We're building on the extreme Western side of the Pahrump valley, in Nevada. The site looks over the valley, and has the most spectacular view of Mount Charleston, which is almost 12,000 ft high. Mount Charleston, at sunset is pure magic... those of you who have experienced a southwestern desert sunset will know just what I mean, and for those of you that have never seen a mountain lit up with that soft incandescent pink light for a fleeting few minutes each evening... you're missing one of life's few freebies!!

NOTE: Ignore the post dates... they have (obviously) been manipulated (thanks to Jae's insight) to allow the posts to come up in the sequence that I want them to, rather than last in first viewed.

As I threatened, I have made another blog site... go check it out at http://www.xrhodie1.blogspot.com/

The original site - post removal of the doublewide...

Here's what the home site looked like, after the double wide was removed... akin to a bomb site in Beirut! That's Hoppy, Outlaw (redhead) and Cassie (blonde), standing in the middle of the chaos!

Getting Started...

We cleaned up the area, and this is what it looks like... finally ready to get started, and build our house, which hopefully will be finished before Christmas!

We're moving dirt!!!

Finally, we start moving dirt around, and laying out the actual location of the house. We had to lose a few trees (which in the desert, is always a travesty!), but we will certainly replant more, once the house is built. If you look carefully, you can see Mount Charleston still has a fair amount of snow... in the middle of May!!! 

Setting the pad...

The pad has been laid, and must now be watered so that it will set up,,, 

Special delivery

Gravel, etc. has been delivered... maybe we will get a house before Y3K, after all! Another exotic area of our lives is featured in this picture... the "Beast"... Hoppy's pride and joy, replete with genuine rust spots! 

Let it rain...

Aaah, yes! Just what we need... a little more water to get this pad well and truly settled down! 

Hoppy's new toy!

The road to the new house is pretty poor... so Hoppy to the rescue... he bought this motor patrol grader, and will be maintaining the road for us... woo hoo! The pinup girl in this picture is Janice, who is available for any calendar shots that you may have in mind - let me know - I am her agent! ;-]  

Ready to pour that slab!

Later on... the forms are all ready, and the reebar is laid out on the floor - hopefully they will pour the concrete soon? 

Laying out the forms..

Here is the concrete crew getting the forms ready to pour the slab. They were amazing to watch... Every one of them knew exactly what he was doing, and it was almost like watching a well choreographed dance. Gives me a good feeling, knowing that men of their caliber are laying this foundation! 

Voila! The slab is poured!

The VERY next day! Here they are smoothing out the cement! 

4th of July celebration!

Happy 4th!!! The slab has been watered all weekend, and is looking great! Hoppy, Cassie and Outlaw are checking it out! Note that a whole load of lumber has been delivered - they might start framing soon - yeah!!! 

We're starting to build...

Well glory be, and the saints be praised! They have started framing already! What a crew Ron has! Maybe Drew and Marilyn will have somewhere to stay over Christmas, after all! 

We were only able to get up to the house after dark, tonight... but I HAD to take a picture, to show that the entire house has been framed - simply amazing! 

Paul & Nancy's convertible

Paul, Nancy and Buddy departing after a lovely evening spent on the front porch... please note the deluxe version of their convertible... complete with dog-carrier! 

Precious Pomegranates

This one is for Parivash... we have a couple of pomegranate trees... with lots of fruit... will be ready to eat later this year.... 

Going up....

The Garage

 

Front of the house

This really is a testament to Ron's ability to pull a job together... 10 days ago, there was just dirt... and here we almost have a house - RON ROCKS!
 

Here's a picture from the roadway... Outlaw is heading up the driveway (note Hoppy's sign), and if you look carefully, you can see the framed structure, 

Front...

Front view of the house. I was out of town while all this was happening, so Hoppy was in charge of taking pictures - it was really exciting to come home, and see how far we have come in a week! 

Now we have walls...

The progress continues...  

Hi-Grader Hoppy

Hoppy's been working on the roads... we really need some good rain, as everything is like concrete right now... here's Hoppy, happy as a sandboy on his beloved grader 

HUGE Progress!!!

Here's a view of the garage, and the back verandah. It amazes me that 4 weeks ago, the pad was poured, and there has been this much progress! 

More of the same...

Same view, from the inside of the garage. 

Roof facade

Another view, showing the poles, and the roof facade going up.