Evidently Nick got some bad info about the winch truck. I managed to catch Juan at his place yesterday and he told me that he does own the winch truck and I could get him to upright the pyramid for me. I didn't think to ask how much he'd charge me to do it, but will the next time I see him. This once again opens up the possibility of erecting it as I had planned. I'll have to get a lot done before that happens though and it will be a good while before it goes forward. I still haven't heard from Bigfoot to know what the status of the brackets/hinges I designed is. Maybe there's a Pyramid Raising Party in the near future?
There is a new Mechanic out this direction and I caught his wife at the Study Butte Store yesterday putting up a flier on the bulletin board so I told her to give me one and I'd post it on the blog. I met the guy at the legion once and he seems like a great guy. I haven't had any work done by him, but have talked to people that have and they say he is a great mechanic. He seems to be pretty near full service which is a good thing. If you live in the area or are visiting down here and have vehicle trouble then you might want to give him some business. Im sure he could use it being how they have kids to support.
Chili Cook Off & Burn Ban BS
I was checking on the 2011 Terlingua Chili cook off site and found a link posted to this on it. Above was the email and the link to that is
Here
The link to the Chili Cook Off site can be found
Here
Now it appears that this only covers the chili cook off and has nothing to do with any of the other area so evidently any of us locals breaking the existing burn ban could stand to be fined $500 or more for doing it. According to this text anyone at the chili cook off breaking the rules would just be asked to leave. There were BBQ pits in use as well as fires at the bike rally, but I don't see that included in the above text, but evidently official were told to turn a blind eye to that?
Anyway... this makes me feel real bad because it insinuates that us locals must be morons who are not capable of using good judgment in BBQ'ing or having camp fires. It also insinuates that 10,000 drinking people stumbling around the chili cook off will have the good sense to have fires or be able to BBQ. Where is the logic in that?
It would really be nice if they would lift the DAMN BURN BAN for all!!!
we locals do not bring enough money into the area. they will lift it for the 10,000 drunk tourists, but we do not spend enough to have them lift it for us, the people who are actually used to this dry area.
ReplyDeleteRight you are Dave.
ReplyDeleteSo messed up....typical BS...
ReplyDeleteThat's the way I see it Terry.
ReplyDeleteDave Secor is exactly right, it's all about the tourist's money, if it weren't for the tourist's money there would be no money. So bring in the money and bring on the fire.
ReplyDeleteBkid, if it weren't for the locals taking up the slack when there aren't any tourist then there probably wouldn't be any businesses left. The burn ban and the way county government is handling it is BULL SHIT!
ReplyDeleteI'm bringing some fire wood, just in case!
ReplyDeleteAllen, I guess you will be good to go at the cook off, but the problem is that if you'll can do it there then everyone in this area should be able to.
ReplyDeleteHey Dave,
ReplyDeleteIs that mechanic in that silver metal building on the north side of Legion Rd?
No Andy, he's considerably further out, but I haven't been out that way to see what his shop looks like.
ReplyDeleteWhy the satellite phone for the mechanic? No cell coverage? I thought the local telco would run hard wire? Or do they do some kind of special wireless for remote homes?
ReplyDeleteall lots at TR reportedly have phone wire run underground along the roads for reg phone (done when roads first bladed in 1969 or so)...but fiber has to be installed if you want DSL.
ReplyDeleteMost areas do not have cell coverage...only when you get near Terlingua do you have cell svc.
FYI
Bigfoot
rj, there is no cell phone coverage where we are or if there is in some places its is terrible so they are useless. I suspect they got the sat phone before they got a land line and he may use the sat phone for when he is out of pocket and someone needs to get a hold of him?
ReplyDeleteBF, I'd never heard of that before. Sure seems like there is a lot of areas out here that there is no sign of phone lines at all. Usually you will see a post with a box on it every so often when there is possible phone access.
ReplyDeleteNot 100% sure about that, but thought I read that once on the POATRI site when I was looking for a tract back in 2006, maybe the phone co promised to "run lines" for reg phone to all tracts as a part of the POA agreement.
ReplyDeleteAs for a SAT phone...they work great...but ONLY while a satellite is floating by in the sky. intermittent service, and no standard schedule for working times. Better than nothing...but hit and miss at all times.
I'm not either BF, but if that was the case then the old lines are probably about worthless because I figure everyone wants internet now days. Even one of the hard core anti computer/internet people here just had internet put in and bought a computer.
ReplyDeleteThe way it works now is the telephone company gets a grant every now and then and when they do they will put it in about anywhere, but when the grant money runs out its damn near impossible to get them to do it. Around here if you think you will ever want a phone and or DSL its best to get it done while they are doing it or you may have a very long wait or never get it at all.
I was also under the impression that every lot had a phone line near it. When we bought our place the phone junction was about 1/8 mile away (probably a short run for them).
ReplyDeleteI was interested in also getting internet and they said I could either have dial up (I didn't even know that existed anymore) or a satellite dish. For the time being I picked a verizon aircard. I can get one bar (we are near the Corazones mtns by the ranch road). It works ok and I can also use it when I am traveling, so I'm not tied to it at home (central Texas) or the cabin.
"No Andy, he's considerably further out, but I haven't been out that way to see what his shop looks like. "
ReplyDeleteWe are about 2 miles in on Legion Rd and I figured that metal building with the large cleared space around it was about a mile in. FWIW, we have cell service with a booster about 1/2 mile farther east from our property. Looks to me like the cell service is coming north out of the park through that valley.
Actually from here the building you're talking about doesn't look like more than a half mile off of 118, but I could be wrong. Never the less I think that building is vacant as I never see anyone down there. I assume someone built it in hopes of selling it, but again that's speculation on my part. The mechanic drives a blue Suzuki Samurai and I see them head toward 118 from a considerable distance past that building. I can see everything north, south and east from here for miles. ;)
ReplyDeleteSat phones are $30.00 a month for 300 minutes. There are phone lines almost everywhere on the ranch but you have to have real electricity or a very large amount of solar to get them to hook you up. And if you live on Turdlingua Ranch and you don't have a utility pole on your property then you need a wining lottery ticket to get real electricity.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update on the burn ban. I realize it is not fair and it should be applied across the board.
ReplyDeleteWith that said the cook-off would not be the same without sitting around a warm campfire passing a bottle of Tequila or Mezcal.
MsB, I understand that, but like you say lifting the burn ban area wide should be done.
ReplyDeleteRoughin' it?, The nearest phone hookup to here before they ran my lines was about a half mile away. When they ran mine they came straight from 118 across from the legion so I got the latest technology. They put several hookups between there and here, but stopped here. I suppose of someone south of here requests a phone / DSL then they will trench from my hookup on south. Of course that would screw up the road from in front of here on south, but shouldn't effect the road from here north so that part wouldn't effect my road out. It would make it really dusty here though.