Life on the Ranch

Now that I have my own little square of dirt and a mobile efficiency apartment, called an RV... it doesn't mean I am settled yet.  I still have loose ends to tie up on my uncles estate and still more stuff to deal with from both estates.

Remember I said stuff owns you.... yes, well I still have stuff from both estates that needs to be stored and protected for a bit more.  It sure won't fit into my travel trailer, so my solution was a 12x20x8 "garage in a box" by shelterlogic. I read lots of mixed reviews on it but it was the most reasonable temporary solution I could find.  I don't know about longevity yet but I am still pretty impressed.  It gets a bit windy here on the ranch and the canopy has so far withstood wind gusts up to 30 mile an hour.  My ez-up is now nothing but a twisted, mangled frame but the "garage" stands there like a great green blob. I think one of the reasons for the mixed reviews,  If you don't put it up correctly, it is not going to work.  The advertised construction time is optimistic not factual. And you will need a drill to reline some of the misaligned bolt holes.  Otherwise it was not to bad to construct it. We also added tie down straps from the top of the frame to the ground anchors on the four corners. Now we just have to wait and see how long it lasts but for 360.00 and tax, storage is getting cheaper every day.

Life on the Ranch this past 8 months has been a long series of camping trips with luxuries. Even though I still somewhat live in my uncles house. I prefer to be on the Ranch whenever I can. So I have made quite a few 100 mile trips between the two, always hauling a bit more stuff up with me.  The first couple of months at the Ranch was without electricity... now that was an adventure. I had an inverter in the truck to keep electronics charged and used kerosene lamps at night. The next couple of months was on a generator and finally I now have electricity.  Water for the moment is supplied by a 300 gallon water tank sitting behind the trailer and the trailer's self contained water system.  I have yet to decide if I want the city water or a well.  Septic was already on location. 

Life here still has its day to day complications like any other lifestyle but I think they will slow down once I get everything set up and running.  The trailer I bought had been in storage for 4 years prior.  During that time squirrels had gotten into the storage bins and eaten into the water lines in a couple of spots, so those had to be fixed. The gas tank lines to the propane tanks work but they have gotten hard and need to be replaced.  Also here lately I have had really bad refrigerator juju.  The refrigerator at my uncles house has been on the fritz.  It works intermittently and runs all of the time so I bought a new 3.5 cu ft as a temporary replacement.  It quit 3 days later so I took it back.   I did not want to replace the big refrigerator so close to moving and I still had the freezer. I decided I could live with that till I got electricity on the ranch. Once I got the power to the trailer, that fridge ran for 2 days and quit getting cold.  I could not find a 10 cu ft locally to replace it so I now have a 4 cu ft left over from food concession days.  So far it's working fine and surprisingly doesn't look beat up.  And the one that is still in the wall makes for a good additional storage pantry. 

This travel trailer is surprisingly roomy, although not a lot of storage.  My friend has a 40 ft that has much more storage but it feels cramped to me. I like the more open feel of this trailer. That is too funny coming from someone who was prepared to live in a van. It's funny that I am clostrophic but I really like living in small places.  I think that has a lot to do with my grandparent, who did almost the same thing I am doing now. Once the kids were grown. They got rid of the house, moved into a travel trailer with a half acre.  They lived between that half acre and south Texas till they both got to old to travel.  Once my grandfather died my grandmother continued on in the travel trailer. The only difference was that she would spend a little time with each of us. She spent 7 or 8 month parked at my house. It was a joy to have her there and my son got to spend quality time with his great grandmother.  I don't plan on pulling this RV up and down the road, but I hope to have more quality time now that I no longer have to maintain a big hulking house, yard and all of the stuff in it.

As The World Turns....

Remember that old soap opera?  It was retired in 2010 as the second longest running soap opera.  Not that I am a fan of soaps, but it seemed an appropriate title for my life this past two or three years. Ever changing and always dramatic.  I really dislike drama.  I have just a bit more to go I think and then maybe life will settle down for me.  Hopefully then, I can post here more regularly.

I started this blog because I wanted to travel and live in my little van.  I still do, but with rising gas prices and a steadily declining economy.. I don't think that is going to be an option. So on to plan B.  Adaptability is the catch word for my life.  I still want to live more simply.  I still don't think I need that 1700 sq ft house that I only lived in 200 sq ft of.  And I still don't need a bunch of possession that own me.  Yes... truly .... you do not own stuff.. it owns you.  You have to wash it... house it... protect it.  All of that energy just to say you own it.  After almost two years of dealing with the estates of my uncle and mother..... I am sick of stuff. 

But I digress, back to explaining plan B.  After much refection on what to do with myself in my declining years. I knew I just wanted to be where I would not be told what to do and when to do it. And all I needed to live in was a travel trailer.  To start I found a 36 foot travel trailer with a slide.  This gives me 330 sq foot of living space. Plenty for me! Next I needed somewhere to put this thing.  No, I'm really am not social enough to live in an RV hell (resort).  So some unrestricted rural property was what I started looking for. Even the large state of Texas, UNRESTRICTED small acreage is not easy to find.  I can live anywhere, but If I am going to be stationary, I did not want to leave Texas.  I also did not want the humidity of south Texas or the extreme heat of west Texas, so with my boundaries set at the northeastern quarter of Texas I started looking and looking and looking. You get my point. After months of searching, traveling to view and researching property history,  I finally found a home for the travel trailer. The horror stories I could tell about some of the properties I viewed could make it's own blog.  Let just say I know where there is some swamp land for sale.

The property I found is 1.52 acres.... a bit more than I needed but it fit most of my other criteria.  It is only 5 miles from a grocery store. I looked at one property that was 20 miles from the nearest gas station.  That one was a bit too rural.  This place had been a homestead at one time before so most of the infrastructure was in place or could be brought back into use.  It did not require any clearing.  The towns population is around 4500, But if I need the convenience of city life there is a large one 22 miles away.  The price was reasonable.  I spent some time in the town before I bought the property and found the people to be friendly and helpful.  After 8 months that has not seemed to change
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So I guess my blog is now going to be about homesteading in an travel trailer.  In honor of my uncle I have decided to call the place "Randy's Ranch"  If he were alive now he would have been rubbing his hand together and planing which corner would be his.  I think he would have liked this place.