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A Cloudy Week at the Cabin

It’s monsoon season in the Chihuahua Desert. Most of the annual rainfall of 10 to 12+ inches falls during the months of July through September. It is an amazing time to be in the desert. The winds carry the unmistakable fragrance of coming rain as storms thunderously and slowly move across the vast expanses of the desert. It’s no wonder John Denver was inspired to write, “You fill up my senses, like a storm in the desert.”

I am, however, a bit bummed that we have not yet installed our rain catchment tank behind the new cabin. An inch of rain collected from our guest cabin roof should yield about 150 gallons of water. All of our other tanks are full, holding 2,200 gallons of water for our use when we visit the cabin. Hoping to purchase a new tank soon for the guest cabin.


Cheryl and I got an early start on Saturday. Our first stop was the Meredith’s Empty Nest Farm outside of Pattison toward San Felipe. My friend James loaned me his trailer so that we could haul up more cedar fencing and new burn barrels. I have lost track of how many loads I have hauled to the cabin using James’ trailer.


After enjoying worship online with our Kingsland Baptist Church family on Sunday morning, I helped our neighbor Johnny put in some cedar corner posts at his place down the road. I also met a new neighbor who recently purchased property between our place and Johnny’s. Nice young lady who has fallen in love with Big Bend.


Later in the afternoon, Johnny and his son Joseph stopped by to help me put in the last of the cedar line posts on our southwest tract. Their help made the work go a lot faster. The only thing left to do on this last 10-acres is to tension the corners and mid-points and then add t-posts between the cedar posts before installing the field fencing. So happy about the progress.


As I do on every visit, I make a list of projects prior to coming and make sure I have all of the necessary supplies. Next on my list was to replace our burn barrel. After more than four years in service, it needed replacing. Shout-out to my friend James for the gift of our new burn barrel. And, I was able to salvage the upper part of the old burn barrel to make a fire pit for a future campsite on our tracts across the road.


Firewood is important because we enjoy using our fire pit in the evening and when neighbors visit. My friend Paul Kitchen recently helped me trim one of the oak trees at our home in Katy. We cut as much firewood as we could from each branch. I was able to bring all of that firewood with us but had to build an additional firewood rack because our other rack is already overflowing with firewood. Did all of this with reclaimed lumber.


We hosted a block party on Labor Day. And even though it was drizzling rain, we still made a fire and enjoyed burgers, hot dogs, and s’mores with the neighbors. This has become something of a tradition when we visit the cabin. We enjoy having the neighbors from a few miles around join us for an evening of good food and pleasant conversation around the fire.


On Tuesday, Cheryl and I drove into Study Butte to eat at El Gordo’s Grill. Friends have been telling us about this food truck and how good the food is — so we had to try it for ourselves. Bottom line is that the food was delicious and seriously good. We will definitely eat there again.


I had several items on my list to get our guest cabin bathroom ready for guests. These included adding a shower curtain, building a small counter to hold toilet paper, making a toilet paper holder out of black iron pipe fittings, and building a partial wall to separate the bath area from our electrical closet.


Our neighbor Joe is installing a new solar system that will eventually provide power to both of our cabins, to our shop, and to our outdoor cooking area. He will incorporate our current solar panels to the 18 additional panels that we will add this fall. The power from these panels will be stored in three big lithium batteries that will run two ac units, two mini-fridges, our internet and phone service, plus service other electrical needs.


I did manage to address the rain catchment basins around several of our mesquite trees near the cabin. These basins will hold water when it rains and give that water time to seep down deep into the soil to be absorbed by the tree roots.


And finally, the skies — the magnificent Big Bend skies that never disappoint. Sunrises and sunsets in the Chihuahuan Desert are breathtaking. There are no words to describe the fleeting beauty of that magic hour when the sun is low to the west and its rays splash orange and peach colors across the sky. We wait in eager anticipation for each sunset.


It will be a few weeks before we make it back. In the meantime, Joe will be working on adding the new solar panels and finishing our solar system install. It’s hard to believe that just five years ago this was raw land with hardly a neighbor in site. Now it is a retreat, a haven of rest for us. And for that, we remain thankful to God.

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Small Steps in the Chihuahuan Desert

One of the often asked questions I get about our off-grid place in Big Bend is, “How far is it to your cabin?” My tongue-in-cheek reply is, “The cabin is only a 9 hour and 60 minute drive away.”

The drive is no longer an issue. Cheryl and I enjoy the windshield time and have our scheduled stops along the way which, of course, include Buc-ee’s and Dairy Queen — two road trip must-stops in Texas.

Because the cabin is on the other side of the Lone Star State from Katy, we have to make the most of every visit. That means careful planning and coordinating of projects to get things done. And because I find the different kind of work I do at the cabin relaxing, I get to kill two birds with one stone — getting things done while relaxing.

Cheryl and I spent the past week at the cabin. Because I only have two weeks between trips to Uganda and Rwanda, we wanted to at least spend a few days together at the cabin. So, another quick but relaxing drive across Texas.

The goal of our recent trips have been to get the guest cabin completed. Although we have had friends use the cabin in its incomplete state, we are excited about making it even more comfortable.


In the weeks before this trip, I made a rustic frame for an area map to hang at the cabin. This little map will at least serve as a point of reference for guests to get oriented to what is available to do in nearby Study Butte and Terlingua Ghost Town.


I also hung an old photo of Judge Roy Bean’s place in Langtry. My grandfather was the first to tell me stories about Judge Roy Bean. I first saw the historic photo when I was a kid. Judge Leo Gonzalez, who rented office space from my grandfather, had a larger version of this photo hanging in his office. So, I had to hang a copy in the cabin.


I finished the walls in the bathroom of the guest cabin. Over the past months, I have cut and sanded cedar fence boards to make my own econo-version of rustic shiplap siding for the walls and ceiling of the bathroom. I am happy with the results.


The next step was to hang the mirror. I recently framed a mirror I purchased at Lowe’s with reclaimed lumber and added stars to the corners. My goal was to make a rustic-look Texas themed mirror. In retrospect I wish I had used a smaller mirror for the space but am still happy with the results.

On our earlier visit, our neighbor Chris Smith, whose place is a couple of miles from our cabin, gave us a new shower pan that he decided he was not going to use at his new cabin. Turns out that it fit the space perfectly in our guest bathroom.


I installed the shower pan and ran the PVC plumbing under the cabin to a French drain on the side of the cabin. I then added corrugated metal panels for walls and then trimmed out the face of the shower stall. I will install the shower curtain and rod on our next visit. I love the rustic look of the shower stall.


My neighbor Joe is my go-to electrician and solar guru in the area. He found time in his schedule do more work on our electrical and to install the solar power inverter. The inverter will take the DC power collected by our soon-to-be-installed solar panels and convert it to AC power stored in the new Lithium batteries that will power the cabin.


Another quick item on my task list was to extend the area where we keep our fire wood. We always enjoy campfire time with the neighbors, which includes making s’mores. So, firewood is essential. We always transport firewood every time we visit the cabin, thus the need for more storage space.


Finally, I still had time to set some cedar posts along the fence line of our southwest tract. I did have to clear an area along the southern part of the tract to set more posts. I now only have about 660-feet of remaining fence line requiring cedar posts.

And, as always when we visit the cabin, we enjoyed hosting a “block party” for our closest neighbors — those within a few miles radius. We always enjoy our time with these friends and are grateful that when we are away they watch over our place.

And now, we are back in the suburbs. It’s time to start packing for my upcoming trip to Rwanda. Life is back in fast-mode again. But, we are refreshed because of our time in the vast expanses of Big Bend and the opportunity to take a few more small steps in the Chihuahuan Desert

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The Beauty of Rustic

For the past several years I have developed an interest in how to reclaim and repurpose wood that, by all appearances, should be tossed on a burn pile. I like wood that is weathered and worn, scarred from use and abuse — wood that looks sad at best. So, I am always on the lookout for wood waiting to be reclaimed and repurposed.

One of my friends recently replaced a fence for a widow. He told me that the pickets had rested on a 12-inch rot board. My ears perked up. “The rot board looks pretty bad,” he said. I had to see it.


When I finally saw the rot board I knew immediately that it was perfect for my next project at our guest cabin in Big Bend — a small countertop in front of the large window with a view to Red Bluff. I could not wait to repurpose these 12-inch boards and started drawing out my plans.

As for the legs for the countertop, these came a few days later when I helped my friend take apart another fence blown over by a storm. I culled out the 4 x 4 posts and set them aside. These posts were more than sufficiently weathered and matched the character of the rot boards.

With all of our reclaimed wood in the bed of my Tundra, Cheryl and I headed to our cabin on Monday. We made one stop at McCoy’s in Alpine to pick up a few more things we would need for this week’s projects and then drove the last hour down Highway 118 to the cabin.


The countertop build took several hours. Fortunately, I had already lightly sanded the rot boards before coming to the cabin. I sanded just enough to knock off the rough edges and splinters but not so much as to ruin the patina of the wood. The patina, after all, is the character that gives old wood its rustic charm.

Because the edges of the boards were so uneven, I chose not to run them through my jointer or to use biscuits to join the pieces. Instead, I made my own version of flat bar to join and level them from beneath.


The next step was to apply several coats of clear Polycrylic to seal the boards. This added lots of smoothness to the boards. I was pleased with the results.

Next, I added a ledger board that would serve to hold up one side of the countertop beneath the large window. Once I had the height of the countertop, I cut the 4 x 4 posts to measure to make the legs.


I did a dry fit of the legs against the bottom of the countertop and then scribed a cut line to make the legs fit tight against the weathered wood. Once the countertop was level and the legs plumb, I used Timberlock screws to fasten everything together.


I then made a second smaller counter to serve as a place to set a 5-gallon water jug and temporary plastic sink for a hand-washing station. I may modify this later whenever we pressurize the water to this cabin — but in the meantime this will serve the purpose.


I also finished the open closest area between the bunk beds. This is intended as a place for guests to stow gear and hang clothes. Once again, I used reclaimed rot boards to make the shelf. I then affixed hooks to another piece of rot board and screwed that in to the back wall of the closet.


To finish the bunk beds, I added a grab bar to make it easier to get into the top bunks and also added a safety rail to each top bunk. The bunk beds are strong and the black iron ladder and grab bars should be able to handle lots of use.


My neighbor Joe, the jack-of-all-off-grid-skills, stopped by to finish the install of the mini-split. He wired things so that we can run the mini-split off a generator while we wait to set up our solar panels. Wow! The mini-split did a great job of quickly cooling the well-insulated space in spite of the triple digit temps.


I finally got around to making a set of temporary steps into the cabin. We will replace these when we add the front deck that will span the length of the cabin and be shaded by a solar panel awning.


As a final project, I reorganized our wood storage rack and painted it black. I added a couple of shelves to the rack to keep the smaller stuff on top and the heavier logs on the bottom section. This should make it easier for us to access what we need.

So, it’s been a great week completing projects at the cabin that add rustic charm. It’s always fun to dream about, plan, and complete projects that get us closer to completion of the guest cabin and make our place a bit more organized.


We did get lots of rain and a little hail this week. We love the magnificent storms in the desert. As soon as the thunder and lightning started, we sat on the front porch to watch the display until the rain drove us inside the cabin. We make it a point every time one of these storms rolls in to listen to John Denver’s “Annie’s Song” — “You fill up my senses, like a storm in the desert.”


Cheryl and I are headed into Study Butte in a few minutes to get a few more items for tonight’s cookout with our neighbors. We love hosting our desert version of a block party every time we visit our cabin. We will head back to the suburbs on Saturday. As always, thanks for following our adventure.

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A Tin Ceiling and Wood Bunk Beds

Mark Twain once observed that the secret to making progress is to get started. If there is one thing I have learned about progress since starting our off-grid adventure in Big Bend it is that slow progress is better than no progress. And making any progress means making decisions and then taking a step, no matter how small, to get started.

Taking small steps is definitely paying off for us at our off-grid property. Because we can only visit for short periods every few weeks, we have to make the most of every visit. That means careful planning, making lists and checking them twice, purchasing materials, and then working the plan.


I keep a little black notebook where I draw sketches of upcoming projects, make lists of materials, keep important measurements I need as I dream and plan, and make general notes about this and that. The cool thing is that as I leaf through the pages, I can see a record of all of the progress we have made since 2018.

Cheryl and I spent the past week at the cabin. Our hope for the week was to make a little more progress toward the completion of the guest cabin built by my Band of Fathers group that I meet with every Wednesday.


Project One was to run the electrical wiring and refrigerant lines for the mini-split. That’s where my neighbor Joe Pound comes in. He is an off-grid guru who knows just about everything about off-grid survival. Joe stopped by to do the work on the mini-split while I finished wiring electrical outlets and switches.


With the electrical and refrigerant lines in place, I was able to add the final pieces of insulation and paneling to complete the walls. It was a good feeling to have all of the walls in the main room completed.

Project Number Two was to finish insulating the ceiling and then adding the corrugated tin panels. I know that there are other ceiling options, but we like the rustic look of the corrugated tin. Hanging tin, however, is definitely a two-man job. My neighbor Chris Smith stopped by to help me finish all of the ceiling work. Once again, it was such a good feeling to look up and know that I could now check the ceiling work off of my project list.


Project Number Three was to build the bunk beds. Cheryl and I drove to McCoy’s in Alpine, with black notebook in hand, to purchase the lumber for the bunk bed build. With the lumber secured in the bed of my truck, we stopped by the Dairy Queen next door to McCoy’s for a quick Texas gourmet lunch before heading back to the cabin.


A couple of months ago Cheryl and I took our granddaughters to IKEA. While there Cheryl noticed that their bunk bed mattresses were on sale so we purchased the mattresses right away. One more thing off the list.


The bunk bed build was a fun project. We were able to build both sets of bunks beds. I decided to use black iron pipe and flanges to make the ladder to the top bunks. On our next trip I will install a grab bar and add a safety bar to the top bunks, all using black iron. The final step will be to build an open storage closet between the bunk beds so guests can have a place to stow gear and hang clothes.

As we do on every visit, we invited our neighbors over for a cookout on Saturday evening. This is always a fun time to reconnect with one another and to enjoy conversation around the campfire. Especially enjoyed meeting a new neighbor who is making a go of off-grid living not far from us.

On Sunday we enjoyed worship at Terlingua Ranch Community Church where we have attended since starting our off-grid adventure in 2018. Love this little church in the desert.

Before we headed home on Monday, we sat outside to watch the solar eclipse. Although it did not get completely dark at the cabin, it did feel a little like dusk. This is the second eclipse we have watched from the cabin.


We returned home by way of Uvalde where we spent the night with our nephew Ryan and his sweet family. Highway 90 is a fun alternate route home for us. Even stopped at the world’s smallest Buc-ee’s east of Marathon.


Cheryl and I are happy to have made a little more progress on our guest cabin and, best of all, grateful for the time spent with our friends and neighbors in the Chihuahuan Desert.

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An Adventure Deep in the Heart of Texas

In November 2022, Big Bend National Park topped National Geographic’s Best of the World Travel List. Located in the vast Chihuahuan Desert, Big Bend also boasts the darkest night skies in the nation. It’s one of the places that affirms “the stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas.”

In 2018, my wife Cheryl and I purchased the first of our off-grid tracts deep in the heart of Texas. Beckoned by the wide open spaces, distant mesas, deafening silence, and endless skies, we established Dos Arbolitos, our off-grid base camp for solitude and adventure in the Big Bend Valley section of the vast Terlingua Ranch.

One of our dreams for Dos Arbolitos was to host adventures for boys and dads and also for boys without dads. That dream came true three years ago when we hosted our first Big Bend Adventure for boys from fatherless homes in partnership with The Hangar, a Christian nonprofit situated in Brookshire.


The Brookshire community, located west of Houston, has the highest percentage of fatherless homes in the greater Houston area. The Hangar, a ministry of Eyes on Me, exists to mentor, disciple, and serve at-risk youth and their families.


This week, we hosted the third annual Big Bend Adventure for boys (and their mentors) from Brookshire. This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. The adventure is designed to provide opportunities for good conversations between the boys and mentors around the campfire and on the trails.

One of the key things we focus on is teaching the boys that it is better to do life in community with others because alone is dangerous. We teach them the importance of watching out for one another on the trails. And, the work projects we plan can only be accomplished by cooperating and working well with others.


The boys arrived at Dos Arbolitos on Sunday afternoon. The first order of business was pitching tents and setting up their respective campsites. For many of the first-timers, this was the first time they had set up a tent. It was nice to see the older boys teaching the younger boys how it’s done.


James Meredith returned for the third time to serve as camp chef. I don’t know of a better guy to cook for a campout than James. He is a master at cooking on grills, griddles, Dutch ovens, and campfires — and usually uses all of these to prepare a single delicious meal. James is, understandably, a very popular guy on the campout.

On the first night of the adventure, we sat around the campfire and presented the boys with their hiking gear. We gave each boy their own hydration backpack, first aid kit, headlamp and flashlight, survival blanket, whistle, compass, and more. We explained each item and why they are necessary for the adventure — and then used each item as a metaphor to talk about an aspect of their walk with Christ.


After giving the boys their gear, one of the youngest guys on the team sat wide-eyed at all that he had received. He looked at one of the mentors and asked, “Do I have to give all of this back after the hike?” He was blown away to hear that this was now his own personal gear and that he dId not have to return it after the adventure. I don’t think he took off his backpack the whole time we were together.


I invited my friend Joseph Bear, known as Yogi to locals, to do a star party for the boys. Yogi and my Big Bend neighbors Chris and Ken were kind enough to set up one of his large telescopes. Yogi told stories about the night sky. The boys enjoyed looking the moon, planets, and stars. My neighbor Chris took a great pic of the moon through lens of the telescope.


As in previous years, the boys spent two days on day-hikes in Big Bend National Park. This is always an eye-opening, jaw-dropping experience for these boys who live in tough urban settings. The hikes are also an opportunity for mentors to talk about outdoor preparedness and safety and why adventuring alone can be dangerous.


We also set aside one day to do tasks around the property — jobs that can only be done by communicating and cooperating well with others. These included clearing fence line, bracing corner posts for a new section of fencing, addressing some erosion, and adding t-posts for future fencing.


These tasks are hard and require attention to detail and looking out for the guys working beside you. After working on a section of fencing, one boy shared his thoughts around the campfire. “This was one of the hardest things I have ever done,” he said. “And now I know that I can do hard things.” Wow! That is a valuable take-away for a young man.


One of the boys worked beside Ian, one of the mentors. As they cleared brush for a future fence, Ian shared the story of Jesus with Gavin. After a long conversation, Gavin placed his faith in Christ for salvation and was later baptized in the Rio Grande River along with four other boys.


My favorite night was our final night around the campfire. On that night Dennis, the executive director of Eyes On Me, the non-profit that directs the outreach to at-risk homes in Brookshire, asked the boys to affirm one another. The boys then took turns speaking words of encouragement and affirmation to one another. The words spoken were better than food for many of these boys who seldom receive such affirmation.


This Third Annual Big Bend Adventure was so much fun and a huge success. The boys were so appreciative of the opportunity to participate in the adventure and returned home tired but encouraged by their time under the vast Big Bend skies, deep in the heart of Texas.

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Five Years of Progress in the Desert

Five amazing years!

It’s hard to believe that Cheryl and I are ending year number five of our off-grid adventure in Big Bend. And what an amazing five years it has been.

One of the mantras we have adopted as we have worked to develop our slice of the Chihuahuan Desert is “slow progress is better than no progress.” But slow progress times a few visits each year actually equals a lot of progress.


This past week, my good friend Mike Aronson and I made the 9-hour and 60-minute journey to Dos Arbolitos (the name of our little 20-acre place in the desert). The plan for this trip was to work on the guest cabin — a gift from my Band of Fathers men’s group.


On a previous visit I built a wall to divide the main room of the cabin from the bathroom. My good neighbor Joe Pound then wired the cabin in preparation for the addition of solar panels. With the wiring done and receptacles in place it was time for the next step — insulation.

Mike and I decided we could make more progress by dividing and conquering, so we each took ownership of a project.


I took on the task of insulating the walls of the main room with R-13 insulation. I left one 16-inch section open for the time being. Joe will later run the refrigerant lines for the mini-split that will heat and cool the cabin through that section of the wall. Once those lines are in place then I will add insulation and nail in the bead-board paneling to that section of the wall.


While I worked on insulating the cabin, Mike loaded up the paint sprayer and primed and painted all of the bead-board paneling for the walls of the cabin. We set up a paint station against the outside walls of my shipping container shop. Fortunately it was not too windy to paint.

Cheryl and I chose the color “Sands of Time” for the walls of the cabin accented with white base and trim boards. I purchased pre-primed boards for the trim and will later paint these with a white semi-gloss paint.


Mike installed the beard-board paneling. Painting these panels ahead of time was the smart thing to do. He measured and cut the openings for outlets and made a lot of angled cuts for the upper sections of the side walls. Once everything was in place, we added the trim pieces and baseboard.


While Mike installed the paneling, I worked on framing the door and windows. As in our main cabin, I used corner blocks with a Texas Star for the window and door trim. I like this look much better than mitered corners.


After we finished the work on the main room, we put away the tools and then swept and mopped the floor. I then hung a pic of the guys in my Band of Fathers group that built the cabin in November 2022. There are a lot of guys not in the picture because they were unable to participate in the build but who contributed generously to make this blessing a reality. I am honored to do life in community with these dear brothers.


The final touch was hanging my old Boy Scout flag above the door. In the early 1970’s I became the patrol leader for the Buffalo Patrol in Troop 68. My sweet mother surprised me with the coolest flag ever. It was the envy of the troop. I have treasured the flag ever since as a reminder of her love and kindness.


I was happy to find a pic of me with the patrol flag taken in July 1972 while camping at Buffalo Trails Scout Ranch in the Davis Mountains. This pic is a reminder of how much I have enjoyed adventuring from a young age. And now, as a man in his late sixties, I still enjoy adventuring. My theme song for this stage of life is Toby Keith’s “Don’t Let the Old Man In” — a reminder to stay active to the end.

As I look back on the past five years I see a trail of God’s blessings — the distinctive signature of His kindness. And as I look ahead in anticipation of the coming years, I am excited to see what good things will happen as we continue to develop Dos Arbolitos.

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Enjoying Projects and Friends in the Desert

The cabin. Ahh, the cabin. Seems that no matter where I am in the world, my thoughts often turn to our little cabin in the Chihuahuan Desert. It has become my place of guaranteed solitude, silence, and simplicity — monastic disciplines that help to reset a busy soul.

The past year has been intensely busy with travel, mobilizing thousands of volunteers to serve others both domestically and internationally, and strategically planning for the challenges and opportunities of the coming year.

That’s why our retreats to the cabin are so important to me. Our cabin is a place where I relax by working. I know that sounds strange, but the work is therapeutic. Because so much of my life is given to tasks that are open-ended, it is nice that at the cabin I can start a project and complete it. Done. Checked off the list.


Don’t get me wrong. It’s not wall-to-wall work at the cabin. The evenings in the Big Bend of Texas are magnificent and call for a warm campfire — a place to have pleasant conversations or to just sit and stare at the dancing flames. And then, peaceful sleep in the deafening and cradling silence of the desert. Always good.

But, back to the projects. Because home is ten-hours away, we have to make every trip to the cabin count in terms of making progress, however small, on the things that need to get done. Our current priority is working to complete the interior of our guest cabin.


Our friend and neighbor, Joe Pound, agreed to stop by to wire the cabin for our off-grid solar powered electricity. He will later install the solar panels and mini-split unit in the cabin. Joe is an off-grid guru with a remarkable skill set. He has been a part of our journey from the start. We owe a lot of our progress to his help and counsel.


It took Joe no time at all to pull all of the wire in the cabin. Now that this task is done, I will plan on insulating the interior walls with R-13 insulation on our next trip. Once the cabin is insulated, then I can start installing the beadboard paneling.


I did manage to install paneling on the interior bathroom wall. We wanted to do this to get a glimpse of what the finished walls will look like. Cheryl painted the panels with “Sands of Time” paint accented with white baseboards and trim and door casing.


I then installed the sliding barn-door hardware in preparation for hanging the old door that I prepared for the cabin. A few weeks ago, I picked out an old vintage door from my uncle’s inventory of old building stuff on a trip to South Texas. I sanded the door smooth and then added the stained glass Texas flag to complete the rustic look of the door.


I then hung an old piece of art that was displayed in my grandparents home when I was a kid. Lots of memories associated with this old piece and with the door. As my friend Mike Aronson said to me when I told him about my plan for the door: “New things are nice but old things tell a better story.” I totally agree.


On Sunday, we tuned in to Kingsland’s Live Streaming service and then got dressed and drove to Terlingua Ranch Christian Church — our church away from Kingsland. We always enjoy our visits to TRCC and to reconnecting with so many friends we first met in 2018 when we started our desert adventure. Wonderful folks.


I also took a few minutes to swap out our old propane heater with a new ventless indoor unit. It kept the cabin cozy warm on the cold nights this week — on the lowest setting. Nice to have a new heat source for those really cold desert nights.


Cheryl worked on defining a path to the peaceful spot where we buried our little Biscuit one year ago. Biscuit always enjoyed her visits to the cabin. She ran free and enjoyed every inch of this place. Cheryl’s path will wind its way to Biscuit’s grave and the bench that I made for her to sit and enjoy the view of Nine Point Mesa and Black Hill to the East.


As on all of our visits, we always have a gathering of our closest neighbors — those who live within a few miles that we have come to know. It’s always fun to share a meal and to get caught up on things while sitting around the campfire. Wyatt, the youngest son of our good neighbors to the south blessed us with his sweet words, “You all are like family to us.” Wow! Touched us deeply.


At the end of the day, the sweetest thing of all is making meaningful connections with others wherever God leads us. The world is so crazy-full of hate and anger that we need more people like Wyatt to cut through it all to what really matters — being a good neighbor to those around us.


And now, it’s time to return to the suburbs but, as always, with deeper gratitude for the blessing of our little place under the magnificent Big Bend skies. Thanks for following our adventure.

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Return to Matagorda Bay

It has been more than a while since I have gone fishing. But, that changed last week when my friend Paul Sinclair invited me to join him on a fishing adventure to Matagorda Bay. Of course, I said yes to his invitation — without hesitation.

Paul is from a family that loves adventure and appreciate how adventure can bring men together. I have lots of fond memories of previous fishing excursions with Paul and his brothers and his late dad, Holloway. Holloway and I traveled the world together to do the kind of fishing Jesus called Simon and Andrew to do. But, I digress. Back to Matagorda Bay.

I was happy when Paul told me that Captain Keith Phillips of Red Fish Matagorda would serve as our guide. Keith knows Matagorda Bay and he knows fishing. He has a quiet confidence that comes from years of experience. He thinks like a fish and always seems to know just exactly where to anchor his boat and just exactly where to cast the line.

We arrived at Matagorda Bay early last Friday morning. Fortunately for us, the last of the cold front was hanging around for a bit longer. Layered up against the cold wind, we boarded Captain’s Keith boat and moved with anticipation to a spot that would yield lots of fish.

Captain Keith picked a spot that looked promising, anchored his boat, and put generous chunks of bait on the hooks. And then, one by one, he cast the lines against the cold wind so that each one landed just shy of a grassy shoreline.

It was only minutes before I sensed something toying with the bait on my line. And then wham! Fish on! I reeled in a nice Black Drum, the first of four I would catch. From then on Paul, David, Thomas, and I continued to reel in the fish — Black Drum and Red Fish — until we reached our limit before noon.

Captain Keith had done it again. He had led us to the right spot. We never moved. We just reeled in the fish and only tossed one back.

With a full ice chest and the wind just a little warmer, we headed back to the dock. There, Captain Keith cleaned and filleted all of the fish and divided up the fillets and throats in zip lock bags. Each of us went home with lots of fish.

Beyond the fishing, it was just a great morning to be out on the water with guys that enjoy adventure. This was my first time to fish with Thomas but one of the good things about fishing is that it makes it so easy to bond with the guys on the boat.

I have spent so much time out of the country this year and some enjoyable days at our cabin in Big Bend that it was fun to return to Matagorda Bay.

I remain grateful to live in the Lone Star State and enjoy all that it has to offer — from the Gulf of Mexico to the Chihuahuan Desert and from the Rio Grande Valley to the wide spaces of the Panhandle. I am blessed, indeed.

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A Fun Reunion and Small Projects

It’s been a little more than two months since our last visit to the cabin. Life has just remained so busy, leaving me with little white space on my calendar. Lots of international travel, local projects, and more. But, this trip had to happen. No excuses.

Why? Because several months ago Cheryl invited her best and oldest friend to join us at the cabin.

Cheryl and Debbie met in the nursery of Second Baptist Church in Corpus Christi and have been friends ever since. Time and distance have done nothing to separate them. They are kindred spirits.

Since inviting Debbie to the cabin, Cheryl has eagerly waited for the day when we would meet Debbie in San Antonio on our way to Big Bend. It did my heart good to see these two friends get together again. Not many people can lay claim to a friendship that started in the nursery and has only grown sweeter through the years.

We have had an enjoyable time with Debbie. Of course, I volunteered to sleep in the guest cabin so that they could talk into the night. They have stayed up hours longer than me and gotten up earlier than me. They have not wasted a minute.

They filled the bird feeders and watering stations around the cabin — twice. They enjoyed sitting around the campfire and scanning the moonless night sky for shooting stars. They cooked for the gathering we host for our neighbors every time we visit the cabin.

They hiked around the property identifying flora and cacti, trimmed Cheryl’s favorite tree, gathered rocks for a stone path to Biscuit’s grave, enjoyed a road trip into Big Bend National Park, and more. It has been fun watching their reunion.

As for me, I punched out several small projects on my list. Whether taking on a big or small project, every step matters when developing an off-grid property.


I finally got around to painting the base of our outdoor fire place. I bought a gallon of black brick and stucco paint. First time I have used this product and I must say that I am impressed. The paint is formulated to fill every little nook and cranny of bricks and blocks. Very satisfied with the results. And, while in a painting mood, I applied a layer of high heat paint on our burn barrel.


The next thing on my list was to finish the flooring in the bathroom of the guest cabin. This was an easy and quick project. I fashioned my own threshold for the transition from the main room to the bathroom. Happy with the results.


I was also happy to finish the soffit work on the guest cabin. I painted the soffit boards before nailing them in place and then finished by running a bead of caulk along the outer edge. A small thing with a big eye-pleasing result. The outside of the guest cabin finally looks finished.


We did not miss the opportunity to watch the eclipse. Debbie’s daughter bought us those little disposable glasses designed for eclipse viewing. So cool to see the ring of fire even though it was only a partial ring here in Big Bend. I did run in to check the numbers on our solar inverter during the eclipse. About the same drop as happens on a cloudy day.

We introduced Debbie to our neighbors at the cookout we host every time we visit the cabin. We are blessed with several good neighbors and always enjoy catching up when we are back at the cabin. On Sunday we worshiped at Terlingua Ranch Community Church where we caught up with several more friends who live here at Terlingua Ranch.

Of course, we had to do the Ross Maxwell Scenic Highway drive to Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend national Park. We could not have asked for better weather and the late afternoon light at the canyon was perfect for taking a few pics.


Back at the property, I installed all of the electrical boxes in the guest cabin. My neighbor Joe will run wire and insulate the ceiling over the coming weeks. That will leave me the task of insulating the walls and then finishing the interior of the cabin.


So, it’s been a great trip. Cheryl and Debbie have had a great time and I have enjoyed watching them have a great time. We hope Debbie will visit again and we look forward to heading back this way after Thanksgiving. Thanks for following our adventure.

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From Cotton to College

I am deeply grateful that my grandfather, Felipe Garcia, took the time in his later years to journal his personal story. And what an amazing story that is. Reading the words he hammered onto the pages using two index fingers on the lettered stems of his Royal typewriter bring back a flood of pleasant memories.

I spent a lot of my childhood with my grandfather and have the fondest memories of our daily stop at the post office in Mission on our way to his real estate office that he shared with Justice of the Peace Leo Gonzalez. I would play around the office while he met with people and did lots of notary work for poor people, some of whom paid for his services with produce.

My Papa Felipe was born on January 23, 1891 in northeastern Duval County where his family had their ranch. When I was a kid, I loved to listen to his stories about growing up on the ranch and longed to visit the place that meant so much to him.

As a young teenager, he arranged for me to visit my country cousins at the ranch. He bought me a bus ticket from Mission to San Diego and then set me off on a great adventure — all by myself with a small suitcase in hand.

The only thing I remember about the bus ride was that I sat next to an older lady who had doused herself with an overpowering amount of perfume. I could hardly breathe and pressed my face against the window in hopes of getting a whiff of fresh air. Toxic fumes aside, I made it to my destination where my Uncle Florentino picked me up.

Florentino was a towering man. When I got off the bus there he was — wearing khaki pants, a long-sleeved shirt, black boots, and a straw cowboy hat. He looked down at me with welcoming eyes, shook my hand, took my bag, and led me to his pick-up truck for the almost twenty-mile ride to the ranch. That was the start of a lifelong friendship with Florentino.


Which all brings me back to my grandfather’s journal — page 28. My grandfather was 18 years-old and wanted desperately to go to college. The challenge was finding the money. With such a large family to care for, his family did not have the discretionary income to help him with tuition. But, they did have land.

The solution was for my grandfather to plant cotton on a 60-acre tract and then use the proceeds from the sale of the cotton to go to school. So, he put his hand to the plow and got to work. The 60-acres yielded 27 bales of cotton which he had ginned at Alfred, located west of Corpus Christi. In his words, he made “the fantastic sum of $1,195.00 in cash.”


His earnings became the seed money for him to attend the San Antonio Business College in 1910. The business skills he learned helped him to eventually work as a realtor and notary public and one of the longest serving city commissioners in the State of Texas. He, along with my dad, taught me the value of hard work and helped me to develop a good work ethic.

I miss my Papa Felipe but consider myself fortunate to have spent so much time with him. As a little boy always in tow and always watching him, I treasure every memory. He was always kind, ever encouraging, and set an example worthy of imitation. I’m glad that his hard work growing cotton paid off and paved the way for him to go to college. That chapter of his life laid the foundation for a lifetime of selfless service.