Throughout the week, we finished the concrete foundation on the twin homes and started putting up the posts for the "shack in the back." It was satisfying to calculate, measure, bend, and cut the rebar for this more-complicated building. I love getting to work those kinds of puzzles and it is always fun to work with these brilliant people. This second time pouring the concrete for two houses took only 50% more time to complete, and with no faults. Overall, it was quite a well-executed and mostly flawless project! The rest of the week, we were able to get posts up and the shack in the back got its "box beams", which were then stuffed with straw, and trusses up and installed. It looks amazing to have such a great amount of development in one week! The twin homes started getting sill plates, posts, and the "party walls" up as well. Amongst all that, we even moved a few dump truck loads of gravel into the houses to start the flooring. Tuesday evening, Maya, Solona, and I went to our first City Council meeting in Moab to see what this looks like. I enjoyed it in various ways, including discussions on solar access considerations, greywater, sustainability proposals, and active movement towards fixing roads with the consideration of stormwater management. Otherwise, it was utterly bland, stale from its "tradition." It would be lovely to have more in those experiences socially, but I was happy with what was at least progressing in this unknown world of mine called "the government." We have had some great visitors, including a couple that have built their own tiny home, and we have really developed quite the communal altar! I even checked out the craft store with Linnea and Maya and saw quite an appealing wood and leather burner I felt inclined to take a pic of. It was great to finish a line design with my current woodburner as well! We had some great dinners, as always, and one day was a LARGE container of pasta salad, and my group made a whole, delicious Mediterranean spread. Over the weekend, several of us met with Jeremy Lynch and Melissa Graciosa and took a trip to the La Sals (saying "the" and "La" sounds redundant). Jeremy, one of the permaculture teachers with Community Rebuilds, also works with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA.org). We built probably over a mile of new trails for hiking, running, and cycling in this incredible location, met impressive and sweet volunteers and teachers, ate delicious tacos and breakfast burritos, and watched the meteor shower. I am very grateful to have gotten to do this, and I am also inspired to have a somewhat similar job (out of my many desired). The people we met were amazing, including a past CR intern and a woman doing an anthropological study on those who go to National Forests.
I was able to get some photos from the first day, but left my phone the second. It was such a beautiful place to work and camp.
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Gary Michael ForesmanWritings about my projects, adventures, questions, & more. Categories
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