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.