After spending a month out of the country, it was nice to toss my clothes and tools into the Tundra and head west to the cabin. Although Cheryl and I have grown accustomed to the 9 hour and 60 minute drive to our cabin, I have to say that after driving 6,500 miles through Australia’s outback last month, the 10 hour trek to Big Bend just did not feel as long.

I normally have a long list of projects to complete whenever we head west, but intentionally kept my to-do list short on this trip. I needed to do some maintenance stuff around the property — little things that are always way down on my list. So, I moved the little stuff to the top of my list this past week.

First, I wanted to address our Texas-themed picnic tables. When I painted the tables, I chose not to distress them but instead let the Big Bend sun and wind do that for me. After three years, the tables have weathered beautifully. In order to preserve the rustic charm, I lightly sanded all of the tables and then gave them two coats of spar urethane. I am very happy with the results.

Second, since buying my log-splitter, I have enjoyed cutting rounds and then splitting them at home for use at the cabin. I now have a lot (almost a full cord) of firewood in my backyard, split and ready for transport. So, I tossed as much firewood as I could into the bed of my truck for use at the cabin.

Now, I have already built four firewood racks but, with all of the extra wood, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to build one more. So, that’s what I did. I built rack numbers 5 with scrap lumber and set it up on the west side of our guest cabin. We will not run out of firewood anytime soon.

Third, I added some items from my 6,500 mile Australian Outback roadtrip to distribute 10,000 copies of Luke’s Gospel and to serve as an ambassador for the new animated Jesus Film currently under production. Good memories associated with the three-week trip from Texas to the heart of Australia.

Fourth, my neighbor Joe stopped by to finish the last of the electrical work on the guest cabin. We ran some conduit from my solar panels to the cabin and then tidied up all of the wiring. We now have enough battery power to operate the mini-splits in both cabins all day and night. And, Joe has set everything up so that I can check the status of my batteries from my phone and operate the mini-splits from my phone as well.

Finally, Cheryl and I enjoyed spending every evening around the fire pit, waiting for the golden hour — those waning moments of the day when the sun starts to slip below the horizon while painting the evening sky with magnificent colors. The sunsets combined with the pleasant evening breezes were amazing. We sat by the fire pit every evening until the ambient light of the sun faded away and gave way to the night sky.

Grateful, as always, for cabin time. The drive from Katy to Big Bend is always enjoyable. I love looking out at the vast expanses once we get past Kerrville. So relaxing. And, of course, the time at the cabin is absolutely good for our hearts. Working with my hands is also good for my heart and my head. Always looking forward to our next visit.