Halloween '11

Nothing about Halloween here but the time of the year means that the weather is great and the holidays are upon us. The bunker is looking good and the last piece of roof finishes it off nicely. The XO and I worked really well together to get it finished and even were able to take many breaks and had a leisurely drive home. We came back through Llano to stop at Coopers for the best BBQ in Texas. The tree in the picture above is perfect for the season. It is along the highway between Mason and Llano and may not be around next year. I found it three or four years ago then lost it because I thought it was closer to Mason. The line at Coopers was long and slow and I got into a conversation with the guy behind me. Turns out that he was coming home from Fort Davis too. He has a place in DMR which is on the loop South toward Valentine and much more rugged than our mountain. We looked up there when we we looking around in the area but the road in was bad and it got worse as you went up the mountain. He said he was spared from the fires back in April and that's good. He lived close to Llano so he bought his BBQ to go. Nice guy. We ate in and had another hour to travel.

Back to work

Came back out this weekend to finish the West roof that we started last trip. The wing walls were standing when we got here as were the trusses. I painted the walls first thing Saturday morning and then we began to set the tile. The first picture shows how the finished product turned out. I still need to clean up the junk pile in back.

Turning the corner

I touched the wrong button on the blog today and changed everything. I'll reserve my opinion until I have worked with it a while. For now I just have an empty keyboard.
Writers block! Well you have to be a writer to have it so I guess I'm safe. The XO and I drove out last Thursday to work on the roof and managed to lay 27 blocks to make wings and put up some trusses to hang the tile. No pictures this trip but this finishes the roof off on all sides so it will look like the front. We were really beat by the time 5:00 rolled around and I was ready for a shower and a glass of wine. Not to happen. The XO called home to check on G"maw, we have to be careful she's 94, and she had taken a turn for the worse and needed us home ASAP. Well ASAP is 6.5 hours minimum. We loaded up really fast and headed home leaving tools on the roof and five gallons of paint on the patio. It took longer to get home because the 80MPH speed limit becomes 65MPH when the sun goes down. Pulled into the driveway at midnight ready to bundle G"maw up for a trip to the emergency room. No.. She had a complete recovery about 10:00 PM. We are going back this weekend, depending on her health, to finish the tiles and put a coat of paint on the new blocks. Wish us luck.
The picture above is for comparison only. More timely pictures to come.

Location, location, location

Many people have asked where the bunker is located. Some people, even Texans, don't know that there are mountains in Texas. Here is a map showing Fort Davis and some of the surrounding area. Further South is the Big Bend and North is New Mexico so if you jump on interstate 10 and drive like heck (80 MPH limit) 9 hours from Houston or 3 hours from El Paso you'll be in the neighborhood. The bunker is on a mountain just South of Fort Davis called Dolores Mountain and this link has the story of how it got it's name. Because of the altitude and the other mountains in the area the weather is moderate and it gets more rain than the desert floor such as Terlingua or Presidio or even Fort Stocton just 85 miles Northeast. All things considered it is a perfect spot in a big state like Texas.