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| Looking toward Tucson |
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| Kitt Peak. My pique. |
Not great skies for our batteries. Just turn off the distractions and go outside.
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This is a good example of the kind of property you'd find for sale around here. This piece would be nice for driving onto; it has no ditch, and is fairly level. Nice view!
The problem is I found this walking. We tried to drive to it in our rugged little 4x4, but no way. Impassable from both directions. We suspect this was purchased sight-unseen.
Where we're staying, a good neighbor drags the roads after precipitation. That keeps things very accessible here, but we're learning that's a rarity.
You will be off-grid on this land (and probably stay that way), and there are no water or sewer services out here. Roads are not maintained - put on your big-girl boots, city gal! On the other hand, you'll pay the kind of taxes that indicate you're not getting any services.
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| One of the "maintained" roads. Don't wait around for county services - you don't pay enough taxes for that. |
Enough of that nature-y stuff. WE MET NINA AND PAUL! They're pretty busy with their own stuff right now, but we're so happy they could be badgered and cajoled into joining us for lunch! They're exactly as fun as you imagine them. Nina has been so extremely helpful to us in living this way. She educates us with her blog, and she has always been great about answering my questions in a way that didn't sound like she was rolling her eyes.
Brenda and Karin introduced us to Blue Willow in Tucson. She suggests that it's the perfect meet-up restaurant, and she may be right. There's a gluten-free menu and a vegan menu, besides a lot of conventional choices.
Nina and Paul tell us that the Benchmark Atlases are worth every penny. I keep hearing that, so we'll invest. We'll start with the ones we're likely to use first, like Arizona and New Mexico.
Nina is a long-time dog trainer, and gave us some good advice about Franklin Jackson. In just a few hours of using her tips, he was more relaxed and focused on us. He sits for food, and before going outside. He has a naturally gentle disposition, and the cat situation is going well.
The G-A-S problem has subsided. Franklin's is better, too.
