.  I bring up the ATV for at first, until I do something, it's going to have to be the method of keeping vegetation down.  

Yes, I am going to drive through the property today before going to work.  Gives me something to think about while driving.  I figure already that I will need to rent a mini-excavator to dig up the roots and portions of trees that the mulcher couldn't get out.  He tried, I watched him. The machine does what it does, wonderfully, but I knew there were going to be stumps that he just wouldn't be able to get out of the ground.  I mini excavator will dig those up quickly and now that I think of it, will remove all the vegetation and trees as the creek edge that he couldn't get to.  The creek is at least 2-1/2 feet deep, obviously he can't just run his machine over it and I wouldn't have wanted him to.  

Yeah I don't know how much it costs to rent one, but I'm guessing in the $600 - $800 range for a day's use.  Meaning I will need to mark everything out before hand that I need to get done so I can just start the operation without having to search all over the place for the stumps and such.  Meaning - a lot more orange marking paint.  There is a place that rents them locally and I hope will deliver it, it's too heavy for my trailer.  I just need to "beg" for a day off soon - well - I want to mark everything first and then ask for a day off.  Just need to have some time to walk through there and mull over everything.  Yesterday, I was walking at a brisk pace through all of it, just to see what had been accomplished.  

I could use a mini to also level out the campgrounds as well. And there is a hump at one of the trail heads that needs to be leveled out. As I said, I'm going to need time to walk through there and inspect all of it. There's a couple of places that will need a bridge, the creek at the back being the main one but also at the entrance to the trail, about 100 feet in, there is a small creek that will get your shoes nicely muddied if you don't look to step over it.  I personally don't need a bridge there, I just jump over, but for "normal" people who don't want to fool with that, they'll want a bridge.  As I said yesterday, those bridges are pre-built and relatively cheap.  

Now is definitely the time to start developing the trail while the rest of the RV project is slowly working it's way through all the processes/phases to get it done. It will take a while to get the trail to the point where I think it's ready for random people to be walking through it.  Limiting the amount of risks back there is key to keeping liability down.  I imagine an insurance company is going to want to see what kinds of protections I have taken to limit the risks of injury.

One thing for certain is there are several large, dead, rotting trees that I need to cut down back there.  We get lots of thunderstorms coming through this region and lightning strikes have killed off several trees back there.  There is one, giant, beautiful tree in the very back of the property, it is absolutely huge.  You don't see a truck that fat every day.  The limbs growing off that truck are like giant trees themselves.  I'll have to take some pics, tho I did post a video with a view of it.  I want to take a tape measure back there out of sheer curiosity to see how many feet around the trunk is.  Anyway, a few of those rotting trees could fall right over the top of the trail and of course, we can't have that.  

However, the next thing that takes precedence is marking out the RV lots.  They may be out there today digging out that hole, but there is nothing further that can be done until I do the next step.  I could have done it today, but I'm going to be driving almost 11 hours well into the night and I need to reserve my energies and alertness for the drive today.  I don't necessarily trust the contractor to lay it out the way I want it to be laid out.  I'm hoping after I get the first round of lots marked out that there will be room for a third line of them on the west side.  

This property line issue will come back to annoy me down the road. Losing 20 feet of land doesn't sound like much until you get to the point where you - need that land.  However, if I could get enough spaces in, I could simply build lots parallel to the 3rd driveway.  It's nothing I have to address now - but it likely that in the future, a court case will have to take place to determine who is right and who is wrong about the property line. The fence is the property line on one hand, a marker jutting out is the property line on another.  Actually, it's 14 feet in the front widening to 20 feet in the rear.  

I may, at some point, but enough string to run the full length of it and get a straight line from one marker to the other and see what I actually have.  

Now that I have refilled my mind with all of this stuff, I am leaving early for work to spend some time over there. No real physical exertion, I just like to see it and dream/imagine what it could become. And work out problems in my mind and looking up stuff to see what potential answers are on the internet to deal with them.

G'day.  

 Doctor visit over.  I filled out a bunch of paperwork for new patient and they got me in shortly after that.  The doc was cool, I'll give him that.  We were joking about all kinds of things non-medical related.  He stood there in front of a laptop and was inputting all kinds of info as he was asking me questions. I was quite candid about everything. 

He left and then came the part about blood. The doc had informed them I needed to lay down - that was the caveat, I'm either laying down or I'm not giving blood.  So what does the nurse do? Takes me into the "lab" and upon entrance, saw no bed.  The doc was standing right there - "are you going to be able to lay him down for that?".  Oh, the nurse replied, I forgot. 

I wouldn't have let her forget, lol, I simply and flatly would have refused.  We got back into the room I came out of and she informed me her husband passes out giving blood, lol.  I was amused that there is someone worse off than me in giving even just a couple of small tubes full of blood.  Some of us just can't handle it, what can I say.  She poked my arm which I barely felt, "Oh there's the worst of it" No ma'am, that is not the worst of it. She laughed lol I just laid there waiting for the feeling to come over me.

You're looking pretty white.  I didn't feel that bad tho.  I was in there about 25 minutes after the blood draw and then I left.  Lab results will be next week, I think. 

Back to the property, this dude had it going. The entire new trail to the right that didn't exist when i was there this morning was all but done. It was 10:30 am and the contractor doing the dirt work had already left with their dozer and dump truck, but left the excavator.  They are done with the dirt work and are - were - waiting for the underground utility locator to come and mark the underground utilities.

The new pathways were already done for the first run.  This was 10:30 am and I was amazed how much that machine could do in a short period of time. It is a big mulching machine, much bigger than they typical bobcat you might envision.  He earned his money, I'll say that.  It would have cost much more than what he charged me for several other companies I had contacted.  

The day is sort of a blur. I was at the property 5 times today.  One on of the visits, a very large grader was grading the driveway. I instantly guessed this was the gas company's contractor, the rv park contractor wasn't doing it, I was sure of that. I stopped the guy and asked him. Yes, we contract out to Sabine.  Oh, okay, are you going to have gravel dumped? Uhh, nooo, these oil and gas companies are cheapskates they won't be bringing gravel in here.

Uhh, yeah, that's not so clear-cut in my view of it, but I thanked him for the info and he continued on with several passes of it.  It looks good as far as being smooth, but there is hardly any gravel left at all now.  Just kind of plowed it under or to the side, what little was remaining.  It was that visit, which as the third one there, that I noticed that they had come back - the underground utility locator - and flagged where the pipeline is.  Yeah, that was a no brainer, the pipe comes out of the ground into some array of pipes and valves. You can plainly see what direction it is going in in both directions.

Not close to the dirt operation, they can finish that whenever they want to. I suspect they will want to get it done and get paid.  This guy finishes a phase of the operation and he wants paid - rightfully so.  I guess I'll leave a blank check here, if they finish tomorrow and he wants his money, he can either come to the house and get it or wait until Monday, cause' I'm headed to West Virginia tomorrow.  He knows I'm a truck driver and I'm in and out of town frequently.  

They never came back, tho I informed the contractor that the lines are flagged. He can't legally dig into the ground without having that done first, he didn't indicate when they are coming back.  

It is now on me, regardless of that, to mark the sites.  By the time I was in any position to do that, it was after 2 pm and it was brutally hot out there and I had already been hiking around the back of the property for a couple of hours worth.  Just no, it'll have to wait til' my next day off.  

The mulching dude had taken off around noon I guess it was to go do a CDL pre-trip test, which I found out later he had failed. I didn't give him any advice on that, I only was trying to help him with the driving part.  Anyway, I marked more areas I wanted cleared out.  I am up to 4 campgrounds out there now and that's enough.  I mean, the trees and brush and junk are cleared out. Other stuff will need to be done to make them a good tent camping site, but the hard part is over with.  

I'm going to need a bridge of some sort over the creek in the rear.  There's no other way about it.  I can't expect people to climb over a giant, felled tree as I have been doing lol.  I've found a very large number of websites with premade bridges for sale, replete with rails on each side for protection from falling off.  I need to keep the liability for people getting hurt as little as possible. Those bridges aren't that expensive starting at $100 and going up from there, many of them in the $200 range.  I just need to go out and measure the length of bridge I will need to cross the creek, really paid no attention at all to that today. I was in awe of how fast this guy has made all of these trails all over the place.  

I'm going to have him come back and do one more day's worth in a couple of areas that have no trails and have no access because of the thick undergrowth.  I want a maze of trails that can keep people busy walking for a while back in there if they so desire.  I'm going to have to get a drone service out to get some video and pics of it from the air so I can both make a map of it for hikers and have it online on the website when I get that far with this for people to see what kind of activities they can do if they come to my park. 

I've already determined to put in a sitting area - nothing huge, just maybe a large bench or something - with a cover and a curtain to keep mosquitoes out.  Maybe a few wooden benches along the trail in various places for a quiet sitting area.  These are not high dollar items but will enhance the overall allure of all of it.  

Anyway, the trails are finished.  The man is paid and I am quite happy with the results.  

Anyway, I'm really tired, this has been a long day and I'm facing 3 long days of driving ahead of me.  The heat really took it out of me.  I ended up having to go back a final time this evening and checking out the finished work and then paying the dude.  A flurry of work in just a few days time and lot of progress.  I'm pretty happy about that.  

 I woke up early this morning so I just decided to get up, get dressed, get the dog and head over to the property. There were several hours of work the mulching dude did after I had left there yesterday.  His machine and his trailer were parked in the back, out of sight.  I'm going to want electricity on the property pretty soon in order to get some video surveillance going - which I guess means also getting internet out there. 

Maybe not too soon, lol.  I just don't want to have people that don't belong back there - going back there.  

The next door neighbor's house at the front is going to be a problem as well. The garage - which is old, dilapidated and falling apart - also needs a paint job in a big way.  Or plant a hedge row and eventually the view of it will be knocked out. I'll give them credit tho, that truck is no longer parked there without my having to say anything to them and they have cleaned up that property.  I mean, they either moved the junk into the structures out there or got rid of it, either way, it's no longer an eyesore.

Makes me glad I never confronted them about that truck.  

If the gas company doesn't dump rock on that driveway, I'm going to have to.  There is no way I'm going to leave it like that for people driving 100k plus rigs in there over dirt and especially with all the rain we get, it has to have a fresh layer of gravel over it.  That's probably 10k worth of gravel right there.  When  you're talking hundreds of tons, you're talking bigger money.  Well, that should only need a couple of inches of gravel, so maybe not so much money.  

I'm going to press that gas company about doing it before I relent and have to pay for it myself.  

As for the trails......he got started on the trail I marked out yesterday after I left. He went all the way back and curved to the stream.  He's now out there making his second run and then he's going to do the other side. I tried, this morning, to weave my way through the other side - not a happening event.  It's way too thick and there is just too much thorn vines in there to even try.  I just told him to just make his way through there with his machine however he can get through there, I can't mark it for him.  

He's only there until noon today - he has to get a CDL to start pulling the equipment he wants to use for his business. I gave him several tips. He's doing the driving portion of the test today and that is something you have to be prepared for.  They'll ask you to park in front of hydrants, near driveway entrances, go over railroad tracks and try to get you to change gears going over them, make a left hand turn and not come back into the furthest left lane, drive under bridges and ask you what the height sign said and other signs as well.  

They take you on a "trick" course and see if you know what you're doing.  I told him everything I could remember, it became obvious no-one had given him this info before.  He was more stressing on the pre-trip. I just told him the basics - which the manual already tells him to do anyway.  Last time I did the pretrip test, the instructor got mad at me because I found so many things wrong with their truck, he canceled the pre-trip after I had only gotten done with the engine compartment, called me a know-it-all and defended his equipment. I promise you I was just doing a pre-trip inspection, we learn over the years what to look for, not trying to make him or his company look bad lmao.

They took down the beautiful oak tree this morning, right in front of my eyes. The dirt work people.  I thought yesterday - why didn't they just start that mountain further towards the front, then they wouldn't have had to take down my beautiful tree?  It's not like there aren't a thousand other trees on the property - literally if nor more - but that is in the RV section and the trees I selected to stay up were selected for a reason.  I'll just have to plant something else there and other places they have trampled small trees.  I'm not giving them a hard time about it, it is what it is.  I just know that they know that I don't want any trees taken down, at all. Not in the front.  The rear of the property, all kinds of small trees can come down and I won't miss them.  

20 more minutes until the nightmare of the doctor's office. I have been dreading this day for a  month.  I would literally rather be on the road driving than doing this, that's how bad my mind is making this out to be.  If they don't let me lay down for them to take blood, I'm just leaving there. I'm not going through that again with a staff that thinks they know best. I know best how my mind and body works in reaction to such things, not them.  Some people can't handle it, . Call me a wimp, call me other names, I .... don't....care.  But I'm going to face it and then go out to eat after wards and then go back to the property  The mulcher should be getting close to done by then, pay him up and then I'll take another look at what more I might want to have done there.  But, today is it for him, I don't want to pay any more for that stuff, he should have what I wanted done - done.  

I'm facing the dilemma of having to buy some kind of equipment to maintain all of the work I'm about to pay for.  Hence, I will be calling the repair shop later today and see if they've gotten to the ATV yet.  I thought about just putting a chain behind it, hooked to either end of a heavy piece of steel and dragging it over the trails to begin with. That would help smooth the trails out. But then I thought, well, there is wood shavings all over, I wonder if that will keep vegetation from growing? I might wait and see, especially the next rains that are coming.  If I even see the hint of vegetation coming up, tho, it's  a done deal. I'm going to do whatever I have to to maintain them. 

Or, pay someone at the beginning to go through it and brush hog it at the least until I decide what to do.  But I suspect a brush hog doing that much work is going to be pricey and the money may be better spent just getting the equipment right off the bat.  

Whatever the case, my departure time has arrived, off to the doctor.

G'day.