A fairly long day.  The boys woke me up this morning - a forbidden thing to do on a Sunday morning, they are not supposed to make noise if they wake up before everyone else - which they always do - and are to either quietly play in their bedroom or sit on the couch and watch tv.  They did neither.  Arguing, yelling, going at it with each other - pretty much what brothers do. 

So, I finally got up, went out there and told them I wasn't sure I was taking them to church today because of it.  

I was rather irritated at that particular point in time and wanted nothing to do with those kids.  

Took a shower, got some coffee in me and then had them profusely apologizing to me.  So I ended up taking them.

Well, the service only lasted an hour but I stayed another 2 hours for a Church 101 thing the pastor does with whosoever will. Usually new attendees but long time people show up as well.  They had free pizza both for the boys in the children's ministry room and for the adults. I had pizza toppings - my diet forbids eating any pizza dough unless it's the low carb kind.  

It was interesting albeit nothing I didn't already know. Basic tenets of Christian faith, I mostly went to see if I could meet new people. The pastor was perplexed when I said I had been going for 6 months.  

And let the problems begin!  First, I receive a complaint about a person parking their pickup truck in the grass. Yup, definite no-no.  I texted that person hours ago - when I drove through the park, it was still parked there.  Yup.  I didn't have time to deal with it, if they are going to openly defy me, it may turn ugly.  How on earth do you park on grass? And they are leaving deep ruts there as well.

Then I got a complaint about a person blaring music at midnight last night. That is a definite no-no and is clearly written in the rules.  The person said they went over and banged on their door to tell them to turn it down - which that person did.  

Then I visited the trash area.  It was overflowing - that's because I haven't received the other container yet, tho the people who piled it up could have put it in a 3rd container I have out there?  But that's not the problem. Someone put a clothes basket full of household garbage in it - not in a plastic bag.  So I had to pick the stuff out of there and put into a giant plastic bag - I keep lots of those handy.  

My rules are going to be changing. Well, they are going to be added to.  In fact, writing this reminded me and I have already updated them, printing them out and will be distributing them to every site.  I am turning business down now, I can afford to lose a person that gets mad if they don't want to live by the rules.  

We spend so much time at church, then getting the trash to the curb, then going to Kroger's for dinner items, well, the day was mostly over.  Kids to school, parents to work and me to the park in the morning.  

I am not letting up on my determination to get this stuff done.  Well, I need to go to Lowe's first now that I have the trailer hitched up to the SUV and get the remaining pipe I need and then back to the park. I'll install that pipe first just to get it over with.  Then a gamut of things that I have already reflected on in previous posts - but the sheds are up there on the priority list.  

I've been bombarded by texts from the people at lot 2. They really want lot 14.  They're decent people and I would rather have 2 pull throughs available.  So they moved over there today.  It's a lot more space. They said they'd be there til June, it isn't permanent.  

I'm considering getting more involved in church activities. Note that I didn't say anything about volunteering, I'm not ready for that yet.  Just that the pastor clarified their schedule.  The Lord's Supper is, of course, about breaking bread but it is also a potluck meal.  They believe when you take Communion, it is a part of a broader experience of eating dinner together.  So they have that twice a week.  I don't know about eating a potluck - that is usually a lot of carb filled stuff but perhaps I could find something, but I do want to take Communion. They don't do it during church services because of their belief that it should include a meal. 

And there are a LOT more groups than what the weekly flyer suggests.  There is also Wednesday morning prayer - it's at 7:00 am, I could probably make that.  Unless I go back to trucking of course.  Just thinking about it for the moment.  I'm just pondering right now.  A stress releaser? Some place to go to get my mind off this business.  I go home and I get to work on things related to business. I leave the house and 90% of the time if not more it's business related.  

I know small business owners are inundated with work, especially the first year and when they first start up, but life can't just be about business.  But yes, everything that needs to be done? It can get a bit overwhelming. It will subside over time when I get certain things done and won't have to do them again.  It's why I'm really pushing myself to get this shed over and done with.  It's the biggest thing right now.  The older couple volunteered to help put more baling wire on the dog park fencing. I completely forgot about it after I started thinking about how to get more business in.  

They're a real help. If I had more lots and income, I would give them a reduced rate.  Just out of the question right now by force of income - or lack of sufficient.  

 It doesn't seem to take long for things to develop.  The people that were supposed to stay 2 nights? No shows and no contact. I have received no email, text or phone calls from them. They're out 1 night's stay.  I won't charge them the 2cd night - I think. I'm going to review the industry standard once again but I think it's make them pay one night non-refundable and then the second/subsequent nights aren't charged until they arrive.  I will close their account and call it good.

The other people coming for one night at lot 11 haven't shown up yet, but it's only 2:15. They are likely just traveling through and planned their trip so they could stop wherever they wanted to. In this case, my park which is the cheapest around in this entire region for a decent park. There are sh**holes that most people want nothing to do with. 

I have 3 trash cans out there now. 1 is the garbage company's trash can - they are supposed to bring another one and the other 2 are much smaller personal cans.  The big one is full, the second biggest one is full but the 3rd one is empty. So I'm hoping it will last through tomorrow and I can drag it all out there Sunday afternoon for Monday morning pickup. 

I measured the hip camp lots.  I knew I had some space, but now I know how much space.  Well there's 2 ways I could do it. One is parallel parking on either side and at the end.  This will give me maximum space and realistically, small vehicles, I could probably get 7 of them in there without crowding.  I plan on doing 5 to start with.  Remember, I already had the bobcat rented for the shed project, it cost me nothing more but some fuel to finish out that lot after having had started it with the mini-ex - which I also primarily rented for the shed project.  

Therefore, the only real money involved here will be to run electric for 20 amp service for the 5 lots.  The wiring will probably cost a bit, the outlets are cheap and a couple of circuit breakers.  I'll put up "Lot 1" signage and mark the lots, but I'm pretty much sold on the parallel parking.  On the east side that means I can have 2 50 foot long lots and on the west side, 2 48 foot long lots.  On the south side, it's about 41 feet. It's actually much longer but there is 41 feet of fairly level space, the rest is a pretty steep grade.  

I'm getting my plan together in my mind, just want to resolve any lingering questions on how I'm going to do this before I start working on it.  

After I get the shed done it won't take long to set up those lots. But I do need to remind myself to get a couple of 50 pound bags of grass seed tomorrow and spread it behind lot 14 and all over the Hipcamp area.  

Right now, for the month of March,  I have $725 worth of overnight/short term bookings enqueue. I need that to go up at by at least $475 to make it worth having those lots available.  Much more would be nice, at 80% occupancy I could leave trucking.  But I'm not counting chickens I don't even have the eggs for, much less to hatch.  Same with HipCamp. Who knows if this will pay off? But you never know until you try.

And as far as the shed goers? I'm pretty much tired of having to trek into the woods to find a place to go to the bathroom. If the toilet never got used by anyone else, it would definitely get it's use from me and the boys.  I don't know what it is about those kids, but every - and I do mean every - time we go over there, one of them has to take a dump.  Why didn't you do that at the house?  We just left there!  Well I didn't know I had to go!! I will highly likely put a small desk in that shed as well.  There will be some space left to put one in and if enough space, I may put a couple of comfy chairs in there as well.

Nothing fancy, of course, an used, definitely - cheap. 

The contractor. That texting went well beyond what I posted in the last post.  He quoted me $6,800 on the smallest septic system he can provide. Gag. That's a lot of money for sewage.  I mean, yes, I spent far more on the Park sewer system as it stands, but this was just to get 4 or 5 more RV lots.  Well, it is what it is.  We also discussed his park he built.  They haven't sold it yet. They were offered $700,000 for it and they turned it down. They have it listed for 1.2 million.  38 lots on 40 acres with a pond and a party barn.  I dunno folks, I don't make up the prices to buy RV lots. Another one I saw today is a 14 space facility listed at $699.000.  See if I could get that much money for my 14 space park? I would be seriously tempted to sell it, take the money and go build another park somewhere else.  Get another 20-40 acres and do it all over again.  

One of his partners in that endeavor is also a banker. He told me to call him for an appraisal or he could probably just give me a ballpark over the phone.  Ok! He then said I could probably get financed for expanding the park through him as well. OK!! He's on my list of things to do Monday, he gave me his phone number and I hope he gives me some sort of good word to the man.  I paid all my bills to this contractor immediately after they completed each phase.  I mean, drive up there and pay them in person type of stuff.  I made sure I stayed in his good graces because I knew I would probably need his services again.  So, there is a beacon of hope there, at least, for a sizeable loan - somewhere in the 250-300k range. If I can't get at least 200k I probably won't do it.  I need enough for at least 14 more spaces, a mid-sized swimming pool and I would like some sort of clubhouse structure.  Nothing fancy, again, just something where people can hang out, an office, rentable party space for locals.  

Don't want to get too involved with thinking about that right now, I need a "yes" or "we will look into it but it sounds good" or something like that before I start seriously planning a phase 2. I have phase 2 in my mind already as it stands. 

My Verizon business credit card came in today as well. As with the AMEX card, I will be using it in a limited fashion and paying it off monthly.  The idea, of course, is to build up business credit score. 

I did force myself to go back over. Someone had dumped a bag of trash on top of an already full trash can instead of putting it into a completely empty trash can next to it. ??? I just don't understand people but I am not saying anything about it to anyone, it's not worth it. I'll just deal with it and bite my tongue.  

But while I was over there, it dawned on me to go ahead and measure out the area for Hipcamp, I'm glad I did. It gives me some perspective.  There is ample room for pickups and even medium sized trailers in there. Just no sewer connection or water.  And no 50 or 30 amp electrical service. I'm not trying to drag that crowd in there unless they are just looking for a spot to stay overnight on the cheap. I've been trying to decide what to charge. I was thinking $12 per night, but that is too cheap. I'm going with at least $15. That gives them a 20 amp electrical connection, access to fresh water if they want to fill up their tank on the way in with a "community spigot" and access to the shed with all that will have in it. I think that's more than  a fair deal and should hopefully bring some people in.  I'm going to heavily advertise it, that's for sure.  

Well that's enough.  I am going to log into quickbooks and start scanning more receipts. Fun, fun.

 All of that stuff is done.  I'm burnt out and I'm taking the rest of today and all of Sunday off.  The only thing I'm going to do is go back over there and deal with trash.  

The Hipcamp area is much larger than I originally was going to do it, but it needed enough room for vehicles pulling trailers to be able to maneuver in and out of there.  I think I succeeded - by far - in that regard.  I am rather pleased with the outcome. It's not perfect, but it's definitely going to work.  

Now, there is still a lot of work to do, of course.  I have to go buy more sewer and water pipe for one thing, install it and then I will end up backfilling the rest of that by  hand. Work on it for an hour a day and I'll have it finished in a few days after I start the process. I see no need to wear myself out with what's left for backfilling, it's next to the shed, it's caution-taped off, it isn't in anyone's way and most of it you can't even see from the park to begin with.

I just won't rent that machine again for near $400 for what would be 30 minutes work if that on it and then return it.  

The idea of just planting grass back there is solid.  A natural appeal, that's what hipcampers like for the most part anyway.  A lot cheaper and I will have to mow grass elsewhere as it stands.  That's another expenditure I have been dreading.  A new riding mower isn't cheap, a used one isn't terrible but they always seem to need some kind of work done to it. I don't need or want someone else's project, they can fix it and then sell it.  Or not, but I won't be buying it.

Lot 14 is as done as it's going to get.  I'm not buying another $700 load of gravel but I did scoop some of the new stuff up from the driveway - where it wasn't bad when it rains - and put it over on that pad.  The people that paid for that site never showed up and never called.  Standard policy for the industry - if you aren't showing up, call and tell us. If you don't call or email, you will be charged one night's rental. They had a 2 day stay going.  I don't know, maybe they got hung up somewhere and couldn't make it and perhaps are coming today? If that is the case - a legitimate excuse anyway - it'll just be a one night's charge.

There is another one showing up today and has paid for the night as well. Just one night stay.  After that, I have nothing until the 9th of next month.  I am hoping there will be some overnighters that pop up out of nowhere and reserve spaces.  I am letting the folks on the pull through back into 14 and that will free up a pull through lot.  I'll have 2 pull throughs for overnight stays and one back in - for now.  Until I figure this out - meaning how many of these short term spaces do I really need? ... I'm leaving it like that.  I may figure it out quick, money is a thing and I don't want to leave any on the table if it doesn't pan out to have 3 of them.

Monday I'll go buy the rest of the pipe and then I'll start figuring out the electrical and how I want to bring the drain for the washer and the water for the washer into the building.  I will have another inlet for water at the other end of the shed.  It's going to take some figuring and I'll probably be standing in the plumbing and electrical aisles at Lowe's for quite a while trying to figure what I need to do. It may sound easy enough, but it really isn't lol. A pro that does it all the time would instantaneously know what to get for what applications - I am no pro.  

I'm going to install all of the electrical outlet boxes first, run the wire that I bought for it and then figure out how much more wiring I will need. I am adding a lot more outlets than I originally anticipated.  2 light switches - bathroom and main room, 2 ceiling light fixtures, a 4 outlet setup at the kitchen area, 2 electric dryer hookups, another double set up for 2 washers and an outlet near where the window AC unit is going to go.  I think that's it.  Well I guess an oven also has a 30 amp or 50 amp outlet I'll need to install for that as well.  There will be no electricity in the bathroom. Or, I will run the wiring but won't install an outlet.  I may change my mind and if I do, I don't want ot have to fish wire through walls.  

I'll have to get some insulation and then I'm going to have to frame and drywall the shower area - after I install a shower stall.  Toilet first too, might as well get the hard stuff done first before framing.  Framing is relatively easy, I can also hang drywall, I'm not the greatest at texturing.  

A new kitchen base counter with counter top and sink are well into the $600 plus tax range. 

No thank you.  I will look outside of the area on both craigslist and facebook.  Dallas, for example. Yes, I'll drive to Dallas to save hundreds of dollars. Bigger cities? You can frequently find people who are remodeling their homes that are selling the old stuff cheap.  Take the trailer, pick it up, spend a bit in gas and time but save a ton of money.  And if I have to do that, I'll see if I can find a used bathroom vanity. NO used toilets, tho, they are $100 for base model and that is what I am getting - new.  I just can't and won't deal with a "used toilet".  

Shower stall is also going to be a bit pricey.  It's time to start looking around and see what I can find on the cheap. I don't need expensive, fancy stuff, I need base model, cheap stuff, new or used.  I won't be able to get away without a shower or a toilet, I could save the kitchen for later - tho I really don't want to.  The first priority is to get laundry going. I have most of the stuff already. I need to build the small shed and put the water heater in it and get water lines going to and from it.  So that just reminded me that I need to do a T off of the underground line and run it to the heater.  I'm glad I just thought of that.  

I think I'll build that shed Monday, get the water heater in it and go from there. I want that shed built, it's just laying there in a box and vulnerable. There is no-one driving back there, yet, I just want to build it before anything happens to it. As it stands, I came very close to running over both of them with the Bobcat, gag.  

Maybe I'll build both of them Monday - if you can indeed build 2 of them in 1 day.  I'll need the other one for my tools.  Yes, I think it's prudent to get that out of the way and get it done before anything happens to them. After that I can figure out the water line to the water heater and the washing machine. That 'should' be relatively easy.  Yeah, we all know how that ends up going.

The hardest part is going to be electrical.  I know it, I can feel it and I am just going to face it last.  It's important to get water and drain lines installed first - electrical wiring can be routed around it.  I'm sitting here planning this as I go along, writing this entry.  I have to have a plan and I usually make one and at least try to stick to it.  Sheds, water heater, water line, drain line.  

So, anyway, I can spend today and tomorrow searching for the things I need, and work on paperwork/billing/inputting expenses and sales.  Well, I don't really have to do sales if it's done with credit card online.  That gets deposited automatically into my bank and then Quickbooks automatically adds it to my "paperwork". Pretty cool, actually, for $15 per month.  I just have more receipts for various things going back months that I am working on getting into the system.  It's quite tedious, at least for me.  

I've accomplished a lot in the past 3 days, I'm fairly proud of myself.  It has been a lot of hard work, a lot of physical labor and yes, there's more to go but still, I got a lot done.  

I'm tired. I feel like I could just fall asleep, sitting here in my computer chair. The contractor that built the park just contacted me out of the blue asking what I am charging? I don't know why he was asking that - perhaps for his own park that they may end up having to operate because no one is buying it/not for that much money. I told him my current rates and said I would be raising them eventually, but for right now I'm just trying to get on the map.  

He's a nice guy, he just doesn't communicate very well - he tries to carry too many hats in the company.  He gets so many calls and texts, he says by the end of the day, he's got over 100 missed calls/text messages.  I can understand not getting back to everyone right away - or even at all.  But I did ask him to throw out a number for a house sized septic system.  He hasn't responded lol.  Oh well, I'll keep asking him until I get a number. No, I can't get one right now. It's a goal.  More RV lots is a goal.  Hipcamping is no longer a goal, it's spend more money but get it done.  I'm trying to spend no more than a thousand more dollars on that setup, which is why I need all of that stuff cheap.  

Frankly, as much as I don't want to, the kitchen area may have to be put on hold for a while.  Hipcampers will come as long as I have a toilet and a shower, the kitchen is an added bonus.  I don't know if it's really mandatory. I did some looking on Hipcamp and saw places that were offering a basic kitchen.  I suppose I could just start out with an oven with stove top. No, that won't work. You can't clean the pots/pans/utensils without a sink.  However, instead of having a base cabinet with a kitchen sink, now that I think of it, I could just have an oven, a small countertop only and a utility sink.  Have pots/pans hanging from hooks on the wall instead of cabinets.  Keep kitchen utensils all in one, revolving-style can. We have one, they work great.  This would cut down 

They are calling it a "rugged tub" and I am looking at the whole setup for $116. That's substantially cheaper than buying a base cabinet, plus a counter top, plus a sink and faucet. Unless I think of something even better, this is probably what I'm going to do.  I'm looking at used electric ovens for $200, one of them as it an actual store and giving a warranty. 

Looks like Home Depot has a complete "industrial" shower - it is glass and it doesn't look shoddy - for $339. But that's just initial searching.  ` 

I've got too much on my mind, time to de-stress. 

Saturday, morning -early.

If that alarm hadn't gone off, guaranteed I'd still be sleeping.  I'm just going to work on the Hipcamp area this morning and then take the machine back.  I was going to work on the front, but I think Hipcamp, being a potential money-maker, takes priority.  

It's going to need some sort of gravel tho. 

The cost of SB2 went up $250, I am not spending that much on a Hipcamp operation.  It is likely I'll go with the other place that quoted $500 for crushed concrete.  Of course, their prices may have gone up as well? 

I'm not doing that today tho.  I could leave it dirt and still rent it out to people who don't particularly care.  That's the Hipcamp group, they end up in all kinds of places that aren't official Rv parks or any other type of business for that matter. A lot of it is people with land that.  I have the land part!  I suppose I could plant grass on the areas where people will park.  Actually I could plant grass on the whole thing and then just drive in and out of there to keep a driveway clear of it.  Grass = $35 per bag - 2 bags would cover it.  

That sounds better, actually and much cheaper.  

I haven't even gotten a riding mower.  Most of the grass I planted grew to a certain height and has just stayed there. It's odd, perhaps it's the layer of clay underneath the top soil?

Well, whatever the case, it's time to get outta here. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday have rain forecast for next week.  I'll get a few bags and spread it before then and see what happens.

C'y'all later!

 I graded the heck out of that driveway with that bobcat today.  I mean, I sliced and diced it until the side that is giving problems was well cut down and hopefully deep enough to drain down the hill.  I sat there and thought, I'm doing all this, but it's still going to get  muddy. 

So I called the rock place and had them deliver 15 tons of SB2 gravel. I couldn't justify having that machine and not using it to spread gravel.  However...the driver was awesome.  I told him I just want a couple of inches and he said fine, once the gravel started dumping he took off! He got 200 feet before the bed was empty!  

I can't say I'm pleased about these decisions to spend money, but it had to be done.  I'm actually going to steal some gravel from the far end tomorrow morning and put it over where the backfilling was done on lot 14.  I don't know what to say, the costs have just overwhelmed me. I wonder if I would have even gotten into this thing if I had known the endless things that need to be done before I can call it complete?  

I'm looking at another grand - at least - to finish out the shed with everything I want to do with it.  

But, it is happening.  I have another 6 day rental for one of the short term lots.  And the people that wanted lot 14 that I had decided to use for short term? Forget it.  They can have lot 14 and I will have another pull through site available. Pull through sites are immensely popular with the traveling bunch.  I just wish I had another 14 or even 20 lots.  I'm sure I could fill them up and I'm sure I could live off of that.  Yet, I'm also sure I could make it if the short terms will fill up at least 80%. 

These people are actually using the campground software. It sat idle for so long I had wondered if I had wasted my money and time with it.  

I am driven - I've said this recently but I'll say it again - driven to get this shed fixed up and done.  I have to have these amenities. It's no longer, at least in my mind, might need them, I have to have them. It's an industry-wide standard to have laundry and showers. A kitchen isn't, but that's for a different venue. That isn't RV'ers. These giant 5th wheel RV's have full fledged kitchens in them including an oven.  I mean, I've been in a few now that I've opened the park. Full sized refrigerators, ovens, even an island counter!  They're huge with those slideouts.  

I'm admittedly a bit scatterbrained right now. My mind is all over the place.  I couldn't do a trucking job right now even if I wanted to. I'm glad I can survive at least a couple more months if I really need to. I'm at least another month worth of work here.  The shed will take longer than I expected, I can already tell that.  You start talking about insulation, drywall, electrical wiring and outlets, water, sewer, shower, toilet, kitchen - it's going to take a while folks.  The laundromat will be opened - I hope to have it that way anyway - before everything else is down.  People are wanting it that are staying there.  Great, give me 70 loads per month of wash/dry and I'll have the payments made on it.  

Oh. Well yes, I backfilled almost everything - as much as I could anyway. I would have had to go buy more pipe and I just didn't have time for that. With the price it is to rent one of those machines, you get busy with it.  You don't fool around going to stores, you sit on that machine and use it.  The backfilling took much longer than I expected.  The ditch was deep, it took many, many passes over the various portions of it to get it compacted and leveled. 

I finished the backfilling - in  near 3 hours I think. Maybe less. Then I started leveling out the Hipcamp lot and opening up more room. I'd like 5 spots, please. Got into that and said, wait, that driveway.  I was cutting the side of that driveway and hauling out a lot of dirt/mud. It needed to be removed, not just displaced. I got so involved with that that I just said, screw this, call the dude, have him bring over some gravel.  

Back to the HipCamp lot and I can do a couple more hours worth tomorrow morning before I have to take it back.  You only get 8 hours of use on a machine in any 24 hour period.  Which is why it didn't bother me that Taylor was texting and calling me - I didn't hear any of it, that machine is noisy.  But I did, finally, happen to feel the vibration of my phone after a text message and pulled it out.  She was on her way home, but no way she was making it in time.  Jaxon will be taken back to school if no-one is there to pick him up.  I say it didn't bother me, I mean it didn't bother me to quit and go get the kids. I am always there for her - at least while I'm not driving trucks - if she needs me. Home is 10 minutes away. 

So I got the boys and here I am.  I did end up doing some shoveling today, just to get the dirt underneat some lines going to the shed that I didn't finish yesterday. 

I'm going to be up early again tomorrow morning. This time, the machine is sitting there. Not: this time, it's raining. You know what? From what I could see? It didn't rain over there this morning at all.  If it did it was negligible.

I'm going to sit and think what I want to get done tomorrow morning with that machine. You can get alot done in 3 hours.  

I have no idea if the people that paid in advance showed up for lot 14 today.  ?? I was there all day long and they never showed or called.  I imagine going over there now at almost 6:00 pm and finding them there.  I dunno, but if they are ok with it, I am too. It's a freshly finished construction site. A lot of grass was torn up - expected.  

Anyway, with the way the short terms are going, I'm pretty much sold on keeping at least 3 of them. After I get the folks on one of the pull throughs moved and have 2 pull throughs and one back-in for short term, I think it will get even better.  

Whatever the case, I haven't eaten much today, either. Not by design.  But I'm very hungry right now and I am pretty much decided to eat out. We have nothing thawed from the freezers and there isn't anything to cook in the refrigerator. A nice salmon meal sounds delicious!

 Good ole' Mama Nature.  She knew I had to go rent a machine to backfill the trench.

So what does she done did do?  Rains on everything, of course.  I woke up early today expecting to get up and get out of here.  The next thing I know, I'm hearing the pitter-patter of water falling on my window AC unit. I have no idea what it looks like over there. I'm just sitting here pondering my next move.  

Well, as it stands, I have someone coming in for an overnight stay tomorrow for lot 11. If worse comes to worse, I will give today's visitors lot 11 and tomorrow's visitors. 

I may have little choice.  I will be going over there in a bit, the rain has stopped and I'm giving time for any accumulated water in the trench to sink into the clay.  If it's mostly gone, I will get that machine anyway and get with it.  

Well that's a little bit ridiculous. $335 for 4 hours of the bobcat or $385 for 24 hours?  I just called over there to make sure they have something available. For $50 more? I'm getting the thing for 24 hours.  And I"m waiting a couple of hours to get it. Actually, I'm going to the property first to see if this is even going to be doable today.  The rain has stopped but there are oftentimes vast differences between the amount of rain we get at the house and the amount the property gets.  It's weird.  

I really can't afford this machine.  I have little choice. It would take me a couple of days to backfill that manually and I am already worn out from 2 days of working in that trench.  In fact, I was pretty irritable yesterday after I got home and wasn't feeling all that great.  I feel much better this morning, thankfully.

It's a lot of dirt to do by hand. Too much for me and guaranteed hiring people to help me do it will be almost fruitless.  People want the money, they don't want to work. Covid really messed this nation up in that regard and I wonder if anything will ever return to pre-Covid mentality?  Probably not Not with the media blaring "news" of - well I'm not going into it here. I'm not biased - well I guess I'll take that back.

I am biblically biased, if that makes sense, towards certain things going on in our society that the media and elites are attempting to normalize.  They have weaponized certain terms, phrases and words so that if you speak out against them from a moral standpoint, they label you, come after you, cancel you and dispose of you.  It's an Orwellian world of a relative few people dictating to the rest of society how we should think and act.  If someone gets into my face about that stuff, they are going to get a dose back at them. 

But I mostly find internet arguing useless and many of the people that start the trouble are just trolling, trying to get a reaction.  I did that for years in that political debate group. Thankful to be done with all of that. I am in a small group of people where I occasionally post something that is going on, post my opinion and see what happens.  Not that often, rest assured and definitely not consuming the time it used to. I have a business to create, run, get automated and then quite likely, go back to trucking.  

I have money coming in but my personal funds are starting to run out.  Speaking of money coming in, the second recurring monthly lot payment is due from a person and I haven't heard from him. He will be hearing from me shortly: Do I have your permission to run  your credit card?  Some people have given permission in advance, but when it comes to something like that? I want approval.  No one will be able to say I took money without their permission.  

Well that was quick: Yes sir go ahead. Indeed I will, lol.  And done. Next payments - several of them due on the 1st. Even with a $500 electric bill, I will start pulling ahead on the business account quite a bit now.  I'm thinking I need a load of gravel over there today - nothing I can afford but nothing I can afford not to do.  I will try to get the riverrock from the back, first, but if that doesn't work, I have little choice. It's just muddy water on a 40 - 50 foot swath of driveway that just is ugly and gets people's vehicles dirty.  

Still 3 more days until that pull through motorcoach gets out of there.  It's the only one available for short term right now and I'm sort of regretting that. I think I could get more overnight business with 2 of them available and get rid of one of the back in short terms.  The next pull through out of there - which is probably going to be that rail worker - I'm going to go ahead and keep that one open as well as lot 5 pull through and see what happens. Maybe nothing, but there are several upcoming reservations for lot 5 so far.  I may not get as much interest in long term now that I've raised the price back up to $475 a month.  It's just that electric bills are going to eat my finances alive without doing something to mitigate it.  Meters are around $300 a piece.

Yes, that's just the meter.  So near 4 grand to outfit the entire park with them - out of the question.  

Well, it's getting near 8:00 am and the rain stopped about 45 minutes ago. I'm going to go over and see what the damage is. 

I pray the Lord's blessing that I can still get that trench backfilled today!

G'day

 Absolutely exhausted. 

I wasn't sure I was even going to be able to finish today. My arms were aching from shoveling and my legs felt like dead weights.  Wet feet, pants and shirt both from mud/moisture in the trench and sweating profusely - this is serious hard work, no machines involved with this.  

I persevered.  The absolute hardest part was, as I knew it would be, getting the sewer pipe at the correct pitch. It means cutting and gluing together pipe, putting it down in the trench and then using a level.  There was an area where I knew I had dug too deep but it was much deeper than I had originally suspected and I was there shoveling dirt to get the pipe at a good pitch for - hours actually. 

3 hours passed, looking at the clock I was shocked.  I was like, wait a minute, I haven't even started on the water pipe!  But I finally got the sewer pipe as far back as I could go - I actually ran out of pipe but it ended where i wanted it to so no worries.  

The water pipe was a rather involved process as well.  Turn off the water to the park, cut the 2 inch main and start installing fittings and a valve.  After that it was a fairly simple process of attaching 20 foot lengths and making turns and such. Finally getting that finished, I had to let it cure for 2 hours according to the directions.  I am not interested in having to do things twice, so 2 hours it was - but only from where I installed the valve right after where I cut the 2 inch main.  The rest of the pipe I just installed but didn't supply water to.  No need to, I just needed to be able to get the water back on to the park. It's actually NOW that two hours has passed since I started past the valve.  

Anyway, Got the water pipe in, used a couple of caps for temporary measure (just cut them off when I'm ready and attach more pipe) and then got started on the wiring. I guess the hardest part about that was just getting the screws out of the pedestal to feed the wire up in there.  After that little ordeal was accomplished, I was able to just unroll the wire all the way to the breaker box. 

I was sweating it on that one.  I actually ordered an extra 10 feet of wire when I made the order to ensure I had enough wire to make it there. Boy am I glad I did! I got next to the shed and began wondering if I was going to be able to make it to the breaker box?  A big sigh of relief when I got the wire up there and looped it around the box.  Just enough to do the job!

After that? Put everything away, get out of those filthy clothes - yes I brought clean clothes with me to the park, I wasn't going to repeat yesterday driving home like that - and then I saw it was 2 hours.  Turned the water back on at the street, turned off 2 spigots I had opened to help let air out and then went back to my new setup.  Opened the spigot there, lots of air came out but water eventually made it's way through and - no leaks : )

I would have been quite flustered if I would have had to rush up to Lowe's get more fittings and start that all over again.  I went to great pains to make sure everything was cleaned, primered and glued plus waiting the minimum length of time before putting it back under pressure.  In fact, I went to great pains on literally everything. The only thing I need to do tomorrow is situate the wiring a bit better, but that should only take a few minutes.  I'm not going to worry about the sewer pipe, it won't be under pressure and it all looks quite good.  

The point is I need to back fill all of it excepting right at the shed on one side and the rear of it.  I can fill in those trenches and get rid of that liability and also have lot 14 ready for my campers tomorrow.  They already paid, it's in the bank, this is what really pushed me to get this thing done - but it isn't the only reason.  I want to get this shed done and over with and I can tell ya, there's at least a good week if not two or more left of work to go in there. 

_____________

No official dinner tonight, no one felt like cooking, I am feeling better but still just not into doing anything for the rest of the day.  I made myself a sandwich and that was that. 

Meanwhile 25 days worth of reservations have been made for the 3 overnight lots cumulatively.  I would need many more than that to make it equal the amount I can get for long term. But I keep getting more reservations as people are planning long trips and find my rates to be more than desirable.  I'm hoping this pans out to much more reservations.  However, the "mix" of long term and short term apparently needs to be enough to not have your RV park become reclassified as a mobile home park.  I don't want that.  I might want a mobile home park someday, somewhere, but not there, not if at all possible anyway.  Mobile home lot rentals don't really make much more than what I am now with one exception: mobile home parks always make the tenants pay for their own electricity. It is added to the monthly bill.  

Lots of RV parks do that too, I just haven't gotten there yet.  

I'm definitely on the lowest side of charging daily and weekly rates, especially considering these 50 amp hookups. Anything that needs 50 amps is using a lot of power and gobbling up profit. I'm thinking of a modest raise in my nightly rate to help offset that.  Probably go $28 per night and keep it in the 20's range and still make it appear as if people are getting a great deal! lol, they actually are, if you look around, you aren't going to find much in the 20's range that has full hookups and 50/30 amp electrical connections.  

I'm feeling my way through this. Yes, I did ample research.  Yes, I know what I 'should' be getting per night, but it isn't panning out because it's new, it doesn't yet have the other amenities and it only has one google review so far.  I dunno why it's so hard to get google reviews.  

Tomorrow is up early and over to the rental place. They have several bobcats for rent there, hopefully there is one available.  I just can't hand-fill those trenches. There is far too much dirt there.  It will take me less than an hour to back fill everything which will give ample time to go dig up some of that river rock and put it where there is only going to be dirt on the pad on site 14. 

And then, if there's time, I'll use the bucket, extend it all the way down and use it as a blade to make the intended Hipcamp area a bit more leveled. And if there is time after that - I will get more river rock from the back and put some down where the huge mess in the driveway is.  Perhaps the driveway should take precedence over the hipcamp setup.

Or perhaps, I really just need to rent that damn thing for 24 hours and get it all done.  I can blade out the side of the driveway better than with that mini ex and then fill in over where all the mud is with river rock if there is enough rock and get it a little better.  I really need truckloads of gravel - just not in the mix right now.  However, I may just have to eat it and say, nope, I need at least one truckload out here.  

I'll have to make my  mind up quickly, I would need that bobcat to push the gravel where it's needed and get it situated nicely.  It would be a "now or never" thing, or really, not now but sometime in the future.

Anyway, we are going to watch a show on tv together and I'm outta here. 

 My guess of around $500 was spot on.  Electric bills. There are two of them since there are 2 main meters.  Still don't much care for that setup, they could have done a 400 amp main meter and then subbed it if necessary, that way I wouldn't have to get 2 bills with 2 service fees. The bills add up to just a few dollars short of $500.

Summertime, I can expect that to double or even triple, unfortunately.  I knew this going into this, however and I will eat whatever I have to eat.  

I think it adds to the argument of leaving 3 short term spaces open.  Those more than pay for themselves in electric usage and I am starting to lean towards leaving back-in lot 11 open or even asking one of the ones on one of the pull throughs to move their trailer.  However, the power company worker isn't going to be there forever, when he leaves his pull-through will be opened up.  So maybe I should find a tenant for lot 11 and then after a pull through opens up, I will leave that open for travelers.  1 back in space at lot 14 and 2 pull throughs at lots 4 and 5.  AS of the moment, all 3 spaces are generating enough in the next 30 days to pay for one and a half long term rental spaces.  I'll need more bookings to cover the rest, obviously.  I'm pretty frim at this point, however, in raising the monthly rate. I've got people in there, I'm making some money, that was the point.  None of those people save the older couple are "permanent". Even the older couple may leave at some point, who knows?  

Ok, well I got up a few minutes ago and noted the room was pretty dark.  It's daytime, it should be much brighter in here. Opening the blinds and looking out? Very dark skies.  Yet, on the radar, it shows no rain anywhere near us.  I hope so, I have plenty to do today.  I'll have about 6 solid hours for working - and probably getting parts if necessary - before I'll have to quit and go get the boys.  It's Thursday and that's just the way it works.  I don't mind it and it will just motivate me to get the work done.  I have determined after more thinking about it where I want to end the sewer pipe for now - which is basically all the way to the main driveway side of the shed.  I want most of the open trenches covered up and I don't want to rent a machine only to leave a lot of hand back-filling to do.  Makes no sense and I have the time to get it done.  

I just know I have some manual back-filling to do today and that's not really going to be fun.  I should have put some dirt back in there when I was on the mini-ex.  It just didn't look like it was that much to backfill for laying the sewer pipe, didn't really think it would be as bad as it is. I say "bad" as in a lot of energy and a lot of heavy breathing.  The soil is heavy with water/moisture and it's quite a bit of work.  

Anyway, however long it takes, I'll finish the sewer pipe as far as I need to go and then I'll run the water pipe. That will mean turning off the water and oh well.  I notified the older couple last night.  They didn't care, they want the laundry as much as everyone else.  I'm definitely running 2 of each outlet for 2 dryers and 2 washers in case the usage gets to be too much and I find the setup needing more machines.  Right now? No thanks.  I've got enough payments and bills.  

Well, while I'm contemplating all of these things, my morning coffee is luxurious.  It's a nice start to a day that I know is going to be filled with working in a wet trench with lots of mud.  I would just let it dry out and wait, but you know, that pesky deadline. Those people are coming tomorrow afternoon, the lot has to be ready. And Lord willing, it will be!  It may not look so nice with fresh dirt and I am going to have to bring some of that river rock from the back to fill in where there will be a dirt line a foot and a half wide going through the pad itself. But it will be ready.  

Oh. And I was thinking about "too much pitch" for downward travel on the sewer line.  I know there is an issue if you don't have enough pitch, but what about too much? Well, the first site I read says you shouldn't have too much pitch because solids and water can separate leaving the solid sitting inside the pipe and the water long gone.

But then I got onto a plumber's forum and a large number of them said that is an old wive's tale, that is something from the past. Newer pipe is much more slippery - and I've seen old pipe compared to new and that is correct - and it is no longer an issue. I say this because there is a good 20-30 feet where the pitch is probably "more" than it "should" be.  My fears alleviated, I can go about my business lol.  

Well, get a second cup of coffee and head over there.  I have another month, I'm guessing, maybe 2, before I either see some miraculous amount of overnighters coming through saving my butt or I have to go back to driving.  I have been putting it off, obviously and for good reason: I hate trucking.  I dunno if the Hipcamp spots will take off or not? Just no idea. If they don't, I'll advertise them as boondocking sites and charge $15 per night.  That's for regular RV's.  If that doesn't work, I'll turn it into a long term storage place for boats, rv's and what have you. If that doesn't work, then I spend money for nothing lol.  However, I now understand it can take time to get on the map as an RV park, it will likely take time to get on the map as a Hipcamp preferred site for campers.  

I'm still waiting on the appraisal dude to get out there and take a look.  I'm not sure if he's qualified to give an appraisal that a bank will accept, but his site says he's a state certified appraisal expert. He appears to be more in the business of selling homes and property more than anything. 

Oh well, I need to get out of here.

G'day. 

 Another long day. It's going to be like this for a while, but I do reserve Sundays as a day off.  But right now, I have a deadline to meet and I intend on meeting it, rain or not.

And yes, it did rain today.  It rained heavily, in fact and it turned the trench into a mud pit. I got to the property this morning, looked around - gotta pay attention to minutia, I want a clean park free from trash, hoarding and debris.  And I want my damned picnic table back.  I will probably ask James to come help me load it up on the trailer and haul one of them back to the fire pit.  I don't care which one, either, neither of those people asked about simply taking it. In fact, it may just well be the first people.  

Anyway, I laid out the sewer pipe so that I can just grab the next piece in line from inside the trench, no need to climb out every time.  I got everything out I could remember that I would need. I then hunted down the primer and the glue.  I don't know what it is about these bottles of primer, but even with the lid tightly shut? They will still leak out if it's tipped over.

And tipped over it was and empty it was.  It got dark. I looked up at the sky, it was like night time only a few miles away and heading my way.  Rain.  Of course, it's going to rain.  Why not?  Oh! And I was examining the 4 inch sewer pipe end, they actually had installed an female adapter (I don't make these terms up, folks, the industry made these terms up long ago) on the end of the pipe and a plug! Instead of having to cut that all apart, I simply needed to get male adapter that also adapts to the sewer pipe from the PVC Sch40 pipe.  I wondered if I could even find such a creature?

Up to Lowe's.  After much searching, yes indeed, they did have the adapter and it was relatively cheap.  Got some plumber's putty and more glue and primer and a case of paper towels. The trench was wet, muddy and nasty, have to have clean fittings before putting primer and glue on them.

Lowe's is across the street from Chili's and Taylor was already there, so met up for lunch.  I don't eat before noon while dieting anymore. I don't really feel like eating before noon, it's just a habit I've gotten into I guess. But, I was starving and gulped down a hamburger without the bun and a salad minus the croutons.  It rained the entire time I was going to Lowe's, at Lowe's and at Chili's.  

Definitely wondered about getting anything done.  I got back to the property and found the portion of the trench where you start - which is the end of the sewer line for the lots - covered in dirty water. I stood there looking at it for a while. I knew if I were to go down into that trench, my feet would sink well down into that mud even if I get rid of the water.  I was tempted to go home.  But, the deadline got into my mind. I put on my work boots and got down into that mess and yes, my boots sunk down to the ankles.  

Whatever.  Unscrewed the plug, the water drained into it.  Dug down underneath it, installed the adapter and away we go!  I got all the way up to the shed. Not where I wanted to quit at, about 3 lengths of pipe away from getting to that point, but I did get to the shed area.  It took me 3 hours to get to the shed. It's because I had to keep dumping dirt and getting the pipe on an uphill slope. Not a steep slope, but enough to let - stuff - slide down it and water as well without any pooling.  I will be checking the entire length of it with a level again before I call it final.  I don't need to do things twice that can be done right the first time.  I stopped at an area next to the shed where I dug too deep, knew I dug too deep at the time but it was because I was digging a side trench that T's with the main trench to install water line there.  And then there's another one where the sewer line goes. Then around a corner and up to where the electrical line will go to the breaker box. After I get the pipe past the breaker box? I'm going to stop there.  

And I was quite filthy by the time it started getting late and I was out of energy.  

It will take at least half the day tomorrow to get everything installed and to the point where I want it to be.  I am likely going to rent a bobcat for a 4 hour stint, by the time I get that stuff in that trench, I am not going to want to also have to move huge mounds of dirt.  That's machine work and it will cost me around $150 for 4 hours.  In fact, I probably won't do that until Friday morning, I will still have time before those people show up. Check-in time isn't until 1:00 pm.  If they show up before then, they can take lot 11 and that's that.  

I will be able to use the bobcat to do some more dirt work on the driveway as well. I didn't quite get it with the mini-ex as noted today after it had rained.  It dawned on me while contemplating that that I have that river rock that I can't use for the application I used it for. I can scoop a lot of that up with the 
bobcat and put it on the end of the trailer.  I can at least dump some kind of rock on that mess.  I can see that taking a couple of hours.  I can see pushing dirt back into the trench and compacting it with the bobcat taking no more than an hour at most.  It's just not that much work - for a machine with hydraulics.  

In fact, there are lots of things I could do with a bobcat, but I don't want to rent it more than 4 hours.  It's just too much money right now.  

Oh! On all of the lots, there is a sewer outlet. It's a piece of 4 inch PVC sch40 sticking up out of the ground with a female adapter on it and a plug in the adapter.  A person wanting to use it simply removes the plug and puts their sewer hose adapter into the 4 inch sewer adapter.  Well, I was taking it off on lot 14 today, I wanted to look down in there to ensure I wasn't going to be welcomed by a wonderful surprise when I opened up the plug in the adapter that is in the ground.  Nothing there, thankfully - but - the entire adapter just came right off.  

I examined that - they didn't put any glue on it.  I contacted the contractor asking about it.  Is this a fluke? The contractor got offended, acting as if I were accusing him of doing something malicious. No, no, no, I'm trying to understand what y'all did here? He said most people don't use the adapter and so they don't glue it on there.  I was perplexed.  "Well how do you connect a sewer line to a bare, plain-end pipe that has nothing for it to connect to? 

I didn't hear back from him for a while.  He didn't answer the question, he was wrong but didn't want to admit it.  I don't really care, I just wanted to know if they are ALL like that.  If they are, I am gluing them all onto the pipe. Not a single person has tried to pry the adapter off the top of the pipe, NO ONE.  There isn't anything for the sewer adapter to hold onto.  It would just be sitting on there and easily just - fall off and dump poop water all over the place. Gross. 

When I was at Lowe's, they have those RV sewer lines and adapters.  They ALL have threaded ends on them to SCREW INTO THE ADAPTER THAT IS COMING UP OUT OF THE GROUND. However, there are 2 hooks on opposite sides that one could possibly clamp it onto - if the pipe has nubs sticking  out of it for them to grab onto. No, those pipes don't have that.  

I just let it go.  I may very well need his services again - he is the most reputable septic system installer and maintenance company in the entire region.  He said he was sending guys out to glue all of them. No worries, I said, the park is near full and I can glue this one on myself.  He insisted anyway, but I said no, it's really not necessary. I am at lot 14 right now, in a trench, installing pipe with the same glue that would be needed to glue down that adapter.  It all ended well enough. 

Well, I want to watch a The Big Valley rerun that I stated watching last night before I got to sleepy and just shut it off in the middle of the show, lol.  And I have another long day tomorrow to prepare, time to get offa here.

 Wednesday - morning.

I don't know where time is going, but it just seems to disappear.  I could have sworn today was Tuesday...

And I found it! I've been looking for it for a while, but today was the final draw: either find the thing or go buy a new one.  I am referring to the charger for the battery for the sawzall, a device that basically makes cutting plastic pipe a breeze.  I'm standing in the pantry looking at all of this stuff on the shelves. C'mon, where are you? I singled out every single thing with a black cord on it and walaah!  $70 I don't have to spend today.  Yes, I'll probably have to wait an hour to charge the thing up, I'm fine with that.  

Still waiting to see what the rain is going to do anyway.  It's to the west of us be it appears like it's going to go north-northeast instead of heading more in an easterly direction.  Which is great, I can get a lot done over there today - hopefully anyway.  I'm going to tackle the sewer line first.  It's going to be the hardest one to do, might as well get it over with.  

The water will just be an inconvenience to whoever happens to the be in the park when I shut it off. I'm not giving forewarning to anyone on that one excepting the older couple.  I'm hoping to get that done tomorrow. I don't have to shut the power off to lay the line.  I just have to stuff the line into the pedestal - with at least an extra foot worth for working room - run it to the shed and just cap it off temporarily.  Well actually, I guess I could run it right into the breaker box.  I bought a conduit 90 sweep to bring it up out of the ground - you have to have conduit on outdoor wiring that is exposed. 

That's the plan - somehow, my plans never seem to work out the way I want them to.  So we'll see. I just know the sewer is going to be the hardest because of ensuring that the entire line has a downhill grade to it.  That will probably mean spots where I'll be shoveling in dirt to bring it up. I won't take it down any further, there is no need to, it's 2-1/2 feet deep, I'd rather just bring it up.  

I turned down a man looking for long term yesterday.  I'm going to up the rate to $475 now that I have it as full as I want it.  If people leave -- these oil field workers get laid off as abruptly as they get hired and then they start looking for work for wherever in the country and they just keep traveling - and I find it difficult to replace them, then I will lower it back down.  I'm keeping nightly rates the same, I don't get enough of that kind of traffic in to warrant raising the rate, plus I don't have the basic amenities in - yet.  We're getting closer.  Much closer.  

Amenities should do away with this need to advertise cut-throat rates that work for now, but come summertime? The energy bill will eat up profits in a fast hurry. I have no regrets reducing rates to undermine everyone else, I had no choice.  I wasn't getting anyone in and I was getting - anxious - about it.  Even to the point of wondering whether I had made a mistake in even dumping all of that money into this enterprise.  It's pretty easy to start second-guessing yourself when you don't see any kind of results at all, or very minimal anyway. 

If a lot of those people are still there come summer? I'm going to raise the rates on the sites where they are using 50 amps.  50 amps is needed to run 2 air conditioners and I don't feel the need to pay for excessive electric bills.  It's "free" electricity, meaning people that don't care, won't care about leaving things on or running the AC cold all day long even when they're not there. 

My ad does say "intro rates".  Not "regular rates".  Not "permanent rates".  If they don't like  a rate increase? They can go find somewhere else where it's cheaper - guaranteed they won't find it. Not in this area.  

By the end of March, I will have to submit a payment to the I..R...S. Every quarter, one must do so.  But, I really need to see about structuring the business in some other corporation style as I am hearing and reading that some kind of S corp setup will save on the personal tax rate I will have to pay.  Namely - Medicare and SS payments.  I don't think it does anything to Federal income tax rate, but any savings is worth the trouble.  

My gross revenues per month right now, including long term and short term - are somewhere around $5,500 per month . That's before paying everything and taxes.  At least half of  that - probably more - will end up going to various payments, utilities and taxes.  If I got to keep 2 grand of that I would be surprised.  I'll get away with low electric bills for now, that is one of the biggest factors in how much money I can actually keep than even taxes.  With 14 spaces full in summer, I can easily see $1,600 electric bill.  Or not - depending on these workers and if they keep their ac on all day long or just shut it off. I suspect there will be a mix of both.  I might luck out on that one, who knows.  

This is why I am driven to add the Hipcamp spots. Minimal investment, hopefully some kind of return. It's easy money if it works out, I just need to figure out how to advertise it. Maybe it's own website.  It would really make sense to have  Hipcamp website with the reservation link embedded into it.  It costs a little to build a website, yes, but you look at potential profits.  These are not high dollar lots. You simply hope that once word gets around, you will start filling it up eventually.  I've got one very good review on hipcamp already, it's just that I don't have the amenities that people need - especially a toilet - to make them want to come.  

After I get this shed fixed up and the hipcamp lots done, I will be shutting down spending any money on anything excepting things that absolutely require my attention. The driveway is one of them, but now that I have graded it on the side, I am hoping I can get away with that for awhile.  I just don't have the money to spend on 800 feet of fresh gravel.  I figure I still have a grand to go on that shed by the time I buy a shower stall, toilet, fittings, water line, etc.  However, I want to get the laundry going regardless.  

That is a relatively easy setup - just getting water to the washer, power to both machines and a drain that isn't near as daunting as attempting to install a floor drain for a shower or a floor attachment for a toilet. We aren't talking about just replacing a toilet, we're talking about install the whole piping apparatus.  I suspect that's going to be a literal pain in the @$$ with trying to get underneath the shed to get the sewer pipe in there and get the attachment hooked up to the sewer pipe.  There is probably a YouTube video for that, once I get to that pint, I will definitely be looking for some guidance.  I just don't want any leaks, lol, that would be nasty. 

A toilet sewer setup looks relatively simple, it's the access that is going to be the problem. There is less than a foot of space between the floor of the shed and the ground outside. Obviously, a toilet is going to be placed closed to the wall so I don't have too far to reach to get that pipe up under there.  I also suspect it's easier to just get a small piece of pipe to work with instead of the entire setup of pipe going into it and just hook a couple up to the main line after I get the  assembly installed.  

The jury is still out on whether to long-term rent site 11.  I just raised the price while writing this - I tend to forget things and it's better to get it done while you're thinking about it if you have the option to do so.  

Oh, my weight.  Well, I'm still on keto.  Been watching it pretty good, too. So it came as a surprise 2 days ago that my weight went up, not down. Rather shocking, actually.  Why did it do that? I stood there wondering. I hadn't eaten that much the day before, I always weigh myself in the mornings. 

Well, that is all done now.  My weight today, 2 days later, is the lowest it's been in a long time at 218 pounds, just on the verge of 217.  How did this happen? I have no idea, but I'll take it.  It's 14 pounds down since I started some 5 or 6 weeks ago, it's really not bad at all.  My love handles continue to shrink and it's looking better, at least. Still fat, lol, it's going down slowly.  

Well, that's it.  I can finish charging the sawzall over at the property. I have an extension cord over there with a 6 outlet strip. It's not like I "have" to sit here and wait, it's just taking time for me to wake up.  My goal is to get that sewer pipe to the shed today. I don't know if that's a lofty goal or not? I really don't know, lol. I have all the fittings, the glue, the sawzall, shovels, I'll find out! 

G'day

 Up early, drinking my coffee.

Get over there by 8 am, get another 3 hours on the machine and then take it back.  I was particularly pleased at how fast the trenching went yesterday, even with tons of thick roots, that machine just cut right through them.  There were no hard spots, there are hardly any rocks in the soil at all. It's thick clay after you get down so far, to, that's what really gets difficult when digging out by hand.  

Anyway, it allowed me to do other things of which i didn't know i would have time to do.  

People just indiscriminately throwing bags of trash all over the place. The trash cans - they are small - are filling up quickly now so instead of people stacking up overflow neatly? They just chuck a bag in the vicinity of the can.  This problem will be eliminated as soon as they get the regular cans there - but that could be weeks down the road.  I dunno, but if I catch the people doing it, I will most certainly say something to them about it.  It's not like the trash is sitting there like that for days and days.

It's overnight at most - by the time I get back over there in other words.  A lot of these guys are young.  They probably have a good work ethic considering the type of work they are doing and the hours theyput in, but that apparently doesn't always translate over into tidiness and respecting other people's property.  

Oh well, the price to pay to get these people in there, I guess, I just pick it up and move along.  Not much else you can do about it.  

Well, I best get this entry done and get over there. I have more than doubled the size of the HipCamp lot I want to make - simply because I have the time with the machine to do so. I think I'll put either 4 or 6 spots in there and call it a day.  I just haven't quite figured out how I want to arrange it, but that's okay, I don't have to figure that out today, I just need to get the area cleared.  Money left on the table is how I'm looking at it, with the only real thing I have to run out there being electricity, I see no downside to trying this.  It'll just motivate me more to get the shed done.  And I'd like to get some of the piping done today, at least, it's supposed to rain tomorrow.  

We're in the 60% range of thunderstorms early tomorrow morning.  I hope it doesn't happen, working in a wet trench won't be fun. I can't leave those open forever, it's a hazard even with the yellow caution tape, I want to get most of it done, at least to the shed. The shed itself can have some open areas around the rear of it, but the idea of having 140 feet of open trench like that? No thanks.  I'll need to take a look at the fittings I bought last week and see if there are the right ones. 

I know I'll need an adapter at the very least. I don't know why they ran PVC SCH40 underground for the sewer in the rear portion.  It's far enough underground that any weight going over top of it is negligible in terms of risk of collapse.  They put the pipe I am putting in place of it in the streets all the time, I know this for a fact for I delivered the stuff for almost 12 years. Sch40 is expensive pipe is what I am referring to, much more expensive than the actual, designated sewer pipe.  I guess it will last a long time! But so will the SDR35, they also run the stuff to your house. 

Well, make another cup of joe and go.

G'day.

 Long day.  

I wasn't sure about doing the trenching today, but it seemed like the time to get it done.  I have a couple coming on Friday to use the lot and I have nowhere else to put them. The other 2 overnight spots are booked.  Well, Friday's a coming and I ain't go not time for this, I went and got the machine and started trenching.  I got all of the trenching done including the driveway mess.  I might go over the driveway portion one more time to get it looking a little better. 

The driveway angles up before going back down and I believe I have it trenched all the way to the down portion. I'll have to look again, I was getting my money's worth out of that machine and I still have 3 hours worth I can use on it.  

After that, I went over to where I want to install HipCamp setups and started clearing land with the machine.  We're not talking a huge chunk of land, but since I have so much time left to use the mini-ex, I'm going to clear out a larger swatch.  Get enough room for 5 vehicles in there at once.  It might be a bit optimistic to think I will need that many spaced - but we're talking dirt and an electrical hookup and that's it.  If it becomes popular, I'll install gravel.  

Now, the trench may not be perfect angle, but I know I can just shovel in dirt from the sides as needed.  You have to have a downward slope - obviously - for waste water to travel down hill.  Some sewer operations have pumps, this is definitely gravity drain to the septic tank.  

I can probably at least clear out the first burn pile to the north with that thing as well. It'll take it awhile -it's not a dozer but it  does have a blade.  It just can't push too much dirt at one time.  30 minutes on that pile tho? I bet i can level it off.  Take away one eyesore at least.  The man bush hogging showed up - he did almost all of the back portion before he sheared a pin that the driveshaft operates on.  

It's to save the engine/transmission from destruction if the blades get caught up on something.  He flat told me I need a dozer out there. Yup, I know that, I thought but didn't say,  it's been needing one but it's not in the budget right now.  I didn't tell him that either. I just want the da** weeds down and just have a bit nicer looking entrance.  

Dozer work is not even on the priority list atm.  I think the dirt work on the driveway should work fine, but I won't be able to tell until the next rain gets here which is allegedly Wednesday - and what also drove me to go ahead and get the machine today. I can have it til noon tomorrow, after that I can get busy installing the sewer pipe first.  Get all the stuff in as fast as possible - I have a big trench all over the place and I don't need people falling into it.  I put yellow caution tape all around to identify danger, what else do you do?  

The garbage is coming in fast and furious now, to the point I'm going to need a dumpster.  They called back and said they can't get me dumpster service to that area, it's too far out.  So, I ordered a second regular can instead.  It's not perfect, but it will work for now. I think I can get by with 2 of them, if I need 3 I'll get 3. They only add $10 and tax for each additional container.  If I ever go back on the road, it's going to need a dumpster - automated.  Whereas you have to put the cans on the street every week for pickup (it's 800 feet back to the shed where I keep the trash at), they have to drive in to a dumpster to unload it. 

I cancelled Verizon - it's good til the end of the month. No one is complaining about the T-Mobile set up so that's where I'm leaving it for now.  It's $50.  I got the "extra blocks of data" bill for Verion - $310.  No thank you.  

Anyway, I"m excited about getting some more setups for HipCampers and also generally about the park itself.  Money is coming in and tho it's not enough to live off of, it's certainly in the profit range. Hence the HipCampers and hoping that will get some of those people coming in. 

The local real estate guy called today as well. I had put in a request for an appraisal, they do those besides listing and selling properties, at least according to their website.  The guy said, well it says here there is or used to be a 14 space RV park there? Yes, it's brand new, still here, lol.  He said he needed to come by and take a look.  Cool.  He's going to call me next chance he gets.  

That's it for this entry. Just a synopsis of what's going on. I'll use the machine til noon tomorrow and then get back there and start laying pipe - or trying to anyway.  I have no idea if I'm going to get lucky and the PVC sch40 will just plug into the sewer pipe - or do I need to go on a wild goose chase to find a fitting? If I need a fitting, I won't waste a lot of time, I'll just go to a waterworks store, I think the nearest is in Longview. They always sell the relevant adapters for pipe like that ....

>>well I answered that question. Yes, you have to use an adapter and supposedly, Lowe's has them.  It's a small fraction of an inch between SDR35 and PVC SC40 but apparently enough that if you don't have the adapter? You will have raw sewage leaking : ) No thank you!  

I've got 6 reservations in the system for the short term lots, only one of them is lot 11.  I haven't turned down any requests for long term.  I won't, either, I want 11 filled. I just want one pull through and one back in for short term and that's it -for now. If it picks up, I'll just have to wait until one of the long term leaves. None of those people are permanent.  They work here - they live somewhere else and mostly, they live a long, long ways off. The earliest I know of is around 2-3 months.  After that? No clue.  

I've made up my mind, in other words. I need one more long term and that will work for now.  

I've got plenty on my plate atm.  Trying to keep up with all of this.....it's actually more mind-boggling than one would expect.  I have to write everything down of any importance to ensure I remember whatever it is.  Driveway, trenches, clear out lots for hipcampers, dig another trench for hipcampers electric (nothing too deep, just a direct bury line that can go to the outlets I want to put in, 2 or 3 of them).  Inspect the bush hogger' work,  make an appointment for accountant, go to Lowe's and get the adapter and a couple of caps and at least one emergency setup for anyone who might run over the water spigots at each lot - and on, and on...and onnnn.......and really, more at Lowe's.  

Find a shower stall, install the outlets I have and then figure out what is left that I need.  Can I install PVC schedule 40 in the walls of the shed, or do they absolutely recommend that I need copper or some other "inner" style piping?  It's not a house.....PVC would just be easier. I'll have to look into that.  

__________________________After having some time  to think about it, no reason why not continue down the line with the HipCamp stuff. Heck, even boondocking for $10 - that's an RV that is parking without any amenities, no power, water or sewage hookups.  Why? Because I have the machine and turning it in early makes no sense.  Use it til you lose it.  At the rate I was going, I could go 100 feet by 50 feet worth of space and still have time left over.  

In fact, now that I think of it, I need to come up with a plan for parking spaces since I'm going to expand the thing.  I have the space, if/when I want to expand the RV park itself, they can simply disappear and I can move them elsewhere on the property.  Just that for right now? They are close to the shed, able to get some power and if they really want to, can walk to the nearest water spigot.  Which is 400 feet away, but who's counting. 

I fully intend on having a water outlet by the shed.  For my use if no one else.  

Yea, nothing else atm.  

 Pulled up the tarp over the hole I dug around the utilities at lot 14, run a string and then painted the intended trench line.  Called the rental store to reserve a machine for Monday morning. IF the forecast is correct, it will be dry clear til monday and potential storms tuesday, but well after I will be finished with the use of the machine.  This gives some time for everything to dry up.  

So, the big thing today? They cut down several pine trees next to the pipeline easement.  These were absolutely gorgeous trees and i was given no notice that they were going to cut them down.  

AS normal, it is a lengthy ordeal to find out who, exactly, is responsible for what back there. There are 3 gas companies and those companies have all of their own contractors that they send out there to do work.  They don't care about property owners - at all - and don't even let property owners know about their intentions to alter the property in ways that diminishes the beauty of it.  I made unknown amount of phone calls today, left email messages, etc until I found the right contractor.

They just called me back.  Oh,well those trees were on the pipeline easement.  I understand that.  I didn't cut those trees down and I am not going to tolerate them being left on the property like that. Oh, well they are supposed to leave them on "our property" - meaning the easement.  He was talking as if he owns that land.  No sir, that is not your property, I own the entire land that the project is on, you are not going to leave those trees sitting on MY property.  Period.  If you don't get stern with these people, they will try to walk all over you.  

He just grumbled on the phone after I shot right back at him.  I will start out with a basic level of respect I give to anyone that I have just met and then it either goes up or down from there, depending on their attitude towards me.  

He then said he would have a crew come out today and remove them.  It's fine if it doesn't happen today, I replied, within the next week is ok as long as I have your assurances that it will be removed.

Folks, I have enough to deal with right now - a LOT of stuff to do - without having to deal with someone else's mess.  Those trees would undoubtedly have just sat there and rotted forever, an eyesore.  

I then asked him about the driveway.  What are they planning to do on the driveway?  Oh well I don't know about that.  Yes, it's a 1,400 foot long driveway and they were running an ATV up and down it, if they are planning on removing trees along the driveway, I want to know about it.  I won't tolerate them cutting down trees that aren't on the driveway easement, eluding to the fact that one set of trees they had cut down in the back was not on their easement.  

He knew nothing about that and said he would contact them and find out, for they shouldn't be riding atv's on the driveway and they weren't planning on doing anything with it. Yes, well it's those vehicles that are tearing the driveway up.  Again, none of these companies care about the condition of the driveway. It could be pure mud and they will just plow through it. If they get stuck, the get a dozer or earth moving equipment out there to unstick it.  It's pretty ridiculous how they are allowed to operate.  

I know, I chose this property knowing what was going on with  a portion of it.  It would be nice if they would at least give the landowner's notice about their intentions instead of having landowners show up after the fact and basically go into shock about what has happened while they were gone.  It just kind of sends you into.... well, they took down some beautiful trees and it was rather shocking.  They were about 15 to 20 foot tall pines and were a natural block to the view of those giants tanks back there. Now it's just barren.  I'm going to have to plant some trees in their place. 

Actually, I will probably plant some fast growing shrubs that are nice to look at and will block that view in a couple of years. Looks like $100 worth of Thuja trees will do the trick. 

I have asked the older couple that if they see these people come in there again, please contact me so I can go confront them. Or not confront them, just watch what they are doing.  Guaranteed I will be out there as fast as I can get there. They agreed with a heart emoji and said will do!

These people may cost me more in utilities and such, but they are worth the price to have someone keep an eye on the property.  I found out yesterday they helped manage a very large park at one point in time in south Texas. I haven't asked them for that kind of help, it just means I would have to pay them or reduce their lot rent or if enough work, eliminate lot rent altogether for them and right now? That is financially out of the question. 

This situation threw my whole day off. I was in the mindset that my woes with these companies were over with, that all the ridiculousness that they could inflict was done.  They had already come through with land clearing equipment previously and a dozer, even, on the west side on the rear of the property clearing trees.  They had a giant bush hog clearing out brush as well.  The grader they had come along the driveway did far more damage than good by basically erasing the gravel left and displacing it off the driveway itself, leaving it unprotected and eroding every time it rains.  

Monday I will endeavor to get the trenches dug for the pipe and wire and then get over there and get a trench dug out for the driveway drainage so I can put some gravel down there and get that situation dealt with where there is extensive erosion going on.  I also mapped out in  my mind where the Hip Campers will be and want to use the blade on the mini-ex to clear a bit more land, I want enough room for 3 hip camp vehicles back there.  

And if time does permit for the trenching along the driveway, I will call the gravel company and see if they can manage to get a truckload of gravel out so I can spread it with the machine.  I just don't want to order it until I know if I am going to have enough time for it.  Or, eat it and just use the machine for 2 full days instead of one, regardless, the work needs to be done. This isn't a wish list, this is a top priority item.  But, so is the shed.  Clearing out for hipcampers is less of a priority, but it's well up there for potential money making.  

My new shed showed up while I was sitting here typing this entry.  Time to go out there and see if it's in a bit better condition than the last thing they showed up with.  And, I have to decide on which shower stall I want so I can trench where the drain on the stall will be.  I have this stuff figured out as far as how it is installed, I don't have precise measurements and I sort of need those before I get the machine. You know, so I have a trench dug in the appropriate location? lol 

Well well well. I sent a message saying I want to plant those Thuja trees and the man called me back.  Uhh, well if you get those trees we'd like to plant them for you.  OH?!!  Okay!  Lol, it ended up in a pleasant conversation, he apologized and that ended far better than what I expected.

Well, apparently the family is off to Chili's and I'm dragging along with them.

 So...the Valley of Decision. Well, I have recently decided to do much more in following after the Lord, that is for sure!  That isn't what I'm referring to here but it was the first thought that entered my mind after writing that. BTW, I think I need a new keyboard. Pounding on the keys for so long? It misses letters and spaces and I have to keep correcting it  - or move on and leave the error.  

Yes, well that was random thought, lol.  No, I have decided to get one more long term in there, if there is one that may come sooner or later, and leave the last 2 for short term.  One pull-through and one back-in lot. This way I can still test whether this shed and all of what I am doing to it will have any effect on short term, much higher paying (cumulatively of course) lot rents.  

Slowly getting caught up on bookkeeping to keep things on the up and up and also to show income for any potential lender I may be able to get a loan with.  I really want at least 30 more lots.  

There are advantages and disadvantages to filling the place up with this oil field workers. One advantage is they are hardly home.  That means they aren't sitting on the toilet as much and filling up the septic system, causing it to work harder and use more electricity in the process.

The second is since they aren't home, they will be using less electricity in cooling and heating. Tho, I think most of those things have propane furnaces, it doesn't stop them from placing space heaters around.  I can't tell if an RV is using a space heater - at least not with a meter on the pedestal - but I can tell if their AC is running all day long without them being home.  When it gets warm out, I will be walking up and down the row and listening for them to come on.  I can see keeping it 78 - 80 degrees inside just so they don't come home to a burning hot trailer - I can't see them keeping it at 70 or whatever, cooling a unit that isn't being used. Trust me, I will say something to them about it if I find the latter to be true. 

It will be a request and it will be given to the entire park: I have noticed that some of the RV's in the park whose owners are not home all day long have the AC units running continuously.  I am giving low rates to everyone, in order to keep those rates low, I am requesting that everyone please turn the temp up to 78-80 during the day when you are not home, or turn it off altogether ( I really don't expect people to turn them off altogether, I might not add that sentence, it takes a long time to cool down a hot trailer and if you have food or other perishables in there, they will be ruined). Otherwise, I will be forced to raise rent rates, which I don't want to have to do.  

So, electricity is going to be the "issue" in summer, whether I can make money or be paying giant electric bills.  There is a case to be made for adding meters to each pedestal, lowering the lot rent but requiring them to pay their own electricity.  The problem? Meters are very expensive.  

The Valley of Decision was how many more full timers to take in? 1 for the moment.  Certainly, I have a 2 nighter coming ni next week (I think it was) and a 3 nighter next month. I don't have anything else reserved.  It's this shed situation - will it make a difference or not?  And can I get these long term people to use the laundry facility or am I wasting money for nothing? 

I have decided to rent the mini ex on Monday. That gives ample time to dry out the soil - it isn't supposed to rain until late Tuesday next week.  It'll be one of those days I get up early, get over to the rental place and get busy.  Which means today, besides attempting to install electrical outlets  - I didn't get to that yesterday because these new people came in and ate up a lot of time - I want to run a stringer along where I want the trench dug out and then spray orange marking paint along the line.  

I'm thinking I should  hand shovel the gravel out of the way and into a pile so I don't waste it - that machine will be difficult enough for me to manage without also having to worry about saving gravel. 

I guess I'm in for a long day today.  

I do wonder if my sleep issues aren't directly related to a mind filled with "what is next" for the business.  I dunno, but cold or not, I'm outta here. Lots of work to do!

G'day

 Wednesday - morning.

I would be eternally grateful to the Living God if my energy levels could ever come back to "normal" status since that episode of Covid in November.  It's getting to the point of ridiculous.  Work 6 hours of manual labor and I'm toast?  And other things not worth going into here.  

Well, it was longer than 6 hours yesterday, it's just that it was 6 hours of solid work, the rest was doing other business related things that didn't require much energy. It's why I'm trying to keep off going back to trucking as long as possible. I'm not sure I'd last a 14 hour shift even if only driving.  

I frankly believe that a lot of these deaths with young people who are otherwise healthy and aren't drug abusers are victims of the Covid shot.  But there is speculation in the medical world that getting Covid regardless of shots can also damage the heart.  I'm not living in fear, I'm just saying, it's particularly odd all of the things that are happening in our society that are seemingly after-effects of Covid - whether the virus itself, the shots to try to diminish it's effects or a combination of both.  

Oh, well I'm eternally grateful to the Lord regardless of energy levels.  Salvation is a priceless gift. 

Anyway, today's agenda is simply to go to Lowe's get 3 more boxes of the vinyl tiles, install them and then start work on installing the electrical outlet boxes.  Start running the wires if time permits.  It rained during the wee hours of the morning, I'm not renting a mini ex today. I dunno when the 2cd new shed is coming.  

I want the 2cd one to built out, not the damaged one.  It will serve as the enclosure for the water heater.  

I am not going to write too much today, I have a purplish middle finger and tho the pain isn't terrible, I can definitely feel it when hitting the i,d or c key.  My leg is still in pain, somewhere between mild and medium.  I suspect that will exist for quite a while.  

So, with that, off to work.  

G'day. 

 Well.

The longest day I've worked in a while and I"m feeling it.  I spent all day in that shed putting that flooring in.  I have to go buy 3 more boxes of tiles tomorrow to finish it, I was way off on my estimating, tho at least it wasn't over-estimating.  It's hard work, actually.  I started to get better at it as I went along and better cuts and measurements, tho the door and cutting around it admittedly took much longer than any of the rest of it.  

The shed came in today.  I got a notification on my phone and I checked the camera, sure enough, sitting on my front porch.  The washer and dryer also showed up, very professional and courteous delivery driver and helper.  The were meticulous about gently handling the boxes and I noted that there were no rips of tears in the boxing, it was all in great condition. Amazing, coming clear from the east coast and then ending up in a warehouse in Dallas. If I had thought about it, I would have tipped them. But, I was exhausted and I still had work to do. 

They carefully maneuvered both machines into the shed and I signed off on them. Beautiful coin operated bliss, I do hope all of this trouble will be worth it.  It's a lot of money and it's a lot of work.  I've got days and days worth of work left to do.  It doesn't help that I smashed my left hand middle finger squarely with a hammer while pounding a tile into place.  It was alleviated from a lot more pain, tho, by immediately covering it with ice and keeping the ice on there a while.  

It's kind of hard to type lol.  

Anyway, they came, left and I went home to get the kids from the bus stop.  But, I saw Taylor on the front porch.  I could tell instantly she wasn't feeling well.  I went, got the boys, went home with them but I decided to take them to the property until James got home, mom needed the rest.  I finished out the rest of the tile I had and we went home.  

Upon inspecting the shed box, it had several tears, rips and open holes in it all over the box. One corner was smashed in.  They manhandled this thing in transit and I wasn't pleased. One of the holes showed a gouge in the metal and a long scratch.  That'll rust, I thought.  Looking at all of that, I decided to start an online return. Give me a new one please. Then is said "It may have to be returned" tho it didn't say who had to pay for it.

So, I finished that but called them afterward. I had to go through one person to get to a person that could help me. This lady said, yup, we are shipping you a new one, no you don't have to return it, you can keep it, we sent an email indicating you could keep or better yet, donate it!  Donate it? Who would I donate a damaged shed to? I was amazed they just said yup, keep it and hopefully the next one shipped to you won't arrive in the same condition!  Must be a dollar amount that if it's under that, they aren't going to bother with it.

I dunno, but I'm taking it over to the property and it can sit behind the shed.  I'm not doing anything with it for now, I don't want to put 2 sheds together at the moment.  I want to put one up right where I want the water heater to go and see if it has enough room for the heater and my tools.  

I've had several people asking about long term in the last 24 hours but no one has actually committed to moving in.  If I can get this shed done fast enough, I'd like to maybe rent out 2 more long term and then keep 4 spots open for overnighters and see what happens.  That and the hipcamper situation.  I want to run a month or months long special and just advertise "For $10 per night, you can have access to electricity, for $15, you can have access to the shower, kitchen and laundry". A small rig won't use much electricity.  It's not a ripoff to ask more to use the facilities. I've paid more for such use.

That's it. Just going to wind down and call it a day.