Glenn's Underground Cabin Update

glenn kangiser · January 12, 2013, 10:33:28 AM

Ahhh yes, ... Pahrump, NV. Seems they used to have a major attraction there.

Cool pix of the old steam train Rick. Is that the Borax train at Death Valley? Looks like the sign might indicate something else but not sure.

Don't forget to go skinny dipping at the hot springs at Saline Valley.

.... though the road out there is pretty rough.

If the pass was open I'd consider dropping by but it is a long way around from here ....but Pahrump is quite a ways down anyway. Keep us posted on your adventure though please. Idaho will likely still remain up there if you extend your trip a little. [ouch]

rick91351 · January 12, 2013, 11:28:23 AM

Quote from: glenn kangiser on January 12, 2013, 10:33:28 AM
Ahhh yes, ... Pahrump, NV. Seems they used to have a major attraction there.

Cool pix of the old steam train Rick. Is that the Borax train at Death Valley? Looks like the sign might indicate something else but not sure.

Don't forget to go skinny dipping at the hot springs at Saline Valley. .... though the road out there is pretty rough.

If the pass was open I'd consider dropping by but it is a long way around from here ....but Pahrump is quite a ways down anyway. Keep us posted on your adventure though please. Idaho will likely still remain up there if you extend your trip a little. [ouch]

I really don't know, sort of a strange place alright. Thou might shy of local stuff to see and do I guess. But clerk here at the park made mention might want to head over to Sherri's. Well where we never be proper introduced and all just hate dropin in to some ones house. Then one nice feller stopped me the other day as I was a walkin down the sidewalk and asked me if i would like to go see a chicken ranch. I told him no thanks but he has a cattle ranch to go look at, I might oblige him there. That is if Ma could ride along. We nant seen no cows since we was about five or six miles south of Alamo, Nv. Sides chicken ranches really are not part of my interest and expertise. He must have remembered something he had to do because he sped away down that old road...... Nice feller thou

The old steam tractor was over at Furnace Ranch there just south of the ruins of the Harmony Borax plant.

Don't know as if we will make it over to the hot springs. I have seen photos of it over there looks inviting however some of the recent write ups were not to kind to the people that are hanging around over there. Lerkers made some writers very nervous.

When are you planing on you major trip over seas? We may be coming back your way in the spring to pickup bees in the Sacramento area.

Rick

January 12, 2013, 11:51:16 AM

Hey Rick, yes, that Cattle Ranch sounds interesting, but I can't imagine Chicken Ranching being profitable... I mean how would you round them up... run around with little chicken lassos and snag them by the leg? Doesn't sound like your normal everyday cowboy activity.....

Yes... Saline Valley used to be cool when we would fly in there and land on the Chicken Strip... (Nothing to do with the Chicken Ranch). The Chicken Strip was named because it was better than the other landing strip at Saline Valley that might rip the wheels off of your plane or possibly kill an innocent bystander at the springs. The Chicken Strip was about 1300 feet long on an uphill slope with a mountain at the back so was a possible no go around if you screwed up. Flash flooding would sometimes take out the lower end of the chicken strip though it was still OK as long as you were reasonably accurate. I always made it to the ground. Not everybody always did though.

There were a lot of reasonably normal people there, generally college educated, with only the occasional weirdo. I never had any problems there. That could change though as more people get to know of the place.

I am currently trying to add a day to my Myanmar/Burma trip Rick, as Myo emailed me and said we needed one more day to fit the itinerary he was planning. That would be the day I lost to the international date line.... I forgot about ..or didn't even think about it when scheduling the original flight time. So leaving on January 29th from SFO and trying to reschedule departing Myanmar on February 8th probably getting home on the 9th as I gain a day coming back.

Looking forward to seeing you here if you can make it.

glenn kangiser · January 13, 2013, 07:48:18 PM

Went over to J's house today.... Getting very nicely completed....

He used bamboo for railings around the roof. He got the tree roots out from around the entrance and dry stack retaining walls put in for the earth from the roof.

He put a vent into the root cellar and got it dried to a perfect level of about 60% humidity and it remains from around 58 to 60 degrees temperature.

glenn kangiser · January 15, 2013, 01:30:18 AM

Sitting here in the Great White South.... waiting for it to warm up.... think I'll send some of this cold air to the East.....

... not that I wish anyone east ill, but I don't need much more of this cold weather.... I mean, hey... this is the Peoples Republic of California...

Went down the hill in the Bushhog today to get another load of dry live oak. Not too much this time as it was so hard the saw ran out of gas after about half a load. It is so steep coming out of the gulch I'd probably lose it if I had much more anyway.. got some to take to Sassy down in the valley too..... [ouch]

I am continuing to make preparations for my trip to Burma... getting cameras, extra batteries, a small remote video camcorder, set up a voice recorder app for my phone. Hoping to bring back as much of the trip as I can in pictures. Trying to add one more day to my departure flight. Myo says we need the extra day or we will have to drive all night to get back in time... wish I wouldn't have forgot to think about that international date line... lost that day... anyway my change request is in... waiting for Singapore Airlines to respond...

I have my two best Lumix cameras (HD Video and stills) and nine 32gb chips as well as am taking my small computer to download the small video camera into. I am sure it will be hard to capture everything and nothing beats seeing it in person but I will give it a good try.

Sassy tells me not to take so many pix or shoot so much video that I miss the trip....

January 15, 2013, 01:25:45 PM

I should have built and ark.I think we have had 2 dry days in 2 weeks. $:-\$

glenn kangiser · January 16, 2013, 01:51:30 AM

Just wet there now Ben... this cold stuff is supposed to head your way within the week I think.... Better check your pile of firewood and snowblower....

I was getting ready to start stacking the logs in the hugelkultur bed yesterday, backed the crane up to the pile and ........ No hydraulic power on the crane....

The pile of natural resources has been growing more....

....and with no crane it is hard to work... you guys know that..... [ouch]

Whitlock came over to work this morning and we decided that the crane was a priority so we started .. or I should say...continued checking it out.

We got down to a point where Whitlock said... "We really need to check under that cover over there where all of the works are"..

I agreed but the cover was under the non-operational crane.... Whitlock decided he could drive the hinge pin out of the cover so got a punch and hammer. I found a vice grip and between the two of us we got it out and the cover off.

He was looking at it and saw a wire, obviously chewed off by a wood rat.

I grabbed the ends and touched them together and the solenoid kicked in and we had power.... a twenty minute search for splices and tools along with a bit of improvisation with a pair of sidecutters and we were back in business.....

What a relief.... on to the next problem of unloading the trailer

ben2go · January 16, 2013, 07:58:15 AM

Our propaganda machine threatened us with wintery precipitation for higher elevations.I am at a lower elevation,I think I am at 990 ft amsl.

glenn kangiser · January 16, 2013, 12:10:07 PM

You understand how they manipulate you... that is great, Ben.

Glad to hear you will hopefully miss it. The heat wave seems to have struck here. My outside thermometer in the shade is currently showing 50.4f......

I'm gonna have to run in and slip on my hot pink bikini....

Edit... that brought up a Google ad for Hot Springs Village.... Arkansas... I wonder if they would like to see me over there.... ?

January 17, 2013, 10:38:11 AM

Brace yourself Ben and other East coast friends.... 4 to 8 inches of snow is what I show for you in the near future.... [ouch]

Showing 49.8f here now.... Looks like another great day. I think I will get onto the hugelkultur project a bit today....

Studied a bit on Arabians last night. Not a bred breed by documentation and recognized as a breed after years... actually they are one of the original breeds of horse jealously maintained by the Arab's and actually were taken into the house at night with the children and family to safeguard them from theft. Smaller than other horses (actually cross into pony size but still considered a horse), their special build allows them to carry the same weight as a larger horse. They are known for being extremely smart. That is why Mr Ed has so quickly learned that he must put his halter on or no grain or else major hassles from me. Yesterday he stuck his head out for me to put it on.

They have more range of movement of their head due to an arch where their head joins their neck. I guess that is why he can walk behind me on the left and stick his head clear around in front of me to my right pocket to see if I have another grain treat in a bag for his good behavior. Yet they are also pretty famous for being speedy little war horses with great endurance ...clear back to the beginning of time.

Offering Mr. Ed a treat as I was seated on him seeing how he would take to being saddled again after many years.... He was great ...

The concave nose and large nostrils as well as the kind of domed area (larger sinuses) on their forehead are thought to increase their breathing capacity and increase their endurance in desert locations....great for California. They also live longer than other breeds of horses maybe up to forty or more years.

Interesting.....

ben2go · January 17, 2013, 02:01:10 PM

We've had nearly non stop rain for two weeks.It's supposed to end tonight,but not before dropping 1 to 3 inches of rain,ice,snow mixture.I hope the local news is wrong and we end with rain and no overnight icing. $:-\$

glenn kangiser · January 18, 2013, 12:27:34 AM

I hope for the best for you, Ben.

Whitlock and I went mushroom hunting today then down the hill on a very bumpy large rocky road. It was a mine I have wanted to go down for a long time.

We made it down there and got a good look at what remains of the old 5 stamp mill....

Also, Whitlock called me to come look above the shaft at the remains of the old hoist... Broken but a great reminder of past activity at this old mine...

Glad I finally got to see it... learned of it several years ago... thanks, Whitlock.

ben2go · January 18, 2013, 12:35:46 AM

That's also known as a hammer mill.We have one around here that still runs cornmeal into a stone wheel grinder.

We didn't get snow or ice.We got an extra 2 inches of rain.Now it's all going to freeze overnight and become a mess. $:-\$

glenn kangiser · January 18, 2013, 10:52:16 AM

These big hammers probably weigh around one thousand lbs each and would crush the ore broken from the jaw crusher above into fine powder mechanically releasing the gold from it. They would generally go from about 2 inch to about a flour size having exit screens preventing it from leaving the stamp area until it was small enough.

From there it went across a mercury table and then to a shaker table though there were other ways of doing things also.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz8HjvKo2eM

Our gold stamp in Mariposa History Center in action as filmed by our own world famous Double Rainbow Guy....

January 18, 2013, 11:53:46 AM

I dig old equipment.It seems so simplistic compared to today's machines.Back then,that stuff was a modern marvel.To bad today's equipment doesn't hold up as well.

rick91351 · January 18, 2013, 12:22:58 PM

Glenn when do they run the old stamp mill there at the museum? Would love to see and hear that in action. Funny what they use to make some of this old flywheels out of and they most the time held up......

Bend over again or I guess that is Bend, Oregon

has an old timey saw mill set up I have never seen the working. Last I heard they run it once a year. We hope to get around and see some of that stuff in action now that we are retired.

rick

glenn kangiser · January 19, 2013, 12:36:45 PM

Not sure what day the stamp mill runs, Rick. I will look into it and post back when I find out. I think it may be a once a year thing and mine is not set up yet. The wood flywheels were used to prevent breakage from shock when using a cast iron one.

For a sawmill that runs, (any time you want to make a small donation I think), I recommend the Gold King Mine in Jerome, AZ along with a lot of other cool stuff in a cool town....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFyWraW3Caw&NR=1

glenn kangiser · January 19, 2013, 09:22:13 PM

Sassy came up to the Underground Complex and we took Mr Ed for a walk today......

...and then.... I finally fit the bridle and took Mr. Ed for a ride today. He already knew what to do, but it took me a bit to figure it all out. No problem... he's easy..

He waited fairly patiently as I figured out the bridle was a bit too big for him and made a few more adjustment holes in the cheekpieces to get the bit to fit him properly...he was patient as long as the grain treats were available.... [ouch]

glenn kangiser · January 19, 2013, 09:44:00 PM

Hey Rick, I checked with the Museum/History Center today and found out that they fairly regularly run the stamp mill for school tours and other times or with a little notice and a $50 donation we can get them to get some volunteers in and fire it up. Should be able to work something out for you.

glenn kangiser · January 20, 2013, 02:36:30 AM

Mr Ed has learned to politely ask for his snacks....

Actually he already knew and showed me that he knew how to ask... such a smart little boy....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lPvkY2ZaLg&list=UUTtzs303lg04jQ6_o12dm8Q&index=1

January 20, 2013, 11:50:59 AM

Quote from: glenn kangiser on January 20, 2013, 02:36:30 AM
such a smart little boy....

Obviously, he knew he found a ~~sucker~~ good friend when he met you

glenn kangiser · January 20, 2013, 12:39:52 PM

I think you may have that correct, Rob..... [ouch]

'Scuse me... I have to go give him food and a treat now....

glenn kangiser · January 22, 2013, 10:41:45 AM

Trying to get around 3 miles a day in on Mr. Ed. [ouch]

His stiffness in his legs seems to be going away as we get to going up and down the trails and roads on the mountain.

This was after we got back I think and the saddle had slipped back a little on the steep grades. I readjusted once but don't want to over-tighten it. He works up a pretty good sweat on the three mile rides.

He is quite responsive to turning, backing up and going forward..... once I even found some kind of a sideways stepping gear.... will have to try to find that in a safe place again after I study up on how to do what he did. Obviously he knows more about riding than I do. He must have been well trained in some previous life.

Sometimes he gets a bit of energy and wants to speed up into a trot... hard taking pictures when he is doing that.... I let him in safe (safer) places then slow him down where he could hurt himself on uneven ground. All trails on my place are near pretty steep hillsides.

Note the flying mane as he speeds up the hill. It seems that it is mostly uphill where he wants to speed up... he is cautious down hill as he should be.

The only time he doesn't respond very easily is when he doesn't want to do something or wants to do something else. That has always been my problem with horses, but I am being firm...gentle but firm...

John Raabe · January 22, 2013, 02:38:56 PM

Mr Ed looks like a great new friend. Unlike machines, this is a big, living being with needs, wants, and opinions. More like a relationship really - and there are always new things to learn about relationships.

Most of the things I've learned about my relationships are things I needed to learn anyway. So here's to Mr Ed and relationships!

glenn kangiser · January 23, 2013, 03:11:08 AM

Quote from: John Raabe on January 22, 2013, 02:38:56 PM
Mr Ed looks like a great new friend. Unlike machines, this is a big, living being with needs, wants, and opinions. More like a relationship really - and there are always new things to learn about relationships.

Most of the things I've learned about my relationships are things I needed to learn anyway. So here's to Mr Ed and relationships!

Hmmmm, John... I don't know what Sassy is going to say about me having a second wife......... [ouch]

Yes ... you are correct, John. Mr. Ed does have his own thoughts and opinions. Exactly the reason I have chosen a motorcycle as my self destructive weapon of choice over the years....but now that I am getting to know him, he is kinda cool and learning the personality of someone who does not speak human is different, but it is there and you do learn it .... as well as what he has to teach you.

I guess I started learning about animal personalities - other than dogs and cats, from my cows. Each one is different if you get to know them well. They are just a crowd if you only know them as a herd, but one on one... you learn things about them.

Mr. Ed was teaching me things today..... I think I learned that he needs to rest and take it a little easy for a few days after the longer rides we went on. He is a bit out of shape after 6 or 7 years of no riders, being 24 years old and I think his muscles may ache a bit today. The kinks are coming out of his legs after years of no riders. Likely things have to be stretching a bit... in fact I did see him doing a stretch like a gymnist today, stretching those very leg muscles..... [idea]

We got about a block away from the corral today and all he wanted to do was back up... same forward technique I always used and he knew it too, but every gear was reverse. I got off and readjusted the saddle.... readjusted his bit etc. but still no forward gears. I got off and walked taking the reins and leading him and we could go anywhere. Walked him down the road and got on... forward gears only in the direction of the corral... all other directions resulted in reverse.... yes ... he backs up well but does not use his rear view mirror well. Stop still works.

After taking him around walking, I climbed back on, then going uphill a bit the direction I wanted, I allowed him to turn in the direction of home. He went into a trot nearing a gallop. That is not supposed to be allowed on the way back to the corral in case someone else is on him who can't handle him sometime, so I slowed him down in a little bit.

He was not too happy about that, mildly bucking and protesting. I had a grip of steel on the saddle horn and the reins, so brought him to a slower pace up the hill and made him behave on the way back to the Bushhog to pull off the saddle. I asked him if he was a good boy.... he said yes... I said not really but you can have some grain anyway. I then took him back to the corral for some well deserved rest.... really he is a pretty good boy.