Most liked posts in thread: Dragon Living, it's not all fun and games but pretty close!

So it’s been a while since my last check in... [emoji23]

Sorry about that, I’ve been busy! [emoji23]A lot has happened though since MOTD.

Bekah and I are still holding our relationship together despite our struggles, which is good news.

We started a project on the house only to have the incompetent contractor we hired to do the job screw us over, not complete what we hired him to do, and almost had to go to court to get our money back from him. What was supposed to be a simple addition to our deck and replacing the back door with a huge french door turned into a nightmare! We’ve since hired another contractor, but the weather hasn’t been cooperating to get the job done. [emoji37]

My BMW 135iS is gone! Traded it in last month and went back to another big 4 door Jeep. [emoji16] Same year as my old one, but Black and this time I was able to get a Rubicon model with all the good factory off road hardware. [emoji7]



Already started with some of the easy free mods, like modifying the air box, removing the rear sway bar, and stubbing the front bumper, but I am going to build it a bit. [emoji16]



A few days ago, Bekah bought a new toy too... After listening to her go on and on about wanting her own Jeep, and looking at shade tree built crap pile after crap pile online, I made a discovery...
I stumbled across an add for a 1951 Willys CJ3a that had gone through one restoration, and things were still being done... It ran and drove, sorta, and was done with all original parts. But I looked into how much the guy wanted for it knowing that they normally aren’t cheap by any means in any kind of condition. I was shocked to hear that he only wanted $5500 for it, and that fit perfectly with Bekahs $6K budget. So after making a couple new friends, and watching a heartbreaking goodbye, we towed the little Willys home.


Actually we towed it straight to the shop we use in town, because the brakes don’t work, and the steering locks up, but hey... It’ll get here! [emoji23]

We actually had a guy walk up to us as I was taking that picture and offer $10,000 for it! [emoji15] We however declined that offer! [emoji23] I noticed a few things on the Jeep as we were looking at it that struck me as odd the first time we went to see it... It’s got the M-38 split opening windshields, and the military correct 3/16 diamond plate full floor on the body tub... The night we picked it up I started rubbing paint off of the original data plate on the upper left of the firewall, and I won’t know for sure until it gets home, but under years of oil grease and paint I’m almost certain I saw CJ2a in front of the serial number. [emoji15] Which means it could pre date 1951 by a few years and be one of the holy grails of Jeeps! [emoji15][emoji16][emoji23]

Outside of all of that, it’s been a great summer! Work is going great, and most of the time so is life overall.

I’ll check in when I can! See ya later! [emoji173]️


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Dave, I’m hoping my wood guy gets some dry stuff in soon, if not I’ll have to make a run to Sylva, but either way Fontana will have firewood at a decent price! (Just flag down my rust bucket!)

The road I’m talking about isn’t around Robbinsville, it’s another 30 miles south, outside of Nantahala... I did go up the other side today, and it’s a mess! Fallen trees, little to no remaining pavement but cool as hell for photo op’s! Imagine the Dragon if nobody ever came here for the road, then still close the only viable big business in 2005 (Stanley Furniture Co) and think about the armageddon at the same time... It is actually kinda creepy to drive... An R60 wouldn’t have any issues, especially if it was like the Porker with an owner that didn’t give a F***!
I do plan on going through the full 15 mile stretch soon, to see where the bad pavement starts, and marking it 1/4 mile before that point... It could still be a fun run with a turnaround and head back at the end. However, it is a 30 mile drive from Robbinsville, and the best end starts past the halfway point to Franklin. Maybe a few of us could turn it into a day trip, starting at Fontana, up through Nantahala canyon with our special detour (and a photo session) then continuing into Franklin, and catch the Moonshiner section of 28 back to Fontana... Possibilities! [emoji16][emoji23]

With the minimum traffic left here on M/A, I bet we could just set it up with us here and not tell the other 600+ Dragonites. [emoji6]


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Oh, and just to clear it up... My S10 sits 2.5 inches off the ground, the 4X4 doesn’t work, and I went through the 5 miles I did this morning before work with a 1000+ pound load of rocks in the back... [emoji6]

I “shop” local for landscaping supplies! [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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So, the truck broke... It’s currently at the shop since I have nowhere to work on it myself. [emoji37] I grenaded a wheel bearing, bent a suspension arm, and had a bad wire causing my driver side brake/turn signal light not to work... Plates are due at the end of the month, so it needed to get fixed quick.
Good news is that I will have it back in plenty of time to haul firewood and stuff to MOTD.

I also have done a lot of work in my bathroom since my last update... New wall texture, paint (only used 7 Colors this time), a galvanized tin ceiling, and a lot of wood trim... (Pictures on request)

And the only other big thing to happen was, I became the official photographer for the place I work. Hey let’s face it, it’s not the first time one of my hobbies have given me a slight bump of success. [emoji23] My first official Photo Shoot was last weekend, doing the website shots for our newest rental cabin. It was actually pretty fun getting to wander through the house, getting to be the one to set things up, light the fireplace, and enjoy the actual cosmetic experience instead of just the maintenance part of it. I’ll let a few of the pictures do the talking. [emoji16]











The 14 ball in this shot might have been purposefully placed... [emoji23]




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So, from what our mechanic is saying... Most of the parts he’s seeing, it’s more than likely an early CJ2A as the data plate says! Good news!





And probably earlier than I thought, with most parts cross checking with years 1943-1945... AKA Pre Civilian model! [emoji173]️


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Wow, I don’t check in here enough! LOL! Never thought I would say that.

Anyhow, life... It gets in the way of all the interweb surfing... Especially when you live in an area with such limited cell/internet service. A lot has happened since my last check in though.

I bought another car. It’s a 2010 Subaru Forrester base model with more miles than I like but the price was right and Bekah needed something better than the truck to drive after her car crapped out. Hoping to have it payed in full in the next couple months, and have the title transferred over to Bekah because it is her car. The only way we could get it though was for me to buy it, then have her buy it from me. (Beyond horrible credit on her part)

She is getting a pretty sizable amount of money off of the sale of her mom’s estate in a couple months though, so I didn’t really mind sticking my neck out. We’ve also done a lot of talking about what’s happening with the rest of that chunk of change, and I’m proud of her for choosing things that will actually make a difference and not blowing it all on senseless stuff. We talked about buying the lot of land next to mine, and building the garage there, but still haven’t been able to contact the owner. First off though is addressing some of her health issues that have been adding up over the years, and after that is getting rid of my BMW for something more family friendly. Yes my 135iS has to go! I have actually come to resent buying that car because it’s so useless here especially with a family. Sure it saved a bit on my monthly bills making things easier to swallow over the last year, but that’s about it. I’m just glad that 2 1/2 sets of tires and a coolant tank is the only thing I’ve had to put into the car. We are currently looking to get me another Jeep once the check comes in... However the best way to do that is going to be a road trip back out to Colorado this summer in search of lower miles for the pricetag over what can be found here.

In other news:

I am off the work schedule for the entire week of MOTD! And there will be a small BBQ at my place, but I still haven’t had time to plan much. Probably just going to be a bring your own and chill type thing, with the usual shenanigans mixed in.

I also found the local secret “Proving Ground”... A hidden gem of asphalt that the tourists don’t know about, the bikes find it too far out of the way, and the law doesn’t find it worth patrolling. It shall remain a secret though! Unless a few want to tag along for a drive. [emoji6] This Road is supposedly 10 miles, and just as twisty if not more so than the Dragon, but I have also heard rumors of poor pavement conditions in spots... I haven’t driven the entire thing yet, but will by the time everyone gets here. I can say though, that the section I did drive is impressive, and in as good of shape as 129. [emoji16][emoji106]




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Sully, the increase in price was due to them not wanting to mess with it honestly. It’s a pretty tight space to begin with, and to get all that dirt around to the front of the house where I want it, you only have a 10 foot wide pathway to work with. They just want fast in and out jobs with wide open space to do things their way... This job would be neither!

Dave, I could do everything myself, but at over $400 per day just for the excavator, not counting the 100 gallons of diesel you would burn through every 12 hours, or if something broke, it would get expensive FAST! Not to mention the time off of work, and everything else.

I’m not rich by any means, hell I make a little over $2K a month, and pull less than $500 a month off of government disability. It’s enough to live “comfortably” here with but not enough to go all out on the shop right now. My biggest bill is that BMW, and when it goes I will be HAPPY! That would mean an extra $500 a month in my pocket to put towards the garage.

I’ve also been weighing options on buying another chunk of Dragon Land for the shop, or downsizing my garage goals to a much smaller facility that wouldn’t even support spraying a full car. It’s all stuff to think about. I’ve been living here a year already, and still haven’t focused enough on the shop to justify it. The house is my main goal of getting done right now, and I’m going balls out on our tiny little bedroom... Gotta have that Million Dollar look and feel on my budget, lucky for me I know how to do a lot more than just paint! [emoji23]


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Wholly balls, what a holiday season! [emoji37] Glad it’s OVER to be honest!

So! Dick moves away from the cold: The cold follows Dick to NC while Colorado gas been 40 degrees or more for the majority of the winter: Also

I’m sick of seeing the thermometer on the porch in the single digits! I haven’t felt my feet in so long that I forgot they were there, and I’m sick of having to throw the dog/cat water out into the woods as a giant ice cube every few hours! [emoji23] Enough is enough already!

In other news though:

My truck is finally sitting at an acceptable height, and looking good! [emoji16]

Well, other than still being alive, that’s about the only good news! [emoji23]

A few days ago, I had a small excavation company come out and give me a rough estimate on the ground work to get started on the garage... Well, at first everything lined up right where I thought it would... ($10-15K to move my hill) But then, they saw the place in person... That estimate went up to nearly $30,000.00! [emoji35] I will definitely be getting a few more opinions, but I am also starting a “Plan-B†(NO! Not the pill! [emoji23]) We will see how that all goes later on...

Friday night Bekah comes home, her car at redline, pouring smoke up the driveway! [emoji15] She cooked the clutch! It’s really not worth fixing this POS Subaru again, it’s beat to hell, disgustingly kept up, been stolen, been abused, has almost 300,000 miles on it, leaks more oil and coolant than the truck, and is obviously CURSED! So tomorrow, we are going car shopping. [emoji37] We’ve agreed on a $10,000 limit, because that’s about all she can afford payments on, so hopefully we can find something decent.

Work is about all that is going well quite honestly! I even have enough PTO hours saved up to take a few extra days off while you all are here in May! [emoji16] THANKFULLY!!! I need some alone time with my friends! [emoji23] There will be a BBQ at my house this year (weather and blackout permitting [emoji23]) all I ask is that you bring some meat/veggies and your own beer! (Anything that’s going in the smoker, we’ll need to work that out as time goes by[emoji6]) It’s a gun friendly event too, my neighbors are actually kinda used to me shooting in the back yard now.[emoji6][emoji23]

Well, that’s about it for now, here’s a couple pictures of the current state of things:


















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Thanks Lee! I would promote my work as an alternative place to stay for MOTD, but... At $300+ per night, the steep rough gravel roads on the property, and the distance from Fontana, nobody in their right mind would wanna stay there for a car rally.[emoji23]


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Hope everyone had a great T-day! This one was different for me this year, with no real family within 1400 miles, and not many local friends... Sure it wasn't the same as going to Teresa and Erik Wood's place and stuffing my face with more food than it would take to save a village in Africa from starvation, but it was still a good day for the most part. Bekah and I actually had our holiday the weekend before the real T-day because of our work schedules. It was kinda nice having all three kids at the house. We had plenty to eat with the turkey I smoked, the ham Bekah made, the giant bowl of beans one of our friends brought, and all the other little sides. [emoji16]



Anyhow, on the real holiday, I spent most of the day work in the yard, clearing out some of the Laurel jungle behind the house. I decided to cut into the woods where the garage will eventually go, in order to give the 4 year old a place to play... And to get a good look at what all dirt work will need done for the shop. I actually started cutting the smaller brush and trees away about a month ago, and have been spending at least a day out of each weekend cutting, chopping, dragging, and burning my way into the woods. It's starting to look pretty good for not even being able to walk through it a month ago.











At the same time as this, I'm also doing some planning on other ongoing projects around the house... The biggest one is going to be starting soon after the holidays are over as long as weather permits. I will be adding a semi attached 140 square foot timber framed greenhouse/outdoor bath tub behind the house. [emoji16] That, and I'm still working on remodeling the bathroom and planning the bedroom remodel in the process. And I thought that building/modifying cars was a job! [emoji23]

Well, that's about all I've got for now... I will leave you with a couple more of my good photos of the area though. [emoji16]









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