A Few Finishing Touches

During our last visit, we were able to add a few finishing touches.

Here J.C. is installing a double fan on our newly completed dining room ceiling.

Gerald had also finished countertops for our master bedroom closet.

And the faux beam for the tall wall. He installed it in two sections. The first was tough. To get it to fit correctly, Gerald had to keep shaving off little bits.

He was a little worried about the second piece, which would be harder to install because of its location. Fortunately, it fit right in place on the first try.

We also finished the ceiling we had started in the "tack" room on our last trip.

Up Against the Walls (and Ceiling)

Our next trip was more of the same, only with the long Memorial Day weekend, we had more time.

Gerald worked on the walls, and after the first day had finished the walls in both the master and guest bedrooms.

The two of us tackled the remaining wall in the living room together. It was a challenge getting the boards behind all the stairs.

We had paid the same crew that did the ceiling to do the high part of the wall, which they had completed before we arrived. Here's how it all looked when we were done.

Gerald measured the strip separated by a beam in the middle to create a faux distressed beam that would complete the look.

Initially, I had worried it might break up the vertical height, but as you can see, the room still looks quite tall.

While Gerald worked on the bedrooms, I finished what I could of the utility room a.k.a. the "tack room." Then Gerald and I got to work on the ceiling. We got the utility room ceiling about three-quarters done before we had to leave.

Over the time we were there, we saw lots of wildlife. The workers who installed the high wall reported seeing a mountain lion maybe a mile from our house the morning before we arrived.

We also saw two javelinas, a couple of roadrunners and the usual jackrabbits and bunnies. These three mule deer were part of a group of five we startled one day.

Progress on Many Fronts

When we returned to the land, we brought a cardboard template of a piece of artwork we planned to hang to hide our TV.

You can't really see it, but Gerald's daughter, Christy, made a lovely and completely unauthorized (by the artist) rendition of the painting for us. The artist will remain nameless hence we run afoul of any copyright issues. lol

It was a good idea. The piece was bigger than I had envisioned, which wasn't necessarily bad, but we also realized that the angle was going to make us crane our necks.

Gerald continued to work on the walls, moving into the guest bedroom that communicates to the living room.

He also worked on finishing out some doors. This leads to the guest bathroom from the guest bedroom.

I continued to install bead board in the utility/laundry room, aka the "tack" room. Here, Gerald is hanging our first piece of tack.

He also hung another tin sign. This one was donated to our cause by Christy.

Barn Doors

The biggest task of the weekend was the construction of the "barn doors" that will close off the 11-foot opening between the living room and guest bedroom when we have overnight guests.

We started with a single sheet of plywood, and covered the surface with glue.

Then we put another layer of plywood on top and walked around on the surface. Then Gerald nailed it together with brads.

I skinned one side of the door with pine planks.

Then Gerald added the trim and cross pieces.

We had planned to do the same on the other side, but when we went to flip the door, we found it weighed a ton. At least. So we decided to leave the back until we could work out a more light-weight alternative covering.

Then we leaned the door up where they would be hung. For some reason, it made the room look huge.

On the Right Track

On our next visit, Gerald spent an entire day cutting scrap wood that had been stacked on the porch. By the time he was finished, our east porch was visible for the first time in months, and both of our firewood racks were filled to overflowing.

When J.C. came up the next day, he brought the tracks for our interior "barn" doors that will close off the large space between the living room and our guest bedroom.

He and Gerald finished out the opening between the two rooms, and J.C. installed the track.

Then the barn door hardware got mounted. In the space where the two tracks met in the middle, J.C. installed a star.

On the wall behind where one barn door will normally rest, Gerald installed this sign.

"Do we have any plaid stamps?" I wanted to know.

"No," Gerald answered. "We gave them all away.

Here's how the wall looked when everything was finished.

Yarnell Daze

Gerald and I took Saturday morning off to drive into town. It was Yarnell Daze, and all sorts of activities had been planned.

We had breakfast at the Ranch House, which was packed. Here's where it pays to be a regular. Our waitress, Christy, saw to it that we got a good table quickly and took very good care of us despite the general chaos.

There was also a pancake breakfast at the community center. Vendors were lined up along the road selling things like jewelry and rocks. A politician was campaigning. There was a band, as well as the occasional street musician. Later in the afternoon, the library hosted a "piescream" social. But the big draw was the parade.

The Grand Marshalls were Lee and Bonnie Sorrells, who own the ranch that abuts part of Ruger ranch. Here they are. The announcer said they have been married 65 years.

The Fire Department was well represented with this, Yarnell's first fire truck. The town's brand new ladder truck came later, along with several other vehicles and rows upon rows of firefighters marching on foot.

This was one of our favorite entries. The announcer assured us that no animals had been harmed in the making of this float. We saw the float after the parade, once the riders had disembarked. The legs are fakes. The riders were actually standing inside the barrel.

There was a mobile bluegrass band.

And lots of riders. Here's our soon-to-be former neighbor, Kathleen, who has also served as the POA secretary/treasurer ever since Blackhawk took over from Arizona Land and Ranches. She was a wonderful officer and a good neighbor. We will miss her.

We usually try to get together with Kathleen at least once whenever we come up, but she was so busy we didn't get to see her at all except for the parade. She looks like she's waving good bye.

Back to the Land

We returned to the land after a hiatus of three weeks. Gerald sustained a table saw injury that resulted in the amputation of part of his thumb, which necessitated a wild ride to the emergency room in Prescott.

We were very fortunate that the injury didn't involve any major arteries, but it did emphasize just how remote we are and how far help is. I overheard someone at the hospital say that it takes a helicopter just as long to arrive as it does to drive. Normally, it's an hour's drive. We made it in 45 minutes. But that's still a long time.

Anyway, by the time we returned, the first of the wildflowers had emerged.

The cows were also gone and the fence that runs through our stock pond had been repaired. We could only assume the rancher used that corral to contain the cows until they could be loaded onto trucks.

The spring road grading had also been completed, so the departure of the cows seemed well-timed.

Meanwhile, Gerald and I worked on what we had intended to work on the morning of the accident: completing the dining room/living room east wall. We got it done by early afternoon.

The next day, we worked on the guest room side.