Happy Holidays from our Shed to Yours

The cabin is finally completely gone and except for a couple piles of old appliances and an orange excavator you wouldn’t even know there was once a cabin here.  Especially with about 12 inches of snow where the cabin sat. 

Yesterday we got back to our place luckily before we got snowed in here after spending the holidays down in the metro area with family which was soooooooo great after 17 years of being gone.  Before we moved to Florida 10 years ago we had a place in Isla Mujeres, Mexico where we wintered.  Holidays were different and we adapted but there’s nothing like being with family during the Xmas season.

But the main reason for this blog is our toilet.  There seems to be a lot of interest in our compost toilet and if I wasn’t using one I’d be puzzled about it too.  Yes I miss a flush toilet. Not gonna lie but it’s not gonna happen in our shed house so again we adapt.   About every 20 days we have to empty it and then refill with the compost material.  We use a coconut ground material which comes in a real hard solid block.  After I pour hot water over it and let it soak I break it up into fine pieces.  That goes into the emptied compost container after we dump the used compost.

Now for the fun part.  We haul the whole toilet to our dump spot.  The top of the toilet comes off completely and I dump the used compost and try to clean the container but without a hose and limited water…. Well you can imagine. It’s like a lot of dirty diapers that need rinsing but get stuck in a pile by the toilet until you run out of diapers and have to do a load of laundry.  But that really dates me cause who rinses diapers anymore.  I didn’t realize all those poopy diapers were preparing me for this. 

The front container holds the urine which gets emptied every few days. I’m old and pee a lot. And yes everyone has to sit to pee.  

So next time you do your business and enjoy a nice flush think of me.  So jealous.  

Where’s the Money? Gary….

As previously posted we bought a property in northern Minnesota with a small uninhabitable cabin. Unfortunately the water pipe broke in the cabin and for the last three years or so there has been a substantial leak in the closed up cabin which adds up to lots of mold.  

When the cabin was first built it was probably someone’s dream of a sweet little place in the middle of the woods.  Well that dream is dead.  The cabin sits right where we are building our new house so it has to come down.

We placed an ad in Craigslist for anyone who wanted a free cabin.  All you had to do was take it down and transport it outta here.  We had some interest and a young couple actually showed up one day and started but then they disappeared.  We never said it would be easy.  

So it was time to call in the big guns and it is coming down in pieces.  Before the actual excavation started Gary steadily emptied out the cabin cause the last owner must have lost his house keys and so he left pretty much his life inside. And that is where the money comes in.  Everyday I asked Gary if he found any money, to be sure to rip open upholstery, pull up floor boards, definitely check under the mattress, etc.  and we got nothing.  I just know there’s a stack of bills in there somewhere.  That’s what happens in the movies!   

If I thought building a house was a lot of work taking a small one down is a nightmare.  What did we get ourselves into?  But so far the weather has cooperated and we are slowly getting her done.  And if I post any photos of  Mojo and Dede in mink coats you know Gary finally found the stash.  

Ps.  Gary with his latest toy. 

Into the Wild

We continue to adjust to our new wild life in northern Minnesota. Gary is originally from Minneapolis and I grew up on a dairy farm in southern Minnesota so while we did come back to our home state this area of the state is different for both of us.  And we love it.

Our living space in the back of the pole barn is about 500 square feet.  We have the essentials like dogs, dog food, dog sweaters, a frig, kinda running water, our king size bed so the dogs are comfy, heat, internet, tv and a quasi toilet. By that I mean portable night time potty for me.  Gary is working on getting space ready for our new compost toilet coming soon which will probably be a blog in itself.  

We are about 8 miles from the nearest town if you don’t count Bruno which is basically a corner bar.  Our road leading to our place is minimum maintenance meaning the USPS will not deliver mail to us so our mailbox sits all alone down the road waiting to get hit by a four wheeler or truck or random deer.  

We added a 100 mile tv antenna so we get enough stations to keep the dogs happy unless it’s windy then the tv may cause seizures.  Because Gary doesn’t have enough to do, he ordered two dump truck loads of gravel waiting to be spread around before the snow flies. 

If anyone is in the market for a free cabin come with a big truck and hazmat suit cause it’s coming down soon.  Comes with mold, mouse droppings, green bathtub, empty frig filled with more mold and some mildew.  

From Flip Flops to Sorels

 Well things are changing and this is a big one.  As you can guess from the title we have left the Florida heat and moved back to the Minnesota cold.  We had been in Florida for ten years and seriously thought we would stay. We never considered moving back until the stars aligned and the signs were all there that it was time.  Our timing is a little off tho.    Minnesota winter is coming.   The flip flops and shorts and tee shirts gotta go.  We got rid of all our winter gear long ago so we are open to any donations. 

 We packed up our house into a 26 foot Uhaul and pulled our camper on that with me driving the 4Runner and leading the way across country.  It took us four days of driving and we made it to our property in northern Minnesota in the pouring rain.  Now all we had to do was back the Uhaul down the soft gravel driveway to the pole barn and then find a spot for our camper which we would be temporarily living in until we set up our new home.

So we spent two days unpacking the truck and then Gary made a run to Menards with the big truck to get the materials to build our apartment in the pole barn which we will be living in for the winter.  After a week of work, we moved in, requested the resident mouse move out and added a  wood stove.  Luckily the power was already here, but it took a while for the internet to get installed which caused major withdrawal for me, and got a water dispenser with hot and cold water!  Luckily an outhouse was already here.  This is where speed becomes necessary.  

If you’re looking for us laying in the pool with a cold one, look north.  The pool is a nice memory but we plan on making new ones here.  So come along.  I got internet now and when I’m not looking through boxes or holding a ladder or gathering kindling or visiting my throne or looking for gloves I’ll have plenty of time to update our new adventure.  

Homeward Bound

Sunday we headed to Lake Fort Smith SP in Arkansas.  We traveled thru Oklahoma to get here and the turnpike which cost us $10 was one of the worse roads of our trip.  What are we paying for?  Horrible. So I wrote a new verse for the song “Oklahoma”.

Oklahoma 

Where the roads are bumpier than hell

And the tolls we pay

The roads just stay that way

And the state says thanks anyway dumb bell!!!

Monday we headed east thru Arkansas and then turned south towards Mississippi and ended up at Lake Chicot SP in Lake Village AR.  We found a site right on the lake and it is absolutely beautiful with the lake breezes.  This is definitely a state park to check out.  

Tuesday we made it to Lake Perry SP in southeast Mississippi. We are on the lake here too.  Small campground but beautiful.  

Wednesday we made it to Florida and guess what?  It’s hot. We stopped for the night right off freeway at Casey Jones RV park. Nothing special but it was just too far to get all the way home.

We finally got home early afternoon on Thursday, July 15, with 8,815 miles under our belts, two smelly dogs, lots of dirty laundry, very few paper plates and loads of memories.  We are grateful to all the people who put up with us and fed us and spent time with us after being cooped up in Florida for so long.   And a big thank you to Tami and Larry for taking care of the pool and checking the house especially after Hurricane Elsa.  Your help made our trip possible.  

What a beautiful country we live in.  So many different places to see.  We made a dent in our bucket list but there’s still plenty to see. We are lucky to be able to do just that.  Thanks for following us.  Until the next adventure…

East Bound

Wednesday we headed to Durango CO.  Another new adventure for both of us.     We made it to a very busy Durango and found a nice campground right outside of town.  We checked out a local brewery of course.  Colorado has good beer!

On Thursday we headed north thru the San Juan Mountains.  It was probably beautiful but driving the mountain roads made it virtually impossible to  notice. Love Colorado but mountain driving pulling a trailer sucks.  And a crazy Jeep driver launched a rock into our windshield. 

 We could not find a campground after about 8 hours of driving so we landed in a hotel parking lot in Frisco CO right next to the freeway. 

Friday we headed east and of course came to a dead stop in Denver.  The freeway into Denver has numerous warnings about downhill grade, checking brakes, runoff lanes, sharp turns, chain stations, etc. and lasts for 44 miles.  It is exhausting.  

We made it to the fairgrounds in Colby KS early afternoon. So very hot still but the area is flat and safe. We both were so tired we went to bed before dark only to be awakened by car races starting at 10 pm on the fairgrounds along with high winds across the prairie.  Who races cars at 10 pm???  Go to bed people !

Saturday we moved east across Kansas and ended up at the Cowley County Fairgrounds in Winfield, KS.  Still hot and storm warnings once we arrived but no storms all night.  Actually a beautiful spot.

Never Before in Utah

Thursday, July 1st, we headed for Yampa River SP.  The park is mostly gravel, no trees, right by a highway, has lots of kids, big dogs barking, and rain falling.  So after a lot of thought we decided to head to Routt National Mountain to look for a better campground.  Big big mistake.  The road off the main highway was ok, then got bad and then really bad. Mostly one lane gravel. Around a mountain pulling a trailer. No phone service.  No guard rails. No traffic. A lot of falling rock signs. After an hour of white knuckling we finally found a spot to turn around by a lone Mexican with wild horses on the road.  Note to self:  turn around immediately on gravel mountain road. 

Friday we headed to Rifle CO. We took a chance and found a great spot at Rifle Mountain Park which is very popular for rock climbing.  Unfortunately I forgot to pack my rock climbing gear so that’s out.  As soon as we got all set up a huge storm passed over.  Our site is downhill so the mud and water came right thru our site.  

Happy 4th of July. We moved to Rifle Gap State Park.  According to ranger this is the most popular state park in Colorado and we can see why. 

On Monday we headed to Utah. Unfortunately our camper jack got loose when we hit a bump so Gary worked on it in the Walmart parking lot for an hour but it’s fixed and we made it to Dead Horse Point SP in Utah.  It’s funny how much you appreciate a flush toilet after 3 days without.  I almost cried.  We went to see rock arches in Canyonland National Park and checked out Moab for lunch on Tuesday. Unfortunately it’s so hot it’s hard to be outside for long.