Insulation, yuck. Actually this stuff is pretty sweet; its recycled newspapers that are blown into the wall and ceiling, it has such a high R value that the government gives you a tax credit if you use. This is the first time that i haven't thought about crying at the mention of the word "insulation," in fact Brent and I were out climbing while the guys blew this stuff in, awesome.

Rilo seems to think that he would like to be an Elk.

Home Sweet Home. I like to pretend that i spend most of my time staying in the trailer up on the property, but the truth is that I'm not that tough. The heat in the trailer is pretty nice, but I still couldn't seem to keep my water from freezing even with the jug sitting directly in front of the heater, without water i can't drink coffee on the sky chair while pretending to work. So now I stay in the trailer on the warm nights, or when i freak out and realize that i am a 25 year old guy that spend too much time blogging in his parents basement.

The lovely Sheila helped me carve the corbels during the some of the cold winter days around Christmas. It is nice to have an artistic touch; the details are really what make the project.

Porches are such great places. I cant wait for my parent to retire and travel the world so that I can sit in the shade of the front porch, smell the sage brush, eat all of the folks food, taste the contents of dad's $2.99 cellar while watching Rilo think about chasing rabbits.

This is the box of a house that Owen so kindly helped me build. At this point it looks like there is still a lot of work to do.

Garrett decided that he wanted to drill the well for us, so he welded three different augers together and started digging. He soon found that the ground was too hard and he realized that manual labor in not his gig. He thought he would supervise instead; he welded a chair to the top of the augers so that he could have a good view of the work. As soon as the weather changed he decided that he would rather be in Guatemala. So now I drink my morning coffee while sitting on the "sky Chair."

This winter has been snowy and cold. In order to build in this kind of weather one must have a large beard and absolutely nothing else to do.

Dad wonders why we are building in the winter

A simple existence

Daily I am reminded of the richness of life and am grateful for those that help share the adventure of daily pursuits. For the last few months I have been building a guest-house for my parents on top of The Colorado Nation Monument. I call this project "the big pay back," my father calls it a paid internship, in reality it is my chance to give back to my parents for putting up with me for 25 years now. Below is the project, and the wonderful friends that have helped me carry heavy loads, physically and mentally.