December 18th, the forest and city formally denied our access. And let us know that they'd be locking the gate on the 20th. Merry Christmas, homesteaders!
We were supposed to have spent that weekend at Hueco Tanks, and instead spent it miserably looking at apartments, which we wouldn't have been able to get regardless because everyone here breed restricts. Tim, Rob, and I spent a lot of hours going back and forth and back again, trying to figure out what to do, and ultimately, after consulting a lawyer, decided that we're not going anywhere. This is our home, and we're not going to let the forest manhandle us out of our home.
Shortly after Christmas, Tim, Havoc, and I left to spend some time in Texas with our families. Rob stayed behind to take care of the dogs and hold down the fort. Our trip to Texas consisted of illness, missed connections, misunderstandings, arguments, and as much fun as we could fit in between all those things. Meanwhile, Flagstaff was getting hit with the heaviest snow storm in 130 years. We got about three feet of snow at Serenity Valley, and Rob learned the very valuable and also costly lesson that the 4x4 in his Tundra is not up to the challenge of three feet of snow.
See the truck down in that gully? Later snows buried it almost completely. The guys estimated that they moved 16,000 square feet of snow to get the truck out and back to the house. The truck runs fine, thankfully, but sustained body damage that broke Rob's heart a bit.
The good news was that Tim's truck had been in Texas, and therefor was not snowed in. The bad news was that we were snowed out, and we could not get home. Our neighbors, Tom and Melinda, graciously offered to let us park at their house, and we hiked 1/4 mile, very literally uphill, home.
That first hike home was, needless to say, goddamn brutal.
It didn't take long before we realized that Havoc and I simply couldn't handle that hike on a twice daily basis, to school/work and back, with groceries and laundry, etc, even after Tim and Rob shoveled the entire 1/4 mile walk out of nearly knee deep snow. Gods among men, these two, I'm telling you. So, we bought a quad. Which I promptly wrecked, bending a rod a week in, required a week in the shop.
Our water trailers are frozen. We can fill our jugs at midday on warmer days, other days Tim has a system rigged up with heat tape and the generator that thaws the valves enough to function.
The coyotes are getting frighteningly bold, coming within a few dozen yards of the house a lot of nights, which is unsettling since I have to go outside every night to pee (in the snow, and it's usually in the negative degrees. Yay, homesteading!) and I can see them, like, rightfuckingthere. Three of them even followed Havoc and I one morning on our way to the truck. I didn't care for that so much. Neighbors have reported bear and cougar in the area recently as well, which hasn't done a lot for my peace of mind.
The shiniest of all the many silver linings so far has been the wood stove. The glorious, glorious wood stove. Most days, we've been letting the fire go out around midday, because even if it's 25° outside, it's 80° in the tiny house. It's the best.
We also finally have our solar rig up and running, which means the concept of refrigeration has come gloriously back into my life! It's so cool to be able to just turn around and grab what I need, instead of going outside to the cooler on the porch. No more food spoiling one day and freezing the next! Modern conveniences are awesome.
I was able to get my truck back home this past week, so no more freezing quad drives to the neighbors for H and I. The road is still very snowy and it's a stressful (but oh man so fun!) drive, but I can get in and out safely and that's been a huge boost for my overall mental wellbeing.
It's been a tough first winter, you guys, but it looks as though we are tougher, and though we're learning an awful lot of really painful lessons the hardest way, we're getting through. The days are getting longer, and warmer, and we'll be much better prepared for next year.
Here's to spring! And I promise, I'll post a less miserable update soon!
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